All Car Garage

September 2007 - Posts

• 2008 Dodge Caliber

  Dodge is looking for ways to beef up their line by adding on the big macho grilles. One of the best ones that they have built is the 2008 Dodge Caliber. It may be a hatchback, but it is a tough, roomy, inexpensive, and fuel-efficient car. Built on a global platform also used for the Jeep Compass SUV and midsize Dodge Avenger sedan, the tall-bodied Dodge Caliber comes only as a compact hatchback/wagon. The rear seats fold in a 60/40 split, increasing cargo space to a maximum of 48 cubic feet. The front passenger seat can fold forward to make room for longer items, such as ladders, skis or surfboards. The Caliber has decent headroom and legroom in the front and back, but it is still a small car, so don’t expect more than two adults to fit comfortably in the backseat. The Caliber comes in three trims, base SE, SXT and R/T, with a high-performance Caliber SRT4 variant coming soon. The SE is a base model in every sense of the word. It doesn’t come with much; air-conditioning and power features are optional. Most shoppers will want to skip over the base SE and look at either the SXT or R/T, both of which come with more standard features and sportier wheels and tires. The Caliber R/T even gets 18-inch wheels and performance tires. In addition, upscale options like leather seats and a navigation system are only available on the Caliber SXT and R/T. Interior design and build quality are serviceable at best. Dodge doesn’t even pretend that this is an upscale vehicle, and hard plastic is rampant throughout the interior. Compared to the accommodations in vehicles like the Chevrolet HHR, Kia Spectra5, Mazda 3 and Toyota Matrix, the Caliber’s furnishings are several steps below the norm. There are three four-cylinder engine choices for the Dodge Caliber. Each features modern design elements, such as variable valve timing and aluminum construction. At the bottom of the ladder is a 148-horsepower 1.8-liter inline-4, which comes standard on the base Caliber and the SXT. If you’re looking for more power, it’s possible to upgrade to a 158-hp 2.0-liter four, which is equipped exclusively with a CVT. The 148-hp 1.8-liter comes with a five-speed manual gearbox only. Buyers looking for a bit more pep will want to take a look at the Caliber R/T, which gets a 172-hp 2.4-liter engine. It is also available with AWD. In terms of transmissions, the front-wheel-drive R/T comes with a standard five-speed manual, while the R/T AWD comes with the CVT only. The Dodge Caliber is a solid daily driver, though hardly much more than that. It is comfortable without feeling too soft. And the R/T handled well in demanding situations. But our impressions of the Caliber were dampened by the lack of driving excitement. The R/T was especially a disappointment. Not only did it not feel any faster than the SXT with the optional 2.0-liter, the AWD version we tested took 10 seconds to reach 60 mph, hardly the kind of giddy-up we’d expect from a car with an R/T badge. Email This To A Friend or Social Bookmark It! Posted Sep 25 2007, 06:57 PM by All Car Garage Filed under: Dodge, Automotive Reviews

• Holden VE Ute Coming To America

  The Holden VE Ute, which is currently in Australia, seems to be making it big or automakers here in the big U.S. wouldn’t even considering bringing it over the waters and on to our great shores(honestly I could do without it). Holden chairman, Chris Gubbey, whetted our appetites when he told us that there were already test vehicles in the U.S. Now we need to find them. It is a clear indication of GM intentions to sell the ute in the US as a Chevrolet El Camino. GM powerbroker Bob Lutz makes no secret of the fact he’d like to see the car in the US market, but Gubbey isn’t so forthcoming. “It’s definitely not a done deal. We have prototypes over there. They are reviewing the vehicle. Holden is now the centre for rear-wheel-drive for General Motors. We’re looking at any opportunity we can to export any product we come out with,” he says. Gubbey says the car has received a positive reception from GM officials, but says a deal hasn’t been worked out. “The guys who have seen it in the US are really excited about the design. They just have to balance whether that fits the demographics and segmentation of their own markets,” Gubbey says. Holden design director Tony Stolfo says it is now a requirement, given the local car market and global climate, that the company share resources. Stolfo also says he has drafted a concept for an El Camino version of the ute, but Gubbey insists the US arm has not had a hand in the ute’s styling. “You can’t design and build a car specifically for Australia. You have to find a dance partner,” Stolfo says. But though the export deal seems only a matter of time, getting a diesel engine in Holden’s Ute is far less likely. Gubbey confirms the company is investigating a diesel engine, but says a diesel ute won’t fit the market demand. “We’re looking at all the alternative types of propulsion. But again, you have to look at the car’s size and type, and the type of customer who’s looking for the car. “You’re more liable to see some of the alternatives coming in the smaller variants. This is a weekday workhorse and a weekend warrior, a practical car during the week and a sportscar at the weekend. “The aspirational buyer who wants to buy a ute has a pretty fixed idea what he wants to see under the bonnet.” Holden engineering executive director Tony Hyde is more blunt in his diesel views: “We’d love to have one. We’re waiting to see what happens with the VM Motori deal. I don’t mind venting my frustration. We are definitely interested.” Email This To A Friend or Social Bookmark It! Posted Sep 19 2007, 06:42 AM by All Car Garage Filed under: General Motors, Automotive News

• Ford Taurus Returns For 2008

  It seems popular for automakers to discontinue a car and than to bring it back a year or two later. Ford has done this with the Taurus and is giving it a newer and better look. Most people won’t recognize the new vehicle, but they will be impressed with the new look. In fact it seems that Ford is renaming the Freestyle crossover utility wagon as the Taurus X. Ford all but abandoned the Taurus when it launched the Five Hundred, a larger vehicle based on the same platform as the Volvo S80 luxury sedan, and the Fusion, a slightly more compact mid-size sedan built on Mazda underpinnings. The plan was to replace the mid-size Taurus with a pair of vehicles that Ford thought would be more competitive in an automotive marketplace that was fracturing into smaller and smaller niches. That wasn’t the case when Ford launched the Taurus back in 1985. With its oval-shaped rear window and other oval-shaped interior components, the Taurus became America’s best-selling car. But the second generation didn’t have the same sizzle and Ford chose to try a two-pronged attack to compete with the popularity of the Toyota Camry and Honda Accord. Meanwhile, the Taurus remained in production until last year, but was sold primarily into rental car and other fleets. Still, of the 7 million Taurus models built, nearly half remain on the road, and the Taurus brand ranked third behind only the F series pickup truck and the Mustang in a survey of Ford nameplate familiarity, so the new regime running Ford decided that instead of trying to create awareness for the Five Hundred and Freestyle, it made more sense to try to cut through the clutter by updating and renaming those vehicles as Tauruses. The update includes a new 3.5-liter V6 engine with 260 horsepower, a much-needed increase over the 203-hp, 3.0-liter V6 that powered the Five Hundred when it was launched as a 2006 model. The car also gets a new grille, new tail lamps and rear fascia, new chrome exterior accents, new mirrors, better sound insulation, revisions in the suspension system, and will be available with Ford Sync, a Ford/Microsoft joint project for connecting and controlling cell phones, music players, even providing text messages that can be heard rather than read while driving. Seat-mounted side airbags for the front seats and two-row side-curtain airbags will be standard equipment. Electronic stability control and all-wheel drive will be available. The Taurus X crossover utility wagon gets similar updating; its side-curtain airbags will cover all three rows of seats. Email This To A Friend or Social Bookmark It! Posted Sep 12 2007, 10:02 AM by All Car Garage Filed under: Automotive Reviews, Automotive News, Ford