Authors of articles on other automotive sites claim to have been given a preview of this car. They report it’s the “spitting image” of an MX-5. Should be interesting to see. The less Dodge/Chrysler it is, the better off it’ll be.

You have to admit the Solstice is a nice looking car. I don’t know about those tiny engines-maybe a V-6? Either way, The Solstice has given the Miata a run for its money. I say BUILD IT.

This car is funky good, and much better than some of the other pieces of rubbish being sent out the trashchute at Chrysler to its showroom floors.

I would have to agree with Chris C. about this. If Dodge is going to do this, they need to get it right. The last thing they need right now is a roadster that looks like it should be a fleet car.

Keep it light. Keep it cheap. Let the aftermarket make it fast.

If it looks like this; then it will be Dodge’s Liberty. If it looks like a Mazda; then it’s over too. You’d think they would have learned from that no-butt thing they already cannot sell?!

I personally liked the Crossfire, but not enough to buy one (too much $$$ for what you got). This type of car makes much more sense. from a “Dodge” perspective, it should be less expensive so they are hitting a different market. It should not even be compared to the Crossfire disaster.

It could be a good hit against the Solstice (ONLY if they can pull off a convertible), but I doubt it will rob sales from the Miata. We already argued that brand loyalty is good for cars in this segment.

Like stated above. Keep it light and cheap. Let me customize it and add what I want.

DCX, build any of the half-dozen GD concepts, already!

The truck ‘thing’ has hit a wall, so try the light, cheap, sporty Dodge ‘thing’ again.

I just hope Dodge doesn’t make the front end look like every other car they’re coming out with. Im talking about the cross-hair grill in the Durango, Nitro, Caliber, & Sebring. They need to change up their design a bit IMO.

put that 300hp 2.4T they have into somethinglike that and they will have winner for sure! I want a miata sized Viper.

Thats what I was thinking. Please dont put the pickup truck front end on it. But I know they will.

Apparently some of don’t know that the Solstice now outsells the Miata. See what happens when you miss a memo?

Both the Solstice/Sky and Miata have done something that is really remarkable. Cars is this segment tend to get out the gate quickly, but then die on the vine. Everyone who wants one buys it as soon as possible after its goes on sale. GM’s Solstice/Sky and Mazda’s Miata have both caught lightening a bottle and sustained their sales momentum. Perhaps Dodge can do the same. The Law of Averages says that it cannot. It is up to DCX to decide if this is a risk worth taking.

Looks nice, but come on, as I have posted in the past, work on quality not something new every 4 months.

The Solstice/Sky is relatively new so I wouldn’t start
singing its praises yet. The Razor is a good move for Dodge though. Since the death of the Neon there isn’t amn entry sporty Dodge. I liked the concept and welcome the competition to the Miata.
On styling: maybe make the grill smaller.

Overall – Good idea, get it right please.

Everyone that has posted a warning saying “Avoid the truck front-end” is completely correct.

this will not sell. look at all the other roadsters out there, solstice, sky, s2000, z4,350z. what do they all have in common? there sexy and attractive. that is not sexy. you cant put a truck grill on a roadster and expect it to sell. it would be an experiment by the Chrysler group that will fail miserably like the commander did. what they should do is trash this and make just a Chrysler verson and then they might have some potential buyers.

I like it and say let the battle begin in this segment. the more the better for all of us. Each one is going to have its own characteristic that will be different and possibly better than the others. The extra choices make the competetion better.

I end up convincing myself 2 or 3 times a year not to go buy a miata. I don’t know if Dodge has the wherewithall to really produce a comparable car, but it would be a very pleasant surprise if they did!

and come on people, don’t buy into the marketing. Have you driven a solstice? Noticed the hollow interior? The numb steering (compared to the mx)? The lack of balance? The luggage space? I really liked them until my friend bought one. It’s a great looking car, but it leaves much to be desired.

I think this is a bad idea for Dodge. The market for small, 2 seat roadsters is so small, and I don’t think it’s big enough to support the MX-5, Solstice, Sky, and another addition to this line-up.

If they do proceed with this plan, it would be wise to develop the platform to support the proposed Hornet, B-Class vehicle. A small 4 seater with RWD would be more marketable than a copy-cat roadster. Then they may be able to make a good business case out of this platform.

