2008 Dodge Charger Review

The Dodge Charger is a full-size, four-door sedan that makes a bold design statement and backs it up with serious horsepower. A wide range of models is available, but all are comfortable cruisers, offering drivers a friendly haven from traffic and bumpy freeways.The model line ranges from the sporty and entertaining 2.7-liter Charger SE to the 425-hp SRT8. Between them are 3.5-liter V6 and 5.7-liter V8 models. The 3.5-liter V6 delivers entirely adequate performance for the mid-grade SXT model, while the V8s generate thrilling acceleration performance and make all the right noises.
All-wheel drive is available for all-weather capability.
The Charger illustrates just how multi-talented and accomplished today's high-performance cars are compared to the unidimensional hot rods of yesteryear. The Charger has all the pavement-ripping, gut-thumping power of the old muscle cars, but it's packaged with modern creature comforts and tempered by handling competency. Put another way, it rides, turns and stops as well as it goes.
The Charger is fun to drive and enjoyable for just cruising along. It's perfectly in its element when making time on a freeway. It is a big, heavy, full-size sedan measuring more than 16 feet in length and tipping the scales near two tons, but it's responsive and entertaining.
For 2008, the Charger gets minor interior design changes and two new entertainment options. Newly available are Sirius Backseat TV for the rear entertainment system, and Dodge's MyGig, a 20 gigabyte hard drive that holds songs, pictures, and navigation system map information. The interior changes include a new instrument panel and center console, as well as upgraded soft-touch surfaces on the arm rests, center console and door trim. Dodge's UConnect hands-free cell-phone link is also upgraded with integrated iPod interface.

Dodge Caliber SX 2.0 5-dr hatch

DAIMLERCHRYSLER consistently follows the red-blooded American looks of its dazzlingly successful 300C with the Dodge Caliber – the first time the ram-headed brand has been seen here since the Valiant-based Dodge ute expired 30 years ago. It’s a welcome return too, but how the brand has changed since the 1970s. Where Dodges, like everything else under the star-spangled banner, once epitomised a hopelessly out-of-touch car-making ethos, the new four-cylinder hatchback brazenly adopts themes established by the Europeans and Japanese and masks them behind a bold, in-your-face styling job. But while the looks might tug the same emotional strings as the Chrysler 300C, the on-road experience is far from being what you expect of an American brand. Still, the packaging of the Caliber is very good, the pricing competitive and the quality generally without fault. As a saying less familiar today than it was 40 years or so ago enigmatically suggests: “If you can’t afford a Ford, dodge a Dodge.”

2007 Dodge Nitro

The 2007 Dodge Nitro is an all new mid-size SUV. Dodge redesigned the full-size Durango in 2004, and since then has been planning the Nitro, which is 22 inches shorter. There are many mid-size SUVs out there, and Dodge wanted the Nitro to be distinctive, in order to keep up its reputation for bold styling. The result is a very squared-off vehicle, with exaggerated fender flares.The Nitro looks and feels larger than its size, with a high seating position that SUV owners like, and good cabin space. It features Load 'n' Go, a cargo storage system whereby the rear seats and front passenger seat fold totally flat in seconds; additionally, the cargo floor slides rearward out over the rear bumper, and can hold 400 pounds, making the loading of heavy objects much easier. It could prevent back injuries.
The Nitro comes in either two-wheel drive or four-wheel drive, with a choice of V6 engines, one old and one new. The new 4.0-liter V6 is better than the old 3.7-liter, with 50 more horsepower and fuel economy that's only one or two miles per gallon less. However the 4.0-liter engine only comes in the top-of-the-line R/T model, which costs about $2700 more than the most popular SLT. But a five-speed automatic also comes with the R/T, and that transmission, too, is better than the standard four-speed in the SLT. The R/T has a more comfortable ride, as well.

