Sizzling launch for Dodge Caliber

It was a balmy evening at Clark Quay last Friday, and it got even hotter when nubile leather-clad dancers came out whirling torches, and smoke started to ooze out of the steel container at centre stage. After even more smoke (not haze, which was also present), headlamps came on, and the striking silhouette of the first Dodge in Singapore, the Caliber, started to emerge. Dodge may not be a familiar brand here, but most of us would be familiar with cars that bear its name. The Viper, the ultimate hairy-chested sports car with its lusty V-10 truck engine, is a Dodge, as is “The Bandit”, the red-and-white Dodge Challenger from the TV Series “The Dukes of Hazard”. Dodge is the brand from the Chrysler Group that counts some of the most the exciting and aggressively sporty cars in American history. Dodge is now in Singapore, and DaimlerChrysler Asia organized an unforgettable launch at Clark Quay to announce its arrival. The Dodge launched was the Caliber, a model that has been specifically developed to appeal to European and Asian markets. It doesn’t have a gas guzzling HEMI under its bonnet but it does have the drama and style that makes its origins undeniable. Instead, there is a 16-valve 2.0-litre engine under the bonnet, mated to a CVT transmission. Apart from eye-catching styling, the Caliber is also a unique concept – combining the rugged off-road stance of an SUV, with the compact size of a standard family hatchback. Oneshift.com certainly looks forward to taking out the Dodge Caliber for a test-drive, so watch this space. Dodge joins the other North American DaimlerChrysler brands the Chrysler Jeep showroom along Leng Kee Road.