Just my opinion.

The only more fun than a mini, would be a RWD Mini!!

^?

A dodge against the Solstice??? What! Yeah, good luck with that one, the Kappa twins are on a totally different level when it comes to roadsters. Stick to competing with the girlie roadsters like the Miata, Bozster, S2000 and Z4.

I think they should incorporate Dodge Viper styling into the design.

Ok for once I’d actually agree with GMnumberone4ever in that these cars only matters to those of the feminine hearts. Real men drive coupes.

I actually liked the copperhead concept much more. does anyone knows what size it was?

i forgot about this concept! i remember it was pretty cool… i say give it the thumbs up. Hey GMnumberone you ballsack, the viper is an outrageous corvette, so i got a feeling this could easily be a solstice wildchild

GMnumberone4ever, the Kappa roadsters were named in the top 10 gayest cars on the road by gaywheels.com. Your precious G6 is in there too, buddy.

http://www.gaywheels.com/top_10_researched_vehicles_on_1.htm

and the kappas are as girlie as the others…

The Solstice is BUTT UGLY. The Sky is much better looking. Hey GM dump the solstice stick with the Sky.

@Jazz–

The Solstice has been around for nearly two years. That may be “relatively new” for a pickup truck, but for a sporty car it is more than long enough to determine whether or not it has legs.

It has legs.

Want it to sell simple….put in a HEMI!!!

haha S2000 is girly? haha it’s probably the most masculine of the bunch!

The BMW M roadster will eat the Solstice for lunch and **** it out…leaving it inside a burning bag in front of GMnumberonemorons doorstep.

Jon.

I won’t engage in mudslinging Veda. You one of those girlie Miata drivers? Did I touch a nerve? Come on over to Michigan with your Miata and let us decorate it for you.

But will it come strong like the Viper only to fade in the face of the Kappa car’s growing reps? DCX has put a lot of flash into there cars but they don’t seem to have the staying power. Still it’s too soon to say, they aren’t even out yet. Besides, where’s my freakin’ Copperhead!

this looks like a winner!

nice sleek desgin

Sorry I am new here but is this ‘GMnumberone4ever’ a comic or something? Does he not know how to look at facts or is he just some funny, sarcastic poster? Seriously.

Welcome, MBsan! GM#1 was here before…his name was GMRules. He thinks there’s no car better than the almighty general and his g6 (which apparently can outrun a veyron)…he’s not funny. We usually let him and his Wonderlutzland talking…

I doubt as though they’ll cram a V-8 in one of these, but it’d be neat-a throwback to the early Vette’s. Then you couldn’t call it “girlie”. It needs a better rear-end treatment, though.

Want it to sell simple….put in a HEMI!!!
Comment by JoeKing

LOL they might as well. They have em in almost all of their vehicles. I remember the time when hemi meant something.

The BMW M roadster will eat the Solstice for lunch and **** it out…leaving it inside a burning bag in front of GMnumberonemorons doorstep.

Jon.

Comment by imageWIS, posted on January26 at 2:06 pm

http://www.motortrend.com/roadtests/coupe/112_0610_sport_convertible_coupe_comparison/index.html,

CHECK OUT THIS LINK TO MOTOR TREND, THE GXP KICKS THE HELL OUT OF THE 350Z CONVERTABLE, ITS LESS THAN 1 SECOND SLOWER AROUND A TRACK THAN THE Z4, SO THIS ISNT BAD FOR ITS FIRST YEAR AS A GXP. SO THE DODGE WILL DEFINATELY HAVE POTENTIAL.

If this car is going to have a small engine like the rest all they need to do is fit it with the Turbocharged 2.4L GEMA engine thats will be in the new Caliber SRT4.

