if its based on looks. then look at like this....

how many people would be able to tell the difference in a srt-4 and neon if looked at from the front, or the sides?

 

It's not that no one got what you were saying, in fact I think everyone got what you were saying, it's just not correct, technically or otherwise. How often do you call a PT Cruiser a Neon? The PT uses the same chassis and drivertrain from the Neon as well as a few other parts, but no one goes around calling them Neons and they share as much if not more with a Neon than the SRT-4 does. Anyone that has driven both a Neon and an SRT-4 knows that the two are completely different.

Some call the SRT-4 a Neon out of familiarlty or not knowing, but the main reason people call the SRT-4 a Neon is to try to cheapen or lessen what it actually is out of jealousy. The jealous ones are usually owners/enthusiasts of another brand or have higher priced/big name performance cars or both and cannot stand that an equal or better performing car is out there and at a far lower cost, especially since it's based off of a 4 door economy car. The higher the price and/or bigger the name of the car they have, the more jealous they are since most anyone can go out and get this 4 door that blows away the car they spent so much more money for.

 

I call them a Neon...not because of jealousy though...

 

Earlier you said a R/T is nothing like a SRT.. On the title to my 91 Dodge Stealth R/T the model is a 2H and body style is SRT i just though that was odd...

 

I wasn't saying that you were, but it is the main motivation for the high majority that do. The largest offenders of this are the Mustang GT owners, I've had more of them try to f**k with me than all others combined one of which I recently let get away with it the first two times since it was raining, but the third time I couldn't let it go and I put him far behind in my rear view mirror, as well as any ricer with a fart can, Z28's, WRX's, Eclipses/Talons, 300ZX/350Z, RX-7, etc.

Another example of cars that are based on other car models, but are completely different and not called the lesser model is the Daytona and LeBaron which is based as most 80's Chrysler FWD's on the K car Reliant and Aries.

I use to despise the Neon's until I read about their domination in racing and it won me over, which is why I bought a '99 R/T that I still somewhat miss. I have no problems with the SRT-4 being based off the Neon chassis, I only have a problem with them having made it a 4 door when it obviously should have been and would have sold far better as a 2 door. Unfortunately they didn't so I've learned to love it even though it is a 4 door.

 

I'm just messing with ya 71RR.
Let's look at this from a Stealth owners POV.
Take the base model Stealth and compare it too the top of the line TT model. The do not share chassis codes, even though they are pretty similar (z15 vs z16). 15" steel wheels vs. 17" aluminums. 161hp SOHC engine vs. 320hp DOHC-TT engine, nothing common between the engines, not even the block. FWD vs. AWD. No ECS on the base model. Different front and rear facias and side skirts. No rear sway bars on the base. For the most part, other than the basic body panels, they are two totally different cars...yet, they are both Stealths. Maybe Dodge did not specifically call the SRT4 a neon, but that is really just semantics. The SRT4 is just the top of the line Neon, much like the RT/TT is the top of the line Stealth.

...and it really is fun messing with SRT owners.

edit: An even our very own DodgeForum calls the SRT what... a Neon.

 

It would take far more than that to mess with me, I'm just putting the facts out there to straighten things up for some. The base model Stealth and the R/T TT are indeed very different and could easily have been considered and made their own individual model, then again so could the Daytona Shelby Z I had, it's all up to the manufacturer and what they decide to do with it. Put a base model Stealth next to a Stealth R/T TT and your gonna know they are different versions of the same car, while more than half those that look at my SRT-4 don't even know what it is let alone that it's Neon based. The Stealths look more alike, almost exactly alike, when it's an R/T next to an R/T TT, but putting a Neon R/T next to an SRT-4 isn't going to increase the chances of someone making the connection. There are actually less differences between a LeMans and a GTO than there are between the base Stealth and the Stealth R/T TT, the difference being that they wanted a completely different model/name for the GTO. Then again modern cars have far more to them than the older cars, so it probably actually equals out. Even the insurance companies make the distinction between models as my Neon R/T was listed as a Neon Highline on my policy and my SRT-4 is listed as an SRT-4.

I don't mind people calling the SRT-4 a Neon SRT-4, especially since they are making another SRT-4 with the Caliber, since the Neon is a highly accomplished race car and has out sold most other cars in it's class. However, for one to call the SRT-4 just a Neon is a sign of complete ignorance and/or jealousy. It would be like calling someones R/T TT just a Stealth and we all know that a base model Stealth is a very slow pig, especially considering how racy they look, much like the late '70's to early '80's Camaros, Firebirds and Mustangs. It would be far more effective if the Stealth had been named something like Pinto instead, no matter how powerful or fast it was with a name like that it would always be looked down upon by most. Much in the way a car is perceived is in it's name, just imagine a Porsche Twinkle or a Lamborghini Daisy, they could have 1,200 horsepower and only cost $50,000 and they wouldn't be able to sell hardly any because of the images their names bring to mind. The name Neon isn't a very good one at all, add to that the fact they were primarily made as an easily affordable means of transportation and put to use as rental cars, and it just lowers it that much more. I have people that know what my car is call my SRT-4 a Neon all the time and I haven't a problem with that at all, it's just when someone says that it's just a Neon that's when I have to correct them.

 

I dont like Neon's or SRT4's mainly due to their owners. Everyone here with one seems to be spoiled, rich, teenagers who dont appreciate the fact that they have a brand new car because they were just handed it by their parents. And because they have this Im better then you attitude, it makes me kinda hate the SRT4. It is a fast car, but its 4 doors, and FWD. Not something I really care about.

Im sure there are cool, nice, and respectable SRT4 owners, but I have yet to find any. That is why I like the 3S crowd. They seem to be very nice, and very knowledgeable about other cars out there. Who arent cocky and fun to hang around.

 

I work at an auto parts store too, and to look up parts for an SRT4, you have to go under Neon, and then for specific parts it will ask you if it's an SRT4. It may just be called the Dodge SRT4 like you said, but the fact is that the majority of people know that they are and consider them Neons.
Also, I LOVE the fact that RoadRunner said that he "learned" to love his SRT4 the way it is.
Stealth owners love their cars. Period.

P.S. If I had a Stealth R/T TT - and I do think many would agree - I wouldn't mind it being called a Stealth. Being called a Stealth beats being called a Neon in many ways.

 

That's a point I was trying to make about the name/image thing, where the name Stealth sounds good regardless and the name Neon sucks even though the car is very accomplished in many ways.


There do tend to be cocky arrogant, primarily younger, owners with SRT-4's and give them a bad rep, thankfully I don't personally know any like that, but I have encountered some here and on other sites. This however is very common among any and all high performance cars from ultra expensive to dirt cheap, the biggest offenders most know of are the Mustang owners. The richer and more spoiled they are the cockier and more arrogant they are and I have seen them in all different brands and models, it's just that certain cars they seem to be drawn more to.