Carbide-coated metal is more wear-resistant, so this is likely a model that can take some punishment.
FCA recently applied for trademarks on the term "Carbide" in Canada, Mexico, and the United States. Muscle Cars & Trucks was the first to discover the filing in the US. Further digging from Motor1.com uncovered the applications in the other two countries.
All of the filings indicate that Carbide would be for "Land vehicles, namely, passenger automobiles." The applications date as early as June 25 in Canada to July 1 in Mexico and the US.
FCA Understands Ruggedness Can Be A Selling Point:
Unfortunately, the applications don't tell us much more about what FCA intends to do with the Carbide name. The three filings are still so recent as of this writing that the respective patent and trademark offices aren't yet even close to granting the automaker protection to use the word on vehicles.
Technically, a carbide is the combination of carbon and a metal. Compounds like titanium carbide and tungsten carbide are common coatings for steel or aluminum components to increase their wear resistance.
Since carbide has a connotation of making a material tougher, we would expect FCA to use this moniker on a rugged vehicle. There is no shortage of models fitting that description in the brand's lineup, though. It could work well on a variety of Jeep and Ram vehicles.
Muscle Cars & Trucks speculates that Carbide could be the name of the production version of the Wrangler Rubicon 392 concept because of how close these filings are to the vehicle's unveiling. However, this could easily be nothing but a coincidence.
With these trademark filings being so recent, don't expect to see the Carbide name on an FCA product in North America anytime soon. It usually takes months for a nation's patent and trademark office to make a decision on an application.