DODGE, build this vehicle. Don’t give it a retarded name, like Nitro, or Caliber. Give it the Power to Weight ratio of an Elise. Give it RWD, and a DOHC 16v with a 8,000 Redline infront of a 6-speed manual box with an LSD rear end, and 4 wheel independent suspension. It’d better not have traction control, ESP, or ABS. No Nannies on board. It could use a base price of $17k. Loaded no more than $22k. And make lots of them, in coupe, and convertible form. Then produce an SRT, for around $25. Add a turbo and track upgrades like ultra light wheels, sticky tires and upgraded springs and swaybars. If Dodge plays this right, keeps this cheap and gets the attention of the grass-roots motorsport crowd, this could become an excellent SCCA championship contender. Something I’m sure won’t happen with Solstice.

and maybe make it mid engined.

Why does everyone love rear drive ragtops? All the big manufacturers build compact two-seat roadsters. Why can’t we ever get small rear drive 2+2’s with trunks and fold down rear seats?

Hyperion…

AMEN! what happen to the small RWD coupe market? Take this concept, give it some back seats and take hold of an untapped market… A little more practicality, but keeps the good looks of a coupe… It’s always roadsters or sedans… Where’s the coupes PEOPLE?

Make it a coupe and use ironpony42’s suggestions

and yes I agree to adding a bit of viper styling…

Meh

SRT4-Roadster GO

Gotta make a hardtop coupe version

A compact, RWD, 2+2 coupe… Like an AE-86?

Sampson… Will can only hope.

so great points made on this forum. But we must remember to once and a while look back at the article, look at the picture very closely and then unanimously agree that this car is just straight up fukin ugly. I love the idea and i def think they should try to compete in this segment.

ironpony42 has the exact right idea. If you are going to make this car Dodge, be serious and make it and don’t water down the performance, especially handling. While you’re at it, make it have sex appeal. The only car you have now that has it is the Viper. You don’t put truck grills on cars, but you can still give it the trademark crosshairs like the Viper and the Neon SRT-4. Both of those cars have them and still looked smooth. This car needs a little makeover before it goes on sale.

And I don’t care what anyone says, the Solstice looks really exotic for it’s price, I always do a double take when I see them on the road. I am surprised the GXP has no extra styling, though. The Miata styling went to crap with this last iteration.

Long story short, I will paraphrase an earlier post:

Keep it light. Keep it cheap. MAKE IT LOOK GOOD. Let SRT make it fast.

This European loves the tonka-toy looks, and just hopes that they can avoid the temptation to spend all the interior budget on gimmicky electronics. Just keep it simple, use some quality soft touch materials for once and a small-but-still-butch coupe will make a lot of sense in this consumption-conscious era.

Of course the US market will probably demand a heavy 6-cylinder engine and then we can kiss goodbye to sweet handling and look forward to understeer, compromised suspension settings and a frustrating drive.

Niall

Sampson, this looks like a hardtop coupe to me….

Well DUH Daimler/Chrysler! You should have had this car out at about the same DAMN time the Solstice came out, instead of WASTING time with the Crapliber!!!! You don’t need to change much except to add options for power everything. If you make it look like a F#%KING Miata then you can keep it!!! Keep it rear drive and keep the price low!

It was only a matter of time before they made their Solstice fighter. I agree that the Caliber was a waste of time but it seems to be selling well. Should be interesting to see the SRT4 model.

Chrysler needs to change their dorection if they are going to sel any of these. They need to quit dreaming of building a Kappa competitor and concentrate on something a bit more realistic, like the S2000 or Miata. The Kappas will destroy this.

The Kappas are the underdogs here, not the S2000 and the Miata and they aren’t really the specific targets of the Kappa cars. The S2000 casts almost twice as much and is aimed at a higher level of competition… that really doesn’t exist in this country aside form the Boxster, and the Elise, both of which cost even more.

The Miata is fun but not something I have seen or heard of being raced or even significantly tuned. That car can barely handle a mild turbo. It’s just too small. It belongs to a class that the Brits once owned… that also doesn’t really exist in this country anymore. Any wonder why MAZDA wants to get FORD off their backs so they can build a new RX-7 as a step up from the Miata?

I’ve read up on Kappas Modded with a Vette engine, or racing turbos and more. This coming for a sports car averaging about $21K a unit sold.

No mistaking it, DCX wants some of that pie and if they can keep the heat on, it will only serve the improve the species. in ways most foreign numbers have not. So I’m all for it. Bring it DCX, I wanna REAL race!

