The Dodge Crew will launch as a 2009 model. Engines will be the same as the Sebring, 2.0 diesel (outside North America), 2.4L four, 2.7L V6, and 3.5L V6. A PZEV (“partial zero emissions vehicle”) version of the 2.4 will be available. Transmissions will be the 4-speed auto along with the new 6-speed auto, and 5-speed and 6-speed manuals overseas.
Dodge is borrowing features from several other new models. Look for illuminated heated and cooled cupholders, a dual glove box with cooler, interior LED lamps, rear camera, 115v power outlet and a removeable rechargeable interior light. The new MyGIG radios will also be offered, and it looks like a brand new version will be available with a built-in 6-disc changer.
The front passenger seat will fold flat, and both 2nd row and 3rd row seats will recline. Child seats will be built into the sliding 2nd row seats, and the 2nd row will also have in-floor storage bins.
Here's the exciting news - there will be an R/T version of the 2009 Dodge Crew! It will feature the 3.5L HO 24V engine coupled with the 62TE 6-speed transmission with autostick. 19"x7.0" wheels with 225/55 tires will be standard. The Dodge Crew R/T will be available in both FWD and AWD versions and will also have dual exhaust and performance-tuned steering.
In my opinion if it doesn't cut 13.5-13.7 stock, which it won't, then it is a dropped ball. Why would the second generation of a performance vehicle be slower than it's predecessor? That makes no sense.
Could you imagine the fallout if the 2008 Z06 was slower than the 2007, or the 2008 Viper SRT10 was slower than the 2007 version?
I mean granted they are totally different cars, but seriously this is not going to be good. They just lost a lot of sales.
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In my opinion if it doesn't cut 13.5-13.7 stock, which it won't, then it is a dropped ball. Why would the second generation of a performance vehicle be slower than it's predecessor? That makes no sense.
Could you imagine the fallout if the 2008 Z06 was slower than the 2007, or the 2008 Viper SRT10 was slower than the 2007 version?
I mean granted they are totally different cars, but seriously this is not going to be good. They just lost a lot of sales.
I totally agree, but lets face it:
TT 300ZX > 350Z
RX-7 > RX-8
Of course, neither of those cars were built at a REPLACEMENT like the Caliber is.
Man....I'm not throwing the towel in yet, but I'm seriously starting to worry here...
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Quote: Originally Posted by sphipps
Obviously you are not detecting the sarcasim in my posts.
I'm not worrying. I never planned on buying the Caliber SRT4. I would like to have an Avenger SRT6 with AWD, but it looks like I will buy an EVO long before the SRT6 ever makes it, if it does.
In my opinion if it doesn't cut 13.5-13.7 stock, which it won't, then it is a dropped ball. Why would the second generation of a performance vehicle be slower than it's predecessor? That makes no sense.
Could you imagine the fallout if the 2008 Z06 was slower than the 2007, or the 2008 Viper SRT10 was slower than the 2007 version?
I mean granted they are totally different cars, but seriously this is not going to be good. They just lost a lot of sales.
I totally agree, but lets face it:
TT 300ZX > 350Z
RX-7 > RX-8
Of course, neither of those cars were built at a REPLACEMENT like the Caliber is.
Man....I'm not throwing the towel in yet, but I'm seriously starting to worry here...
you have your fact wrong. The Caliber was merely the replacement for the neon, in the sense that it would be the small vehicle in the dodge lineup. Not that it would live up to Neon expectations or history. For its size/weight its actually pretty quick. It makes me wonder if they'll do a stripped out model [like the van-conversions in europe] with SRT options..
6.2 and 14.6.... .... Oh man if that's not sandbagging they totally fucked up. They can't let Bast win his prediction that the MS3 will be teh fastar.
In all honesty, after all the hype about this car, from insiders, SRT engineers and whomever acted like the had an ounce of inside knowledge, it was supposed to haul ass. It was supposed to be faster than the Neon SRT-4, faster than the MS3, I remember these posts. I remember people saying, "you'll be surprised"; "it's been tested, it hauls ass"; and so-on and so-forth. What gives? How did that turn into 0-60 in 6.2, and 14.6 in the 1/4 mile? My fathers 2003 Maxima does that with 255 HP, and it's actually faster 0-60. I'm very worried about the other cars rumored to be incredible by these so called "insiders" - namely the Avenger (or whatever) SRT-6.
