Carmentary.com

The Ultimate Driving Machine. That is the slogan of BMW, the famous automaker. But how did BMW become the luxury automaker brand it is today, and why does the company have such a simplistic looking logo, and such advanced automobiles?

BMW, which stands for Bavarian Motor Works (or Bayerische Motoren Werke in German) was founded in the year 1913 by a Bavarian man named Karl Rapp. Karl wanted to produce his own aircraft engines, and did so for a couple of years in an old bicycle shop, however he soon had to instead use to facility to manufacturer Austro-Daimler aircraft engines under license because of problems that were affecting his own aircraft engines.

The BMW logo represents an aircraft propeller to remind the public of the company's origins. Although the company is based in Germany, the colors of the logo are the same from the color of Bavaria's flag; the home of the founder of BMW, Karl Rapp.

BMW's history of producing aircraft engines was cut short however, as after World War I, the Treaty of Versailles banned any company in Germany from producing aircraft. Because BMW at the time was just an aircraft engine manufacturer, the company had to find a new industry, or dissemble itself.

The BMW factory was soon closed, and the company began making railroad brakes before the company started to get into the motorcycle industry. Within five years, the company had first designed a motorcycle engine for another company and then produced their own motorcycle. BMW's motorcycle engines were hailed as achievements, just like their previous aircraft engines.

By the end of the 1920's BMW would have already produced their first automobile. It would not be until the 1930's however before BMW really "took off" with the automobile revolution. BMW continued to build all sorts of vehicles during the 1940's, as the German military utilized most of the vehicles. In the mid forties however, BMW was dealt yet another blow as allied forces either destroyed the BMW factories, or took them over.

After the BMW factories were bombed, BMW was left quite quiet over the next five or so years. It really wasn't until 1952 that the company was able to get back onto its feet by releasing its first passenger vehicle since the war. Although BMW was producing luxury vehicles in the early fifties, they were not gaining much market share, nor were they making the type of profits that they were used to seeing earlier.

BMW finally received its wish in the sixties when it was able to get into the luxury market, and stay there even up until today. The company continued to rebuild its reputation during the sixties and by the beginning of the seventies the company was bigger than it had ever been.

As BMW became more and more powerful, the company looked into ways that it could gain more customers and more profits. In 1994, began a brief ownership of several English brands, including Rover and Mini. While BMW had the intention of using the Rover brand to attract new audiences, the plan ultimately back fired and left BMW with several years of losses before BMW finally kicked the Rover brand out the door in 2000. BMW however was able to take the Mini brand and totally led to revitalization of the brand, including reintroducing the brand in North America.

During the early nineties, BMW also joined together with another luxury car brand Rolls Royce. In the joint venture, BMW would provide the engines for Rolls Royce models. Near the end of the decade, BMW and its rival VW both tried to buy out the Rolls Royce brand. Although VW won, BMW still held onto the rights of the Rolls
Royce brand name from the earlier joint venture. As a result, VW was able to use the "Spirit of Ectasy" emblem, however it could not produce vehicles under the Rolls Royce name plate.

Another move the German automaker has made recently is that the company has begun to produce the BMW vehicles outside of Germany, and in other parts of the world. Although it has been producing its vehicles in factories in areas such as South Carolina (USA), the company has begun building factories in places such as India, and working with automakers in China to build some models. This has caused some outrage to drivers loyal to the brand, because they believe that they are paying for a luxury automobile, not a for a vehicle assembled in such an area
where luxury vehicles should not be assembled.

BMW has come a long way in the past ninety some odd years. It is hard to imagine that a luxury car company was founded by a Bavarian man who simply wanted to make aircraft engines. From its brief stint in the design and manufacturing process of aircraft engines to being the automaker it is today, BMW has come a long way. What
will the future hold for the company?

When mini-vans first came on the scene, they were quite a novelty. Yet when my husband and I began needing a bigger car when we started having more than one child, we were determined never to buy a mini-van. Somehow, in our minds, mini-vans were just not cool enough. We had owned a pick-up truck, a sports car, a sports utility vehicle, and even a station wagon, which is bordering on the un-cool-ness of a mini-van. Still, when our three children began growing bigger and bigger, and they began wanting to bring friends with them everywhere we went, we caved in and bought a mini-van. Oddly enough, it is by far, our favorite car. We still are not crazy about how it looks, but it is large, comfortable, and can hold anything. In fact, we have found that our mini-van has many uses that surpass all our expectations:

1. A mini-van can be used to carry some, if not all, of a children's sports team. Many times we have toted loud, rowdy, sweaty children and teens to and from practice and games. Not only that, all their sporting equipment will easily fit into the back of the mini-van.