As to the Caliber, I feel like they should have made a full blown improvement on the NEON with the Caliber in the back. It’s not so much a waste of time or a bad product, But it doesn’t seem to fit on its own. It’s a compact crossover without a corresponding compact sedan or coupe to go with it. The SRT-4 is out now and I’ve seen a few, but the chunky styling doesn’t do it for me. It is neither “Robotech” that being functional yet attractive, or “military”, that is “it doesn’t matter what it looks like as long as it works”. It’s just gaudy. I had laid hopes that a new neon would have benefited from the past partnership with Mitsubishi… no dice. Chrysler can’t even land some older C-class parts (recall the C230 hatchback) for a new NEON. It would have been friggin’ sweet. Start it around $15K-16K and it’ll be the new AE-86 on German steroids.

Back to the subject, The Razor should do fine, if it can get some real and respectable street cred. Like any compact sports car, Street cred sells more than anything else.

GM is playing the best game I’ve yet seen it in all my life! I am a FORD fan and I still say, “Follow the General!” Why? I am, first and always, a fan of AMERICAN CARS!

i agree with gm#1 by aiming for the s2000 and the miata, they are way better cars than the kappas. the kappas can be fast and handle well but dodge needs to make one with quality materials first, then refine it, then make it fast, what good is a fast car that rattles and cant even carry a 2 liter of soda without being in the way. sad thing is i really do like the solstice gxp, exotic, fast agile, but completely useless, i can carry more on my motorcycle with a passenger than the solstice can.

Too little too late for Dodge on this one. There’s not enough 2-seat roadster buyers to handle the large amount of models out there now. Solstice/Sky is barely leading Miata, and just those cars basically make the entire entry-level roadster market. Dodge will have a tough time pushing in. They won’t stand a chance trying to go upscale against the S2000 and Z.

This damn thing better have crank windows, a manual top, and no frills. It’s selling points will be LOW cost, LOW weight and an AGILE chassis. The only POWER item I want on the list are Power 4-wheel vented discs. If you want cruise, power windows, and heated leather, go buy an S-2000 or Kappa car. They’re pigs weighing in at 2,860lbs for the Kappa twins, and 2,810 for the S-2000. What this car should be aiming at are Elise numbers, which is over 1,000lbs less at 1,777lbs. That’s tough to achieve. Dodge needs to keep it under atleast 2,000lbs, and keep the Power to Weight ratio near the Lotus’. That alone will set this roaster apart from the rest on the market, and will have the undivided attention of the Grass-roots motorsport crowd. This needs to be built on the concept of budget speed. Having that kind of advantage in the market place, Dodge will have a waiting list when it hits the lots.

What this car should be aiming at are Elise numbers, which is over 1,000lbs less at 1,777lbs.

I love your way of thinking! And I second that approach.

Blakkarr said:
“The Miata is fun but not something I have seen or heard of being raced or even significantly tuned.”

Miata only race series:
http://www.specmiata.com

Do a google search for “tuned miata” and you will see that it has in fact been tuned. It’s not
easy to do, but it has a lot of options to ramp up the power

Blakkarr said:
“I’ve read up on Kappas Modded with a Vette engine, or racing turbos and more. This coming for a sports car averaging about $21K a unit sold.”

Miatas have had these types of things done too. I don’t think you could squeeze a vette engine in one, but 13B rotories have been known to slide in quite nicely. But you probably wouldn’t have read about that because as you said, you’re a fan of american cars.

I’m sorry if this post comes off as trying to be smart, that is not my intent. I am here to learn from others what I don’t know and to share with others what I do.

Zer0,
It’s cool. I don’t track Mazda much anymore sense they closed the RX-7 in the US. It’s kind ov the same with Toyota and Nissan. No Supra, and the 350Z is a not as “Wow” as I thought it would be.

I miss the bad old days when every maker had some wow cars going for them. Sports cars, rally cars, and just some really atypical cars. I hope some sense of wonder and “wow” comes from all of this soon.

“I miss the bad old days when every maker had some wow cars going for them. Sports cars, rally cars, and just some really atypical cars. I hope some sense of wonder and “wow” comes from all of this soon.”

agreed.

Awesome! Go Dodge Go!