From Edmunds.com

DETROIT — While Chrysler chief Tom LaSorda is saying a small sports car is "on our wish list and in the product plan," AutoWeek reports that the Dodge Demon concept is slated to go into production. Interestingly, the now rear-wheel-drive concept will be developed on a front-wheel-drive platform from China's Chery Automobile. The change was made in part to meet toughening emissions regulations, the publication says.

As AutoWeek notes, Chery and Chrysler have embarked on a cooperative venture to produce small cars in both hatchback and sedan body styles that will be sold as Chrysler and Dodge products in the West.

Details of the Demon's production are not yet being discussed. LaSorda said the Demon would get a new direct-injection gas engine that is now being developed. He also quipped that "speeding things up" would be nice given the slow pace of negotiations in China. According to the publication, Chrysler is still working out details of the agreement with Chery and is targeting a 2009 debut for the first products from the detail.

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IMO, if they neuter the Demon as stated in the article ( 4-cyl and FWD ), it will be another compromise that will end up as a complete failure. No one in the U.S. will buy a 4-cylinder Chinese "sports" car badged as a Dodge Demon.

 

Don't get freaked.

I'm unconvinced that a cutthroat private equity firm like Cerberus Capital Management would allow a bad car to come out of Chrysler.

The only Asian country with an OEM capable of providing a cheap sports car platform is South Korea. China is a few years off yet from making anything that could remotely be sold in America.

 

why bother the Demon has already been nuetered by having a 4 cylinder, bla....

I think we have seen the best of Chrysler/Dodge, it's all down hill from here. they might as well sell Chrysler to the Chinese. If I remember correctly Chery Auto is the same company that was knocking off several Chevy cars and calling them Chery, GM sued and after several years of production managed to finaly stop chery from stealing GM's designs like the Chevy Aveo.

pack it up, it's over, be glad your Chrysler is a Mercedes cause this company is going the way of AMC.

 

LOL Yeah. Those SRT4s were so "nuetered".

I'd like to ask why Mercedes bothered with an extra two cylinders when they planned on making only as much power as my lawn mower.

EDIT: Also, have you seen the hornet concept? I'm pretty sure they would use that platform for a small FWD hatch before they bothered butchering the demon.

 

not many people are buying up the saturn sky redline, thats a four with a turbo and just makes a bit more power than the crossfire. trust me the DEMon is a dead dog!

 

Well, maxwell isn't exactly known for unbiased points of view - his rants on the politics forum definitely show that

Anyways, this is Cerberus we're talking about. They don't have a history of dismembering companies.

Chrysler's bread and butter right now are a sedan (the 300), and a minivan (the Town and Country) Both of those cars are actually pretty well regarded by most.

My opinions:

Chrysler has to break out a good, cheap b-segment car that can compete with the Chevy Aveo, Nissan Versa, and Honda Fit. Then they have to come out with a decent compact and mid-size sedan. The 300 MUST be redesigned within the next few years, hopefully keeping the same trademark front but completely redesigning the profile and rear (the biggest weaknesses of the car).

 

That I won't argue. It certainly seems like a dumb idea from a sales perspective.

 

An Aveo/Versa/Fit type car will not save Chrysler. The lack of sales volume and small profits ( at best ) on those types of cars won't cut it. However, they do make nice CAFE balancing vehicles that allow you to sell Hemi's and Trucks.

What Chrysler really needs is an Accord/Camry competitor. Or as someone else stated in another post, they need another K-car. As horrible as that sounds to us auto enthusiasts, they need something that will sell well and make some cash. Aveo's and Fits aren't the answer.

Its astounding that they are even wasting 1 cent on the Demon in this proposed Chinese form. That money could be spend on the re-design on the Sebring and 300. Heck, tweeking a Crossfire may have been cheaper than the Demon.

 

I was waiting for them to make the Demon (specifically a turbo 4 SRT version). I was going to sell my SRT-4 in a couple of years to buy one (if they made it), but then saw the awesome prices on the SRT-6's and decided I would rather have one for probably the same price the SRT Demon would have cost me! I really glad I picked up an SRT-6 now that they are saying it will be FWD and most likely they won't make an SRT version.

 

Wow this is either totally wrong (my guess) or a really, really BAD IDEA !

A little two seat sports car with styling features suggesting rear wheel drive that is actually FRONT WHEEL DRIVE and manufactured by Chery in Communist China . Sold as a DODGE ??? Holy Cow...and I thought the Compass was BAD !!! Started out as a cool concept and by the time it actually appeared it was absolutely F*ucked up !!!

If this is the "new direction" Chrysler is headed then they really are history...

Slim

 

i would add "be reliable" to that statement.

 

Now you're arguing the practicality of a roadster. Might as well throw in a roof rack, 14" of ground clearance, and a small motorcycle trailer for added cargo space.

 

the sentence i quoted wasn't about a roadster, it was about a K-car replacement.

but hey, if you want to buy a roadster that doesn't see the road much other than on the back of a tow truck, by all means, spend money on it.

 

Uh huh, because we all know the little Lotus Elise with it's tiny little 190HP Toyota 4 banger is stupid slow. Riiiiiight.

When I had my Miata I always dreamed about ripping the engine out of my PT Turbo and dropping it in the little roadster. In case you don't know, and I suspect Maxwell doesn't, the PT Turbo has the same engine as the SRT4 and mine has the Stage 1 upgrade plus some other bits. Imagine a 2300lb RWD roadster with 250HP and 275lb-ft under the hood. Sounds like fun to me.

What doesn't sound like fun is the Demon being configured with FWD. That's just wrong.