Follow Up: 2008 Dodge Avenger

[Intrepidation]

I actually just got back from the dealer. Here's how it went:

I went to the dealer around 4pm today. After talking with the service technician, he recommended that I leave it be for now because it would got 90 bucks an hour and it's a 2 hour or so job for a couple of bulbs. He was pretty honest with me. He told me they'd fix it if I wanted but it's pretty expensive for a couple of bulbs. As long as it's readable it's fine. He also gave me a discount card for oil changes. Basically it's a dollar off the first oil change, and a dollar is added until the 5th one...which is free.

Anyway, I walk into the showroom and see the salesman (whose name is Eric). We greet and talk for a moment. Then he goes over to where they keep the keys. He asks for my license so he can make a copy of it. Afterwards we go out to the car. He says "I'm guessing you know the area" and I'm like "yeah". So we get in and he pulls the car to the entrance. We chat for a bit about the car. I guess without his classes he can't read the smaller buttons well. Hell, I don't even know what some of them are. Apparently he hasn't read all of the info about the car yet (like the heated/cooled cupholders and the chill-zone) so, hilariously, I explain it to him. He tells me to bring it back in one piece and keep it under a hundred, hands me the keys and lets me go (I get to drive it by myself!). I've got 10-15 minutes to drive it before he asked me to bring it back. I pull out, and waist half my time getting to some upen road. Water Street/Riverside Drive is a good place to go fast because it's useally not too busy once you pass the houses, and it's twisty so you can test the handling abit. Of course this guy in an older Accord is going like 25 up the road (it inclines here). So I slow the car down, wait to get some distance and then floor it.

Man this thing has power! I was up to 50 and on his ass before I knew it. For fun, I took it up my street and parked it in front of the house. It goes up the hill much quicker than anything I've driven. The combination of power and 6 gears really makes a difference. When I got up the hill there's a bit of a straight before my house, so I gave it gas and then tested the brakes. They were very impressive at hauling the car to a stop..although the car felt like it wanted to jerk to the right. I wonder if it was the car or just me not being used to ABS (I've never driven a car with ABS before). My neighbor came and looked at it. He was really impressed with it... he said it looked sharp. I had my mom come out...she was surprised because I hadn't said what I was doing today. She sat down and said she liked the seats a lot. It wasn't for long, because I wanted a little extra time to drive before I returned it. So I go back down to Riverside Drive and floor it again. Basically, in the time it takes the Prizm to get to 40-45mph I was doing 70mph! I love the power of this thing, and it sounds good when doing it...yet there's no torque steer. It's so responsive too. The road bends and becomes a downhill slope, so it made for a good opportunity to work the brakes and feel how the suspension handled. Quite admirably. In addition to absorbing bumps well, it felt sharp and crisp with good steering feedback and well controlled body roll. Once I got back into the city area, I slowed down and played with the AutoStick the rest of the way back to the dealer. AutoStick is neat..although strange compared to a full manual. It shifts as soon as you do though...there's no delay.

As I was driving back I noticed some people on the sidewalks staring at the car as I drove by...it's quit an attention getter...especially in black with the 18-inch wheels.

I got back to the dealership and put the car back where it was and talked to Eric. He asked me what I thought and I said "I love it! It's very powerful and fun to drive." We chatted for a bit about where I go to school , where I work, and some good places to get pizza. I recommended someday they order from where I work. He said bring something if you ever get anything extra

I talked about how I'm in the graphic design field, hoping to get a career in it. He told me that it's good that I've got options in my field. He also said that when he started working at the dealership (like 20 years ago) he hadn't planned it to be his career...but he's still here. I also found out that I'd met him before. He remembered me from when my mom and I came a couple years ago to look at a Dakota for a project I was doing for school (he had short hair then). I also learned that in order to sell Sprinters, the dealerships need a separate wing and special technician training. They didn't have the space to expand so they passed on selling the Sprinter. But I digress. We even talked about the Shadow for a bit.

Closing Thoughts

The Dealer:

This is a great dealership. Everyone there is honest and friendly. The service technician didn't try to screw me out of money and was pleasant to talk to. We discussed synthetic oil and engine flushes and the pros and cons to them. Likewise, the salesman, Eric, even knowing that I wasn't going to buy the Avenger or any other car on the lot was pleasant and friendly. He talked to me like I was his friend, as opposed to trying to get me out of the dealership because he couldn't get a sale off me. He was nice enough to let me drive the car, by myself no less, and we talked casually before and after. Honestly, when I eventually buy a new car, I most likely will buy from them, since I've had such good experiences with them.

