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It will either go down as a bold marketing move or it will be considered one of the dumbest moves made by an automaker since, well, 2008.

What am I talking about? That would be Chrysler Group LLC’s decision to separate its Dodge cars and trucks into two divisions – Ram trucks and Dodge cars. The former will be made up of trucks and sport/utility vehicles, the latter everything else. True, when it comes to Dodge most vehicles sold are trucks. And, each of those sport the ram logo.

Internal Change Initially

The change is likely to be mostly internal because all affected vehicles will continue sport Dodge branding. The difference is that Dodge Ram will represent the burly side of the house while Dodge Car will hold up the passenger vehicle side including the Challenger and the iconic Viper. Consumers won’t notice any difference at first, though that might change if Chrysler decides to award Dodge Ram only or Dodge Car only franchises eventually.

Come to think of it, this move might work in areas of the country where Dodge car sales are negligible while Dodge Ram sales are strong. Dealers wouldn’t be obligated to carry the Stratus, Caliber or other unrelated vehicle, choosing to outfit their showrooms with the many variations of the current Ram 1500 as well as the Dakota, Durango and whatever else Dodge plans to sell down the line. And for city showrooms where a Dodge truck might be out of place, stocking it with Challengers, Vipers, Chargers, Stratus models and the like could bolster those sales too.

New Executive Appointments

Related to these changes, Chrysler announced a number of executive appointments including making Chrysler 300C lead designer the head of Dodge Car operations. Fred Diaz, Jr. is now in charge of the Dodge Ram brand while Olivier Francois is head of the Chrysler brand.

Michael Manley remains in his position as head of the Jeep brand while Joseph Veltri will head up product planning. A pair of Chrysler executives have also left the company in pursue of other interests.

If the Dodge Ram, Dodge Car separation plan works, it could end up being just the juice the beleaguered automaker needs. With really no new products for 2010 and Fiat development still two years out, Chrysler needs to prop up what works in hopes of buying its some time. The Ram line is solid, one of the few bright lights in the Chrysler arsenal.