I just returned from a one-week vacation, but I've been studying and researching this new 2014 Dodge Durango Citadel for months, and here are my frustrations... so far. In no particular order.
a) Dodge is very sloppy with their approach to marketing and advertising.
From errors in their brochure -- such as Page 9, which shows what appears to be a Maximum Steel Citadel that they describe in the blurb as "Deep Cherry Red Crystal Pearl" -- to a poorly-designed website that does not repeat the ease-of-use one would expect for so expensive a vehicle. And has anybody tried to get a printed brochure? I signed up for one online over 6 months ago, and never received it. The Dealers mostly have NONE. They've been telling me to "Just go to the website!" since June -- when the website was nothing more than a "Coming Soon" placeholder.
b) The Dealers are mostly clueless.
Ask them almost any question about the new technology on the 2014 Durango -- they don't know.
Ask them what the differences are between the 2013 and 2014 -- they don't know.
Ask them what colors are available -- they point you at the Jeep line -- or what interior colors come with what exterior colors -- "Uh... what's wrong with black?"
c) The pipeline was not primed for the launch.
Try to find any upscale version of the 2014 Durango -- you can't find them. Ask for a Maximum Steel with Light Frost Beige interior Citadel with the HEMI -- they don't exist except on an Order Form. You want an SXT in a dark color -- got it! R/T with everything in the body color -- probably can get it! Citadel?? What's that?
d) There are very few Incentives currently available.
e) Production will apparently take a while if you order one.
One Dealer said "6 to 8 weeks". Another said "I wouldn't bother if you want it before the New Year." And another said "Chrysler does a weird thing with their product lines. They build only sedan-type vehicles the first half of the new product year. Then they start on orders for the SUVs. We have parking lots full of new Avengers and Chargers. No 2014 Durangos."
f) Many Dealers do not have ANY 2014 Durango on their Lot.
Trust me. I've checked nearly all of them in a 5 State region. Washington DC to South Carolina. I drove over 600 miles to visit Dealers that were advertising Durango Citadels -- only to be told they had sold them "weeks ago" -- which I find hard to believe. My guess? They use it as a tactic to simply get you into the Dealership. If you check local Inventory online you'll see what I mean. Usually, they have 1... maybe 2... in the SXT or R/T version... in Black or White... with a black interior. That's it. You might have to travel 60 miles to see a Blue one. When I checked at every Dealer near Myrtle Beach they told me they found one Citadel with a HEMI -- in Fredericksburg, Virginia (near where I live).
g) When you express your frustration, you are offered only one or two options: "Come back after the first of the year." being the most-often suggested.
h) Everything was switched to black so far as the dash is concerned.
When I heard the Durango was getting the same interior as the Jeep Grand Cherokee, I was excited. The JGC has a gorgeous hand-stitched leather dash, for example. The Durango does not. Only the perforated and ventilated seats and instrument panel are similar. On the 2013 models there was this gorgeous two-tone treatment. Such as a taupe dash and accents with a beige sidewall. Now, you can have ANY color you want on the dash and accents -- so long as it's Black. I thank God, however, that they did not put in the suede headliner you find in the JGC Summit. Yuck! What a mistake that would've been.
i) Exterior color choices are abysmal -- if not somewhat restrictive.
There's Black. And Maximum Steel, which is so close to Black that one wonders why they offer it. I was shocked when someone told me it is actually considered a "metallic blue" -- I could only see that under very bright sunshine from odd angles. Then Granite Crystal which at least is at least quite a bit different from Black. And Silver -- being 4 shades along the same color palette. True Blue is so dark as to almost be part of that dark range. Two shades of Red which you are hard-pressed to even notice a difference. One Sandstone which is, well, quite ugly in my opinion. And White. I do like some of them, but nothing is a really exciting or strong choice. I do understand this is just my stupid opinion. Everybody's taste in color selection and combinations is different. Hot Cherry Red with a Metallic "Burgundy" Red (like the current color) might make sense, but two reds that are so close to each other makes me think they had a lot of red paint and had to do "something" with it.
j) The Citadel is over-priced at the Sticker, and the Dealers act amazed when you say you actually want to buy one.
Add the features many of us want and you climb to over $52,000 -- including Delivery Fee, All Wheel Drive, Technology Group, Tow Package, HEMI, Captain's Chairs, Center Console for those chairs, Skid Plate, and CD Player. Granted, most Dealers are discounting to near Invoice Price -- but come on. It seems ridiculously high to me in 2014.
k) What a dumb idea for a Remote CD Player!
Single disk. Hidden under the arm rest. No built-in hard drive for storing songs (even the lowly Honda Pilot gives you that). And just try finding a third-party option that fits this vehicle. I cannot (if you know of one, please let us know). All of this for a whopping $450 List!! I'm so flattered. There really was no possible way to create a CD slot in the fancy dash infotainment cluster? I must be old-school,because when I mentioned this at a few Dealers the response was "Does anybody actually listen to CDs, anymore?" or "Sirius Radio should be enough, I should think."
THIS IS NOT A DODGE OR DURANGO-BASHING THREAD.
My intent is to voice my current level of frustrations. I still like the design very much. But not being able to actually view the Citadel on a Lot is frustrating. Being told the only interior color that anyone has is black is frustrating. Being told by a Dealer that the 2013 is "Exactly the same as the 2014" because they don't really have any 2014s on their Lot after inviting you to drive 30 miles to take a test drive is maddening. :wall:
Although every friend I have is telling me to avoid domestic vehicles, and one lifetime mechanic told me he put his kids through college "repairing Dodge vehicles" -- I'm still interested. But I may find myself heading over to foreign manufacturers after this. And then I picked up the very latest issue of Consumer Reports with their Reliability Ratings for vehicles... hoo-boy!!
a) Dodge is very sloppy with their approach to marketing and advertising.
