|
|
Archive for February, 2006
February 8th, 2006 by Dave
Our Chicago Auto Show correspondent and father of stratusphere.net discovered a brand new concept car, the Dodge Rampage, on the show floor. It appears to be a new pickup truck, though it’s clearly “just a concept” with over-the-top interior details and such. We have been told that it is not based on an existing carline but is unique, and is probably a “what-if” study more than a prototype or shape of definite things to come. See photos at http://www.allpar.com/cars/concepts/dodge/rampage.html.
We expect that Dodge will release much more information about the Rampage when it is officially announced. For the moment, stratuscaster’s spy shots provide a clear look at what’s comign next.
February 8th, 2006 by Dave
By now, you know about it, I hope. (If not, see http://www.allpar.com/cars/dodge/caliber-srt4.html ).
This is good.
Well, some will be disappointed by the fact that you can probably still beat one, in theory at least, with the Dodge Neon SRT-4. On the other hand, most people will be too busy drooling over the 300 horsepower rating on the World Engine, which we were told last year takes to turbocharging like a duck takes to water. 300 horses from a production four-cylinder - who would have thought it ten years ago? (Sure, the 1991 Spirit R/T had 224 horsepower from 2.2 liters, but it was a bit finicky.) Back then, V8s were just over 200 horsepower… now, we have the Hemi doing 340 in standard form.
What I think is good is the way Chrysler is learning from their mistakes.
In the recent past, the powerful versions of cars were brought out after the models had time to slow down in sales. It took years and years to get a Neon with a turbo. The Dodge Spirit R/T was brought out when the Spirit had already been around; ditto the Shelby CSX and Sundance/Shadow. And there never even was a Reliant turbo, though if there had been, it would have been a killer with that light body.
The Caliber made a little splash, but most of the world still has no idea what it is (by the way, thanks, naming-department guys, for the lame name. If it had been called Rebel, it might have gotten more print!) The Challenger and Camaro fighting it out for headline space didn’t help; the Caliber and Aspen sort of whispered their entry to the world under the massive shouts of the muscle cars. But the SRT-4’s competition for headline space is much less impressive; the Chicago show was a good choice. More to the point, it will give the ordinary Caliber a reputation for brute-force acceleration the Neon never had, even after the SRT-4.
People make up their minds about a car’s personality early, then reject anything that doesn’t fit. The Escort GT barely registers when people think of the slow-as-a-dog, not-climbing-that-hill Ford Escorts (albeit not the Mazdas that replaced them). The Spirit R/T never gave the Spirit a sporty halo, and the first-year Volare pretty much killed the name. So having people associate “Caliber” with “300 horsepower!” is a big deal indeed.
Good job, Chrysler Marketing. At this rate, you might just last a while… despite the recent trend of “reorg of the month.”
February 6th, 2006 by Rich
Am I alone in missing curves in Chrysler products? It seems with each new release lately I’m more underwhelmed. The Nitro is the latest example; all of the hard, cold edges inside and, especially, out, just do nothing for me. There’s no warmth in the vehicle. I’m so incredibly glad that our PT’s are of the original design (even though the ‘06 refresh is far ahead of most of what I’ve seen come out since). The warmth and the character of the lines and curves and design elements of that car, and the LHS (later Concorde) and 300M have just disappeared from the newer designs. Even the original Neon…that car had personality sitting still. And it was a welcoming personality; not one that encouraged giving it a wide berth. Sure, the ‘in your face’ stance of the Magnum and 300 struck a chord, but…it’s too much now. Worse, the interiors have followed suit, and all seem to have that faux aluminum center stack that I so dislike. At least in the Caliber it’s optional to have that piece body color, bringing some much needed life into the interior.
Oddy enough (and it’s really amazing I’m saying this), probably the best execution I’ve seen recently is in the Aspen. It’s remarkably how much of the ugly they’ve taken out of the Durango.
But otherwise, boy, the pickings have been slim. I sure hope we get the expected 8-10 years out of our PTs and avoid this particular design ‘phase’.
February 5th, 2006 by Dave
The Chicago auto show is coming soon, and I was surprised to see very little speculation on what would be there. One invitee got a note saying that there would be three entries from Ma Mopar; with no clue as to what they could be. Some suggested that the long-awaited medium-duty Dodge trucks would be there, the assumed-to-be Ram 4500 and 5500. Others pointed to the laundry list of vehicles we know are coming: the Patriot, Nitro, Avenger, Sebring, etc.
