Maybe I'm an old fuddy-duddy, but those pics just don't inspire the sporting side of me. To me it looks like a Jeep that ran short on growth hormone. Give me a Liberty or a Neon (even as a fodor) before that.
It's true I may warm to it a bit when I see a production example but I doubt I'd ever see it as a sporting car.
First they bring out a four door Charger (which looks like a grand slam compared to this one). Then they take the PT Cruiser three notches backwards by squaring up the frontend, the backend and the dash. Now they vanquish the charming Neon for this econobox. It's beginning to look like the early 1960's again. Heck, if Mitsu hadn't already taken it, they should've hung the Lancer monicker on this one.
Oh well, the Challenger looks to be pretty cool and the rest of the big cars look OK, so all is not lost (yet).
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<it's either MoPar or NoCar>
1969 Dart GT (273-2V)
1965 Coronet 500 2dht (383-4V)
1987 Plymouth Turismo Duster
i am not a fan of the caliber either, but it seems that boxy and un-sporty is what the "tuners" want. heck, even take the new mustang...its boxy compared to prior models... i have seen a caliber in person, and when i heard that the neon was being done away with, i was hoping for something to compete (stock) with the evo and the STi, in both looks and performance, but instead they made something that compares to the pontiac vibe, or the toyota matrix...i dont get it...
then again, if i had your list of cars, i woudlnt care what was coming out new...