The car:

I have only a few regrets about my drive:

• I didn't bring my drink with me to test the cupholders

• I didn't bring a CD to listen to.

• I didn't get to drive it longer (makes me the most sad).

As for the car, the only fault I could find today was that the center stack trim plate (the metallic stuff) had flex to it when pressed...not nearly as bad as that Nitro that Northstar sat in but not as solid as the Intrepid's. Still...it's not like you touch that on a regular basis...you touch the knobs, buttons, and stereo controls.

At the end of the day I can tell you that I want one, and if I had the money I would buy one in a heartbeat. Some of you guys seem to think it's a horrible cheap-ass car with no competitiveness. Drive one, at least an R/T. It's not going to set the standard in this segment, but I think it should do well for Dodge. It's not perfect, and it has a few faults, but at the same time it's worth more than the sum of its parts.

I want to drive an Aura XR as soon as possible to compare the two more directly...I wonder how that will go?

Edited March 13, 2007 by Dodgefan

[gm4life]

Did you drive one with the 3.5L SOHC V6, because if you did that was a really nice car. Trust me I hate the Sebring.

[Intrepidation]

Did you drive one with the 3.5L SOHC V6, because if you did that was a really nice car. Trust me I hate the Sebring.

Yup, 3.5L, 6-speed. It is a blast with that powertrain. I drove one just like the one in the photo.

Edited March 13, 2007 by Dodgefan

[CSpec]

This will make many rental agencies happy.

[Intrepidation]

This will make many rental agencies happy.

Never anything positive to say do you? Pllus, I doubt you'd find an R/T at a rental agency.

Edited March 13, 2007 by Dodgefan

[Flybrian]

Never anything positive to say do you? Pllus, I doubt you'd find an R/T at a rental agency.

Seeing a LaCrosse CXL, two Audi A4s, an Impala LTZ, and a V6 Altima outside the local Enterprise lot recently, I wouldn't be surprised.

People are tired of renting strippers. Well. You know what I mean.

[ocnblu]

Decent writeup, Dodgefan.

[BrewSwillis]

Seeing a LaCrosse CXL, two Audi A4s, an Impala LTZ, and a V6 Altima outside the local Enterprise lot recently, I wouldn't be surprised.

People are tired of renting strippers. Well. You know what I mean.

Some guy on the Allpar.com forums just posted about the surprise he got from his rental car agency......a Charger R/T. A 340 hp V8 from a rental car agency! I wouldn't complain about that.

Last few times I rented, I got a Kia minivan (needed to haul samples), a Chevy Silverado (they didn't have any "cars"), and a 4x4 Jeep Liberty (my car was getting a door scratch fixed). I used to get crap like Neons and Ions.

[CSpec]

Never anything positive to say do you? Pllus, I doubt you'd find an R/T at a rental agency.

One positive thing I have to say about the Avenger is that the climate control knobs feel nice and solid. Other than that, I would say it's way behind competing cars in the segment.

[Intrepidation]

Seeing a LaCrosse CXL, two Audi A4s, an Impala LTZ, and a V6 Altima outside the local Enterprise lot recently, I wouldn't be surprised.

People are tired of renting strippers. Well. You know what I mean.

Some guy on the Allpar.com forums just posted about the surprise he got from his rental car agency......a Charger R/T. A 340 hp V8 from a rental car agency! I wouldn't complain about that.

Last few times I rented, I got a Kia minivan (needed to haul samples), a Chevy Silverado (they didn't have any "cars"), and a 4x4 Jeep Liberty (my car was getting a door scratch fixed). I used to get crap like Neons and Ions.

touche'

Where the hell can I rent a stripper?!

Thanks oncblu

Edited March 14, 2007 by Dodgefan

[BrewSwillis]

Where the hell can I rent a stripper?!

[Intrepidation]

You can rent them?

[BrewSwillis]

You can rent them?

How old are you?? If 18+ Click here: http://yp.yahoo.com/py/ypResults.py?&&...amp;stx=8120393

(there is nothing offensive in the link.....it's just a Yahoo Yellow Pages result )

[balthazar]

I love strippers.