2. A mini-van can be used to carry kids to and from birthday party events. Our children and many of their friends often like to have parties at the local swimming pond, pool, bowling alley, movie theater, or some other such place. Rather than taking multiple cars, we can often pile everyone into the mini-van and make only one trip.

3. A mini-van comes in especially handy when relatives come for a visit. Not only is the mini-van very easy to get in and out of, it also holds large amounts of luggage brought by gift-toting grandmothers and grandfathers. The mini-van is also handy because the residing family as well as the visitors can all go out together in the same vehicle for sight-seeing, dinner, or some other form of vacation entertainment.

4. A mini-van can be a great vehicle for camping, provided it is not taking on too difficult a road for its wheel base and tires. All the necessary camping equipment for a family can be carried in the back or on the top of a mini-van, and if the campers encounter inclement weather, the seats can be removed so everyone can pile into the mini-van to get out of the rain.

5. A mini-van can be great for hauling wood, yard debris, and even garbage. If the two sets of back seats are removed and a tarp layed down across the floor, the mini-van can serve like a large, covered pick-up truck. We have hauled countless loads of these things in our mini-van, to the dump and elsewhere, and when we are finished and take out the tarp, the van is still as good as new; it needs only a bit of dusting.

6. A mini-van is wonderful for a tailgate party at any sporting event. Whether it is a high school football game or a professional baseball game, simply open the back hatch of the mini van and bring out the goodies. A mini-van can easily transport several coolers with food and drinks, a small cook stove, and even a couple of beer kegs. Plus, the hatch can be used as protection from the sun or rain.

7. A mini-van is indispensable when it is time to move, either across town or across country. If the move is only across town, many items can be transported in the mini-van, by again, removing the back seats. This will save money in renting or hiring a large truck for moving. If the move is across country, often personal items take several weeks to arrive at the new destination. A mini-van will allow us to take along all the things we will need in the meantime, until all our household goods arrive.

So while a mini-van might be less than cool, it is such a useful and functional vehicle that my husband and I will think twice before we pre-judge any other type of vehicle in the future. We will be open minded and learn that we still have a lot to learn. After all, we can still be cool and own a mini-van, can't we?

Do you know someone in your life who is completely obsessed with cars? Maybe they wear Nascar pajamas or have a telephone shaped like a '57 Chevy. If you really want to give them something they will enjoy this holiday season, consider a gift that matches their love of anything with wheels. It's not as easy as running into the store and picking up a fruitcake or a pair of slippers, but they're guaranteed to love the thought you put into it. Pool your resources; get together with other friends and family members of the person in question and see if you all agree on what the perfect gift would be.

Your first idea could be something *for* the person's car like special seat-covers, a CD player, mats, or hood decor. If the car has a tape player or CD player already, choose some appropriate music. Cleaning products may not seem like a nice Christmas gift, but if he or she has said that something specific is needed to upkeep their "baby" you might want to give a "car gift basket" full of desired items. This could be any tools the person doesn't have, a magazine, a framed photo of he or she and the beloved vehicle, a subscription to one of the many car enthusiast magazines, and so on. As always, the only limit is your imagination; if no one's ever given a gift like this before, that isn't a bad thing. It's never bad to be unique.

You can still give a magazine subscription by itself. Some suggestions are Car and Driver, Motor Trend, Autoweek, Old Cars Weekly, etc. There are lots of themed magazines to consider; if the gift recipient only likes antique cars, a world of opportunities opens up here. You could find a model of their favorite antique, a framed picture, or an original adversitement of the car. It becomes much easier when they can give a certain make and model. If you know you are looking for a 1939 Packard, it is not as difficult as having them saying they like any cars from 1914 to 1952. You can also buy a model kit and either put it together yourself, have your friends help, or leave it in the box for the car lover to assemble. There are many antique car models to be found, so be selective.

If you can find old magazines or books no one wants, you can cut out pictures and make a sort of "scrapbook album" of antique car photos, ads, and postcards. This is a great gift idea for the young car enthusiast. You could have one page for the 1920s, one for the 1930s, and so on. It will take time and effort, and again, it's always nice to have help. If antiques aren't an interest to the person, and newer cars are his or her thing, you can still go with the scrapbook idea, and it should be much easier to find pictures of cars from the last 10 years. Do some labeling, describing what each picture represents. A personal gift is always a thoughtful gesture and will probably be much appreciated.

