Dodge Caliber production to cease in November

Dodge's Caliber is headed to the graveyard before the year is over.

Although its demise has been assumed ever since Chrysler made public its plans to sell a 40 mpg plus compact car based on Fiat architecture here, we now have an official date for the Dodge Caliber's death certificate.

According to dealer documents obtained by Allpar, the Caliber will go out of production on November 23 at Chrysler's fairly busy Belvidere, Illinois, assembly plant - the same facility that also builds its relatively hot-selling Jeep Patriot and Compass models.

Caliber was launched in 2006 for the 2007 model year, but it was never an especially brisk seller for Chrysler. Derided early on for its middling powertrain and budget grade interior, it soldiered on for a few years as Detroit's only five-door compact hatchback. An interior upgrade came for 2010, but it wasn't enough to save the Caliber from its fate as a primarily fleet-oriented, low profit model for Chrysler.

Its replacement won't bear the same name when it debuts in January at the North American International Auto Show in Detroit. Using largely Fiat-supplied technology, powertrains and platforms, the next-generation compact Chryslers will need to be built in the U.S. and achieve at least 40 mpg in order to satisfy a requirement set out during the federal government's bailout of Chrysler in 2009.


References
1.'Caliber buildout scheduled...' view