I am getting some details in the new Dodge Caliber trickling thu the pipeline. First the good news, the SRT group is already working on the replacement for the current SRT4. It will be out approximately a year after the initial launch of the Caliber.

This "World Engine" will be avaliable in 1.8L, 2.0L, and 2.4L sizes. The engine is jointly designed by DCX, Hynundai, and Mitsubishi. The motor is a DOHC 4 valve design with electronic controlled valve timing on both intake and exhaust cams. It has a dual thermostat cooling system design, and will also have an electronicly controlled intake runner system. No mention of a turbo variant yet. From what I can see, it looks like a timing chain motor instead of a belt. Hynundai had the lead in the design, and Chrysler and Mitsu added significant design features to it. The engine production started October 3rd, at the Dundee Michigan engine plant.

Let's see, Hynundai.......Dundee Michigan, I'm a little worried. [sm=sigh.gif]

 

lets hope it has some oats to make up for the face only a mother could love. Sorry but those small wagons remind me of a girls "off to college" ride.

 

From a recent post of mine:

Isn't a mini-suv what every performance car driver wants?[8D]

I think the vehicle is an abomination. Looks as aerodynamic as a brick. How can something that is as tall as it is wide handle well????? Physics says the car will bomb. [:'(]

They talk about a shared platform w/the evo. Fine, BUT - the evo concepts look awesome, and they talk of 300/300 out of a 2.0litre. Even if the platform is shared. If that Caliber si close tothe way the srt-4 ends up looking, it is a downgrade of a great car, and the Evo is an improvement over what they had. If i were looking for a car next year, the tides would've probably been turned and I would have ended up on the other side of the mitsu/dodge coin.

I think that about sums up how I feel.

Money rules the world we live in, however, and if dodge wants to make it, they are happy to sacrifice us gearheads wanting for a good cheap performance car in the process of appealing to a larger audience.

Shame on them. We lose this battle. Too bad, when I finally thought DCX was getting it right.

 

It has Dual-Variable Valve Timing. I agree about the concern about using a Hynundai engine as far as reliability is concerned. Here is what I would do. I remake this engine. http://www.valiant.org/ausval.html Chop off two cylinders, fuel injected it, and add the Dual-VVT to it. It should be reliable.

Another reliability concern I have is the fact that this car will have a CVT transmission for its automatic. Those are known for not being very reliable.

 

I agree that this is a bad replacement for the Neon. I think I heard though that they are going to come out with a sedan model in a couple of years called the Rebel.

 

Yup, it's all about money. If you look at the number of SRT-4s made/sold as a percentage of DCXs overall production, you can't help but wonder why they even bothered with coming up with it. Was it part of a sneaky plan to get people hooked on performance and then steer (pardon the pun) them to a higher priced performance vehicle like the SRT-8 or SRT-10? I dunno, but I too have had second thoughts about their sanity at times.....

Dusty

 

I hear ya on the CVT tranny. (usually a CVT is used to make up for a weak motor....by keeping the engine at peak output rpm all the time) I'm not sure if what package it will be offered with. Pray to God there will be a manual available in all models.

Isn't it amazing how the Mercedes line is getting all the looks, and the Chryslers are getting uglier?

Don't panic until you see the car in person. Some cars don't photo well. Example, when I saw the new Mustang in a magazine, I was drooling. When I saw one on the road I hated it.

 

The problems with having a CVT keeping an engine at peak output rpm all the time is that it will wear the engine out faster and it will use up more fuel. Worthless design. I was also disappointed by the new Mustang. A lot of Ford's newer products seem this way to me.

 

I think it's an interesting consumer vehicle, especially in the 2.0 Turbo Diesel format. I like the 5 doors, I like the AWD, I like the CVT (for simplicity). But I don't see how this car is a performance vehicle in any way.

Honestly, I don't see them using the same body style for the SRT-4. They might do something more radical this time, then agin, it's possible that for Dodge, it's now the time of the Charger.

Doku

 

I like the new Caliber. I really do.

Allpar.com states that DCX will NOT do any more f/i engines, any future production vehicles will be all motor applications.

And there was an article in the paper today, DCX is dropping Mitsu and concentrating entirely on Mercedes and Chrysler, there was no mention of Dodge in the article. So while there will be another SRT-4, it will be AM just like the rest of the SRT line-up.