2007 Dodge Caliber

2007 Dodge Caliber

The Dodge Caliber made its debut in Detroit, at least as a production vehicle. DaimlerChrysler has a lot at stake on this dodge Neon replacement, but to its credit, it doesn't look like a half-assed effort like we're used to seeing from the General.

When I first saw the concept car, I thought sarcastically, 'just what we need an SUV to replace the economical Neon'. With views and specs of the production car available, I can see that though it has some SUV styling cues, it's just a tall hatchback. In fact, it's very similar in dimensions to the Pontiac Vibe and Toyota Matrix. The Vibe/Matrix have now been out 4 years with virtually no changes. The the last time I checked, the Vibe and Matrix spend less time on the lot than just about any other vehicle -- with negligible incentives.

If GM would have introduced this car, it would have been introduced with whatever engine GM had handy, and with the standard GM 4-speed automatic transmission. DC is giving the car not one, not two, not three, but four new engines, three in the global 4-cylinder engine family, and one a turbo-diesel. The diesel probably won't make it to the US. The Caliber also gets a state of the art CVT transmission, one that's been programmed to feel "right" to people used to ordinary gears.