Like I said, if that's not sandbagging, SRT really fucked up. But hey, it's got a fold flat drivers' seat, yet still no mygig (rofl) and it doesn't even come in fucking white. What a disappointment.
Someone tell Jeep to put the new 4.7L in the JK line and produce the JT concept with a rear rack system/soft rear cover and I'll sell a kidney to buy it.
In my opinion if it doesn't cut 13.5-13.7 stock, which it won't, then it is a dropped ball. Why would the second generation of a performance vehicle be slower than it's predecessor? That makes no sense.
Could you imagine the fallout if the 2008 Z06 was slower than the 2007, or the 2008 Viper SRT10 was slower than the 2007 version?
I mean granted they are totally different cars, but seriously this is not going to be good. They just lost a lot of sales.
I totally agree, but lets face it:
TT 300ZX > 350Z
RX-7 > RX-8
Of course, neither of those cars were built at a REPLACEMENT like the Caliber is.
Man....I'm not throwing the towel in yet, but I'm seriously starting to worry here...
you have your fact wrong. The Caliber was merely the replacement for the neon, in the sense that it would be the small vehicle in the dodge lineup. Not that it would live up to Neon expectations or history. For its size/weight its actually pretty quick. It makes me wonder if they'll do a stripped out model [like the van-conversions in europe] with SRT options..
For it's weight? Get real. I could drop $1200, stroke the 4.0L I6 in my Jeep Cherokee and cut those same numbers, it's fucking slow. End. It'll be a drivers race between a Caliber SRT-4 and any 2003+ Nissan Maxima 6spd. Acura TLs will shit all over a Caliber SRT-4, an MS3 will put a fucking bus length on it. But it's fast for it's weight, right?
6.2 and 14.6.... .... Oh man if that's not sandbagging they totally fucked up. They can't let Bast win his prediction that the MS3 will be teh fastar.
In all honesty, after all the hype about this car, from insiders, SRT engineers and whomever acted like the had an ounce of inside knowledge, it was supposed to haul ass. It was supposed to be faster than the Neon SRT-4, faster than the MS3, I remember these posts. I remember people saying, "you'll be surprised"; "it's been tested, it hauls ass"; and so-on and so-forth. What gives? How did that turn into 0-60 in 6.2, and 14.6 in the 1/4 mile? My fathers 2003 Maxima does that with 255 HP, and it's actually faster 0-60. I'm very worried about the other cars rumored to be incredible by these so called "insiders" - namely the Avenger (or whatever) SRT-6.
Like I said, if that's not sandbagging, SRT really fucked up. But hey, it's got a fold flat drivers' seat, yet still no mygig (rofl) and it doesn't even come in fucking white. What a disappointment.
Someone tell Jeep to put the new 4.7L in the JK line and produce the JT concept with a rear rack system/soft rear cover and I'll sell a kidney to buy it.
I see where you're coming from, but when people refer to waiting to see what it does, they mean in the real world, not some ratings... anymore than the neon rating was to the crank. Either way I think it should at least equal our times or its kinda a lost cause.
I see your point as well. However, if those numbers really are from a dealer brochure, it's gonna take a lot of "real world magic" to turn 6.2 and 14.6 into 5.6 and 13.9.
In my opinion if it doesn't cut 13.5-13.7 stock, which it won't, then it is a dropped ball. Why would the second generation of a performance vehicle be slower than it's predecessor? That makes no sense.
Could you imagine the fallout if the 2008 Z06 was slower than the 2007, or the 2008 Viper SRT10 was slower than the 2007 version?
I mean granted they are totally different cars, but seriously this is not going to be good. They just lost a lot of sales.
I totally agree, but lets face it:
TT 300ZX > 350Z
RX-7 > RX-8
Of course, neither of those cars were built at a REPLACEMENT like the Caliber is.