[Mule Bakersdozen LS]

Dodge needs to advertise this the everliving daylights out of this car (Avenger) and everyone of their cars and trucks-hence, one of many reasons nobody will remember the Stratus and why it became a fleet special, among other things. I was at the local Dodge dealer Saturday, where I'm known by one of the head salesmen as "The Brochure Bandit!" While I did go there to get a brochure (after waiting/getting called by the dealer/etc.) for Avenger, Dakota, and Ram, I sat in the Avenger, specifically an SXT model, Inferno Red I think it was. The 13.6 cubic foot trunk is class-lagging and nearly 3 cubic feet less than the dead Stratus, and aside from the abominable, uncomfortable, what-were-the-Chrysler-designers-thinking??!!! headrests that plague every 2007 Dodge, Chrysler, and Jeep, the Avenger is not bad, and it adds spunk to the mid-size class that is desperately lacking. It is better than Optima, G6, the current Malibu, etc. (but what isn't?), but Avenger is inferior to Aura and Fusion/Milan.

[GXT]

This will make many rental agencies happy.

I saw my first Avenger on the road the other day. It was a rental.

This car seems strangely analogous to a direct-to-DVD movie.

[regfootball]

there are now some good Avenger pics on www.km77.com

looks a little better in some of those photos.

[ocnblu]

Local dealership here has a crispy white one with chrome rims, and a medium blue one with machined aluminum rims. They don't look too bad from the road. I may go lot cruising sometime today and check them out. Something about this car reminds me of the Dart from the late 60's-70's... not particularly flashy, but stoic and intrepid... long lasting but unassuming. A good car for people who want something quietly distinctive without being flashy. come to think of it, the Shadow and Spirit were also of this ilk. There is a market for this type of car, it's honest. And the "stacked boxes" interior? It's also not a new phenom at Chrysler... look inside a K-car, or a Shadow, or even an early minivan... this will be familiar to Chrysler's stalwart fans.

And thank God they didn't saddle it with a CVT. CVT is just a bad idea that's been tried for what, 15 years from different manufacturers... I remember the old Subaru Justy had an available CVT...

[Intrepidation]

Local dealership here has a crispy white one with chrome rims, and a medium blue one with machined aluminum rims. They don't look too bad from the road. I may go lot cruising sometime today and check them out. Something about this car reminds me of the Dart from the late 60's-70's... not particularly flashy, but stoic and intrepid... long lasting but unassuming. A good car for people who want something quietly distinctive without being flashy. come to think of it, the Shadow and Spirit were also of this ilk. There is a market for this type of car, it's honest. And the "stacked boxes" interior? It's also not a new phenom at Chrysler... look inside a K-car, or a Shadow, or even an early minivan... this will be familiar to Chrysler's stalwart fans.

And thank God they didn't saddle it with a CVT. CVT is just a bad idea that's been tried for what, 15 years from different manufacturers... I remember the old Subaru Justy had an available CVT...

Yeah, CVTs are pretty bad...Dodge should offer the 4-speed as an option for Calibers and a 6-speed for the R/T...can you image how much quicker it would be? I really like the Avenger, I wanted to look at it again but the last time I was at the dealership it was gone...somebody bought it.

It turned a lot of heads when I drove it...how many midsize sedans do that?

[caddycruiser]

And thank God they didn't saddle it with a CVT. CVT is just a bad idea that's been tried for what, 15 years from different manufacturers... I remember the old Subaru Justy had an available CVT...

It's only a bad idea when you marry one to an already gruff and not too powerful 4-cyl, like Chrysler has, and then seemingly have no idea how to R&D tune it all. Same with GM and their "experiment" using a CVT in the VUE, only to cancel it early and have all those that were made be prone to failure and issues. Nissan uses more and more of them every year and has it down to a fine art almost, so it's kind of hard to make that blanket statement.

But, that said, given how terrible Chrysler's CVT combo's are, it is good this car didn't have to get one.

Edited April 1, 2007 by caddycruiser

[Intrepidation]

It's only a bad idea when you marry one to an already gruff and not too powerful 4-cyl, like Chrysler has, and then seemingly have no idea how to R&D tune it all. Same with GM and their "experiment" using a CVT in the VUE, only to cancel it early and have all those that were made be prone to failure and issues. Nissan uses more and more of them every year and has it down to a fine art almost, so it's kind of hard to make that blanket statement.

