Real World Reviews: 2012 Dodge Avenger

Enter another Entry Level Sedan! 

The Avenger's crash test ratings are almost prefect scoring it a IIHS Top Safety Pick, it and doesn't look half bad either. I'm sure with first time car buyers and college students with wealthy parents the Avenger is great fit, much like the dime-a-dozen Civic. And speaking of the current Civic, I've driven it and I'd much rather have the Avenger. For one it is American, which does still sell cars believe it or not, and as with the Dodge Charger I reviewed, a lot comes standard.

While the base model starts at pennies under $19K, you may want to consider spending the extra four grand for the R/T. The Horsepower jumps from 173 to 283, and includes all the bells and whistles you'd expect in one of the Avenger's quicker brothers. Even the base model gets out of its own way, and with a little grease under your finger nails it could be a great tuner car, if you're into such things. As for reliability, I myself run a 15+ year old 2.4L four-cylinder World Engine, essentially identical to the current Avenger's smaller motor, with over 185 thousand miles on the clock that has started every day since I got it in October of 1997. 

I'm not saying this car is just for drivers aged 16-26, but it certainly seems to fit into the demographic. It's safe, it's quick, and it's not trying to be anything it's not. You can fit a dorm room worth of belongings in it, or a few friends, and blast a pretty solid stereo along the way. If you upgrade to the Uconnect system it links right to your phone for calls and music. 

The new Dodge Avenger is not exciting. Dodge is usually good at making the most of your money but unless you can catch one of these on end-of-year sale, you may want to keep looking. That said, it's not a bad car. It's actually quite a good car. It's just boring. I didn't think Dodge settled for boring anymore.

So dull Americans, or anyone looking for a safe reliable car for a spoiled child, here you go. Have fun and try to resist the urge to put LED lights under the chassis, they don't make it any faster. 

2012 Dodge Avenger As Tested:
$18,995
173HP / 166 Torques

Dodge.com

Summer Road Trip Volume 3: 2012 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible

It's summer in New England and there's nothing like feeling of the wind in your hair. And the sun burning your face off, getting pelted with bugs and dirt. 

I'll admit, I don't really like convertibles that aren't MX-5s, but when I drove the regular Chevy Camaro I was shocked that I didn't completely hate it, so I gave the convertible a go. 

On to the age old question: What do you do with a car with horrible visibility? Chop the top off. The biggest problem with the new Camaro coupe is the giant pillar to the driver's left side that creates a monstrous blind spot. As the top comes off this one I was hoping it would alleviate the problem, but no such luck. Visibility is down right awful, but GM has taken steps to keep you from wrecking every 5 feet. 

Looks: It is pretty, until you realize half the vents are fake and the entry level car has been made to look fast while actually being quite terrible. It will never win a beauty contest against an original Camaro, at least not with anyone over the age of 25 judging, but it still it looks aggressive and cool, modern yet retro inspired. I have to give GM credit here, it's an eye catcher. 

Performance: The moderate performance of the smallest Camaro engine is completely ruined by loosing the top. Wind noise with the top down is intolerable and the wind chill will freeze you solid on a chilly summer morning. While testing with the top down, I was passed by an SRT-8 Dodge Challenger that completely drowned the Camaro, and its wind noise, out. 

Features: There's a backup camera built into the rearview mirror, a very cool trick. This is under most circumstances enough to save you from the car's awful rear visibility. The back window is larger than average in a convertible, but still far too small. 

The console and radio is nothing special, a very simple two tone black and blue display, but it's easy to use. That said there's more plastic here than anything and it just looks tacky. The radio controls on steering wheel are on the front of the wheel due to the flappy paddles, which I found annoying. 

Practicality: It's a convertible. My mother's daily driver is a convertible but she doesn't go much further than work and the mall. I could see the Camaro being tolerable day to day in the summer, but in chilly weather it would be uncomfortable. While driving on an 80 degree day the wind chill made me have to turn the heater all the way up, which brought the car's interior to a boil in traffic. Also with the heat on, there is a air vent right over the foot rest, where the clutch would be. So with the heat on high enough to keep the wind from freezing me solid my boots almost melted, and with the air conditioning on I was thankful for my boots preventing frost bite. But you dont' need your left foot in an automatic, right..?