From errors in their brochure -- such as Page 9, which shows what appears to be a Maximum Steel Citadel that they describe in the blurb as "Deep Cherry Red Crystal Pearl" -- to a poorly-designed website that does not repeat the ease-of-use one would expect for so expensive a vehicle. And has anybody tried to get a printed brochure? I signed up for one online over 6 months ago, and never received it. The Dealers mostly have NONE. They've been telling me to "Just go to the website!" since June -- when the website was nothing more than a "Coming Soon" placeholder.
b) The Dealers are mostly clueless.
Ask them almost any question about the new technology on the 2014 Durango -- they don't know.
Ask them what the differences are between the 2013 and 2014 -- they don't know.
Ask them what colors are available -- they point you at the Jeep line -- or what interior colors come with what exterior colors -- "Uh... what's wrong with black?"
c) The pipeline was not primed for the launch.
Try to find any upscale version of the 2014 Durango -- you can't find them. Ask for a Maximum Steel with Light Frost Beige interior Citadel with the HEMI -- they don't exist except on an Order Form. You want an SXT in a dark color -- got it! R/T with everything in the body color -- probably can get it! Citadel?? What's that?
d) There are very few Incentives currently available.
e) Production will apparently take a while if you order one.
One Dealer said "6 to 8 weeks". Another said "I wouldn't bother if you want it before the New Year." And another said "Chrysler does a weird thing with their product lines. They build only sedan-type vehicles the first half of the new product year. Then they start on orders for the SUVs. We have parking lots full of new Avengers and Chargers. No 2014 Durangos."
f) Many Dealers do not have ANY 2014 Durango on their Lot.
Trust me. I've checked nearly all of them in a 5 State region. Washington DC to South Carolina. I drove over 600 miles to visit Dealers that were advertising Durango Citadels -- only to be told they had sold them "weeks ago" -- which I find hard to believe. My guess? They use it as a tactic to simply get you into the Dealership. If you check local Inventory online you'll see what I mean. Usually, they have 1... maybe 2... in the SXT or R/T version... in Black or White... with a black interior. That's it. You might have to travel 60 miles to see a Blue one. When I checked at every Dealer near Myrtle Beach they told me they found one Citadel with a HEMI -- in Fredericksburg, Virginia (near where I live).
g) When you express your frustration, you are offered only one or two options: "Come back after the first of the year." being the most-often suggested.
h) Everything was switched to black so far as the dash is concerned.
When I heard the Durango was getting the same interior as the Jeep Grand Cherokee, I was excited. The JGC has a gorgeous hand-stitched leather dash, for example. The Durango does not. Only the perforated and ventilated seats and instrument panel are similar. On the 2013 models there was this gorgeous two-tone treatment. Such as a taupe dash and accents with a beige sidewall. Now, you can have ANY color you want on the dash and accents -- so long as it's Black. I thank God, however, that they did not put in the suede headliner you find in the JGC Summit. Yuck! What a mistake that would've been.
i) Exterior color choices are abysmal -- if not somewhat restrictive.
There's Black. And Maximum Steel, which is so close to Black that one wonders why they offer it. I was shocked when someone told me it is actually considered a "metallic blue" -- I could only see that under very bright sunshine from odd angles. Then Granite Crystal which at least is at least quite a bit different from Black. And Silver -- being 4 shades along the same color palette. True Blue is so dark as to almost be part of that dark range. Two shades of Red which you are hard-pressed to even notice a difference. One Sandstone which is, well, quite ugly in my opinion. And White. I do like some of them, but nothing is a really exciting or strong choice. I do understand this is just my stupid opinion. Everybody's taste in color selection and combinations is different. Hot Cherry Red with a Metallic "Burgundy" Red (like the current color) might make sense, but two reds that are so close to each other makes me think they had a lot of red paint and had to do "something" with it.
j) The Citadel is over-priced at the Sticker, and the Dealers act amazed when you say you actually want to buy one.
Add the features many of us want and you climb to over $52,000 -- including Delivery Fee, All Wheel Drive, Technology Group, Tow Package, HEMI, Captain's Chairs, Center Console for those chairs, Skid Plate, and CD Player. Granted, most Dealers are discounting to near Invoice Price -- but come on. It seems ridiculously high to me in 2014.
k) What a dumb idea for a Remote CD Player!
Single disk. Hidden under the arm rest. No built-in hard drive for storing songs (even the lowly Honda Pilot gives you that). And just try finding a third-party option that fits this vehicle. I cannot (if you know of one, please let us know). All of this for a whopping $450 List!! I'm so flattered. There really was no possible way to create a CD slot in the fancy dash infotainment cluster? I must be old-school,because when I mentioned this at a few Dealers the response was "Does anybody actually listen to CDs, anymore?" or "Sirius Radio should be enough, I should think."
THIS IS NOT A DODGE OR DURANGO-BASHING THREAD.
My intent is to voice my current level of frustrations. I still like the design very much. But not being able to actually view the Citadel on a Lot is frustrating. Being told the only interior color that anyone has is black is frustrating. Being told by a Dealer that the 2013 is "Exactly the same as the 2014" because they don't really have any 2014s on their Lot after inviting you to drive 30 miles to take a test drive is maddening. :wall:
Although every friend I have is telling me to avoid domestic vehicles, and one lifetime mechanic told me he put his kids through college "repairing Dodge vehicles" -- I'm still interested. But I may find myself heading over to foreign manufacturers after this. And then I picked up the very latest issue of Consumer Reports with their Reliability Ratings for vehicles... hoo-boy!!