It is interesting to look at the fallout of the NAIAS show. The one car many people remember is the Challenger, but those who “don’t like American cars” or just aren’t motorheads tend to get the Challenger and Charger mixed up for now, believe it or not. The Caliber went over well among those who were paying attention, but between the Challenger and Camaro, the Caliber got very little print space, and Dodge really has to do something about that before the actual launch. Likewise, the Raider seems to be starting up without much of a splash, and the Aspen was apparently largely ignored, though I personally think it was a commendable effort - given that I haven’t actually been in one yet, it looks like it could be a Chrysler. I have been disappointed by badge-engineered SUVs before, notable the Lexus RX330, the Cadillac (well, any Chevy truck posing as a Caddy), and the Lincoln Navigator (haven’t been in the Aviator but I’d bet against it being more Town Car than Ford). I sure hope Chrysler made the Aspen a real Chrysler, not just a Dodge wearing a more ornate skin.
The Chicago auto show will be open to the press on Wednesday, and we should have some good coverage for you then - starting with automaker releases in the morning and proceeding to the ever-reliable Stratuscaster’s on-the-spot reports hopefully in the afternoon.
February 3rd, 2006 by CanadianJeepYJ
I will start this blog with a quote from the superduckie5000…
“A Question! From The Days Of Future Past - Get It. Right. What Set of Wheels Begins With the Letter “G”?
THE MAD DUCK. All to Be Reviled Many Moons Out!”
I don’t know about you but my decoder ring has never ever worked. I don’t think that I have ever understood any of the duckies remarks. I also don’t know if I understand what the above quote is about…but I will tell you what I think the duckie is trying to say at the end of this blog.
Some HISTORY OF THE JEEP BRAND
Willys MB started it all…
It was the jeep that started it all…sort of like the ring that controlled them all. I will not go into the history of the Willys MB, any jeep lover knows all there is to know about this wonderful vehicle.
Willys Jeep Pick-up
The Willys Jeep Pick up was introduced to the world in 1947 and was dropped in 1965. The Willys Jeep Pick-up was based off of the Willys Jeep Wagon and the VJ-2 and VJ-3 Willys Jeepster. In the life-span of the Pick up, more than 200,000 were manufactured. Kaiser buys Willys-Overland and changes name to Willys Motor Company in 1953.
FC-150 and 170
The Jeep Forward Control (FC) was a truck produced by Willys and then Kaiser Jeep from 1956 to 1965. The FC-150 started production in 1956 and a year later the 170 was being manufactured. And a year later; production of the FC-170 DRW (dual rear wheel) truck begins. In 1963 the Willys Motor Company changes it’s name again to Kaiser-Jeep Corporation.
Jeep Gladiator
In 1965, the Gladiator J-Series pickup debuts as a replacement for the Willys Pickup. The Gladiator was the replacement to the Willys Pick up and not the Jeep Forward Control because the FC were a Full Size truck and were not a Pick up. When the Gladiator was debut in 1965 they were refereed to as the Jeep Gladiator but as time went on their name changed to the Jeep Trucks or J-Trucks. The Gladiator was a full-size pickup based on the SJ Jeep Wagoneer SUV. Another thing of interest was that the Jeep Wagoneer station wagons and Jeep Gladiator utes were the first Jeep vehicles designed from the ground up for a civilian rather than military purpose. They also were the first to provide automatic transmission and complete passenger-car styling. Thus, the combination of four-wheel drive and automatic transmission was an automotive industry first. The Gladiator was finally discontinued in 1970 and in the same year the American Motors Corporation takes over Kaiser-Jeep. (Another note of interest: in 1971 the American General is spun off from American Motors Corporation. This company later produces the HMMWV. Does the seven slot grill on the HMMWV ring a bell?)
Jeep Honcho
The Jeep Honcho was a full-size pickup truck based on the SJ Jeep Wagoneer SUV. It was sold through the 1970s and was discontinued in 1986.
CJ-8 Scrambler
The CJ-8 Scrambler was a pickup truck version of the CJ-7, introduced in 1981. It featured a 103 in wheelbase and a pickup bed. Only 27,792 were built in the 6 years of production. It was produced from 1981-1986.
Jeep Comanche
The Comanche (MJ) was a pickup truck version of the downsized Cherokee (XJ). It was a unibody vehicle, an oddity for a pickup truck. The Comanche production started up in 1986 and was discontinued in 1992. Sales of the Cherokee and Commanche took off in 1987; unfortunately, AMC had already agreed to the merger with Chrysler. The Comanche along with the Cherokee XJ could have saved the drowning American Motors however they had already agreed for a merger with the Chrysler Corporation in 1987.
