RWD… yes please?

That’s an interesting move. I dare say I kind of like it.

a move is definitely needed, the avenger isn’t really avenging much currently…

Making a mini-Charger sounds like a good idea. But can they really chop the LX platform up enough to do that? I guess we shall see!

It really should be the other way around because you pay more for a Sebring, plus the Chrysler brand is more upscale and is up that alley, while Dodge is the mainstream brand. They need to really work on repositioning Dodge as a mainstream brand and offer the sporty models as trims or performance editions. Chevy has its sports cars and also has performance trims for its mainstream cars, which are not designed with sport in mind like Dodge. I mean look at the current Avenger, a FWD midsize, but not good enough because they aimed for it to be a sporty vehicle, like the Charger, but that failed. But a RWD Avenger could compete fine with the Accord and the Altima and etc, as long as AWD is offered to level out the playing field.

woohoo! vehicles are going to be fun again.

Remember dat Avengers movie, dat was a bad movie, so I would never buy dis car. I was really let down, I never even finished da movie!

iluvamcars, I disagree completely. While you’re right about the Chrysler brand being more upscale people naturally associate performance with RWD which seems to be the niche they want Dodge to fill. What I’m really curious about is where the 200C fits into this scheme. It is simply too stunning a styling exercise to not be capitalized on and quite frankly to attach the tarnished Sebring name to it would be automotive sacrilege.

I like the way Chrysler is thinking but their biggest hurdle is going to be getting these pieces out to the public in time to stem the bleeding.

Although this car is very BLAH, a rear wheel platform can give this car some new looks, despite its boring and bland wanna be Charger looks. By the way, won’t this be the only rear wheel drive American mid-sized car? Just thought I’d mention it.

Dodge Avenger to go rear-wheel drive – we’ll be lucky if it will go period!

That is strange. I’m not against the Avenger getting RWD, the name is still strong enough to afford another go around. But the Sebring really should be dropped for the 200C.

If the Sebring is to remain FWD then offer an AWD option. The Avenger Stormtrooper Concept, best Dodge concept since the original VIPER… and wholly producible, should be the blueprint for a FWD Sebring. You can have the RWD AVENGER, make a coupe version as well please, and have a hot AWD midsized CHRYSLER to show up along side.

Having thus would make Luxury shoppers at least less unhappy that they do not have to settle for some dumpy FWD only Lexus ES, or Buick Lecurne competitor. But I do have to think that Iluvamcars has a point that CHRYLSER should have have the RWD, and call it the 200C, while DODGE gets, finally, a version of the Stormtrooper.

Nice to have some good news on the same day that Honda announces no RWD V8 for Acura.

can we just get a redesign????

this is good but it need to be a lot lighter then the lx platform, hopefully they will make a new platform for the 200c or a heavy modified lx and have the avenger be rwd and the 200c be awd as it more upscale. be nice with a good 4cyl with aroud 175hp and 31-34mpg as base and a Di 3.6 pentastar v6 with 315hp as r/t or srt 6 version and a middle 3.0l or 3.3l pentastar. also a 6speed auto and manual

i would think if they changed it to rwd it would bet a redesign too. and dodge is more sporty then chrystler is Chrysler.

.from what ive heard elsewhere, it’s the other way around. From what heard 200C is going RWD off the same Challenger LX, while Avenger is going to built off a FWD Fiat or Alfa….just what i heard but makes more sense since Chrysler is more upmarket than Dodge….just a rumor

I don’t see why you guys are getting aroused by a piece of sh!t car getting rwd! I bet you the hyundai genesis would be better!!

Get rid of the Sebring altogether.

CHrysler: 200c, 300c, T&C, some SUV?

Dodge: some small car, Caliber, RWD Avenger, Charger, Caravan, Durango, Nitro.

I agree with you completely jc, but the Sebring name can be polished if Chrylser slaps it to a really good vehicle with good styling and affodable luxury amenities.

Wrong answer Dodge — the people who BUY the avenger (college co-eds, grandmas, poor teenagers, rental fleets) do not give a rat’s ass if the car has RWD or FWD, they want navigation and an i-pod hookup and 26mpg on the highway. The performance car enthusiast would not be caught DEAD in this lame (and expensive) econobox junker, RWD or not.

idrinorbarsaku,

I think “aroused” is the wrong word, at least the way i think you mean it. For the life of me, I can only think you mean it as an insult to use the word denoting some sexual component.

Certainly interested in seeing CHRYSLER getting back on track after a decade of being dragged around by MERCEDES-BENZ would be more applicable. Certainly the Hyundai Genesis platform is very good and the latest thing. Funny thing though is that the latest big thing usually ends up being dead last before too long.

02WRXPSM,

You might have missed some issues here. The mid-sized family sedan market is too tight for DODGE to play that game and have a real shot at success. I’m sure that there are more than enough people out there who would rather buy a reasonably priced RWD performance sedan than buy much more for much less car just because it’s a BMW or MERCEDES. You can bemoan that fact yourself but only at the risk of looking like a complete dumb@$$. Not everyone is fixated on buying basic transportation or else we would all be happy to scoot around in stripped down econo-boxes. Tidbits like iPod connectivity, Navigation, and 26+mpg are not the end all for a car. That crap is a dime a dozen now. Most cars today have at least a basic audio jack to plug an iPod or mp3 player into the stereo and Nav-systems are dirt cheap at the local electronics retailer and I still don’t see people dying for 26+mpg.

