Anyone heard anything on w/ the Chrysler compact car (Neon replacement)? I thought it was originally supposed to come online a year after Caliber on the same chassis (shared w/ the Lancer). I haven't heard anything for quite a while on this.

Guy or any Mopar fans wanna share?

 

im very interested too

 

I was under the impression that the neon replacement IS the Caliber...

 

That's what I thought too.

 

Caliber is its own thing, not really a Neon replacement.

There's a three-vehicle small car program underway but details have been VERY hard to come by -- the usual sources on the Mopar boards haven't been able to spill anything on the program. Demon is one of the vehicles and it has been green-lighted; that's about all we know for sure. It's unclear whether this is the "China" program or something separate.

Hopefully they'll show us something this winter.

 

Me too...

 

+3

 

+4, and it was a poor one at that (even if it wasn't technically supposed to be, there isn't a doubt in my mind that Chrysler planners were hoping Caliber would attract and keep Neon/small car buyers).

 

I thought the Hornet was something Dodge was looking into..

 

The Dodge Caliber was never a replacement for the Neon. The original plan was much like that Chrysler carried out with replacing the Intrepid. A "truck" first, followed by a sedan later.

The direct Neon replacement was supposed to be out by now. Because it's not, and combined with (as George pointed out) a seeming clampdown of new information, leads me to believe that the program was revamped and is moving very, very quickly (it once was amazingly easy for me to get info on most all of Chrysler's future products).

I can say that the causes of the change started with DaimlerChrysler divesting of Mitsubishi and became far more involved when LaSorda started Chrysler's recovery plan before Cerebus bought them out.


Under Cerebus, alot of plans have been fast-tracked... alot... and quite a few vehicles that would have never been greenlighted by Daimler (ie: the Demon sports car) are on.

Chrysler may be the first US automaker selling a mini-car here. Looking at the timetables, it seems that the Dodge Hornet is going to be here in the US ahead of GM's entry by at least a year, if not more.

 

Except... there are hints that the Charger was never supposed to happen. Dodge was going to become the all wagons-and-xovers-and-suvs brand, with Viper grandfathered in. But the dealers freaked, and... let's just say I've heard whispers that something got put together in a hurry out of the ashes of a non-Chrysler-nameplate program.

But re the Caliber, I'm not really sure what was "supposed" to happen when. It's possible that someone's Brilliant IdeaTM back in 2003 was, in fact, to have the Caliber "replace" the Neon in the same way that the Magnum was supposed to replace the Intrepid.

 

How do you mean?

 

Ever notice how much the Charger looks like a Galant, like maybe with different rear door skins and a different nose it could pass for a Mitsu?

 

Yeah, actually I have. Are you saying that perhaps the Charger's looks evolved from a Mistu styling proposal?

 

Or an LX-based Mitsu intended for the AUS market, but scrubbed at some point during development.

What I'm saying is that I have reason to believe -- but to be clear, don't know for sure -- that the Charger as we know it was improvised in a hurry in response to dealer complaints about the Magnum's viability as an Intrepid replacement. It has been suggested that work done for a Mitsu program served as the basis for the improvisation.

I do know that the only "Charger" in the original LX product plan was a two-door retro musclecar.