Buy An Avenger, Get One Free

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

Nobody should be too surprised that Avengers aren’t selling particular well in Britain. Relaunching the Dodge brand a year ago hasn’t exactly paid off for Chrysler. But at least now they’re getting some media play from it… although not the good kind. Autosavant reports that Dodge is rapidly becoming a joke famous in Old Blighty for offering its butched-up Sebring sibling at literally half of its MSRP. In all fairness, the deal was offered at retailer website Broadspeed.com, and apparently Chrysler is actually unhappy about the development. After all, the the British list price for a fully-loaded Avenger 2.4 SXT was already low for its class at $28,700. Broadspeed’s $14,200 deal on the same car did work, however (if only at the expense of Chrysler’s little remaining dignity), as the entire inventory sold out. Autosavant does note that “rumours suggest the dealers who supplied the cars did so without the consent of an angry Chrysler UK, which is currently expensively promoting another Dodge, the Journey, in prime-time TV commercials.” On the other hand, at least the Avengers are gone now, rapidly depreciating in the hands of British bargain-seekers who will likely be derided in the thoroughfare for their choice in vehicles. And we’re left to guess at just how low Chrysler (or their dealers) will stoop next.

Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • INeon INeon on Nov 10, 2008

    Autonut-- GAZ bought the tooling for the previous model and re-christened it Siber. Chrysler has nothing to do with this car. It's quite handsome with it's facelift. The malaise in the JS cars comes from Daimler forcing Chrysler engineers to change software mid-design. Essentially, it was a clean-sheet redesign, halfway through-- to use Mitsubishi hardpoints and further reduce costs. These cars are not Chrysler's incompetence showing through-- they are a rushed, pinched design demanded by Daimler.

  • DweezilSFV DweezilSFV on Nov 10, 2008

    Shame. I parked behind one on the street where I work. Pretty medium gray color, sort of nice 2/3rds Charger styling, front looks like a Dodge K Based product of the 80s or 90s but nothing really polarizing. Then I peeked inside. Thatsa plastic ! Mattel Plasti-Goop style [if anyone remembers Creeple People molding kits of the 60s]. I never thought plastic could be THAT bad, [it all comes out of the same test tube]. The plastic instrument surround on my 63 Valiant is still intact after all these years. I don't know that those pieces in the Avenger [AC vents, etc] would last 10. This is really sad. NickNick: maybe the suspension set up was a throwback to that "big car ride" of yore.That sounds like "Old School De-Troit" right there. Maybe they were trying for a "retro" style ride. How noisy was it inside overall [wind, road, etc. I don't mind the sound of the engine either ] ? I'd really like to like this car.

  • MrDot MrDot on Nov 10, 2008

    What an awesome idea: take a barely-competitive design and try to sell it in one of the world's most competitive small-car markets. It may have been imported to fill-out Chrysler's euro lineup (Wrangler, Viper, and ??), but why bother if it's this bad?

  • Jybt Jybt on Nov 11, 2008

    You know your product sucks when you have to offer a two-for one deal....

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