27th Feb 2007, 03:59

Come on guys lets not get into the American vs European. I will admit European cars are better built, but they are less powerful, smaller and they are way too expensive. The base model Ford Focus in England costs around $22,000. Different markets have different tastes and the sales figures show this. American cars don’t do too well in Europe and European cars fair a little bit better in the states. I do think American manufacturers need to try harder, and the Calibre is a true disappointment, it will be a very sad day when Ford and GM are owned by foreigners, the same way Chrysler went.

27th Feb 2007, 07:46

American car manufacturers will never try harder because they are STILL run by accountants who see cars as appliances that need to be made at the lowest costs possible.

27th Feb 2007, 16:09

I visited the website of Ford US and indeed they've just "redesigned" the old 1997 series 1 Focus. Wow, I find that unbelievable. Here in Australia we get the Euro based Focus series 2 since late 2005. Even Thailand, Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore have new Focus series 2 which is more superior than the 1997 release. It's crazy that Ford USA is still selling the old 10 y.o. Focus. America is such a huge market for compact sedans and hatches.

27th Feb 2007, 21:36

My last Dodge lasted over 200,000 miles without a problem. I don't have any concerns about the reliability of the Caliber. I'd like to see a little better fuel mileage than 32, but in all it's still a much better choice than anything made by Honda, Nissan, or Toyota.

Incidentally, for all the Ford bashers, Consumer Reports now rates ALL Fords as better than ALL Nissans, rates the Fusion as better than Camry, Accord and Altima, and rates that icon of German perfection, the Mercedes, as the WORST car in the world in reliability, with 8 of the Mercedes lines falling into the "worse than average" category. Now ain't that a kick in the head!!

28th Feb 2007, 08:53

Wow, I can now see why Nissan lost $12.7 billion last year given its products are so inferior to Ford.

Oh, wait, that was Ford that lost the money.

28th Feb 2007, 21:43

To comment 03:59 "European cars are BETTER BUILT" Well, not according to Consumer Reports. BMW and Mercedes have some of the worst models in terms of reliability.

1st Mar 2007, 11:56

That is why Ford did not even make the top ten list this year and the top spots went to the Japanese. Seriously just admit what the world already knows and that is the FORD vehicles are crap.

2nd Mar 2007, 20:35

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. "Fords are crap"? Well check out all the problems Toyota is having (WAYYYYYY too numerous to list here) and you might reconsider that.

19th Jun 2007, 14:43

I test-drove a Caliber as a former Chrysler Corporation vehicle owner who fled the brand after having two of Chrysler's 1990s-early 2000s era lemons in a row (a Concorde with destruct-o-matic transmission, and a 2001 Sebring with the infamous "die at 50,000 miles" 2.7L).

My take?

It's a shame that Chrysler so thoroughly destroyed customers' faith in the company in the last 12 years putting out such pretty cars with lousy reliability, because Caliber is competitive.

Earth-shattering? No.

But the economy was adequate, the interior space was nice, the interior was reasonably quiet, the handling was decent, the exterior styling wasn't too bad, and the price was quite good.

On the bad side, the interior was laughably cheap (as in "Yugo of the 2000s" cheap).

So my first impression -- not a bad car!

However, I would never buy one -- Chrysler has shown, time and again, that it's incapable of delivering a quality product, and WORSE, it tends to blame customers for its own inadequate engineering.

From its infamous 4-speed transmissions tot he 2.7L engine blow-ups, Chrysler blamed me for "poor maintenance" when these crappy parts went south -- even though I meticulously maintain my vehicle at their own dealers!

The Caliber is loaded with lots of new technology -- Chrysler's new "world engine" and a CVT.

The good news is that this technology delivers good power and decent fuel economy.

The bad news is that when problems with durability arise, as they surely will (after all, this is Chrysler!), you're on your own -- especially if the problems happen shortly after the warranty is over.

Which is a shame. What will kill Caliber isn't the fact that it's a bad car, but the fact that it's built by a company with atrocious customer service.

PS -- to all the people who talk about "American cars," please de-brainwash. Caliber is not "American." The "world engine" in this car was designed by Hyundai in Korea -- Chrysler just modified the design for its purposes (fitting different valves and adding a longer stroke to the Hyundai design).

The transmission is built in Japan to Chrysler's specifications.

And Chrysler's future small cars are going to be assembled in Mexico and China from parts built all over the world.

So in short, buy the car that best fits your needs and driving habits, that's reliable and affordable, from a company that cares about its customers.

Time and again, Chrysler has shown it *doesn't* care about its customers -- so buy at your own risk.

24th Jun 2007, 07:52

I think that maybe because the caliber has such a great look people tend to expect more than they should of a us$20,000.00 dollars car. Comparing the caliber to a Honad Fit or a Hyundai elantra is outrageous and those who do that need professional asistance. the car runs pretty well and comfort standard is high when compare to same price cars.

12th Aug 2008, 18:30

I have test drove 2 Dodge Calibers! It's a nice car!

- Why would one say that Chrysler has yet to make a decent car? I just wonder if that person took care and made sure that they made the monthly (tri-monthly) up keeps that one should do to make a car run great...

- With that said, I'm currently driving a Plymouth Breeze (a Chrysler made car); it has 200,000 miles and has seen better days... I'm ready for a new Chrysler vehicle!

- My fiancée was given a 1992 Chrysler Caravan when his grandparents died; it had a whooping 480,000 miles and was in good condition. Last summer the transmission finally died and the final mileage count was 527,000. I believe that that was an incredible mileage. He is currently driving a 2007 Dodge Avenger and loves it...

P.s. the Honda Fit is one ugly car!!!

29th Jul 2009, 15:43

Hmmm, I smell a lot of Honda and Toyota personnel crawling around. I myself am not a huge fan of the Caliber, but it seems that most of the people that drive them, do in fact, like them. I am in the market for a car for my daughter, and she picked this one. I would not even compare the Fit to this. The Fit is terrible, but if you must have one, go for it. Everyone has their own taste. Although I have talked to 3 different people in random parking lots and asked them about their Calibers. Haven't heard of anyone complaining. I talked to a neighbor that has a Fit and a Nissan Versa. He said that he would have bought a car they actually liked, instead on one that was just good on gas...