Black...didnt even know what it was till I got closer to it was driving in the opposite direction. saw the chrome grill and was like..WTF is that..really cool looking car on the street, especially with the black paint job. I think it will be a great seller..and a nice replacement for the SRT-4 neons.

 

I dunno, I'm not feeling it. Admittidly, I'm not a big fan of anything that reminds me of pre 60's styling (my tastes generally run from about 1963ish on up to about 71 or 72, then I don't care for anything until about 198ish and on)

 

i parked one. it felt a little quicker than i expected; im guessing mid 16's. the interior felt really cheap, as in worse than my own car, at least my plastic is thick and 'solid'. the only thing it did have was a little GPS.

 

I've sat in 2. I like the outside a lot more than I thought. The inside? Great design, but without question the plastics are cheap. Again, these start at $14k, so what do you expect? But I agree, they could have done better with the plastics.

Unlike the Vibe though, where the materials are crap AND the design is ugly, at least the Caliber has a nice design to it inside I think...

 

I saw one at a dealership yesterday...... my first impression of it was "Vibe meets Aztek with Dodge grille"...

 

My friend has one on order, should be getting it this spring. Red I think. Dodge boy through-and-through, oddly enough he's buying it to replace his 2003 Stratus R/T which has had more problems than you'd ever want to know about (stalling, tranny leak, then tranny rebuild....electrical gremlins...).

My first impression is exactly what you describe Darth. My friend even said that some inside Dodge have started calling it the "Dodge Vibe". There are many guys there who are upset that this is the sole replacement for the Neon, and I personally am not sold on Dodge's belief that an "SUV-Wagon type thing" will sell in Neon numbers.

 

I saw one driving, I was not impressed and I see why many dodge guys are mad that this is replacing the srt-4 neon

 

I've yet to see one but someone at work keeps rambling about how he is going to buy one and it is going to have 300 hp. Are they even producing a 300hp version yet?

 

soon

 

Well Im not sure Id call next year "soon."

 

i would. plus i wasn't sure off hand exactly when.

 

Darth,
I think its a LITTLE better looking than your description, my friend

The SRT should be out this summer. If I was an SRT guy, I too would be pissed about the lack of a conventional 4 door. That is the only thing ANYONE could miss about the Neon, because this car is so much better in so many ways. We (I'm already using we to describe my new job instead of the Pontiac store, and I'm not even there yet ) have a red Caliber AWD that just came in...not sure of which trim level it is. Its a nice looking piece. I think it will do very well, and I like the way it will differentiate itself from the PT. Sometimes, I think GM doesn't do a good enough job differentiating models for different buyers (Lacrosse = Impala), but these 2 won't eat off each other's plate, I don't think...

 

too bad the SRT won't come AWD.

 

Tell me about it.

What makes me even more mad is WHY do only the SRT and the base 1.8 get a stick????? The 2.0 and 2.4s both have the stupid CVT AT...I HATE those. Why can't GM and DCX be smart like Subaru, and offer a nice AWD car with a decent engine AND A STICK???

What really gets me is that the 2.0 is available with FWD, and is STILL not available with the stick. I know the reason why the Vibe is not available with AWD and a stick is because engineers claimed there would be too much drivetrain lash with a manual (which Subaru again proved is NOT necessarily true!). But if the 2.0 can be FWD-only, give us a damn stick.

I give DCX props for having cars like the Liberty available with an M6 (boning up on my product knowledge this weekend ), but then a car that could use a stick like a Caliber 2.0 can't get one???

 

i'd consider a SRT if it was AWD. i just don't think it would be all that great in the snow being FWD only.



i know you're going to disagree with me.


EDIT: i don't think the CVT is going to be a smart move