1995 Dodge Avenger Reviews

Most of us don't worry about an inch here or an inch there - unless, of course, we're on a diet and there's a class reunion just around the corner. Generally speaking, one of these small dimensional units just doesn't make much of a difference in our lives.But in the automobile business, an extra inch, strategically placed, can give your car a big advantage over its competition. That's one of the big reasons for the resurgence of the Chrysler Corporation. Starting with the LH cars (the Chrysler Concorde, Dodge Intrepid and Eagle Vision), Chrysler designers have made sure each of their cars has had a little edge - an extra inch or so - in roominess, especially rear-seat roominess.

Built at Diamond-Star Motors (a Mitsubishi subsidiary) in Normal, Illinois, the Dodge Avenger won't perform with the screamers and rockets of the sport-coupe class.

Obviously, it helps that all these new Chrysler cars look good. And when it comes down to tiebreakers, that extra inch of rear legroom, combined with smart looks, can make a pretty big difference. Particularly in the rear seat of a swoopy sport coupe.
Enter the Dodge Avenger.
It's not the hottest thing in its class. Almost every sport coupe on the market, including Chrysler's own Eagle Talon, offers an edition that makes the Avenger's performance look pretty ho-hum.
But thanks to Chrysler's inch-consciousness, the Avenger offers something none of the so-called 2+2 coupes can match. An adult can sit in the Avenger's rear seat without first qualifying as a circus contortionist.
In fact, among the affordable sport coupes, only the much bigger Ford Thunderbird offers more rear legroom. The Avenger's rear seat even has a legroom edge - albeit a very tiny one - over the new Chevrolet Monte Carlo, a car that's just as long as the Thunderbird.
Is this a big deal? You bet. The No. 1 complaint of small sport-coupe owners concerns inadequate rear-seat legroom. Sooner or later your sport coupe will accommodate a rear-seat passenger, and you'll probably want that passenger to emerge feeling as good as when he or she climbed into your car. The Dodge Avenger should elicit that response.
Avengers are offered in two trim levels: the base model and the upper-level Avenger ES. The rock-bottom price for a basic - very basic - Avenger is $13,876, including destination charge. ES models start at $17,726 and include 4-wheel disc brakes with anti-lock braking (ABS), alloy wheels, air conditioning, cruise control and an AM/FM/cassette sound system.
Our test ES was also equipped with a preferred equipment package - power locks/mirrors/windows plus dual illuminated vanity mirrors - for a ready-to-roll total of $18,585.
If you added a sunroof, CD player, leather seats and keyless remote entry, you could manage to spend $21,222. But those high-priced options are typical of all cars.

2008 Dodge Caliber

The Dodge Caliber was launched as a 2007 model. For 2008, the high-performance Dodge Caliber SRT4 joins the lineup.The Dodge Caliber is classed as a compact car, though it's larger than the Neon it replaced. A five-passenger, five-door, the Caliber isn't easily categorized, combining elements from hatchback, wagon and minivan designs. Though very popular in Europe, hatchbacks, especially five-door hatchbacks, have not caught on in American garages. The five-door hatch is a practical design, but most Americans prefer the styling of a traditional sedan with a separate trunk. Maybe that's changing, however. We certainly like hatchbacks.

A choice of four-cylinder engines is available, along with a choice of front-wheel drive and all-wheel drive. All-wheel drive makes the Caliber a capable winter vehicle.
Relatively affordable, Caliber starts below $14,000 retail, and fuel economy is respectable, achieving 24/29 City/Highway miles per gallon in its most frugal form, according to EPA estimates.
At the other end of the scale, the new SRT4 version has a turbocharged engine generating 285 horsepower. With a starting price of $22,435, it is a performance bargain.
The mid-level Caliber SXT model with the 2.0-liter engine and five-speed manual transmission is among the more enjoyable of the standard models, but the Caliber is no sports car. For driving excitement, the SRT4 is the choice.
The front seats are comfortable, with lots of head room, and there's a large amount of cargo space here. Packaging is functional, with folding rear seats that have an optional reclining adjustment and an optional fold-flat front passenger seat to make room for a ladder or more likely, a surfboard. A couple of innovative options, especially for a car in this price class, are an air conditioned compartment in the glove box to chill water bottles or sodas and a swing-down stereo speaker panel attached to the liftgate that converts the back end to a sound stage for beach parties or tailgating.