The top looks like it will sag quickly if not garaged, just based off my view of its construction, so don't even think of parking it outside. Putting the top down is simple, a latch and a button. Getting it back up takes some muscle to lock into place, it's a rudimentary system, and open to close takes about 20 seconds of button pressing. If you release the button the roof will stop mid-conversation. At least it's not completely manual. 

Pros: I know I often judge cruise controls, but they're very useful highway features for those of us with a heavy foot, and the Camaro's is one of the best I've tested. 

The flappy paddle gear box is actually great, and using it to manage your own revs can either produce good fuel economy or make for some fun off the line. I did purposely try to stall, but the car won't allow it, reading "Shift denied" on the dash screen. Fairly smart, isn't it?

Cons: The engine is revy, and lacks a real muscle car feel. The wind noise is horrible. The little screen inbetween with speedometer and revcounter is redundant. The turn indicator lights are completely blocked by the steering wheel if you happen to be the same height as me. The cup holders are giant and my water bottle kept falling over, once under the break pedal. 

The retracted top flaps around at highway speeds and blocks rearview for shorter drivers. The trunk, as you can see, is almost uselessly small. 

Overall: So really, if you want the wind involved on your road trip, get a motorcycle. I'm still not a fan of convertibles and the Camaro didn't do anything to change that. If you must have this car, save your pennies and get the ZL1. 

2012 Chevrolet Camaro Convertible As tested:

$32,075

323HP /  278 Torques

Full specs at Chevrolet.com

Summer Road Trip Volume 2: NASCAR at New Hampshire Motor Speedway

New Hampshire is a beautiful place, made all the better by the sound of racing. Saturday NASCAR race days are listed highly in my top deals of the century list, $35 for three races this past July 14th. Parking on Saturday is much easier than Sunday; we arrived around noon and parked two cars for free on track grounds. As with most race tracks, you can bring in just about anything you can fit in a 14 inch or less cooler, as long as it's not in a glass bottle. Around here that means gallons of Narragansett Light. 

We caught the end of practice before the first race, the Whelen Modified series. The cars will look a bit odd to those unfamiliar with them, but they're as fast and exciting as their Sprint and Nationwide Cup cousins. Local Mike Stefanik won by the incredible margin of .003 of a second, a photo finish.

Shortly after came the main event, the Nationwide F.W. Webb 200, the fastest 200 miles you'll see outside of an aircraft. In some of the most exciting racing I've ever seen in person, aided by a slick post-rain track that had cars close, there were mercifully still only a few cautions. Deafening screams from the crowd make watching races at the track so much more exciting than on television and it seemed impossible to look away. As a huge Mopar fan was I thrilled to see the two Dodges finish First and Forth, a win by Brad Keselowski and an incredible race run by Sam Hornish Jr. Also of note, the "Dash for Cash" bonus was claimed by baby-super-star Austin Dillon, whose popularity seems to be growing as quickly as his list of achievements.

A huge bonus, for the first time Global Rally Cross was run at NHMS. This meant an appearance by the Top Gear USA truck, as Tanner Foust joined SPEED's Rutledge Wood at the track.
Like watching cars on the internet going fast sideways? Then you're likely familiar with Ken Block, who despite some bad luck to start put on a great show. One of my favorite drivers of all time, Sam Hubinette, ran the Rally as well, finishing second in a Saab 9-3. He'd probably have won if he'd brought his Dodge Challenger or Viper, as the win went to Travis Pastrana in a Dodge Dart. Pastrana also ran the Nationwide race, an incredible show of endurance and will after wrecking his Toyota and finishing 31st only hours before winning the Rally event.

In short, if you live within driving distance of Loudon and you haven't been to a race there, gear up, Spring Cup racing returns September 23rd and it's worth every penny. You may want to consider a bus trip or shuttle in for that one though; the Sylvania 300 draws huge crowds by mid morning. Tickets for that race are $39-110, and I'd recommend going for the cheap General Admission, you can see the whole track from just about anywhere and you'll want to save your money for beer and foot long corn dogs.

