Ask the Car People.SM


Cars That Could Have Been Great, But Missed

421 messages,  Last post on Jan 31, 2013 at 2:32 PM

You are in the Classic Cars Forum.

What is this discussion about? Chrysler, Wagon

Messages Page 43 of 43

#416 of 421 Fiat Strada by hpmctorque

Jan 27, 2013 (2:21 pm)

For those of you who may not remember or know, the Strada was a hatchback that competed with the VW Rabbit, the Mopar Omni/Horizon twins, the Chevette, and the various subcompact Japanese offerings of that body style. The Strada was arguably Fiat's last best hope of competing in the small hatchback segment, but it failed due to - surprise! - quality issues. The styling was also a bit odd, which didn't help, and the 1.5L engine provided rather weak performance, even by the modest standards of the day. What it had going for it was a relatively roomy interior, good fuel economy and a comfortable ride. Those attributes weren't enough to win over American drivers, though, so the Strada made only a brief appearance on our shores, from the late '70s-early '80s.
 
Does anyone here remember the Strada?

#417 of 421 Re: Fiat Strada [hpmctorque] by fintail

Jan 27, 2013 (3:09 pm)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Jan 27, 2013 2:21 pm)
I remember the Strada, although not when new. It was a US market Ritmo. Weird styling (the round lights are offputting to me, somehow), and I have to imagine quality control was laughable. I bet parts supply and service availability were also suspect. They have to be fantastically rare today - I know I have seen somewhere local, I want to say Portland, but maybe it was online.
 
I have a 1981 Consumer Guide, where they raved about the Strada. Maybe nice until the end of warranty.

#418 of 421 Re: Fiat Strada [fintail] by Mr_Shiftright HOST

Jan 27, 2013 (5:44 pm)

Replying to: fintail (Jan 27, 2013 3:09 pm)
The Ritmo/Strada has some distinctions I'm told.
 
First off they made about (roughly) 1.8 million of them, so not too shabby...
 
Also it may have been the first, or one of the first cars to be built almost entirely by robots!
 
"Ritmo" means "rhythm"......"I got ritmo, I got tow chains, I got hand tools who could ask for anything morrreeeee...."

#419 of 421 Dodge Caliber by hpmctorque

Jan 28, 2013 (3:39 pm)

You'd think that Mopar would've gotten the successor to the Neon right, but no. The Caliber got panned in every test I read. The gas mileage was disappointing for its class, even though the automatic was a CVT.
 
I rented a Caliber in Idaho and drove it almost 1,000 miles, much of it on mountain roads, and I thought it was okay. I liked the styling, it had good room, and was as comfortable as anything in its class. Performance was competitive, and I didn't discover any notable negatives. Well, okay, the CVT was a little odd, but that didn't make it bad. Would I have bought one? Probably not, because I wouldn't have wanted to take the chance that all those reviews were wrong. The fact that there was no second generation Caliber suggests that mine was a minority experience.
 
Has anyone here owned a Caliber or know of someone who has, and, if so, what was the experience?

#420 of 421 Re: Dodge Caliber [hpmctorque] by andre1969

Jan 28, 2013 (4:47 pm)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Jan 28, 2013 3:39 pm)
The Calilber got dropped, but aren't the Jeep Compass and Patriot on the same platform, and aren't they still around? I think my biggest issue with the Caliber was that it seemed sort of blurred the line between hatchback/wagon and SUV, but it wasn't enough of either to be all that great at anything.
 
My only experience with them was driving one at a test drive event at one of the Carlisle Mopar shows a few years back. Didn't really do much for me, but I'm not really the target market of these things.
 
I like the Patriot, though. They added just enough length to it to, IMO at least, make it a nice, roomy vehicle given its size. The Compass makes me think too much of a Gremlin though, although the recent facelift at least makes it not as brutal to look at.
 
But, as such, I view the Caliber as more of a competitor to something like the PT Cruiser or Chevy HHR, or to a lesser degree the Matrix/Vibe or Focus wagon. And, not really a direct competitor to more mainstream sedan-type compacts like the Corolla, Civic, Neon, etc.
 
According to Wikipedia, even vehicles like the Dodge Journey, Avenger, Chrysler 200, and Mistubishi Lancer and Outlander are also related. So apparently, the basic platform is viable, but the Caliber version just ran its course.
 
I think when the Journey came out, it stole most of the Caliber's thunder, and probably served better as a crossover SUV than the Caliber did.

#421 of 421 Re: Dodge Caliber [hpmctorque] by uplanderguy

Jan 31, 2013 (2:32 pm)

Replying to: hpmctorque (Jan 28, 2013 3:39 pm)
Has anyone here owned a Caliber or know of someone who has, and, if so, what was the experience?
 
I don't, but I remember seeing a Caliber for the first time at the Cleveland Auto Show some years back. I told a friend that I thought it would be a big hit--utility, price, and looks. I was dead-wrong.
 
I saw a new one a couple years back or so at a dealer in Erie, PA, that was a base model with 5-speed. It was only $13K on the windshield. I think one could hardly go wrong with one at that price. That's the type vehicle I look for, for me...cheap, economical, and practical.

Messages Page 43 of 43

To POST a message, please Sign In.

Advertisement

Browse by Category

Browse by Vehicle
   View All Vehicles

Browse by Board
Browse by Topic
View All Topics

Edmunds Community

Advertisement