Badge engineering is a time-honored automotive tradition but it’s one that requires great care and delicate balance to get right and avoid the wrath of consumers. We can’t help but wonder, will Stellantis get it right with the Alfa Romeo Tonale and the upcoming Dodge Hornet?
Automakers have been trying to slap two different badges on the same car for years, and sometimes it works just fine. If the badges are of roughly equivalent value (say, a VW and a Skoda) or an automaker can genuinely offer more luxury (such as in the case of the Chevrolet Suburban and the Cadillac Escalade), it tends to work alright.
Read Also: 2023 Dodge Hornet Spied On The Road Looking Like Your Affordable Alfa Romeo Tonale Clone
But the consequences of getting it wrong can be significant. Take, for example, Lincoln’s long slow slide from luxury manufacturer synonymous with presidents, to shiny Fords. Its latest group of vehicles may be helping rehabilitate its reputation, but it’s proof that, if you want to sell a vehicle as premium, it can’t be too obvious that you’re also selling it as a value-minded vehicle. All the shiny plastic in the world can’t wash a car of the stench of the masses.
Alfa Romeo and Dodge are currently working on their own badge-engineered products and it’s unclear how well it will go. The Italian automaker has made it clear how important the Tonale will be for its future and is offering premium accouterments like Harmon Kardon audio system but it has also struggled to find a foothold in the U.S.
Remember when Alfa Romeo re-badged the Nissan Cherry into the Arna back in the 1980s?
If Dodge, as it appears to be planning, reveals a Hornet that looks pretty much identical to the Tonale other different fascias and some other changes here and there, it could potentially hurt both vehicles’ images. Spy and leaked photos make the two crossovers look almost identical but for the perfunctory badges and grilles and that might make it too hard for customers to tell them apart. People don’t mind buying a fancy car that has a less expensive version but they do mind buying an expensive car that looks just like a cheap car.
What do you think? Will the vaguely performance-oriented nature of both the Dodge and Alfa Romeo brands mean that the Tonale and Hornet can work well together, or will the Hornet just look like a cheap version of the Tonale that makes customers avoid both?