For the discerning gift giver, you can find telephones, Nascar items, books full of glossy photos, and just about anything car-themed. You might want to think about video games, also. If the person is a video game lover and obsessed over automobiles, a racing game might be the perfect present. It all depends on his or her personality and what the gift will be used for. Personalized gifts are another good route to consider. Take a picture of a favorite car (perhaps one that the person has always dreamed of having but could never afford) and have someone well oriented with computers place a photo of the person's head or body inside the car. Save the picture and send it to a personalization site where it can be placed on a pillow, throw, canvas bag, coffee mug, and many more things. You can use a real picture of him or her in the actual car as well.

It's hard to decide if you want to ask him what he would like, or let it be a surprise. With surprises you risk buying something that isn't needed or duplicating what he already has, but it's usually worth the look on someone's face when they have absolutely no idea they are receiving the gift. It's up to you; is it more important to *know* what a desired gift is, or to wing it and choose to let it be a surprise? Ask family; they'll know the person's likes and dislikes better than anyone else.

By Lacie R. Schaeffer

By Christina VanGinkel

Where you live can have a lot of impact on your choice of tires for your vehicle. If you live anywhere that snow happens to be a dominant issue, having snow tires on your vehicle is necessary. Surprisingly, many people assume that if they have all season radials installed, that they are good to go. While all season tires are sometimes a suitable choice, for example if you live where snow falls, but quickly melts. However, if you live in any area considered a snow belt, where snow does fall, accumulating and staying for weeks and months, no all season radial will cut it for the average driver. If you only drive your vehicle a quarter mile to the store once a week and only after all the snow and ice has been cleared from the roadways, then choosing one type of tire over the other is more debatable. There are still factors to keep in mind though, so read on, for why snow tires might be your best option.

Snow comes hand in hand with another factor that affects tires and that is cold. Not only do most all season radials not have the traction that a typical snow tire will afford you, but they can also lose what traction they do provide when the temperatures drop from the cold weather. Even if you are driving only short distances, you still want to afford yourself the best control you can. If your area suffers from extreme cold, you might still wish to invest in snow tires even if you are the sort to only drive short distances on rare occasions.

Where we live in the Midwest, it is not at all uncommon for temperatures to drop well below zero, and for snow amounts to average from several inches to measurements in the feet. With this in mind, your typical all season radial that might suffice when one encounters a dusting of snow, maybe even an inch or two, just will not pull its weight when that snow level deepens, or the temperatures they need to perform in are minus zero and falling. With these simple facts in mind, you can shop that much more informed for a new set of snow tires.

You will also need to know the size tires your vehicle will accommodate. Following manufacturers guidelines will assure you that the tires you purchase will wear as evenly as can be expected. Installing tires that are of a size that is not recommended for your vehicle can also be dangerous. Not to mention, just because you can get one set of tires for less money for example, it is not worth whatever the implied savings might be, if they are not the correct size. The costs that you might incur when the tires wear oddly will quickly eat up any money saved when you have to reinstall yet another set of tires when the first set wear out prematurely or unevenly.

When purchasing any new tires, snow or otherwise, do be sure to have the balance of the tires checked when they are put on, and if your vehicle is in need of an alignment, have that done at the same time. I always opt for a four-wheel alignment, though a two-wheel alignment is also a choice. If you install new tires on a vehicle that is out of alignment, uneven wear will occur. Along with snow comes a hazard called potholes. In addition, common on roadways where snow and ice is a concern are chunks of compacted snow and ice. Hitting any of these hazards happens more than someone might think, and these all can easily jar your vehicle out of alignment. Keep this fact in mind throughout the time your tires are installed. If you feel that your vehicle is pulling to one way, much more than it should, or if your vehicle has a shake to it, these are all concerns that point to the fact that you should have your tires and their alignment checked out by a professional.

Snow tires are available in as many different versions as any other tire. Be sure to compare issues such as depth of tread and length of warranty when shopping. Shop for four tires, and not just two, which was once the recommended quota for snow tires. Your vehicle will perform much better with four snow tires installed than just two. Also, once winter is over, switch your tires back to the all season or regular tires you replaced them with. Snow tires are softer than traditional all weather tires, to help keep control of your vehicle on the uneven driving conditions common with snow. If you leave them on throughout the summer months, they will wear out much faster than if you just install them during the months when they are most needed.

The automaker Mitsubishi has been having a lot of problems in the past several years. Fears that the company would go bankrupt, and rumors of the company making a complete withdrawal from the American market have led the company's marketshare to drop over the past several years.

