DETROIT -- Dodge has set the price of the 2008 Avenger sedan at $18,895, including a $675 destination charge for a base level ST model. Dodge says the 2008 Avenger costs $1,605 less than the current Stratus sedan it replaces and contains $985 more in equipment.

It will compete with such models as the Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Ford Fusion and General Motors' Saturn Aura. The 1.9 million unit U.S. mid-sized car segment makes up about 11.4 percent of the total market and 31 percent of the car market, Chrysler said.

The segment's designs are meant to appeal to 30-to-45 year old, married consumers with a median income of about $60,000, and be attractive to families with children, Chrysler said.

The entry Dodge mid-size sedan will go on sale in March in three trim levels: ST, SXT and the top level R/T. A fourth model, the R/T AWD, will arrive later in the year. The T/T and R/T AWD sedans will get a standard 3.6-liter V-6 that cranks out 235 hp and 232 lb. ft. of torque that will be mated to a six-speed automatic transaxle with an Auto Stick.

Also offered will be the 2.4-liter, four-cylinder world engine and a 2.7-liter flex-fuel V-6. The first Avengers rolled off the production line at Chrysler’s Sterling Heights assembly plant in late December. Dealers will begin receiving them in March. Dodge also will sell the Avenger in volume overseas in both left- and right-hand-drive versions.

The Avenger is built on the same platform as the Chrysler Sebring sedan, launched last year. The Avenger is aimed at younger drivers. Though the engine offerings are the same, the Avenger’s suspension will be "more biased toward handling," said Eric Ridenour, Chrysler chief operating officer.

Dodge wants customers to think of the Avenger as the little brother of the full-size Dodge Charger.

Dodge will be racing the Avenger in 18 "Car of Tomorrow" races in the upcoming NASCAR season. Dodge will continue to race the Charger in the other NASCAR races.

Features include a beverage cooler in the instrument panel that can hold four 12-ounce cans, a heated/cooled front cup holder, side curtain airbags, and a navigation radio system that can display movies when the car is not in motion and is controlled by voice commands and a touch screen.

The Michigan plant also builds the Chrysler Sebring, which shares the same vehicle platform, or basic structure, with the Avenger.

Officials declined to reveal sales projections for the Avenger, but the plant has an annual capacity of about 250,000 vehicles and can shift between models depending on demand.

Reuters contributed to this report

 

Yep, the Dodge Avenger will indeed replace the Dodge Charger on the COT lineup.....since all the cars are the same design, it's just a matter of stickers/paint now.

https://dodgeforum.com/m_667983/tm.htm

 

That's exactly the way it is these days. I went to the Penske Auto Racing factory in North Caroline once right after they switched from Taurus to Intrepids. I asked them how much different they were from the Taurus, they told me, the only difference was who made the engine and which plastic cover they were supposed to use, that is it.

I'm glad they will use the Avenger name plate instead of the Charger name plate, the Avenger name plate doesn't have the legacy of a 426 HEMI being used and having a long winning streak that is difficult to create these days.

 

We've known this for a while now...

 

Living in Sterling Heights, only 2 miles from the plant.. I have already started to see them all over the road... and a few in the storage lots.

I must say, I do like them.

 

We have?

 

Well, the NASCAR fans did...

10/25/2006 https://dodgeforum.com/m_598677/tm.htm

The pic: https://dodgeforum.com/m_667983/tm.htm

 

Since I don't go into the racing section...I didn't see it.

 

Yeah, it's a little ways down on the page.