Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis speaks during a media event on August 13, 2021. On the back, the Fratzog logo was used alongside the current Dodge logo.
Michael Wayland / CNBC
DETROIT – Dodge will use a throwback logo called “Fratzog” for its upcoming electrified vehicles, CEO Tim Kuniskis told CNBC.
The Fratzog – a word made up by a designer – was originally used by Dodge from 1962 to 1976. It has a divided deltoid muscle made up of three arrowhead shapes that form a three-pointed star. The new version is three-dimensional and includes LED lighting.
“It almost looks like Doc Brown did it,” said Kuniskis, referring to the fictional creator of “Back to the Future” during a recent drag racing event in suburban Detroit. “It looks very futuristic and electrified, and it’s our story that we’re doing.”
The Fratzog – a word made up by a designer – was originally used by Dodge from 1962 to 1981.
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The revived logo was shown for the first time last month on a Dodge concept vehicle unveiled by its parent company, Stellantis, during an “EV Day” for investors. Dodge also used the logo alongside its current red striped logo at the Roadkill Night powered by Dodge drag racing event that attracts tens of thousands of people in Pontiac, Michigan annually.
Stellantis – the merged automaker of Fiat Chrysler and French automaker PSA Groupe – plans to invest at least $ 35.5 billion in electric vehicles and assistive technologies by 2025.
Kuniskis said the Fratzog was not intended to be a sub-brand of Dodge. It’s used in electric vehicles to differentiate them from other models, according to Kuniskis. He did not want to specify whether the new logo will only be used on fully electric vehicles or whether it will also include hybrid and plug-in hybrid models.
Dodge, which has positioned itself as a muscle car brand, is expected to detail its electrification plans in more detail in the fourth quarter before a plug-in hybrid model hits the market in 2022 and an all-electric muscle car in 2024. The concept with the Fratzog logo is expected to be revealed early next year, said Kuniskis.
The logo is a way to easily identify the vehicles without changing their design features, which may mean the brand has new vehicles that offer gas, electric, or hybrid systems to power the vehicles. It is similar to Dodge’s current strategy of offering different power levels – mostly V-6 and V-8 engines – in its vehicle range, including its well-known Hellcat logo for a number of current 700-plus-horsepower models.
“We don’t want them to look radically different because we want you all to be part of the same thing,” said Kuniskis, referring to Dodge’s so-called “Brotherhood of Muscle” ownership association. “So we said, ‘OK’, if you have electrification in your car, we don’t want you to scream, ‘I have electrification.”
A designer from the then Dodge parent company Chrysler Corp. came up with the word Fratzog for the logo, according to a spokesman.
The Fratzog logo was used during a teaser video of an upcoming Dodge electric concept vehicle during Stellantis’ EV Day in July 2021.
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