In the past year however, Mitsubishi Motors has been trying to get itself back on track. Mitsubishi has been updating nearly every one of its models, and in a bold mood last year the company decided that it was going to try and get back into the truck market.

While Mitsubishi mainly sells its American built Eclipse sports coupe and a barrage of SUVs, the company has not sold a rear wheel drive pickup truck in America since the year 1996, when the company discontinued its Mighty Max pickup truck (yes, it was seriously called the Mighty Max). The new mid size Mitsubishi pickup truck the company decided to release is called the Mitsubishi Raider, and it was released in the fall of 2005 as a 2006 model. It has been around for well over a year now, but if you have not yet seen one on the road, don't worry; not a lot of people have.

Although it has the Mitsubishi nameplate, the truck is really just a Dodge Dakota with different styling. It is produced by DaimlerChrysler in Michigan and available in either extended cab or double cab models. There are two available engines for the Mitsbushi Raider; a 210 hp V6 and an available 4.7L V8 that pushes 230 hp. Mitsubishi claims that the Raider is the only 'import mid size pickup truck with available V8 power'; its a subtle claim, considering that even though its a Mitsubishi nameplate, both available engines and the truck are produced by DaimlerChrysler.

There really are few differences between the Dodge Dakota and the Mitsbushi Raider, except for the styling. One of my biggest gripes with the Mitsubishi Raider is the fact that while the Dodge Dakota has that mean spirited Dodge Ram looking grille, the Mitsubishi Raider has a very plain, and ugly looking plastic grille.

Sales for the 2006 Mitsubishi Raider have been very dismal so far. Sales of the new Mitsubishi Raider have been so bad, that in January 2006, only three hundred and seventy seven Raiders were sold. Compare this to the fact that during the same month, its brother vehicle, the Dodge Dakota managed to sell four thousand five hundred and eighty three units. This was a mere four months after the vehicle was introduced.

DaimlerChrysler has stopped producing the Mitsubishi Raider mid seize truck around March 2006 because dealers had too many of the slow moving trucks on their lots. The trucks continued to slowly move off lots until dealerships started selling them at low prices. While you may think that Mitsubishi is giving up on its Raider
pickup truck, they are actually refining it for the 2007 model. Mitsubishi hopes to drop the price, and only have the six cylinder engine available to attract buyers.

Personally, why is Mitsubishi even going to try? I could see if Mitsubishi took its time to design its own mid size pickup truck, but when you take another mid size pickup truck (the Dodge Dakota) and rebadge it and try to sell it for more money,
you aren't going to attract a lot of buyers. Its decision like these that are causing Mitsubishi so many problems; it kind of makes me wonder if Mitsubishi does in fact want to go bankrupt.

Instead of wasting time and money with the Raider, Mitsubishi should instead import its popular L200 (the old Mighty Max)pickup truck to America), also known as the Triton in Japan. The L200 is enjoying success in over one hundred and fifty world markets, but the company simply refuses to bring the truck to America. The L200 has a lot of engine choices that not only deliver power, but also excellent fuel economy.

The L200 is also an actual Mitsubishi product, and not just a rebadge of another truck on the market. I used to try and support Mitsubishi Motors in America, but when the company makes decisions like this (this isn't the first model to flop in the past couple of years, remember the Mitsubishi Sportback Wagon? No? Neither does anyone else.) its only setting itself up to fail.

If you are thinking about purchasing a Mitsubishi Raider, make sure you are getting it at a discounted price, otherwise do your research and see if you like the Dodge Dakota better, since its basically the same vehicle only cheaper, and with different styling.

Ten years ago, a person interested in buying a small pickup truck that had a four cylinder engine could go into any new car dealership and find a large assortment of pickup trucks that had four cylinder engines that delivered respectable performance and terrific gas mileage. Such small pickup trucks are almost extinct today. Most car companies such as Dodge, Chevy, and even Toyota and Nissan have moved away from the compact pickup segment, instead focusing on the mid size pickup segment. As the trucks slowly got bigger and bigger over the past ten years, the old four cylinder engines also grew bigger and bigger, before they finally all together disappeared in favor of six cylinder engines.