1999 Dodge Avenger Review

Sport coupe buyers often want the best of both worlds. They yearn for a car that projects a sporty image and comes on strong on twisting country roads, a car that can speed them out of a jam on crowded freeways. But they aren't always willing to accept a rocky ride. And they don't want to shoehorn family members into a tiny back seat with their knees tucked up under their chins. So they may be willing to sacrifice a little performance in exchange for interior room and a nicer ride. And if they can get out the door for under $25,000, so much the better.

The engineers at Chrysler had those buyers in mind when they designed the Dodge Avenger, and its cousin, the Chrysler Sebring Coupe.

The Dodge Avenger is roomier and more comfortable than coupes like the Mitsubishi Eclipse and Honda Prelude, but smaller and more maneuverable than the Monte Carlo Z34.

The Avenger delivers a smoother and quieter ride than cramped road rockets, such as the Mitsubishi Eclipse. There's ample legroom in front and a back seat that's big enough to keep folks from getting on each other's nerves on long weekend hauls. Yet, there's also a firm suspension and grippy tires to provide entertainment value on back roads.
Chrysler introduced the Avenger as a 1995 model. For 1999, the company has added next-generation dual air bags and two new colors, plum and shark blue.

2008 Dodge Avenger Review

The Dodge Avenger replaces all models of the old Dodge Stratus cab-forward front-drive sedan with an all-new chassis, body, suspension and powertrain lineup. It comes with a host of new standard equipment items never before seen in this segment and a wide range of options. It will compete at the heart of the American market with the Honda Accord, Nissan Altima, Toyota Camry, Ford Fusion and Pontiac G6, among others.

A three-quarter-scale replica of the Charger in many ways, the Dodge Avenger is about twice the car the Stratus was, with more style, more guts, and more verve.

The Avenger shares all of its major mechanical systems and components with the Chrysler Sebring, although it is by no means just a clone. The Avenger chassis shared with the Sebring was designed from the beginning for a convertible as well as a sedan, and that means that it is extraordinarily stiff and strong compared to the old Stratus sedans, 1.7 times stiffer in twisting and 1.6 times stronger in bending. It's also designed to meet all of the coming crash regulations aimed at pedestrian safety and get multiple five-start crash ratings, too.
The sibling entry, the Chrysler Sebring, although it starts at about the same price, is a rounder, more traditional design for a different customer. The Dodge Avenger will reach out to those buyers looking for something different in a huge part of the market that offers a lot of sameness: front-wheel drive, four-cylinder or V6 engines, around 100 cubic feet of interior space, navigation, satellite radio and lots of interior storage spaces. Almost 2 million cars are sold each year in this, the largest single passenger-car market segment, and very few of them have the combination of style, features and options that the new Avenger will be offering.
Those features include a drink cooler in the dashboard, an optional beverage cooling/heating system in the center console, an optional rear-seat entertainment system in a sedan body (most are found in minivans and SUVs), and a 20-gigabyte hard-drive option for navigation, audio and photo storage.
The proposition here is a simple one: a scaled-down Charger four-door coupe for those family sedan buyers who would really like to have a car that looks like a big Charger, but operate their lives on a four-cylinder or V6 budget and sensibility, not a 5.7-liter Hemi budget.
The SE and SXT come with the 2.4-liter VVT inline four-cylinder engine. The SXT's performance can be boosted considerably with the optional 2.7-liter V6 engine that will also run on E85 ethanol fuel. Both engines come with a four-speed automatic transmissions. The R/T comes with the 3.5-liter V6 engine and a new six-speed overdrive automatic transaxle. The Avenger is front-wheel drive. All-wheel drive will also be available.