I am in England with the US Air Force and recently took delivery of a new '07 Caliber. Ithasa 2.0L with theCVT. I am experiencing the same issues with fuel economy as almost every one else. I found something interesting on the UK Dodge site. They offer a 2.0 CRD diesel option here in the UK. See below.
http://www.dodge.co.uk/dodge/version...?ID=753,28,154
SXT Sport models really pack in some Dodge attitude, 18” alloy wheels, six disc AM/FM radio with the awesome 458 watt MusicGate 9 speaker sound system as standard. The cloth interior is part colour coded depending on the exterior colour choice. The new 2.0 litre DOHC diesel engine with 6 speed manual transmission offers 229lb ft torque @ 1750 rpm and an equally impressive 46.3 mpg on the combined cycle.
They need to offer this model in the US market!