Is This Chrysler’s New Logo? Does Anyone Know What’s Going on There?
Chrysler’s starting from scratch with its new EV concept, except for this confusing logo which it can’t seem to decide if it’s using.
It's do-or-die at Chrysler, which, like all of Stellantis' struggling brands, has just a few years to escape the chopping block. With the 300 dead and Pacifica out of fashion, Chrysler needs a moon shot to put its name back in similar standing to Chevrolet and Ford. That rocket is launching a week from today, in the form of an EV concept wearing a redesigned Chrysler badge that we can't tell if Chrysler is committing to or not.
The concept was teased on Chrysler's social media channels Tuesday, in renders that obscure most details of its body style. All that's obvious are prominent fenders, a canopy-like roof, and most importantly, a minimalist new logo for a badge. Chrysler's logo script has also changed fonts accordingly. It's all reminiscent of how Cadillac rebranded itself, with monochrome white badges on the Lyriq.
Now if you're like us, you might've seen the logo up top and thought, "huh, so they have a new logo." It turns out that's not exactly true; Chrysler has used this logo for more than two years on the Airflow and "Synthesis" cockpit concepts that it displays on its website. But they're used only on those concepts, nowhere else on Chrysler's site, not least of all the heading.
It's clearly forward-looking, but what exactly is this logo supposed to mean? Is it a soft-launch of the next chapter of Chrysler's history? Or is it more like an alter ego? It's not really clear.
Whatever it means, Chrysler wants us to have high expectations for the EV that'll wear it, claiming it will "revolutionize the future of mobility." Its styling will represent "one potential path" for the brand over the next few years, which suggests Chrysler's waiting to see our response before it goes all-in. It's understandable; Chrysler wouldn't want to put all its eggs in one basket like Dodge did, only for the Charger Daytona EV's fake exhaust to go down poorly. Maybe it's the same with this logo.
This concept will likely take a more radical form than the canceled Airflow concept, for which Chrysler's designers were sent back to the drawing board. Rumors have suggested for years that we might see a successor to the 300, for a Chrysler equivalent to the Charger Daytona EV. Chrysler promises two more teaser images on Feb. 9 and 12 before a full reveal at 5 a.m. Eastern on Feb. 13, so maybe we'll figure it out by then. No matter what form it takes, though, Chrysler had better come out swinging, because nothing less than excellence will get it where it needs to be.
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