Is Dodge/DCX making another mistake with the 2008 dodge Avenger ?

[Honda2Mopar]

true but nobody said anything about that. The american car companies depended heavily upon the japan companies during their darkest days and produced some of the best cars to come from those companies during that time. Remember the stealth/3000gt or corolla/ prism or now even the 3.5 liter honda engine in the saturn Vue. American car companies have learned from their mistakes and now are on course to reclaim the american market so the BIG three can shine again. Yes you can see benz influence in all the cars coming from chrysler/ dodge these days. With the products american car companies are coming out with in the future, I can say that I will buy an american car and be proud to do so. I could not say that 10 years or even as close to 5 years ago. The quality was just not there, but now I feel it is.

[DubleDex]

I love how everyone gets upset about how Dodge "sullied the name" of the Charger. And, yes, when compared to the 68-70 model (widely considered one of the best looking cars of all time), then yes, the new Charger doesn't necessarily stack up in terms of appearance.

But there were a LOT of cars Dodge branded as "Charger" between 1970 and now. For instance:

http://www.geocities.com/aaronkarpi/1981.htm

or

http://www.allpar.com/cars/dodge/charger-history.html (scroll to the bottom).

Like others have said, this new design phase Dodge is in may not be your cup of tea. But they are cars with personality and style (even if it's not one you like). I see people driving a Ford 500 or Chevy Malibu and I wonder if their personality is as completely bland and style-free as the car they choose to drive.

Dodge is going out on a limb to make some cars that really are unique when compared to the cookie cutter designs of the other guys. It opens the door for lots of exploration down the road. If there's nothing currently in the Chrysler / Dodge / Jeep lineup that you like, I bet that there will be in a few years. (I'm personally a big fan of the 4-door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited that should be hitting showroom floors this month).

[Legion681]

Originally Posted by Honda2Mopar

no they are not ugly -- but when that true german quality shows through and things quit working or fall apart at less than 1500 miles on the OD then you might wonder why everybody believes the german cars are better. They look nice have a lot of tech features but are expensive to repair and have below average reliablity.

I would rank the best countries that make cars as japan, usa, and germany .... most people would but germany first, but for me when the quality does not live up to the technology that makes for an ugly car......

This sounds strange to me.
I mean, I had no German cars this site of the pond (=in the U.S. of A.), but I had three of them (89 Opel Kadett GSi 16v, 97 BMW M3 and 01 BMW M3) in Europe.
All of them were basically bulletproof, never had any problem whatsoever with those.
And where I come from (Switzerland) people consider German cars the best when reliability is the matter at hand (and I remember that in all stats compiled by the ACS, which is the AAA of Switzerland, showed that all German makers where on top of the rankings, while US cars, like for example vehicles made by Ford USA (not Ford Europe), were constantly at the bottom of the pile...).
So I wonder what's the matter with German cars sold in the USA...

[Ragamuffin]

Originally Posted by DubleDex

Like others have said, this new design phase Dodge is in may not be your cup of tea.

Dodge is going out on a limb to make some cars that really are unique when compared to the cookie cutter designs of the other guys. It opens the door for lots of exploration down the road. If there's nothing currently in the Chrysler / Dodge / Jeep lineup that you like, I bet that there will be in a few years. (I'm personally a big fan of the 4-door Jeep Wrangler Unlimited that should be hitting showroom floors this month).

Well, some of this may be true but is a stretch,,by 'some' I'll take that to mean Challenger and Viper,,Dakota Quad Cab [ but the reliability stats seem bothersome]. Yeah the Wrangler looks good and drives neat especially off road in ruts..but is an extreme gas guzzler [ in fact that one ought to have that Guzzy tax !! ] ; but the one issue I have to take up is your statement of " compared to the cookie cutter designs of the other guys" ! Heck this is basically just my 'complaint' in this thread...They Dodge /DCX have indeed turned a half-way decent previous coupe model into a cookie-cutter design...a now sister model to the Chrysler ? um [ can't think of it now] and it looks very close to the Charger..so it bewilders me as to why DCX is having two extremely similar cars on the same showroom? The only way I'll let the Dodge Boys 'off the hook' here is if they stop the Charger Sedan and produce the all-new Dodge Charger R/T Coupe : preferrably Burningmon's design ! !

[DubleDex]

Originally Posted by Ragamuffin

t of " compared to the cookie cutter designs of the other guys" ! Heck this is basically just my 'complaint' in this thread...They Dodge /DCX have indeed turned a half-way decent previous coupe model into a cookie-cutter design...a now sister model to the Chrysler ? um [ can't think of it now] and it looks very close to the Charger..so it bewilders me as to why DCX is having two extremely similar cars on the same showroom?

I can definitely see what you're saying here. Quick comparison of the two cars shows that the Avenger is basically a Charger with an altered nose and some other minor tweaks (and, obviously, smaller proportions).

It seems Dodge has stumbled across a design that has been selling well. I'm not really disagreeing with you too much - the Caliber and this Avenger aren't really my cup of tea. I think they're really just trying to get everything in their stable looking like it all belongs to the same brand. And hopefully that will give them a jump off for future designs that really push it.

But I do stand by my statement that these are some of the most visually interesting "boring sedans" on the road. Whether you like them or not. I'd like to see the Avenger next to the Charger to get an idea of the size difference. Guess I'll have to wait until they're in the showroom.

You may be right, though - there may be so much simliarity in designs now that people don't feel like they're getting anything unique. I guess we'll just watch and see how the sales go.

[l3it3r@gmail.com]

The majority of people that buy cars like this aren't performance enthusiasts or 'car guys' like you or I. The Avenger will sell by leaps and bounds. The Charger sells like hot cakes, the Caliber sells like hot cakes.. It's almost like nothing they sell, save for the Magnum, can 'fail' in terms of sales.

[340 Challenger]

"It's almost like nothing they sell, save for the Magnum, can 'fail' in terms of sales."
Sad, but true... and the Magnum (SRT8) is one awesome machine!

[WildKarrde]

Personally, I wouldn't mine having a new Charger R/T sitting next to my new Challenger R/T. I've grown to accept 4 doors on the Charger.

The Avenger though... seems pointless. Another LX sedan? Why????

[l3it3r@gmail.com]

Personally I like it... A LOT. The new Avenger is a nice car, has great options and will sell very well. A name is just a name IMO, that is, of course unless they try to make a four door Viper.. seriously though, even Bugatti is considering making a four door Veyron.. who cares if the new Chargers or Avengers are sedans? They're BRAND NEW, it's not like it even looks like a Charger or Avenger.. it's just the name. At least we have a Challenger that LOOKS like the Challenger, and is 2 doors.. if it LOOKED like a Challenger and had four, I'd understand all the hateful comments, but the market is flooded with similar vehicles and this Avenger will fill the 15-30 (base to SRT, which btw is rumored to be AWD and 300-400HP turbo I4 or V6) are very nicely with great options. goto www.dodge.com and configure a car there.. check out the 'future options' in particular. Some cool stuff.

Natrually I'll be taking pictures of this when I goto SEMA on tuesday if they have it there.

-Chris

[Ragamuffin]

Well , the more I look at the New Avenger and Sebring,as well as the Charger Sedan: I will say the The Dodge and other DCX 4-doors look more appealing than most other makes ! Still though ..oh never mind !