I read the Motor Trend issue....Talk about a major love-fest for this Mazda 3! After the first couple paragraphs at the beginning of the story its fine; then I turn the page to 126; it goes on saying "Before you draw your final conclusions; spec the cars they way you want them and compare." after that on come the love-fest....MAZDA, MAZDA, MAZDA! Quite frankly; its enough to make a person puke, and hopefully there is a Mazda 3 around to puke in! They dont get to the Caliber till the end of the story. After saying it was a last minute entry; they go on trashing. Then after they basically say its the worst car in the bunch; at the bottom of the page in the "how will it play in europe" they blast it against the Renault Scenic 2.0 turbo....a car that isnt even sold here in America! Come on; like the Europeans are gonna trash a well-liked car, and love a new American car that hasnt even had a chance to sell in its own homeland!

 

I just registered here so i could voice my opinion. First, I want to say that i bought a 2002 neon brand new and i have never had it in the shop. It's the best car I have owned. Second, I just bought a Caliber Sxt and I couldnt be happier with it. I love the new transmission design, it handles great, good acceleration, awesome interior, great gas mileage. I could go on for a long time but I dont want to take up too much space. Anyway, I just thught I would say that since I have owned both cars that are being crapped on the most in this discussion.

 

Make up your minds. Either I'm promoting the 3 or Motor Trend is, or Car & Driver is.

You're avoiding the core issue. I didn't come in here to promote anything. The name of the thread should explain why I came in. Nothing else. I have no agenda.

So many times you all have said something to the effect of, "Dude! It's a four month old car. It's not a fair comparison!" I have addressed that by saying it doesn't matter. Neon (outside of this room) has been ripped. Not JUST by Motor Trend, Not JUST by Car and Driver, not just by Speed TV... (I could go on for a bit). And now here comes Caliber. I saw it at the auto show and I liked the look of it. Now you're trying to tell me "Savvy, they got it right this time. It's not just a new badge, they took the quality of a Durango, threw it in the dryer on high for a while to shrink it, and came out with this. Their processes, their quality is all better now. It's OK!" Come on. I've said it before, I'll say it again. I hope I'm wrong, but since those who don't study history are doomed to repeat it, I won't budge until time proves me and everyone else that is ripping this thing wrong.

You are dead wrong. Not only have I driven a Neon, but I wrote advertising for it. I found it to be adequate but pedestrian. I test drove a Caliber as well, and felt much the same way. From my view (the first time I've really injected my opinion) the drive is still pedestrian, but much smoother, and the added "utility" space is also a big bonus. Time will tell. It isn't as responsive as an S40/3, but I'm guessing it's not supposed to be.

Ummm...the 3 doesn't have seperate climate zones, and lumbar is pretty common for the driver seat among a few different brands. I don't understand why that is so bad. It isn't/wasn't important to me, it was to the person that started this thread.

And as far as the 3 "being around awhile", the current 3 is the first generation. It only started in 04. So this argument of the big bad 3 picking on the "new kid" is garbage. The only change they made was to the transmission (four to five speed auto). One of the reasons everyone is so high on this is because it is brand new. The Miata, the RX-8 etc. are totally different rides. This is the only ride in the Mazda line up that uses a (C1) Volvo platform. The 6 is pure Mazda and is also used in the Fusion, Zephyr, and Milan. Any problems with the Miata (which is likely the exception to the rule) isn't really pertinent here.

The "Caliber Friendly" links that were provided had plenty of negative things to say about the Caliber. And while you are here telling me how clueless I am because I didn't drive "your" car. As it turns out, I have. Yet none of you have taken a ride in the 3. Please don't come back with "Oh yes I have." If you did, it would have been brought up by now.

Again. Your arguments are personal. Anyone that simply states what is commonly known about Chrysler and compact cars is treated like s/he is a terrorist. I won't apologize for stating the obvious.

 

They weren't "Caliber friendly"... They were just more reviews to look at. And ofcourse they has some negative remarks as well as good ones. The car isn't perfect...

Our arguments aren't personal...

No one is treating you like a terrorist... You just come on too strong and tell the bad but not the good, along with other crap that comes from your mouth (or your fingers)...

Why not give up...

 

+2

 

I just wasted 10 minutes reading all of this thread........

You guys wasted 8 days throwing stones at a brick wall.........

The answer of proof of quality between these two vehicles will come in time.

Let's be real though the probability of dodge having recalls is very high, especially on newly designed vehicle. If it were between these two vehicles I would purchase the Mazda 3. I like dodge's performance cars but when it comes to economy, safety and reliability for my hard earned money I would never go with an American car. Period. I am glad some people do like American cars and would never buy anything else. I bought my SRT-4 because it hauls *** not because it is the most beautiful, reliable car that has adequate trunk storage for my golf clubs.

Savvy, I agree with most of everything you said. You have to understand you are on a dodge forum and most of these people don't like to hear that they wasted their hard earned money.

For whoever is buying the car........It boils down to if you like the car and it meets your needs, buy it. If not then don't. There is no need to banter back and forth on a caliber thread about why you don't want the car.

 

First of all; we who like the Caliber and who've bought the Caliber have the right to stand up to some fart-knocker; who dont even like anything about Dodge, or the Caliber. Second; your "probability" of Dodge having high recalls is false. Since Daimler; Dodge's recalls have been lower, and quality higher; this fits into the Neon arguement. The Neon did get better after the merger. The Caliber is the first "compact" design that Dodge has brought out under Daimler.

 

Actually Dodge is not exactly American. It is owned by a German company called DaimlerChrysler. I don't know if you heard. Just like Dakota_24 says, the quality has gotten better and recalls have gone down since the merger. The Neon improved after the merger. No on seems to understand this. They just wanna banter on about how Dodge quality sucks or how there is no rear air. And it's not that we don't want to hear we wasted our money. We don't want to hear about someone bashing the Caliber, a car that is only a couple months old and hasn't been out long enough to know a lot about it. It's ridculous and it's just opinions. Biased ones at that.

And you're exactly right, there is no need to banter about why you don't like a car... ECHO ECHO ECHO!

 

Yes I know it was bought by Daimler. Thank you for the update but it is a combined ownership.....DaimlerChrysler is owned by European, U.S. and other international investors. One billion shares are circulating..........Are Calibers being made in Germany?

 

I will never give up when data supports everything I have said. Add this to the fact (something you all have gone out of your way to avoid noticing) I route for Chrysler cars. I've given up on GM. Ford is so diluted it almost doesn't matter anymore. Chrysler is the only domestic maker in the past ten plus years that has shown ***** when it comes to its' designs.

I really don't give a damn about what forum I am in. "Bad news" (usually in the form of that damn "Cooper" thing) is typed, processed, uncensored, and "unattacked" in the Mazda 3 room all the time. No name-calling, ("fart-knocker") no consequences, no garbage. Again, my entry into this thread is obvious. Everything I have said has been supported by one source or another. I'm sorry if the facts I have presented produce some sense of regret. But giving up when facts support me simply isn't an option.