DETROIT – Chrysler Design Chief Ralph Gilles is very proud of what the automaker came up with when it debuted the Dodge Challenger in 2009.
"It found an audience that wants to live in the past, but we've also brought a lot of young people who want something with two doors and is cool and different," Gilles said.
Motor Trend's Angus MacKenzie agrees the Challenger was a smart design.
"The problem they've got now is: What do you do next?" MacKenzie said.
Dodge might have the answer by bringing back an old Plymouth brand name: Barracuda. They won't bring back the car, exactly. In fact, they won't bring back much of anything but the name.
"It makes a lot of sense to ponder that type of architecture," MacKenzie said. "Maybe a 4-cylinder and V-6 engines, and do an American Dodge version and call it the Barracuda."
The original Plymouth Barracuda name, or just simply called Cuda in later models, belonged to the now-defunct Plymouth brand, and Chrysler went to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office this past fall to try to get the Cuda naming right.
Gilles avoided confirming the rumor.
"It has a nice sound to it -- a different brand -- so I slipped," he said. "I was at SEMA last year and someone yelled out in the audience, 'You gotta do the Barracuda,' and I shrugged my shoulders, and they interpreted that as an aknowledgement. So, I've been in trouble ever since."
When asked about the Cuda trademark rumor, Gilles had this to say:
"Like I said, how's the weather?"
The Trademark Office said it is probably going to block using the Cuda name because someone else has it now. So, perhaps it is back to the drawing board for Dodge on using the full Barracuda name.
It's likely the vehicle will be announced this time next year.