Beginning with the invention of the automobile, people have been racing
cars, and looking for ways to make their cars faster, or to simply acquire
faster cars, and while automobile performance has always been a worldwide
endeavor, few countries take it to the extremes seen here in the United
States. The American performance scene in the 1950s was dominated by cars
such as the Chrysler 300, and the ageless '57 Chevy. The 1960s brought the
United States new technology, and with it, a new era of performance, with
the introduction of the cars that we now call "pony cars" and "muscle cars".
These types of performance-market leading automobiles lasted well into the
1970s, and are still seen on the track and street alike. While the
performance car slowly died down a bit in the 1980s and early 1990s, model
lines such as the
Ford Mustang,
Chevrolet Camaro,
Pontiac Firebird, and
Chevrolet Corvette kept the spirit of the American Performance machine alive
and well. These cars were typically two door, rear wheel drive "Detroit
Steel" (with the exception of the Corvette), and were typically powered by
high horsepower, gas guzzling eight cylinder engines, but times, they were
a-changing.
A new breed of performance market was stirring, predominantly in countries
such as Japan, but with the rising cost of fuel prices around the world,
these new performance cars with their small displacement, usually forced
induction engines, and front, or all wheel drive systems, were finding their
way into the tracks of America"s Heartland. While Ford had their performance
4 cylinder Mustang, titled the SVO, and Chrysler had their various
turbocharged entries, they did not possess the modern technology applied to
the Japanese 4 cylinder powered cars. Names like Nissan, Mitsubishi,
Subaru, and Honda Motor Company became commonplace in performance catalogs
and it was only a matter of time until the boys in Detroit saw this trend,
and joined into the sport-compact market. Typically economy cars, such as
the Ford Focus, Chevrolet Cavalier, and Dodge Neon were suddenly in the lime
light of the domestic sport compact market, and with the popularity of these
models, high end trim line, such as the Focus SVT, the Cavalier Z24, and the
Dodge Neon SRT-4 kept the American automakers abreast with the Japanese
counterparts.
But again, newer technology reigned supreme, and with the growing popularity
of All Wheel Drive in performance sport compacts such as the Evolution, and
the WRX, the American automakers were back to the drawing board, and when
that drawing board was presented to the general public, the first thing that
everyone saw was from Daimler Chrysler, and the shocking discontinuation of
the Neon, and the SRT-4, which was the most powerful car built in the United
States for under $20,000. People questioned, "why end the Neon", and Dodge
enthusiasts and American sport compact enthusiasts alike wondered, "What
Next?" Well, it appears as though what was next….is here, in the form of
the brand new Dodge Caliber.
The Dodge Caliber is listed as a 2007 model line, and some info is still
being withheld from the public, but the car is expected to make its grand
debut at the 2006 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, with
some modified models having already been viewed by the public at some shows,
such as the SEMA show. Production is expected to begin sometime in early
January of 2006, with the official release of the car coming sometime in
mid-2006, giving the first year of the Caliber an extended first model year.
This new Caliber is not simply a re-badged version of its predecessor, the
Neon, but is a whole new car from top to bottom, and packs a whole new
drivetrain, including a new joint-effort engine lineup titled the “World
Engine”, built by Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance, with the engine
plant being located in Dundee, Michigan. This Alliance, or GEMA, is
comprised of members of Mitsubishi Motor Company, Daimler Chrysler
Corporation, and Hyundai Motors, all of which will make use of this new
engine series in different forms and design schemes. The Caliber will also
make use of a new transmission, built by JATCO, a company owned by Nissan
Motors and Mitsubishi Motors, with a similar style transmission being found
in the current Nissan Muranos. While the front wheel drive option will
remain, the performance oriented Caliber RT and Caliber SRT-4, will both
come equipped with an electronically controlled All Wheel Drive system, a
first for Chrysler Corporation cars. The final, and most obvious change for
this new sport-compact entry from Dodge is the exterior. The Caliber is
currently only going to be produced as a station wagon, giving it more
versatility than the Neon, with similar (if not greater) power.
