The Cynic Says……

While I do like the commercials for the new Dodge Caliber and find them at least mildly amusing for the most part, there’s one thing about them that annoys me to no end. The car in the commercial has a mean V8 growl like it’s packing a hemi under the hood and the shots they use in the commercial make the car look rather large and menacing, like a shorter version of the Magnum. Problem is, the car isn’t very large and only packs a 4cylinder engine under the hood. Anyone who’s seen one of these things in person can vouch for the fact that they’re about the size of a PT cruiser at most. Even worse, the engine is far from a hemi… hell, it’s HALF a hemi at best. The stock engine is a 1.8L 148hp 4cylinder and the R/T model gets a 2.4L 172hp 4 cylinder. Mind you, a 172hp 4-cylinder isn’t horrible but it’s hardly an engine that is going to have any sort of menacing rumble.

I understand that Dodge has an image to uphold, that being the “tough guy” car and whatnot but why in hell blatantly mis-represent the Caliber as something it’s not? I have no doubt that it’s quite the practical vehicle and may even be fun to drive, but a ground-pounding Billy Badass muscle car it is not. Hell, the non R/T only has 8hp more than a 2006 Honda Civic EX. The R/T model falls 25hp short of the Civic Si and 8hp short of a Hyundai Tiburon GT V6. Size-wise, the car is shorter overall than a Civic sedan (173.8″ vs 176.7″) and has a shorter wheelbase as well (103.7″ vs 106.3″). Make no bones about it, this thing is a small car. You’d never guess it from the commercials, but it is.

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