Dodge Caliber Made In China?
My friend Ash Sutcliffe of China Car Times reports that Chrysler will be bringing the Dodge Caliber to China, for production at the Guangzhou Auto / Fiat joint venture.
The Caliber is already available in China as a Mexican made import, but it’s not racking up huge sales. Made in China, it would be price competitive with other crossovers like the new Kia Sportage, the Nissan Qashqai, or Hyundai Tucson. China Car Times expects the Chinese Caliber in early 2012, as “the start of many other Dodge and Jeep products finding production lines in China to make themselves more competitive.”
That would be one way to plant another milestone worth another 5 percent of Chrysler.
Bertel Schmitt comes back to journalism after taking a 35 year break in advertising and marketing. He ran and owned advertising agencies in Duesseldorf, Germany, and New York City. Volkswagen A.G. was Bertel's most important corporate account. Schmitt's advertising and marketing career touched many corners of the industry with a special focus on automotive products and services. Since 2004, he lives in Japan and China with his wife <a href="http://www.tomokoandbertel.com"> Tomoko </a>. Bertel Schmitt is a founding board member of the <a href="http://www.offshoresuperseries.com"> Offshore Super Series </a>, an American offshore powerboat racing organization. He is co-owner of the racing team Typhoon.
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If the US can't compete with China financial or militarily... give 'em Calibers and let the chips fall where they may. It may be our last hope.
I had rental Caliber once on business and the engine was coarse and the amount of plastic cladding tacked onto the roof / hatch area was silly. The overall shape / size seemed about right but every time I stepped on the gas there was lots of noise and very little motion. Maybe it had CVT? This car has potential... maybe the next version will be Fiat-ized enough to fix it.
it will probably be screwed together better than at Belvidere
I rented one of these things, it is bad, it's really that bad. Every time I saw one I lamented about why anyone would buy one, only the ones that were obviously not rentals, because if they looked like rentals I prayed they were. I'd honestly take a VW product before this pile of trash, that's saying a lot.