Ozzy Osbourne is legendary—not necessarily for leading what’s arguably the first Heavy Metal band, but for having his farewell tour, only to start another one several years later. Tim Kuniskis appears to be following in Ozzy’s footsteps because, months after he retired from leading Dodge and Ram, he’s back.
Kuniskis retired from Stellantis, Dodge and Ram’s parent company, earlier this year, just as Hemi-powered Challengers and Chargers were being put out to pasture. Since then, we have eagerly (?) been waiting for the redesigned Charger, which will be available in both twin-turbo six (Sixpack) and EV (Daytona) flavors; meanwhile, Stellantis’ American brands have been wallowing in irrelevance since then while performance enthusiasts bite their collective nails to see how Dodge will redeem itself.
Yet after less than six months playing golf and praying for a good season for the Lions, Kuniskis is back at Stellantis. This time, Kuniskis returns to Ram as its CEO. This comes on the heels of last week’s news on the resignation of (former) Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares. Antonio Filosa, the global CEO of Jeep, stated in an interview he himself reached out to Kuniskis, whose return “gives the sense that things are getting back on track.” It’s not so much about the uncertainty of the Chrysler and Dodge brands—it’s about slumping Ram sales that are down 24 percent for the first three quarters of 2024.
Kuniskis replaces Chris Feuell, who continues to lead Chrysler and will now oversee Alfa Romeo’s North American operations.
Source: www.classiccars.com