Why the Dodge Caliber and not another Neon?
This is just a quick post to cover some misconceptions out there.
First, Chrysler turned to Mitsubishi for the “hard points” or platform for the Caliber largely because MMC had developed a very modern platform, ten years newer than that of the Neon, which had current safety standards in mind as well as the flexibility demanded by today’s auto execs (that is, it can be a sports car or an SUV, just like the K-cars could, but with more effective adaptation to each role). Also, the idea was to share development costs, with Mitsu slowly being absorbed into the Daimler empire and merged with Chrysler. Mitsu pulled out, but that was apparently the plan, and it wasn’t such a bad idea given the tremendous cost of building new vehicles and the relatively low sales of both Chrysler and Mitsubishi in this segment (only about 120,000 Neons were sold each year and development costs run into the billions).
Second, the Neon was not a low quality car; it was a high quality car with certain foolish cost-cutting measures (head gasket, exhaust donut), supplier problems (air conditioning), and a gaping design flaw (frameless windows) which were not addressed quickly enough. By 1998 the Neon had solved most of its problems, but you don’t recover from a reputation as bad as it got. That’s the main reason the Neon name was dropped.
Third, the Caliber is a completely new design with hardly any Neon carryover in any components.
The Neon was quite profitable in its first few years, and many, many buyers were very happy with it, but with the quality problems, inadequate automatic transmissions, and quirks like manual rear windows, not to mention the absolutely awful reputation that plagued the poor car - much more than it would have had the Neon been made by any other company other than perhaps Hyundai - far worse than the Neon ever deserved, even in its very early months of production - the Neon name had to go.
As for why they made a wagon only, I can only guess it was money, pure and simple. Daimler had sucked Chrysler Corporation dry, and there is no money for re-establishing the Plymouth brand, so desparately needed to allow Chrysler to move up into near-luxury and to allow Dodge to be purely bold and brash, much less two completely different vehicles (one for Jeep and one for Dodge). So the Jeep is still differentiated in suspension, base engine, and sheet metal, but you only get a wagon (sorry, I meant crossover!) form.
So no more slandering the poor humble Neon, OK? It just wanted to say “hi” … and outperform every other car in its price class for about ten years.
[Additional note: you can read a Dodge Caliber review at acarplace.com.]
You won’t hear any Neon-bashing from me. The problems that affected it could, can, and have happened to many other cars out there. Look at any car and there will be some issue or problem with it.
Agree though that the bad reputation is what sank the Neon. Makes you wonder if a name change on the second-generation would have made any difference.
Why a wagon? Why not? You’ve got a small family - minivans and SUVs are just too big - so here’s a sharp wagon with bolder “SUV-ish” styling, tons of family-friendly options, and a decent price point (provided you don’t get too giddy with the options boxes) - it’s really a good solution for a lot of people. And it worked just fine for the PT Cruiser, didn’t it?
Agreed! I’ll always defend the Neon and have 163000 miles worth of backup :)
I think the Neon had reached its point of absolutely no return. It had certainly paid DCX handsomely with profits. However, the design and reputation had sort of eroded it overall. Plus it’s connection to Plymouth may have caused some gastrinitous for those that despise that name. With the Caliber you have a whole new vehicle shoving Neon out of the way. Just like the good old days. Nothing wrong with that. Overall the Caliber looks like a surer bet than the Neon did when it came out. The Caliber has probably generated more interest, and fits into the niche left by Neon with a better model. It is difficult to be precise, however, the Neon was a well…. smallish car with a funny face when it came out. The Caliber is into a relatively hot spot with the right price, options, and style.
When the Neon first came out, it was HOT and most people have forgotten that. It was MUCH HOTTER than the Caliber. Do you remember …?
* Biggest interior in its class
* Fastest acceleration in its class
* 132 hp / 129 lb-ft of torque (next best: Civic EX with 125/100)
* Every model with the same engine (until pointless DOHC)
* Beating everything near its class in SCCA
* ACR version!
* Best feel you could get
* Lots of cool features in every aspect…
* With good gas mileage, and…
* First American small car to make a profit in Heaven knows how long!!
What killed the Neon:
* Poorly tuned automatic. To really experience Neon you needed the five-speed.
* Frameless window design coupled with untrained dealer mechanics (training came out nearly a year after the Neon did!)
* Cost-cutting in the head gasket and exhaust donut designs
* Chrysler taking SO DAMNED LONG to own up to problems and fix them, and not blasting their qualtiy improvements out to the public
* Second generation that took the “totally safe” road and thereby robbed the Neon of most of its good points!
* Chrysler failing to publicize ANY good points of the Neon after the first six months of production - how many people know the Neon was a big SCCA winner? How amny people really think it was some sort of slow-poke econobox?
* Rentals. Rental Neons failed to impress. Again, the automatic…
NEON the best,period.BETTER THAN EVEN CRAPBOX Chevies that I have owned since 1977 , including 1977 Corvette.