New Chase Ride (07 Dodge Caliber)

[Aaron Kennedy]

Just picked up my new chase ride... a 2007 Dodge Caliber SXT. Yay! It's nice to have a car that seems silent with the lack of random noises produced ; ) I ended up trading in the ole 95 Saturn.

http://www.convectionconnection.com/car2s.jpg

From first test drive, I pretty much fell for the car. Drives like a sedan, but you sit higher up like a SUV. Plenty of space, but still get decent fuel economy. Lots of nifty extras which are great for chasing....AC javk in the front, AUX jack into the radio, rechargable LED flashlight that disconnects from the back domelight, a cooled glove box (that can fit 20oz drinks), etc. Works for me!

More pics at:
http://www.convectionconnection.com/SXT/

Aaron

[David Drummond]

That's pretty sweet! I would chase in that! All it's missing are a few drilled holes for antennas and some hail dents! :twisted:

[Bill Hamilton]

Good going Aaron! I would chase in that as well. Very curious to see how it performs for you.
The first few hail dents will piss you off but they are just battle scars to show off. :D

[Dan Robinson]

Nice! IMO this type of vehicle (wagon/SUV crossover) is perfect for chasing. Good fuel economy, lots of space. I have a Freestyle which is basically the same type of car as the Caliber. No holes drilled in the dash yet but I do already have hail dents :)

[Aaron Kennedy]

Ya... I'm pretty paranoid about keeping it pristine right now! Surprisingly I haven't seen hail larger than quarters out chasing (go figure). Murphy's law states I'll end up in softballs this year, but I'll try to avoid that ; )

Aaron

[mike scantlin]

that is freakin bad. very nice. i wouldnt chase in that. it's too nice. :lol: what mods do you plan on doing, if any?

[Dan Robinson]

Ya... I'm pretty paranoid about keeping it pristine right now!

Ahhhh.... I was too about mine - until I had either a dirt road or a core between me and a banner tornado day. I tried the dirt road, that didn't work :? With guaranteed tornadic bliss on the other side, I waved goodbye to my car's prinstineness and took a few dents.

[Jason Boggs]

Congrats on the new car Aaron! That is really a sweet looking ride. When I got my new yellow nissan frontier back in 2001 the first hail dents in it were from a supercell that produced baseballs near Vega, TX. It got broke in really quick and just like Bill Hamilton said, they were just battle scars that were worthy of being proud of! Hey, look at the bright side, at least your car was able to make it off the car lot before the real fun begins!

June 21, 2004 hail event in Amarillo. These poor cars never had a chance! :cry:
http://img358.imageshack.us/img358/9074/dsc035088ia.jpg

http://img74.imageshack.us/img74/3892/dsc035025ny.jpg

Again, congrats on the new ride and I hope to see you out and about this year.

[Tyler Allison]

nice photo shoot! Where is that?

Also...mind telling how much you paid? None of your business is a valid response...no offense will be taken :)

[Aaron Kennedy]

MSRP on the car with dealer fees was mid $18ks. Since it is a new car (I was probably the first to get this model in OK), getting a deal near invoice would be nearly impossible. Some of the other Dodge dealers in the state had preorders.... Norman was first come first serve. Dodge had a $500 rebate that expired the last day of Feb, and unlike the other two dealers I talked to, I actually got $$$ for the trade. After it was all said and done, the price was ~$17k Payments in low 300s... works for me! I was more concerned with having a painless buying process than argueing over a few hundred dollars. I figured I would just snag the car now while my trade-in was still running fine =)

Theoretically you can get a base model with a MT for ~$15k.

First pic was at NSSL, while the rest were at my apt. As for mods? Dunno... I have to figure out the best way to mount a 2m and cell antenna to the sucker. Then I'm set.

Aaron

[Paul Stofer]

Congradulations on the new ride Aaron! Looks comfortable. Im sure it will proove itself this season :)

[John Erwin]

Congrats Aaron, those are very nice rides indeed!

I'm actually waiting to see the Jeep variation of this platform, called the Jeep Compass (see here: http://www.allpar.com/model/jeep/compass.html
Cheers,

[George Tincher]

Dodge is really cranking out some interesting and unique automobiles these days. It should come as no surprise that they are doing well.

[J West]

Aaron, any updates? How is it now that it's broke in?

The SRT4 version has my attention and you are the only one that I know of who owns one.