But, that said, given how terrible Chrysler's CVT combo's are, it is good this car didn't have to get one.

I thik the 2.4L is a good engine as far as the power it makes for its size...and Nissan does have the most experience with CVTs...that doesn't make them good...just ask Fly

[Flybrian]

Nissan uses more and more of them every year and has it down to a fine art almost, so it's kind of hard to make that blanket statement.

I can based on my experience with the CVT in the Murano. Good engine, lousy transmission with lots of rubber banding. At lower speeds, you always felt like you were either a gear short or a gear high. And 16-18mpg combined driving over ~2500 miles? Uh, my V8 4-speed gets that kind of mileage on a bad day. After a week with the Murano's running gear, I was done with it. I think a Powerglide would've been less irritating.

But, that said, given how terrible Chrysler's CVT combo's are, it is good this car didn't have to get one.

Chrysler CVTs likewise suck. Drive a Compass and try not to cut your throat.

[regfootball]

I saw my first Avenger on the road the other day. It was a rental.

This car seems strangely analogous to a direct-to-DVD movie.

STARRING SHANNON TWEED NO DOUBT

CVT's are good if done right. DSG is probably a better option overall.

I drove through the dodge lot this morning. they had some big 22" or bigger wheels on an Avenger. It seemed to fit the look but i was left wondering, who is gonna buy this car?

Edited April 1, 2007 by regfootball

[ocnblu]

I test drove an ION with CVT before I ordered my Quad Coupe. It felt very weird. No wonder Ford is going to the 6 speed in the Taurus and letting the CVT fall by the wayside.

The Nissan CVT has not won any fans in the automotive press from an enthusiast's standpoint... just check all the moaning about it in reviews of the new Sentra SE-R.

[regfootball]

I test drove an ION with CVT before I ordered my Quad Coupe. It felt very weird. No wonder Ford is going to the 6 speed in the Taurus and letting the CVT fall by the wayside.

The Nissan CVT has not won any fans in the automotive press from an enthusiast's standpoint... just check all the moaning about it in reviews of the new Sentra SE-R.

actually, the ford CVT was VERY GOOD. I wanted one over the 6 speed, but to get the limited 500 FWD i needed to get the 6 speed. yup, needed 6 speed to get heated seats. the ford CVT with another 50 hp would have been kick ass. butter smooth.

the only reason they are switching to the new 6 speed is to mate to the new engine and to use their investment with GM on the new tranny. that and the whole front end is new on the taurus. engine cradle, suspension, engine, tranny, AWD system, etc. the cvt had supply issues and was costly

Edited April 2, 2007 by regfootball

[BrewSwillis]

It's only a bad idea when you marry one to an already gruff and not too powerful 4-cyl, ...

I'll let the "gruff" comment slide.....but "not too powerful"??

DCX - 2.4L = 173 HP, 166 ft-lbs

GM - 2.2L = 148 HP, 152 ft-lbs

Ford - 2.3L = 160 HP, 156 ft-lbs

Honda - 2.4L = 166 HP, 160 ft-lbs

Mazda - 2.3L = 156 HP, 154 ft-lbs

Toyota - 2.4L = 158 HP, 161 ft-lbs

---------

Only the Nissan 2.5L is slightly more powerful, and the Subaru 2.5L matches it.

[Ravenfreak13]

GO BREWSWILLIS!

[C.H.U.D.]

I'll let the "gruff" comment slide.....but "not too powerful"??

DCX - 2.4L = 173 HP, 166 ft-lbs

GM - 2.2L = 148 HP, 152 ft-lbs

Ford - 2.3L = 160 HP, 156 ft-lbs

Honda - 2.4L = 166 HP, 160 ft-lbs

Mazda - 2.3L = 156 HP, 154 ft-lbs

Toyota - 2.4L = 158 HP, 161 ft-lbs

---------

Only the Nissan 2.5L is slightly more powerful, and the Subaru 2.5L matches it.

Not that I'm disagreeing with you, but you compared the wrong GM four. Try the 169 hp, 162 lb/ft 2.4l in the G6. A little more fair, I'd say.

[BrewSwillis]

Not that I'm disagreeing with you, but you compared the wrong GM four. Try the 169 hp, 162 lb/ft 2.4l in the G6. A little more fair, I'd say.

Yep, good call.

Even the GM 2.4L is more powerful than most of the Asians.