Houston Cars

This is the second post in my Ultimate Lineup series, and I’ve decided to continue on the Chrysler group, and trim the fat from Dodge.  For everyone who’s been a reader of Houston Cars for awhile, you know that I’m not a fan of Dodge at all.  I have some serious problems with their lineup, and now’s the time to lay it all on the line, and create my Dodge Ultimate Lineup.

Current Dodge has a whopping 11 models in their lineup, and that’s counting the Ram 1500, 2500, and 3500 as one model.  I propose axing nearly half - 5 models, and continuing forward with a streamlined group of 6 vehicles.  Here’s the breakdown:

The Ultimate Dodge Lineup

Avenger - The styling is daring, even if the hardware isn’t.  I don’t like the Avenger, but it does have some flair, and I think that will win over some buyers, especially those who are tired of the Stratus and Intrepid of recent years.  The Avenger stays put - but Dodge, we need some powertrain improvements here within a year or two.

Charger - What can I say, it’s growing on me.  At first I was disappointed at the two extra doors, and the lack of an available meat cleaver.  But I’ve grown to like the curvy styling.  Yes, it’s big, heavy, and terrible on gas.  But I think this one needs to stick around - the large American RWD sedan is a good thing to see on the road, even given it’s relative inefficiency.

Viper - 500 HP 8.3 liter V10.  What’s not to like here?  The lucky few who can afford a Viper don’t care that it gets 6 MPG downhill on the highway with a strong tailwind.  It simply doesn’t matter.

Durango - I feel truly dirty leaving the Durango in place in the Dodge lineup.  I think the Durango is years behind the Expedition and even the Tahoe ( which is archaic itself, even in the new design ).  The ride is awful, the handling is clumsy, and the gas mileage is beyond abysmal.  I simply despise the Durango.  Yet Dodge must have a full-size SUV offering, so here it stays, begrudgingly.

Ram - The Ram is a terrible truck.  It is outclassed by Ford, Chevy, Nissan, and Toyota.  The only bright spots are the heavy duty models with the excellent Cummins turbodiesel.  Besides that, the only saving grace for the Ram is that it is very cheap - you can buy a Ram for an extremely low price.  That’s why Dodge sells a lot, and that’s why it stays in place.

Sprinter - I’m leaving this one here, since it probably does well in fleet sales.  The styling is horrid, but it’s a work van, so it doesn’t matter.  It’s slow, but the fuel efficiency is top notch - something more and more businesses are likely to pay attention to in the coming years.

The ones that didn’t make it

Caliber - The Caliber is what happens when a Dodge Ram mates with a Neon.  The offspring is so hideous to behold that there’s simply no choice but to axe it completely.  Yes, I know it’s a very new vehicle - but it needs to go far far away, as soon as possible.  We all want to forget the Caliber as quickly as we can.  It’s better to have no compact offering than to have this one.

Magnum - Exactly who decided that the market for hearses was hurting for a new model?  The Magnum doesn’t look like the station wagon that it is supposed to; it looks like a hearse.  The vehicle is huge, thirsty, and ugly.  If I wanted to deal with those three things, I’d buy a truck or SUV, and get much more use out of it.

Nitro - It’s embarrassing that Dodge actually designed this vehicle and brought it all the way to production.  Dodge should have a mid-sized SUV, but this is most definitely not the right choice.  Axe it.

Dakota - Talk about a sorry excuse for a modern-day truck.  The offerings from Toyota and Nissan are so far beyond the Dakota that it’s difficult to even talk about them in the same sentence.  If the Dakota is competing against the Colorado and Ranger, then it stands a bit of a chance.  Against the real contenders, no way.

Caravan / Grand Caravan - Dodge makes a great minivan - so why am I axing it?  Simple.  The Caravan and Town and Country are badge-engineered clones.  There’s no good reason to continue to produce both, when they are exactly the same, save for the badge and name on the back.  Chrysler can keep the minivan, Dodge’s goes away.