While it is still possible to buy a brand new pickup truck with a four cylinder engine, your brands are limited, and the companies that still offer four cylinders in their trucks usually don't offer a lot of options with such vehicles. For example, Dodge simply does not offer a four cylinder engine in their mid size Dakota truck, and they have not for at almost five years now. Ford, offers a 2.3L four cylinder engine that gives an impressive thirty miles on the highway, however the engine is only available on the entry Ford Ranger, and cannot be equipped with four wheel drive. Chevy offers a huge 2.9L four cylinder engine; however for whatever reason when you try to find the gas mileage for the engine on Chevy's website, you'll find that Chevy is still "Researching this information.” Since the engine has been out for some time, that statement can only mean that the engine isn't delivering very good fuel economy. What good is a four cylinder 2.9L engine when you can get a six cylinder engine and get better fuel economy?

Toyota and Nissan who used to make some of the smallest, yet most fuel efficient trucks are doing a little better than the American automakers, even though they too have moved from producing compact trucks to mid size trucks. Nissan's Frontier still has an available four cylinder model, a 2.5L engine that produces 152 horsepower with gas mileage ranging from twenty to twenty five miles per gallon. Unfortunately, the four cylinder engine is not available on any four wheel drive Frontier model, most likely due to the fact that the four wheel drive system would zap the respectable fuel economy of the Nissan Frontier's large four cylinder engine.

Toyota on the other hand also has a four cylinder engine for their Tacoma truck. Although it's quite large, the 2.7L engine is pretty much hands down, the most efficient four cylinder engine available in a brand new truck today. Toyota states that the engine gets around nineteen miles in the city, and up to an unheard of twenty seven miles per gallon on the highway. Toyota even makes the engine available in four wheel drive models, and remarkably I have talked to somepeople withh a 4X4 Tacoma with this engine in it, and they are averaging an amazing twenty five miles per gallon.

As mentioned earlier, a lot of automakers that still make pickup trucks with four cylinder engines in them are making the pickup trucks as base models with limited options. Automakers such as Ford and Nissan do not make their Ranger and Frontier models that have the four cylinder engine in them available with a four wheel drive system. Other options, such as power windows, air conditioning, etc. are also very limited. It is as if the automakers simply want to get rid of the four cylinder models all together.

Many people want the best of both worlds when looking for a new pickup truck. For some reason, everybody seems fascinated with purchasing a big pickup truck, but at the same time, those same people also want to get great gas mileage. Midsize pickup trucks and four cylinder engines don't really go together very well, unless the four cylinder engine is pretty large. As mentioned earlier, Chevy is putting a 2.9L four cylinder engine in their Colorado trucks. Ford puts a 3.0L V6 in their entry Ford Ranger 4x4 model. The Ford engine has two more cylinders, yet its only four percent larger. If you want a four cylinder engine to be fuel effective, it simply can not be a "V6 wannabe". The reason why the four cylinder Ford Ranger gets such great fuel economy is the fact that it's 2.3L big; its still an effective size for a four cylinder engine. Chevy's 2.9L four cylinder engine is simply overkill.

As I mentioned earlier, ten years ago it was very easy to go to a dealership and purchase a small pickup truck that could get thirty miles per gallon. Unfortunately today, automakers are making their trucks bigger and bigger, and as a result they are moving from economical four cylinder engines to largersix cylinderr engines that are capable of barely even providing twenty miles per gallon. Some people want big trucks, but a lot of people want great gas mileage, and when you try to combine the two, it is obvious that its not easy.

While gas prices are slowly starting to fall back to the two dollar range, we have already seen gas prices go past three and four dollars. Drivers need to realize that if they do not wish to spend a fortune filling their gas tanks, they are going to have to give up the "bigger is better" attitude and have automakers go back to the compact truck segment. If Toyota can get twenty seven miles per gallon on the highway with a 2.7L four cylinder engine in their Toyota Tacoma pickup truck, just imagine what they could do with a smaller truckchassiss and a smaller four cylinder engine. I know I sure would not mind driving around in a smaller pickup truck that had fantastic gas mileage.

It can be an interesting history lesson to look back at one's own car-owning legacy; not just in our adult years, when we have owned our own cars, but all the way back to childhood. The first car I remember my parents owning, whether I truly remember the car or whether I remember it only from the few photos we have, was a brand new 1967 Ford Mustang. Apparently, it was the first new car they bought as a married couple, only a few months before I was born. The Mustang was turquoise blue and simply adorable, although I did not realize that at the time.

Only a few years later, my parents gave up that beloved Mustang in exchange for a used 1970 Ford Galaxy. Again, it was pretty hip, but bigger than the Mustang, though the exact same color. Seems my parents liked turquoise. This larger car was bought in anticipation of the birth of my baby brother in 1971. Years later, I argued that the Mustang would have sufficed, but it was a moot point. The Galaxy lasted us for a few more years until my parents decided we needed to become a two-car family, so my dad bought a Ford Bronco. Anyone see a Ford trend happening here? As the years passed, my dad got pay raises and my mom began working again, we exchanged the Galaxy for a giant Jeep Wagoneer and the Bronco for an old 1971 Chevy Blazer. So much for being a Ford family.

