Roosbok

I am intrigued by the new Dodge Caliber that is being released in a few months to replace the Neon. I always liked what I read about the PT Cruiser in terms of quality but I didn't care for its gas mileage and the sort of flimsy front end which results in somewhat worse crash test ratings. I always thought if they could redesign the PT Cruiser with a boxier front end and better safety features it might work for me. The Caliber might be that car.

It is going to have CVT in all trim levels and is supposed to get good mileage. It also has features such as variable intermittent wipers that Honda has decided to only include in the EX. The price is supposed to be very reasonable.

Chrysler is investing almost a half a billion dollars to upgrade its Belevedere Illinois plant to build these vehicles, so hopefully the quality can approach its currently best track record plant for quality, which is, believe it or not, the Toluca Mexico plant, where the PT Cruiser is made.

I still wouldn't want to buy one the first year though, so I'll still be holding on to my '01 Civic for some time. Ideally I would like to wait to the 3rd year or so of production to see how it is going. What I would be looking for is quality issues, gas mileage, and crash test ratings. Also, I would be watching to see if Chrysler intends to make this a cheapie car to sell for rental fleets, as the Neon currently is. That is never a good sign.

That pretty much narrows it down though. The next car will probably be either a Honda Civic or Accord, and possibly this new Caliber, or even maybe the Stratus replacement which is coming later. I avoid Toyota since although I think the quality is probably the best in the business, its getting too big for its britches. So if Chrysler can come up to the plate, the Caliber might do it.

Al Gore FTW

iTrader: (19)

interesting...nothing close to what i would do, but interesting.