Summer Road Trip Volume 1: 2012 Dodge Caravan

The minivan has come a long way in the last 20 years. I can attest to this; I used to drive back and forth to a summer job in a Plymouth Voyager that belonged to my parents. It was the worst three months of my young driving life. Minivans are, in general, horrid. They're huge, drive like buses, and have the aerodynamics of a brick wall. So can anything redeem the covered wagon of cars? 

When I first picked up the Caravan I was pleasantly surprised. It corners shockingly well for something its size. The storage space seems to be the same capacity as a modest black hole. The seats all fold away, there is storage in the floor, and behind the second row. There is even storage space under the center console at the driver's feet. The side doors and hatchback are all remotly controlled, open and close, by the remote. There is also a button on the interior of the hatch to close it. The car is also kind enough to beep quite loudly alerting you to get out of the way so not to be decapitated in the closing door. The center storage console is huge, with two large cup holders and two closing storage compartments, one of which fit my entire packed lunch. There are also cup holders in all other unallocated space. The loss here is the shift stick having been moved to a rather odd location next to the speedometer. The rest of the console controls are standard Chrysler, simple and easy to use. There are also separate temperature controls for the front and rear of the cabin, for keeping picky passengers comfortable. And while it may be a mile behind you, there is a separate control for the back windshield wiper, a pleasant addition. 

While massive, the Caravan is not unattractive. Its size combined with the Dodge front grill make is almost menacing, like a huge dumb bull. The instruments all have red accent lighting, typical of Dodge. There's nothing new here, but that's actually good. 

Getting up to speed is a challenge, and once you're there beware of gravity going downhill. Completely off the throttle it gains a great deal of speed when descending. Luckily the breaks are quite sufficient. 

Pros: It's huge, it's versatile, it's the original minivan. You could fit the contents of a small apartment, or a hockey team and all their gear in it. The automatic doors make life easier with those large loads too. On local roads it handles well and is fairly maneuverable for a vehicle its size. Extra storage and power adapters means you could almost live in it. 

Cons: On the highway it feels like an underpowered bus. The cruise control fails to control the weight of the car up and down hills. It's fine on flat ground but don't trust the cruise control to work the throttle. That said the throttle delay due to weight can be frustrating. The gas milage, 17mpg locally and 25mpg highway is pretty awful, but it is basically a bus. There is an "Econ" Button, which smoothes out the throttle response and causes the automatic transmission to upshift sooner, apparently saving fuel. I'm not sure in a minivan why this is even there; shouldn't it just be on all the time?

Overall: So it's great around town, fits a small universe, and doesn't look half bad. But on the highway? I would love to see the wind tunnel tests on this thing, the video must closely resemble satellite footage of a large storm hitting the Rocky Mountains; it just stops. However if you have to transport a large family, or need to rent something to transport large amounts of people and things, the caravan delivers. For the money and the features, it's a minivan, what do you expect? It has its faults but it gets the job done well. 

As tested:
2012 GRAND CARAVAN SE FWD $23,990 Net Price
283HP / 260 Torques
Full specs at Dodge.com

Finding the Balance

I'm still holding short of my 30th birthday but when it comes to things related to general aviation and motoring I seem to be more like minded to those twice my age. I don't appose alternative fuels at all, but I will argue long and hard for traditionally fueled cars. It's the smell of the gasoline, the cry of everything from a high revving four cylander to the brutal roar of a monstrous V12. I don't want electrical silence in my race car, I just don't. The motion to force automakers to produce a low average mpg across their lines just means there are a lot of crappy little cars to balance out the flagship gas guzzlers that get customers into dealerships.

Aviation is worse. I don't care what powers my plane but can politicians please stop trying to make my hundred dollar hamburger cost eight hundred fifty two dollars and a mile of paperwork? I'm a licensed private pilot that has already put thousands of my hard earned dollars into getting my license and remaining safe and informed.

Would I fly an electric plane? Sure. Can I escape landing fees by doing it? Aviation fuel is absurdly expensive but the costs that can be associated with a leisurely cross country flight are worse. If user fees are put into place by the government sightseeing flights will go the way of the Sunday drive.

My advice is to fly or drive what you want, not what the government tells you to. There will be enough environmentalists driving golf carts to balance out the Super Car you've worked for since it was on your bedroom wall.