When I was about sixteen years old, my parents bought a third, very pretty, but very useless car. My dad had just gotten a significant pay raise and both parents were wanting to "out-do the Jones'," so to speak, so in 1983, they bought a fully restored 1970 Mercedes 450 SL with a convertible top. It was a beautiful little car with a fire-engine red paint job. While it could have been a wonderfully fun car for the family, instead, it was kept in our garage where my parents handled it like a fragile newborn. It was only driven on sunny days with no hint of rain or even humidity in the forecast. The Mercedes stayed in our family for about two annoying years, until my parents finally unloaded it on someone else.

When we moved to a big city, my mom traded in her very practical Jeep Wagoneer for a huge, white Lincoln Town Car. It was like driving, or riding in an aircraft carrier. My dad traded in his very useful and four-wheel-drive Blazer for a Ford LTD. Well, at least we were moving back toward Ford. When I was nineteen-years-old, having just finished my first year in college, my parents bought me a used 1985 Ford Mustang. I was beside myself with excitement. Although the 1985 Mustang is quite a joke, and the car turned out to have more health problems than a hypochondriac, it was a sporty little thing and I had fun driving it. That Mustang took me all the way through college and into my first years of marriage.

I married a man in 1992 who had a black 1991 Ford Ranger. We were proud of our Ford family status and when we began having children, we traded in his Ranger for the brand new Ford Explorer, only its second year out on the market. A few years later, upon moving to a new city, we completely paid off our Explorer and just two months later, it was stolen, never to be found. That was a hard year for us. We bought a used Ford Taurus station wagon with the insurance money and soon traded in my old lemon Mustang for another Ranger. We seemed to go through cars a lot in those few years. We did not like the Taurus, so we traded it for another Explorer, and we sold off the Ranger and got an small version of the Jeep Wagoneer. Upon moving to yet another new city, we sold the Explorer in exchange for a Chrysler Town and Country; we had three nearly teenaged children and had reached minivan status. We also were no longer a Ford family. Just recently, we bought our son a Chevy Prism.

All I can say is, I wish I had my parents' old 1967 Mustang.

I have never had a fascination with Dodge. I mean, in the past ten years the company really didn't have any vehicles that really appealed to me. They had the Viper of course, but I could never even imagine paying for one of those. They also had those big Ram trucks, and Durango sport utility vehicles, but the gas mileage for those vehicles aren't very appealing, especially in this day and age where three dollars for a gallon of gas is not a very far fetched idea. Then of course, there was Dodge's entry vehicle, the Neon. It was a plain vehicle, and did not really stand out in the sedan crowd.

A while back, I started hearing about the Dodge Neon replacement, titled the Caliber. At first, the Caliber was going to be a sedan, however as more news leaked out over the past two years, the Dodge Caliber was finally released as a hatchback / crossover utility vehicle.

When I first saw the Dodge Caliber on the Dodge website, I immediately was amazed. The Dodge Caliber was cheaper in price compared to the Dodge Neon that it was replacing, but it looked much better. It looked like a little SUV, and for the base price, the features were incredible.

I ordered some information packets about the vehicle, and called my local Dodge dealerships to see if they had any Calibers in stock yet (This was right before the Caliber was released). The dealerships told me they would not be getting any Dodge Calibers in for a few months, so I waited until I received the information packets in the mail.

After reading the information Dodge sent me, I was amazed at how much car Dodge was giving you for the money. The base model included a 1.8L four cylinder engine that produced 148 horsepower, and was mated to a five speed manual transmission. Even more impressive was that the car had a fuel economy of 32 miles per gallon on the highway. Even more impressive was the fact that for a $1000 more than the base price, you could upgrade the engine to a 2.0L and a CVT (Continuously Variable Transaxle) for the transmission. The top of the line model featured all-wheel drive and a 2.4L engine capable of producing 172 horsepower.

After reading through the information brochures and pamphlets, I was sold. I knew I had to test drive one of these Dodge Calibers. They had that mean spirited look of the Dodge Ram trucks, and were packed with features and options for well under twenty thousand dollars.

