Topic: CD Article: 2008 Dodge Caliber SRT-4

[initial_D]

Very admirable power output, some serious turbo fun! As for the rest of the car, oh well, get what you paid for. Only downside would be actual have to sit inside that interior to drive the car. 

[auto_enthusiast]

These SRT's will sell like hotcakes - that's a phenomenal price point.  Even the original SRT-4 was priced at $27 or 28k. 

I kind of like the styling - it has a lot more attitude than a regular Caliber.

[Mitlov]

Considering where it started from, atleast the SRT looks somewhat presentable.  Gaudy and ugly still, but it's less ugly with the 'add ons'.......oh who am I kidding...it is brutally hideous. 

True.



But so is this:



And so is this:



Nobody ever accused the Caliber SRT4 of being pretty.  But there's more to aesthetic appeal than pretty.  Not everybody wants an Alfa or a TT or a Cayman.  It may be ugly, but it's a distinctive and compelling ugly.

[Sir Osis of Liver]

Considering where it started from, atleast the SRT looks somewhat presentable.  Gaudy and ugly still, but it's less ugly with the 'add ons'.......oh who am I kidding...it is brutally hideous. 

True.



But so is this:



And so is this:



Nobody ever accused the Caliber SRT4 of being pretty.  But there's more to aesthetic appeal than pretty.  Not everybody wants an Alfa or a TT or a Cayman.  It may be ugly, but it's a distinctive and compelling ugly.

Well said.
Personally I like how the Caliber looks on the outside. The inside was off putting for me. But this price for this much performance...Wow.

[Rupert]

 The Caliber, as an original concept, is a credible design for the growing more compact higher hip entry level vehicles. Probably more attractive to the growing ecco minded over fifty age group. Why the design has to include facility for a multitude of engine placements is puzzeling. Toyota do not seem to do this with the Matrix. Last I heard Toyota are a very successfull company and Chrysler were up for grabs again. I think that the capabilities of this vehicle are contra to the requirements of modern day driving. 150 mph. Where? Neck braking acceleration to be able to beat the adjacent driver to the next lights. Hmm. Heard of the deaths of innocent people due to street racing? Ecco gas consumption with reliability and design flair in other directions is where the industry is at now, or should be anyway.

[mdxtasy]

Nobody ever accused the Caliber SRT4 of being pretty.  But there's more to aesthetic appeal than pretty.  Not everybody wants an Alfa or a TT or a Cayman.  It may be ugly, but it's a distinctive and compelling ugly.

Yes, there's more to it than good looks, I'm sure the Calibre has a great personality. 

I guess if you can't make it pretty, make it as ugly as you can and call it distinctive.   

[avtoller]

Nobody ever accused the Caliber SRT4 of being pretty.  But there's more to aesthetic appeal than pretty.  Not everybody wants an Alfa or a TT or a Cayman.  It may be ugly, but it's a distinctive and compelling ugly.

Yes, there's more to it than good looks, I'm sure the Calibre has a great personality. 

I guess if you can't make it pretty, make it as ugly as you can and call it distinctive.   

  That does seem to be their philosophy. 

[sirAQUAMAN64]

Well said.
Personally I like how the Caliber looks on the outside. The inside was off putting for me. But this price for this much performance...Wow.

I'm with ya there. From the outside, love the attitude and sport touches. Inside is a poorly designed, ill materialed, waste of space.

[mdxtasy]

Nobody ever accused the Caliber SRT4 of being pretty.  But there's more to aesthetic appeal than pretty.  Not everybody wants an Alfa or a TT or a Cayman.  It may be ugly, but it's a distinctive and compelling ugly.

Yes, there's more to it than good looks, I'm sure the Calibre has a great personality. 

I guess if you can't make it pretty, make it as ugly as you can and call it distinctive.   

  That does seem to be their philosophy. 

All the 'performance exterior add ons' look like they came out of a Canadian Tire catalog. 

[avtoller]

All the 'performance exterior add ons' look like they came out of a Canadian Tire catalog. 

Be careful that you don't get sued for libel - by Canadian Tire. 

[Mitlov]

All the 'performance exterior add ons' look like they came out of a Canadian Tire catalog. 

Well, it's a sport compact.  Besides the GTI and Cooper S, that's pretty much par for the course.  The last STI had two rear spoilers--one on the trunk, one on the roof.  The recently-deceased Matrix XRS had the tackiest lower bodywork I've ever seen.  The EVO has a wing nearly as tall as the vehicle's roof.

