Dodge hasn’t had a small car offering in their lineup since discontinuing Caliber production in 2010. There are plenty of 2011 Calibers leftover on dealer lots, but the car is a reminder of the “bad old days” at Chrysler. Like the Dodge Neon that preceded it, the Caliber was never known for its build quality, long term reliability or residual value.
Those days are in the past, and Dodge’s product line shows a clear effort to improve product quality. The interior of the new Journey, for example, is very impressive, as is the inside of the new Dodge Charger. You can’t fix all of a car company’s problems overnight, especially on a limited budget, so Chrysler is planning models and product introductions carefully.
It’s no secret that a new small car for both Dodge and Chrysler is coming in 2012, and the North American International Auto Show (also known as the Detroit Auto Show) is the best place to launch it.
That speculation seems to be confirmed by Wards Auto, which reports that Dodge will indeed unveil the replacement for the Caliber at the 2012 Detroit Auto Show. It’s not yet known if the vehicle will retain the Caliber name, but our guess is that it won’t; after all, the Caliber never amassed much in the way of brand equity.
The Chrysler product equivalent won’t be revealed in Detroit, and it’s likely that both vehicles will be based on the Fiat C-Evo small car platform.
[Wards Auto (subscription required), via Autoblog]
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