Man....I'm not throwing the towel in yet, but I'm seriously starting to worry here...
you have your fact wrong. The Caliber was merely the replacement for the neon, in the sense that it would be the small vehicle in the dodge lineup. Not that it would live up to Neon expectations or history. For its size/weight its actually pretty quick. It makes me wonder if they'll do a stripped out model [like the van-conversions in europe] with SRT options..
I really don't agree with that. They're replacing our SRT-4 with a new SRT-4. They discontinued one and began production of the other. And (as many PRO Caliber folks have pointed out since day one) the dimentions of the two cars aren't to terribly different.
Remember, it looks like a mini-van, but standing next to it, its a tiny little car.
Look, if they don't want expectations, don't put "SRT-4" on it.
Again, this is all assuming it is a 14.6 second car.
I have been a Mopar guy since I bought my first car in 1999, a 2000 Neon. I am just really losing faith right now. I don't want the SRT nameplate to be watered down and shit on like the SS nameplate and the SVT nameplate almost did.
Please Chryco. If you are going to screw up on the Caliber, redeem yourself with the Avenger.
If that is true, I think I just heard a toilet flush.
New iterations of a marque are supposed to be an improvement, and with a performance marque, a faster, better performing improvement.
So it's the Caliber compared to the Neon. Still Dodge's smallest entry, and still the cheapest. Anyone defending the Caliber after these numbers should stand back a second and take a deep, slow breath.
Quote: Originally Posted by veritas
In all honesty, after all the hype about this car, from insiders, SRT engineers and whomever acted like the had an ounce of inside knowledge, it was supposed to haul ass. It was supposed to be faster than the Neon SRT-4, faster than the MS3, I remember these posts. I remember people saying, "you'll be surprised"; "it's been tested, it hauls ass"; and so-on and so-forth.
+1
After all the hype, after all the "secret insiders" whispering in our ears that it's going to rock the socks off everything else just like the originial did, and it turns out to be just average... talk about disappointing.
My expectations were blown away by the first time I drove an SRT-4. It felt faster than I was ready to believe. It handled better than I was ready to believe. And it was screwed together a hell of a lot better than I was ready to believe. But, with progress comes... a step backward?
Think about this for a second. The new Camry is posting low 6s (6.1 is what I can dig up using Google), and mid 14s (again, a 14.5 is what I could find) in the 1/4. We're talking about a car sold in high numbers to everyone from families to grandparents.
... if it is truly slower than a Camry SE... what a joke. The "0-60 around or under 6 seconds" club has gotten a lot more members since the original SRT-4 came out in '03, and it's a shame to see that if these numbers are what we can expect, we can expect the SRT4 Caliber to come in second to last in every comparison the magazines plan to do (because I really think they can't screw it up as much as the new Sentra Spec V), and lots of people flock to the MS3 and other various sport compact camps because, c'mon.... let's face it here - the Caliber cannot hold anything to any of it's competition if it's not the fastest. We know the interior is going to suck. We know it's heavy as Andre the Giant. We know it's not going to be cheaper by a long shot... just "in the same ball range".
At least it may have a dark interior... oh wait... grey grey grey...
I sure hope those #'s are intentionally low.
On the downside, had I known... I might have held on to my SRT longer, because I think resell prices are about to go up.
Quote: Originally Posted by ENapa
I have been a Mopar guy since I bought my first car in 1999, a 2000 Neon. I am just really losing faith right now. I don't want the SRT nameplate to be watered down and shit on like the SS nameplate and the SVT nameplate almost did.
My thoughts exactly. I remember when SRT was being hailed as the "fourth" brand... and the last thing they need to do right now is dilute it.
The Caliber should have never gotten an SRT variant. I know, it's "all they had to work with"... but still.
"This car is 100% sh*ts and giggles."A car can be a tool but it can also be so much more. It can be a heart-starter, it can be a drug, it can be a piece of art and it can stir your soul.
"Speed has never killed anyone. Suddenly becoming stationary... that's what gets you." Jeremy Clarkson
Last edited by toasteroven : 07-23-2007 at 08:55 PM.
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.... Oh man if that's not sandbagging they totally fucked up. They can't let Bast win his prediction that the MS3 will be teh fastar.
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