Soon, my local dealer called me up and told me that they had received their first shipment of Dodge Calibers in. I drove down, and looked around the lot for the Caliber. I wasn't expecting a large SUV, but I was expecting something a little bigger than my sedan.

As I walked over to the Dodge Calibers, I kind of stumbled. I couldn't believe how different the cars looked from the information brochures than they do in person. In the brochures, the cars looked mean and big. In person, they looked like a compressed station wagon; they were a little tall, mostly because some of them had eighteen inch tires, but they were much shorter than I had anticipated.

I had been waiting for the Caliber for some time, so I didn't give up on it right away. I asked for a test drive, and soon I was sitting in one of the SXT models that are equipped with a 2.0L engine with the CVT. The interior looked very nice with brushed aluminum looking panels, and the controls for everything were neatly organized. Standing a little over six feet and two inches tall, I found myself a little crowded in the car.

The engine was capable of 158 horsepower, but when I took the car for a test drive, it felt slow; maybe it was the CVT transmission. My Mitsubishi Lancer only produced 120 horsepower, but it seemed to be able to accelerate much better (and I thought that it was lacking power). I had figured that since the vehicle wasn't as large as I had thought it was going to be a decent performer. Unfortunately, that really wasn't the case. I told the salesman my complaints, and he told me about the SRT model, which had all wheel drive, and the 2.4L engine. It was close to twenty thousand dollars, a little out of my price range, but I decided I would take that one for a test drive also.

The SRT model had leather seats, large wheels, and chrome throughout the exterior. To me, the large eighteen inch wheels look very odd, but the chrome looked very nice. I jumped into the vehicle, and took it for a two mile test drive.

This Dodge Caliber and its 2.4L engine was more responsive when I went up a hill, but for the most part regular driving was close to the 2.0L engine. The car offered a little pep, but not much. The AWD option was nice, but I really was not looking for a all wheel drive vehicle.

I drove the vehicle back to the dealership a little disappointed. I had been looking forward to buying a Dodge Caliber for quite some time, however it seemed to me that the Caliber's bark was bigger than its bite. It looks much larger in photos than it is in person; in person it looks like a crushed station wagon.

The performance of the vehicle has a lot to be desired. I simply cannot understand how a vehicle that small doesn't have much pep to it. It weighs a lot for its small size, but the 2.4L engine that produces 172 hp should be more peppy.

Needless to say, I did not purchase a new Dodge Caliber. The small size, and performance of the three engines threw me off. Perhaps the manual five speed transmission would offer better performance; I couldn't test drive one because the dealership did not have any Dodge Caliber models with the manual transmission.

So who exactly is the Dodge Caliber for? Dodge appears to be targeting people in their twenties with the car, but a lot of people in that age group are going to be turned off with the small size of the Caliber. In photos it looks like a small SUV, but when you are standing next to the vehicle, it looks like a station wagon; not something a lot of young people are going to want to drive around.

The vehicle has a lot of options and different engines / transmission choices, so buyers have lots of configurations available. Unfortunately, a lot of options (such as leather seats) require other option packages, so the fourteen thousand dollar base price can quickly sky rocket to twenty thousand dollars.

By Christina VanGinkel

My son just turned fourteen years old but is already half looking, half shopping for his dream car. Attracted from a young age to anything with wheels, and a motorbike rider with several years under his belt, this should not be a surprise to me. Not to mention that he is my brother's nephew and my brother has a love for vintage automobiles, which does not compare to that many people's interests I have ever met. He is happiest when he is tearing apart an automobile that has seen much better days and rebuilding it to some silent, but spectacular specifications that exist only within his head. What results are autos that are coveted by many but owned only by my brother save for the occasional few that he has helped build their dream, such as his son-in-law. However, this is not about my brother, well not really.

This past spring, my son went across the country, from Wisconsin all the way to Texas, to spend a few days with that one and same brother of mine. My son wanted to learn to weld, already thinking ahead to future days beneath the body of a car or two. My brother surprised him and took him to the Texas Speedway for a NASCAR race the first full day he was there. If there was ever a chance that my son would not turn into a car guy, this sealed his fate. The remainder of the trip was spent almost exclusively in my brother's garage with my son in his first welding helmet learning as much as he could absorb about welding in those few short days as his brain could absorb. The rest of the time was spent admiring and riding in his uncle's current Hot Rod.

