Sport Cars

The 2011 Dodge Charger.

Ill admit it. I was among those who thought naming a four-door sedan "Charger" was an act of sacrilege and doomed to failure. After all, the real Dodge Charger was a two-door.

Well, as Ralph Waldo Emerson put it, "foolish consistency sucks" (or something like that). Fact is, Dodge has built a very good sedan and calling it "Coronet" (the four-door the original Charger was based on) would have been a far worse idea.



And, Dodge has dialed up the menace factor for the 2011 Charger. Look at the picture above. Thats a six-cylinder family sedan. Pretty cool.

It helps enormously that under the new sheetmetal is a new six...the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 with variable valve timing. Not only is it smooth and refined...it packs 292 horsepower. Thats close to 100 horses more than the previous base engine...and only 58 fewer than the Hemi option used to bring. Suffice it to say, it gets up and runs. Its mated to a 5-speed automatic transmission and gets a very respectable 18 miles per gallon in the city and 27 on the highway, according to the EPA.

The 2011 Dodge Charger rear view.

Our tester was a Charger Rallye Plus. It started as just a base Charger SE ($25,170), which comes with a full complement of airbags, reactive head restraints, anti-lock four-wheel disc brakes, electronic stability control, all-speed traction control, hill start assist, rain brake support and ready alert braking.

Next comes the "27J Charger Rallye Plus" package. $4,000 that buys you an 8.4-inch touch-screen display, Uconnect Touch, voice command with Bluetooth, Bluetooth streaming audio (just because you have it for hands-free phone doesnt mean you can play music too...but here you can), Sirius satellite radio, an auto-dimming rearview mirror with microphone, a remote USB port, an audio jack, a 276-watt amplifier and six premium speakers. Theres also a remote start system, security alarm, dual-zone automatic climate control, humdity sensor, universal garage door opener, Nappa leather seats (heated in the front and rear...and 8-way power controlled with 4-way lumbar adjustment for the driver and front passenger), a leather-wrapped steering wheel, leather-wrapped shift knob, a heated and cooled front console cupholder, a compass, front overhead LED lighting, front and rear LED map pockets, driver and passenger lower LED lamps and an upgrade to 18-inch chrome-clad aluminum wheels.

Stopping right there would give you a remarkably well equipped car for $29,170...even the destination charge of $825 wouldnt send you past $30K.

The 2011 Dodge Charger interior.

But Dodge wanted us to sample all the goodies, so the press fleet crew packed this one with:

• The Driver Confidence Group ($1,495 for blind spot and cross path detection, rear parking assist, a backup camera, low-beam HID headlamps, rain-sensitive windshield wipers, SmartBeam headlamps, outside mirrors that automatically adjust when you put the car in reverse, and a drivers side automatically-dimming outside mirror).
• The Driver Convenience Group ($575 for power adjustable pedals with memory, memory for radio, seat and mirrors, and a power tilt/telescoping steering column).
• The Adaptive Cruise Control Group ($925 that goes to adaptive speed control, forward collision warning and a heated steering wheel).
• The Navigation/Rear Backup Camera Group ($450, integrating a Garmin navigation system with the already-there backup camera and 8.4-inch color touchscreen).
• The Rallye Appearance Group ($1,195 for an upgrade to a 506-watt amplifier, 9 amplified speakers with subwoofer, a further jump up to 20-inch chrome-clad aliuminum wheels, 245/R20 all-season performance tires, a rear body-color spoiler and performance suspension).
• A power sunroof ($950).

And that, folks, is that. Total price: $35,585. Yeah, there are some things I could quibble about (like how a 506-watt amplifier and speakers wound up in an "appearance" group), but the fact is, this car was a complete joy to drive. It looked great, it drove well, the new interior is just wonderful, it had every imaginable convenience. Yes, you could make do with less for a daily 20-mile commute. But this car whispered things like "Hey, lets go to Denver for lunch."  And Denvers 821 miles from TireKicker World HQ.  Plus, it can blow the doors off any other domestic family sedan that isnt packing a Hemi.

"Charger" was the right pick, after all.

2011 Dodge Charger Rallye Plus

Base price: $25,170

As tested: $35,585

Likes: Styling, power, handling, attitude and a great new interior.

Dislikes: Some silly option packaging on the part of Dodges marketing guys.

EPA estimate: 18 mpg city/27 mpg highway.

1. Sweep the interior of the vehicle and clean all trash and dirt from the inside. Nothing needs to removed or demolished since it is a cargo van with an empty interior. Line the interior walls, ceiling and floor with loft insulation. The insulation can be cut with a razor blade to fit into the deep wall pockets. Cover the insulation with 1/4-inch plywood. Use sheet metal screws to attach the plywood to the van by drilling the screws into the long structural braces that already exist in the van. Pre-cut holes in the plywood to match the existing interior lights.
2. Cover the floor of the van with carpet. Use carpet glue to secure the material to the floor and a combination of carpet glue and carpet nails for the walls and ceiling. Only use the nails around the exterior line of the carpet. You can use wood for the floor but carpet adds insulation value for cold weather camping.
3. Frame a bed for the back of the van using 2-by-3 boards. Build a rectangular base and four uprights for each long side. Use two uprights for the short sides. Frame the top of the bed to match the bottom. Cover the sides of the bed with 1/4-inch plywood and 1-inch wood screws. Attach a hinge to the top of the bed frame and attach 1/4-inch plywood to the hinge. This will allow access to the storage area beneath the bed. Connect the bed to the floor with metal brackets and one inch wood screws. Make the width of the bed equal to the width of the back of the van and adjust the length to support one or two people. Cover the bed with foam padding for comfort.
4. Build a bench seat on one side of the van. Make the bench seat 3-feet wide and 4-feet tall. The length can be all the way to the front seats or only a couple of feet depending on the number of people that will be in the van at one time. Build the bench by constructing a rectangular frame out of 2-by-3 boards. Cover the bench with 1/4-inch plywood and use a hinge on the top for access to the storage inside of the bench. Secure the bench to the floor of the van with a metal bracket. Cover the bench with foam padding. Staple the corners of the foam directly to the bench, with a staple gun.
5. Build a counter top on the opposite side of the bench. This will leave a walking isle between the bench and the counter. Use 2-by-4 boards for the legs and 1/4-inch plywood for the top. Cover the plywood with a marine grade paint to prevent water damage. Secure each leg of the counter to the floor of the van using metal brackets. Place plastic storage containers beneath the counter for kitchen and camping supplies.