Location: Tallahassee, Florida (Home is Ft Myers, FL)
Posts: 20,108
RE: Neon to Caliber from Car and Driver
Sadly, I agree... The Neon was sporty looking and light weight... The Caliber is bulky looking and heavy... If they would have added the AWD option to the Caliber SRT-4, I would have been happy... No torque steer for me thanks...
Sorry dude, but I totally disagree. I can see you like your neon and hey, to each his own--but the very LAST way I would describe any 4-door sedan is 'sporty'. The Caliber is a HUGE leap in the right direction. Its small but looks kind of tough-- like a bulldog puppy. No matter what sedan we're talking about, it just looks like another appliance to me...outside of the 300, it says 'luxury', but then thats not a good thing either, at least in my book. Plus they're useless. None of the looks of a coupe (the style justifies the impracticality) and none of the utility of a hatchback or wagon. Try stuffing a good size TV in the trunk of a sedan. Nope, Ill take that Caliber over ANY neon. Even when they did have a coupe version, it still didnt have a 300 hp turbo engine or awd.
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LAST way I would describe any 4-door sedan is 'sporty'
BMW M5, please describe....or let me do it for you..sporty. I think you're a biased 2 door fan
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The Caliber is a HUGE leap in the right direction.
Let's make every vehicle an suv. According to you, it's practical and will look 'kind of tough'. Do you know how many women I've heard that from? Like 90% of all minivan and suv buyers are women because they think it's practical. They'd want the world flooded with them. So is getting 20mpg in an inline 4 practical? Are more mechanical problems with bigger vehicles practical?
I like the new Caliber SRT-4, it's perfect for me now that I have a kid. I don't have to sacrifice fun for function, and the gas mileage for a 300 HP car is outstanding. The FWD is the only part I don't really like (I was really hoping for RWD) but at the price I can more then live with it. Plus at 260 TQ it's not going to have any more torque steer then the neon version witch I loved also and almost bought. I can't wait for it to come out, I'll be getting a new car around Xmas and this is at the top of the list, the Charger use to be but ten grand more and worse gas mileage (80 mile commute) pushed me to the Caliber SRT-4. I also would not be surprised if Dodge does the same thing they did with the Magnum and come out with a sedan version of the Caliber in a year or so.
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-2005 Dodge Dakota QC SLT
-2000 Chrysler Concorde LXI (stock)
-1968 Datsun pickup
Location: Tallahassee, Florida (Home is Ft Myers, FL)
Posts: 20,108
RE: Neon to Caliber from Car and Driver
Quote:
ORIGINAL: grungerockjeeper
Sorry dude, but I totally disagree. I can see you like your neon and hey, to each his own--but the very LAST way I would describe any 4-door sedan is 'sporty'. The Caliber is a HUGE leap in the right direction. Its small but looks kind of tough-- like a bulldog puppy. No matter what sedan we're talking about, it just looks like another appliance to me...outside of the 300, it says 'luxury', but then thats not a good thing either, at least in my book. Plus they're useless. None of the looks of a coupe (the style justifies the impracticality) and none of the utility of a hatchback or wagon. Try stuffing a good size TV in the trunk of a sedan. Nope, Ill take that Caliber over ANY neon. Even when they did have a coupe version, it still didnt have a 300 hp turbo engine or awd.
Using the correct definition of "sporty", meaning flashy, showy, sleek etc... And not using it as a meaning for a coupe... The Neon, or atleast 2nd gen, is way more sporty than the Caliber...
BTW, the Caliber SRT-4 does not have AWD...
Quote:
ORIGINAL: 2coff
I also would not be surprised if Dodge does the same thing they did with the Magnum and come out with a sedan version of the Caliber in a year or so.
Who know's I don't think people expected a challanger coupe, so it could happen.
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What is it exactly that the Vice President does? --Sarah Palin on CNBC
-2005 Dodge Dakota QC SLT
-2000 Chrysler Concorde LXI (stock)
-1968 Datsun pickup
The M5? Thanks anyway but Ill say it myself--sporty, but only for a sedan. Which is about like saying that Taco Bell is Mexican food. Sure, for fast food, but compare it to some old school habanero-laden mexican puerco pibil and I think you'll get my idea. The M5 looks sporty compared to Mercedes, Buicks, Chevy Impalas, etc. But start comparing the M5 to a Carrera, a Viper, etc and it starts looking pretty blah. Hell, stick only to BMW products. Every coupe or roadster made by them is a zillion times sportier than an M5.
You assume correctly, I am a pretty biased 2-door fan. But I have nothing against a stylish wagon, such as the Magnum, Caliber, Mazda 3, or Subaru WRX. Provided its performance oriented. I wouldnt give 2 cents for a v-6 Magnum or a standard Caliber. I love 2-doors, but Im not blind. A mid-70's Thunderbird looks like rotten ass compared to any of the above mentioned wagons. Why? Because its a fat, slow, heavy luxo and chrome-laded boulevard cruising land yacht fit only for middle aged women and danny disco types.
A caliber is NOT an SUV. SUVs are a form of truck, and nothing with front wheel drive, car based components will ever qualify as a truck in my book. Calibers, Rav4s, CRVs, Pacificas, etc are crossovers at best, and those are nothing more than beefed up cars. They have their place, but its definitely not off roading, towing, plowing, or any other duty that a real truck is expected to do. If you doubt this, talk to anyone who has tried to tow any good sized trailer with a fwd vehicle and see how many CV joints they blew through. This is why minivans, and so-called SUVs which are just warmed over minivans have those mechanical problems. Theyre not meant for some of the things people are trying to do with them. Sure, crossovers are a better multi-purpose vehicle than an average grocery getting car and this is why I really dig the Caliber as opposed to the Neon which is just an econobox.
20mpg is only with the turbo 4. The regular version gets near 30. but Ill trade a few mpg for double the horsepower any time anywhere.
So, women want something with some style too. Whats wrong with that? What kind of person's tastes are "dull and boring"? Certainly not mine.
Midnight--
The awd option isnt for the SRT-4? That doesnt make a whole lot of sense. With 300 hp on a fwd layout, youd think that getting all that to the ground (AND taking some stress of those CV joints) would've crossed DCC's mind.
As to what makes something look sporty, we'll just have to agree to disagree. First off, the 1st gen Neon could be had as a 2-door and it wasnt too bad looking. So it wins right there. But on the other hand, my Wrangler is anything but sleek, but with its style, bright yellow paint, big tires and overall rugged look its definitely sporty. Its just sporty in a different sense than a Mustang is, thats all.
But I agree on a caliber coupe, especially if it would look something like the Razor that was shown a few years back.....ok, screw that.....the Razor was perfect as it was, it just needed the SRT4 option and Id be all over it.
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Im Johnny Knoxville. Welcome to Jackass!
Location: Tallahassee, Florida (Home is Ft Myers, FL)
Posts: 20,108
RE: Neon to Caliber from Car and Driver
The Caliber is definately not an SUV... There's nothing SUV about it... ViperGTS just hates American cars anyway...
I agree the Caliber is a better built vehicle, more well rounded and has more features... But I liked the look of the Neon and the fact that it was light weight...
They should have just built a safer, more improved Neon, instead of making a totally different vehicle...
Neon to Caliber from Car and Driver