One reason why the Comanche’s life-span was so short was because it competed with Chrysler’s own, mid-sized Dodge Dakota pickup. The conventional wisdom at the time was that Chrysler wanted to focus sales on the more popular Dodge Dakota rather than the Comanche.
So it has been close to 20 years since the Jeep brand has had a small pick-up (Scrambler) and 14 years since Jeep has had a mid-size pick-up (Comanche).
Pick-ups are a part of the Jeep brand; they are a part of their history This philosophy may seem odd at this at this point in the Jeep brand, but that is only due to the long period of the lack of pick-ups.
It is time that Jeep reversed this trend….PRODUCE the Gladiator. I and many other Jeep fanatics beg you.
I will go back to the superduckie quote at the beginning of this blog:
“A Question! From The Days Of Future Past - Get It. Right. What Set of Wheels Begins With the Letter “G”?
I am hoping that the duckie is saying that a production Gladiator will make its debut at one of the coming auto shows.
Jeep owes it to its costumers and to its history to produce this vehicle.
So to answer the question I posed at the beginning: What is missing in the Jeep line-up…it is the Gladiator Pick-up.
February 2nd, 2006 by Dave
The Dodge Caliber started production today, and many people are eagerly awaiting its arrival. The styling seems to be just what people want - boxy but not too imposing, a well-tamed SUV, not a swoopy, sporty, friendly Neon but a modern mini-version of the big trucks that were so popular so recently.
The Caliber will be more efficient than the Neon automatic, according to gas mileage figures just released (see Allpar’s Dodge Caliber page. Only the 148 hp 1.8 liter engine has a stick-shift; that is a little below Neon EPA figures (for 1995-99 and 2004-05), but only a little, and the Neon didn’t really achieve its estimates of 29 city, 38 highway anyway. The Caliber might, or it might not, but it has a lot more room and much more in the way of safety features. I don’t expect it to be as fast as the first-gen Neon - which was timed doing 0-60 in 7.8 seconds by more than one magazine, in stock form, with the single-cam engine - but the 2.4 liter version probably will be.
Chrysler has been odd about many things in recent years. The Neon came out as a Dodge-Plymouth model, with a single engine (later available in dual-cam form, but with about the same acceleration), while minivans had Dodge, Chrysler, and Plymouth (each with an array of engines in the 1990s, but just one when introduced), and the LH had three Chryslers and a single Dodge, with a highly variable number of engines (some LH models, such as the LHS and 300M, had a single engine). You never knew what they would do next, and it was sometimes very hard to understand their thought process, if any existed. Closing down Plymouth instead of Chrysler was one interesting choice. Assigning the PT to Chrysler instead of Dodge was another…
Back to the Caliber, though. Its weight will keep acceleration constant, most likely, with the base-engine model slower than the equivalent Neon stick, but, I think, faster than any Neon automatic, and that is what most people bought. Throw in a good starting price and a Jeep version, and you have a vehicle that is bound to generate more than the 120,000 sales per year that the recent Neon has been doing. To be fair, the Neon’s restyling hurt it, as did the horrible handling of the original’s many quality gaffes. The Neon was a great car at heart, but … that’s a story for another day.
The key with the Caliber in many ways will be quality, with lots of people looking for failure. Hopefully, the CVT, sourced from a Nissan subsidiary, will work flawlessly with Chrysler electronics. Hopefully, using Mercedes technology won’t hurt the engines’ reliability. Hopefully, the team-based assembly will quickly stop any process or factory issues from interfering. For Chrysler to regain an “average quality” reputation, it must perform nearly as well as Toyota and far better than Honda. For Chrysler to start to move up in the minds of the public, it needs to beat Toyota. Expectations are low (thank you, by the way, Consumer Reports, for harping on Chrysler’s problems so much, while giving Ford and Honda so many free passes).
We are heartened by the excitement around the Caliber, by the surprisingly good gas mileage, by the nice, high horsepower ratings (which should help compensate for the weight), and by the general acceptance and enthusiasm for the looks - always a big question at first! This car means a lot to Chrysler. If it is a runaway success, maybe Joe and Dieter will change their minds about letting Chrysler develop their own entry-level car, instead of forcing the Polo or Colt on them; and maybe, we’ll see a sedan and a coupe, the rumored Rebel.
We can always dream, right? After all, we never thought the future would look this bright when Dieter first came to town.
|
|