Cars like the CHALLENGER, MUSTANG, CAMARO, and formerly the G8 are for those who do not have $60,000+ to though down on a foreign make RWD COUPE or SEDAN of comparable capability. This is a market segment that is largely untapped hence why the MUSTANG is such a strong seller, Why the CAMARO, despite stumbling at the start, is such a strong seller, why the CHALLENGER, despite needing a good tuning, is such a strong seller, why HYUNDAI made the GENESIS COUPE to compete with those cars and not the G37 or 3-series coupe…

You can generalize if you like, but the fact is that while 7 of 10 will settle for the FWD Sedan and coupe and be happy with it, the other 3 want something more and either can not or do not want to afford some over-priced and prissy lump of European or Japanese hardware.

As my Dad said about his AUDI TT, “When you are tired of affording it, buy a FORD.” At the very least, they are cheap to fix.

They need to market Chrysler as a luxury performance brand with Dodge as entry level performance and Jeep the only one with SUV’s. IMO I think the current Charger is too big it would be a smarter to move the Dodge Charger to the smaller LX platform along with the 200C and let the Avenger be a fwd (with nicer styling) midsize to better compete with Accord ,Camry, Malibu. If the Charger were put on this platform and properly tuned it could actually be a poor mans BMW and what one might have expected the Charger to be. Leaving the 300C as their large luxury sedan. The 200C if done right could compete with the likes of the MB C-class and Lexus IS. Especially if they intend to sell all of these vehicles in the same showroom.

Your CommentWe have had this discussion before.

Chrysler/Fiat heeds to pick a niche and go for it. There are 5 big players in the plain old FWD market:Chevrolet, Ford, Toyota, Honda and Nissan. Chrysler needs to find something else. they have done this plenty of times before. The minivans are an example.

So let Chrysler be RWD/AWD 300C’s in different sizes. Heck I could see a 100C, 200C, 300C, a cool minivan and a top end CUV or two. In your face styling with higher end pricing. Let the owners look down at the Camry buyers as boring folks. These are not “sporty” vehicles but more stylish, premium.

Let Dodge be RWD “sporty” vehicles and MANLY trucks/CUV’s/SUV’s.

The big issue above is what the heck do they do with all those Fiat models they want to import. They already have 3 marques at each dealer but perhaps a 4th Fiat brand of FUN, cool, small economical cars would work. Allow Fiat to build the FWD vehicles. This would probably work since Jeep can easily stand out on its own.

carsuff that what i think they should do as well.

I am buying a new car, but I am using the Cash for Clunkers program. Check out this guys write up about what he is doing to get some freakin sweet deals. It is at http://www.slickbudget.com/cash4clunkers.html. It really opens your eyes to getting a new car. Interesting read to say the least. He has a write up for a Mustang Coupe Premium using the program.

Why noy just Kill the Avenger and make a new RWD mid-sizer is coupe and sedan form?

Agreed with what everyone has said about the Sebring name. It can’t be “polished”, it was never good to begin with.

The Avenger was never a good vehicle either, but imho is a really good name.
Dodge has had some cool names in the past. Avenger, Shadow, Daytona, etc..

The problem is I’m not at all concerned with any RWD Dodge. It’s to the point where their crappy cars as of late (ALL of their lineup, not one single exception) have just tired me. I’m tired of hearing about their plans in the “pipelines”. I’ve always thought of Dodge as the ignored child, aside from the Viper. Everything else they shared with Plymouth, who had some unique cars while Dodge didn’t. Sorry Chrysler, you played the rebadging game for far too long with Dodge, and now with nothing but mostly crap products it’s all but a lost cause.

I would be interested in the 200C, if they priced it right without cutting ANY corners.

mustangman2 is a troll. Get out of here.

Yeah, c’mon Dodge forget the Avenger, and bring back the Daytona and give it the 2.4T that’s in the Caliber SRT4!

While I’m definitely not against anything that’s RWD, and seeing the Avenger being RWD would be really cool, They would basically move it on the LX platform? Which is too big and heavy in my opinion.

Actually Need4SSpeed, I would love to see the DAYTONA name brought back as the AVENGER Coupe, hothatch and all. Everything that car always should have been. But hopefully, CHRYSLER will go over the LY platform a shave some weight… which would yield a better CHALLENGER as well.

carstuff, I’m pretty sure “manly” and “CUV” shouldn’t go in the same sentence unless it is “if you want to buy something manly, make sure it isn’t a CUV”

A4, gotta disagree.

The public would never be able to say “oh that is a car based SUV” unless someone told them. Dodge can easily style a “trucky” CUV. Gotta remember the future holds very few real trucks and probably very few will be bought by those other than who actually need one like farmers/contractors/trailer haulers. New MPG rules (and those not yet written for past 2015) will kill the general public truck market.

This is one model that looks good and rattles right from the factory, especially the vert

EGGcellent move, Chrysler! Do it!