Zip ahead to today and my son has been spending every waking moment not used up by his normal daily activities shopping for his dream car. For a fourteen year old, he is busy. He spends much of his time racing his motorbike on his racetrack we had built this past spring, doing homework, working at his part time job at a local orchard so he can save money for that car of his dreams, getting his snowboard gear together for the winter, and bow hunting whitetail. When not actively doing one of these things though, he pores through newspapers with zealousness unmatched by any car-seeking adult. He reads ads in the backs of his car magazines, browses online car ads, all the while worried that he will not find the car he wants, and at the same time, worried that if he does, he will not have enough money saved to get it and miss his chance.

I am forever telling him that he has lots of time to find a car, but I am always met by a look that I believe means that I just do not get it. A dream car only comes along once in a while, and one car of his dreams is a model that has been around since I was but a child. Notice I mentioned 'one' car of his dreams, because as time has rolled along, he has expanded the definition of what he deems his list of dream cars. The newest addition is but a new model of the same one he first fell in love with though. So what car has my child decided fits his image of the perfect car, the car that at some point in his life he plans to own not one, but several that will span the years, literally a history of cars? The Ford Mustang of course! Also amongst his list of dream cars is the Pontiac GTO, preferably an early model such as the classic 1964.

For now, my son is still at the dreaming stage, though in just a few short months he will most likely be the proud owner of at least the beginning of his dream when he finds a car that he both likes and that he can afford, with a bit of help from mom and dad of course. Then at that time, our household will be home to a true car guy, even if he is just a teenager! To all you car lovers out there, of a breed all your own, know that at least for know your kind will live on as a new member joins your crowd, recognizing that just because a car is not new, does not mean that it has outlived its life.

Just before I was born in 1967, my parents bought their first car: a brand new, turquoise blue Ford Mustang. We have small, black and white photos of my mom holding me in the front seat and even a photo with me in the back in a primitive car seat. My parents sold that wonderful little car before I turned four-years-old because we moved to Colorado with all its snow, and I had a baby brother on the way. Although I told them many years later that one little brother should not have caused them to sell their Mustang, they always argued that they were afraid to drive it in the ice and snow. Besides, nothing I could say or do would bring the car back.

By the time I was nine or ten years old, spending time with my two male cousins made quite a tomboy out of me and I learned from them the importance of cars. It was the mid 1970s and we would spend our summers swimming and scoping out all the cool cars. My older, teenaged cousin, especially loved the ever popular Trans Am, but I was transfixed by Mustangs. I imagined that one day, when I was old enough to drive, I would somehow get my own Mustang. I imagined that somehow, my parents would find the person to whom they had sold their old Mustang, and get it back for me. I imagined that Steve McQueen would take me for a ride in his cool Mustang (as opposed to my cousin who wanted to take a ride with Burt Reynolds in his Trans Am).

When I did obtain my driver's license on my sixteenth birthday, I secretly hoped I would look outside my home and find a Mustang with a big red bow on the hood. And I did not want the current Mustang of the day. The Mustangs of the late 70s and early 80s had become uncool, in my opinion. I was holding out for a Mustang of the late 60s. Either way, not only was there not a Mustang outside my house that day, there was nothing more than my dad's old 1971 Chevy Blazer, which I was allowed to drive only when he was not using it. I could live with that; in fact, I was happy to have access to a car at all, but my love for Mustangs never went away.

In high school, I dated a guy with a 1967 Mustang, just like the one I wanted. I can honestly say that I did not date him for his car, because I actually began dating him before he acquired the car, but it certainly was appealing! It was navy blue with a bright white interior, completely restored. I was in love - with the car - but the guy and I ultimately went our separate ways. Then, after my first year in college, my parents told me they wanted to buy me a car. While they knew what I wanted, they thought such an old car would be unsafe. They did, however, find a used 1985 Mustang that had a lot of miles on it, but a good price tag. I was thrilled. While it was not the Mustang I had set my hopes on, it was still in the same family, and that was good enough for me. It was a silver Mustang LX; not the sporty kind, but it took me the rest of the way through college and into several years of marriage.

On my twenty-fifth birthday, I entered a radio contest that was giving out 100 keys, one of which would start a fully restored, bright red 1966 Mustang. When I won one of the keys, I was beside myself with excitement. As I put the key into the ignition of the beautiful car, I mentioned to the radio D.J. that it was my birthday. Everyone was rooting for me, but alas, I did not win the car.

Today, I am nearly forty years old and just last year, Ford came out with its newest Mustang model. I never thought I would like another Mustang after the 60s, but once again, I am in love. Still, my husband and I have three teenagers, a mortgage, and a mini-van. A Mustang is just not an option right now. Yet, a couple of years ago at age 63, my mother-in-law finally bought her dream car. So I still have time.

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