Hector Fratty

Since 2011, we at DVN have been reporting in words and pictures on our favourable impressions of the upward trajectory of lighting content and design on vehicles built by Chrysler Group under the Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram; see our last three NAIAS reports for full coverage.

Bill Grabowski has been with Chrysler for over a decade; he’s presently Head of Exterior, and before that he was Director of Jeep & Truck Body Engineering. We spoke with him to get a clear picture of his company’s perspectives and plans in lighting.

DVN: A lot of your lights bear logos and text. There’s the “DART” callout in front of the turn signal bulb, the “RAM” brand in the lens and logo in the bezel, and the Jeep logo, “Since 1941” and “JEEP Performance Lighting” callouts in the Grand Cherokee for example. What makes the lights the right place for this kind of branding and bill boarding? Beyond sales and road appeal, do you consider this kind of branding as a possible lever against counterfeit parts?
Grabowski: It’s helpful, we already have some branding on the lens to try to discourage counterfeiters, but adding the brand symbol within the lamp certainly doesn’t hurt. That’s not the primary reason, though; the designers are looking for cues to reinforce the image and add a bit of image-building or thoughtfulness to the style, so they’ve come upon the idea of using the inner shields and bulb shields and that as a subtle hint to the vehicle. Not everybody picks up on it; sort of one of those hidden gems—the customer knows he has it. It’s not a high-visibility area, but it’s cool, it’s underneath the skin and it’s kind of a thoughtful thing they like to put in there. The lighting gets so much attention, and they are a key aesthetic; we’re looking for technical cues and the bling factor, while tying into the overall design vision. We’re proud of our technical lamps, so the logo helps that jump out a bit.