RideLust

There are times when I think that all the creativity in the automotive world is dead. Cars are sharing platforms, nameplates and just about every other component you can think of in an effort to save money and move more vehicles. The practice is nothing new as automakers have been doing this for years. The biggest name swapping cross platform culprit is Chrysler, I mean these guys love doing this. Take this rendering of the new 2012 Dodge Magnum/Durango. So far Dodge has used the Magnum name twice in its history. In 1978-1979 they released a rather stylish two door coupe with a 360 small block and t-tops called the Magnum, and then from 2005-2008 the Hemi powered Magnum station wagon wore the nameplate.

The Durango nameplate first appeared in 1998 with the release of the Dodge Durango SUV and when released this was one good looking truck. Then in 2004 Dodge redesigned the Durango, and not only did it gain weight, but the styling was downright awful. It now seems that Dodge is getting ready to release the third generation of their midsized SUV, but instead of going with a nameplate that they’ve already invested millions of dollars in (the Durango) they seem to want to confuse their customers by possibly calling it the Magnum… WTF? Has no one at Chrysler taken Marketing 101?

The above renderings (thanks Autoblog) were done by Andrew Currie from the Cheers and Gears forum and look pretty damn good. We now have to just wait and see what the hell Dodge is going to name this thing. Hopefully if all goes well we’ll be seeing the 2012 Dodge Durango and not a new Magnum in the very near future.