It’s a pity that Dubya doesn’t have people in his employ who are nearly as efficient at invasions as the Dodge division of DaimlerChrysler.
After 15 hours of flying, the South African contingent would have been forgiven for wondering just where on the planet we were for the international launch of the Dodge Caliber, because — despite being on an island off the coast of Spain (Ibiza) — we were at Dodge Central.
Everyone — from Dodge-marketing folk to restaurant and shop staff in the old town of Ibiza — was dripping in Dodge attire. Sugar sachets, toasters, the hotel where we were staying, the coffee shop on the beach, the estate where we stopped for lunch and the nightclub we ended up in were all festooned with the Dodge ram insignia.
But all this is part of Dodge’s “in your face” strategy. They are aggressive marketing ploys, and reflect the brand philosophy of “taking life by the horns”.
Still, it is just this thinking that has landed other United States automotive giants (Ford and General Motors) in hot water for creating the sort of huge gas-guzzlers that even the Americans are moving away from.
“That’s why this is a small SUV,” said the Chrysler Group’s executive director of international sales and marketing, Thomas Hausch, when I brought up the oil price and the crisis the US auto-industry is facing.
“We focused on making this vehicle economical in terms of size and fuel consumption, which is about six litres per 100km.
“We’ve also introduced a diesel in this range and what you must remember is that Americans are not as convinced about diesel as people in other countries, so we’re hoping to show them that diesel is a good economical option on a smaller SUV.
“The car is still a Dodge … true to the brand, but it was designed to be different because of the current trends worldwide.”
The Caliber will be the first vehicle to hit South African soil to launch the Dodge brand here in August. Other Dodge vehicles such as the Nitro are scheduled for release early next year and throughout 2007 and 2008. Dodge dealerships will be set up throughout South Africa alongside Chrysler and Jeep.
The Caliber’s payoff line is “it’s anything but cute” and given its chunky appearance, the designers have succeeded in creating the kind of overtly masculine hatchback that is certainly macho to its core.
The South African range will consist of a 1,8-litre petrol, a 2,0-litre petrol and a 2,0-litre turbodiesel in either manual or automatic. According to Dodge, the range will slot into the same segment as the Golf 5 and the Peugeot 307.
Unfortunately, the one thing Dodge could not control in Ibiza was the weather — it rained throughout the launch and for those of us who were nervous enough about left-hand drive vehicles, the slippery island roads didn’t offer much opportunity to get to know the vehicle.
So while I can’t talk much about the driving dynamics of the Caliber, I can say that the 2,0-litre manual diesel felt confident and responsive. Look out for our in-depth review when the range reaches South Africa in two months.
As far as features go, the Caliber has four airbags, ABS, ESP, electric windows, airconditioning and nifty features such as a slot in the centre console for an MP3 player, an interior roof light that can be removed to double up as a torch and speakers on the tailgate that flip down so that when the car is parked, the speakers face the exterior.
With its bold appearance and bodybuilder-like persona, the Caliber is an appealing choice of vehicle to launch the Dodge brand in South Africa.
According to DaimlerChrysler, pricing (which is still to be finalised) will start at R169 900 for the base model and will reach R224 900 for the top-of-the-range model.