Dodge is still selling small cars in Mexico and its latest one actually looks good

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In Mexico, Ram doesn’t just sell small trucks anymoreClever trick sells small cars. Lately, that car has been the Attitude, most recently based on the Mitsubishi Mirage. But with the Mirage out of production, Stellantis has little choice but to turn the Attitude into a badge-engineered version of another compact sedan. And this time, it will be a Chinese model that, frankly, looks like a major upgrade.

As a photo of Motorcycle holiday Mexico at X shows and Dodge Mexico has been ravaging itself, the next generation Attitude will essentially be a GAC-Trumpchi-empowerment under the skin.

The Empow is made by the GAC Group in China and sold under the Trumpchi brand in its home market. It will now swap the big “G” badge it wears in China for Dodge’s double-striped badge in Mexico, but the specs of the small sedan remain the same, according to Mopar Insiders.

The 2025 Dodge Attitude is powered by a 1.5-liter turbocharged inline-four making 168 horsepower and 199 lb-ft of torque. The engine is paired with a seven-speed dual-clutch transmission. Compared to the outgoing Mirage-based Attitude, these specs are a huge leap forward. The previous model was powered by a 1.2-liter inline-three making 76 horsepower and 74 lb-ft of torque. I’ve driven that car, and you can feel every last pony in the I3 struggling to climb Mexico’s mountainous roads.

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Judging by the exterior and interior design of the Chinese Empow, the Dodge Attitude is set to get a major overhaul with a more aggressive design in keeping with the brand, a new digital cockpit for the driver and a 10.25-inch touchscreen in the center.

The Dodge Attitude has an interesting history in Mexico, from a rebadged Hyundai Accent to a rebadged Mirage. The Attitude is apparently a globetrotter, based on a South Korean model in the first generation, a Japanese one in the second, and now a Chinese one in the third.

Dodge has already had a small success in Mexico by selling a rebranded Chinese model built by GAC after the introduction of the latest Avoid travelwhich is based on the GAC-Trumpchi GS5. Even in so-called developing markets, major automakers such as Stellantis prefer to import cheaper vehicles produced by joint venture partners abroad.

This is surely to free up production capacity in Mexico to make cars and trucks destined for the lucrative American market. Buying a Chinese car and rebranding it to replace a former Japanese model would once have been frowned upon, but Chinese cars have proven popular in Mexico, and pretty much everywhere else.

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