And when it comes to production cars looking like bodywork-catalog specials, this still isn't as bad as an S2000CR or a Nismo 350Z.

[mdxtasy]

All the 'performance exterior add ons' look like they came out of a Canadian Tire catalog. 

Well, it's a sport compact.  Besides the GTI and Cooper S, that's pretty much par for the course.  The last STI had two rear spoilers--one on the trunk, one on the roof.  The recently-deceased Matrix XRS had the tackiest lower bodywork I've ever seen.  The EVO has a wing nearly as tall as the vehicle's roof.

And when it comes to production cars looking like bodywork-catalog specials, this still isn't as bad as an S2000CR or a Nismo 350Z.

I'll take a GTI, STi, EVO, and Cooper S over this anyday....the S2000CR and Nismo 350Z....those two are pretty ugly as well.  But as you said, they're distinctive. 

[Schmengie]

All the 'performance exterior add ons' look like they came out of a Canadian Tire catalog. 

Well, it's a sport compact.  Besides the GTI and Cooper S, that's pretty much par for the course.  The last STI had two rear spoilers--one on the trunk, one on the roof.  The recently-deceased Matrix XRS had the tackiest lower bodywork I've ever seen.  The EVO has a wing nearly as tall as the vehicle's roof.

And when it comes to production cars looking like bodywork-catalog specials, this still isn't as bad as an S2000CR or a Nismo 350Z.

I'll take a GTI, STi, EVO, and Cooper S over this anyday....the S2000CR and Nismo 350Z....those two are pretty ugly as well.  But as you said, they're distinctive. 

A wart the size of a golf ball on the end of your nose is distinctive too, but who wants one??

[initial_D]

Snow White's stepmom? Michael Jackson? 


Have seen two of them on the road already. There is a Neon SRT-4 used by a contracted driving instructor in the Local CAA for teaching people how to drive a stick shift car.

[gosteelerz]

$24,995 for a 13 second piece,  Chrysler does not need to apologize for anything with this car.

It's kind of like a modern day version of the Roadrunner.

[jww]

...

It's kind of like a modern day version of the Roadrunner.

Now that's an interesting observation.

[Snowman]

...

It's kind of like a modern day version of the Roadrunner.

Now that's an interesting observation.

....and a good one. The 60’s formula for a muscle car was to take the cheapest possible model of a car and shoehorn the biggest possible engine in it. 1+1=2 no matter what decade it is.

[Mitlov]

...

It's kind of like a modern day version of the Roadrunner.

Now that's an interesting observation.

....and a good one. The 60’s formula for a muscle car was to take the cheapest possible model of a car and shoehorn the biggest possible engine in it. 1+1=2 no matter what decade it is.

But the Caliber engine isn't very big (a 2.4L inline-four), it's just got a lot of boost.

Possibly the most true "muscle car" on the road today is the Lexus IS-F.  It's Lexus's smallest, cheapest car, but it has their biggest engine (a 5.0L V8).

[Snowman]

...

It's kind of like a modern day version of the Roadrunner.

Now that's an interesting observation.

....and a good one. The 60’s formula for a muscle car was to take the cheapest possible model of a car and shoehorn the biggest possible engine in it. 1+1=2 no matter what decade it is.

But the Caliber engine isn't very big (a 2.4L inline-four), it's just got a lot of boost.

Possibly the most true "muscle car" on the road today is the Lexus IS-F.  It's Lexus's smallest, cheapest car, but it has their biggest engine (a 5.0L V8).

Lexus + muscle cars does don’t compute IMHO. Muscle cars are for the masses...You would have to spend double the money in a Japanese car to get the same ¼ mile time.

[Mitlov]

Lexus + muscle cars does don’t compute IMHO. Muscle cars are for the masses...You would have to spend double the money in a Japanese car to get the same ¼ mile time.

If "muscle car" means "cheap speed for the masses," than the SRT4 is a muscle car and the IS-F isn't.  If a "muscle car" means "a company's cheapest car with their biggest engine shoehorned in," the SRT4 is not a muscle car but the IS-F is.  It's all in how you define the term.

Personally, I prefer the former definition, but a lot of people (particularly those who also say that "sports cars" must be two-seat convertibles) tend to favor the latter.