Pump it Up! New Dodge - A Man's Car

DETROIT, Jan 20, 2005; Reuters reported that DaimlerChrysler has no qualms about ignoring female tastes -- at least when it comes to selling Dodge cars.

The new Dodge Magnum sport wagon and a soon-to-be-released Dodge Charger, a modern update of the classic muscle car from the 1960s, are very much targeted at a male audience, said Trevor Creed, design chief at the company's U.S.-based Chrysler unit.

"It does scream male, there's no doubt about that. We found that in our market research and focus groups," he said at an automotive conference in the Detroit suburb of Dearborn.

Creed was responding to a comment from the audience that suggested that the brassy styling of the vehicles -- broad-shouldered and with massive hoods to pack in big V-8 Hemi engines -- had a testosterone feel about them that might not appeal to most women.

"But I don't think there's anything wrong with that. There can be an awful lot wrong with doing the opposite," Creed said.

In an earlier speech, Creed jokingly referred to how Chrysler's 300 sedans -- a big hit in the U.S. car market since last year, have become "the poster child for the 'Pimp My Ride' movement and Dub magazine".

He was referring to how the 300 -- which features a low-slung roof and massive egg-crate grille -- has become a success among hip-hop artists as well as normally staid businessmen.

"Pimp My Ride" is a popular television show in which the host, a native Detroiter now based in Los Angeles, uses his car shop to transform vehicles seemingly overdue for the junk heap into hot new street rockets.