Real World Reviews: 2012 Dodge Charger

Welcome to America. We're a country trying to rebuild. In the last few years we've seen several new (or mostly new) cars break free from the pack. The following chronicles how I set out to determine if the 2012 Dodge Charger can keep up. 

I had the Charger for three days and a stretch of I-95 with blissfully few police. The plan was to test what is a very comfortable highway car in one of my least favorite cities to drive; Philadelphia. Aside from streets riddled with trolly tracks, the 5 hour drive each way, and the gleeful look on the hotel valet boy's face, the City of Brotherly Love seemed a comfortably appropriate place to test a car that harkens back to the muscle car era of the 60s and 70s. 

One thing about Philadelphia: the gap in between the classes is huge here. Glistening sky scrapers tower over ramshackle brick buildings. On the street doctors eat from the same food truck as the homeless but I doubt the richer man would even offer to buy both meals. It's exactly the kind of world the charger seems to rebel against. The idea of the original charger, and the muscle car as a whole, was power and freedom for everyone. While today's Chargers occupy a higher range of the price bracket, more expensive cars still get out of its way. On 95 South I passed a Bentley Continental in Connecticut, a few Corvettes in New York and New Jersey and a number of expensive imports. Every single one moved to let the Charger pass. Now let me remind you the Charger I was driving goes for just over 25 thousand dollars, but clearly that doesn't matter when you're using headlamps as an intimidation tool. 

Looks: I'm absolutely obsessed with the taillights on the Charger. They're one of the funkiest retro revivals I've seen, and as an update to the car they just give it so much personality. Dodge calls them "racetrack" taillights, and that iconic look is created by 164 LEDs.

The nose of the car along with the curve of the headlamps and fenders conjure images of an angry wild bore. That charging up into your rear view mirror can certainly make you think twice about putting the peddle down or getting out of the Charger's way. The rest of the car is sadly cookie-cutter Chrysler, but there are more interesting visuals than expected monotone ones.

Preformace: The suspension feels very Mopar; it's comfortable but you can feel the road. At least there's no drum breaks; the Charger is discs all around, vented front and solid rear, with anti-locking breaks and traction control, which if you'd like to go sideways can be turned off. This Charger's powered by the good ol' 3.6L Pentastar V6 which boasts 27 highway miles per gallon. I didn't get quite that, but I also drove it like a Charger. You can have up to a 6.7L V8 if you're game with the SRT-8's $46,795 price tag... which for 470HP, actually isn't too bad. Its brother the 470HP SRT-8 Challenger is $44,995, but for the extra two grand the Charger's much faster, 0 to 60 in 6.3 seconds in the Challenger and an astonishing 4.3 in the Charger. That's just a hair behind the 2012 Chevrolet Camaro Z1 which will cost you almost $10 grand more. I've driven the 2011 Camaro and while it looks good the blind spots are killer and it doesn't come with the Charger's toys standard.

Features: The console is fantastic, with lots of space for keeping things handy and adjustable LED-illuminated cup holders that look like they belong on the Starship Enterprise. You can also close a cover over them to hide things you wouldn't want to tempt car thieves with.

The driver's seat is 6-way power adjustable and very comfortable on long drives. The entry level car comes standard with 17-inch painted aluminum wheels, which if you're into such a thing look far more expensive than they are.

I'm rather surprised that the "Uconnect Touch Media Center", the dash board basically, comes standard, since it is very cool and very good. There's audio ports that allow integration with every media player imaginable, and synced quite well with my iPhone. It could use a USB input on the radio itself; the port is in the center console but the most convenient place for a phone would stretch your ipod cable over the gear stick.
There's also audio controls on the steering wheel where your finger tips fall if you're holding the wheel properly.

I LOVE push-button starters, they're just cool. The car knows when the key is close and allows you to start the engine with the push of a button. This is a 25 grand car with a push button starter.

Practicality: When it comes down to it, the Charger is just a four door sedan. It has a large, useable back seat, and trunk that can fit your 300 pound drunk friend. There are plenty of aids in the car to make driving easier when you’re trying wrangle a dog or a child. The dome lights are over the driver’s head, not in the roof’s center, so they’re easier to reach, and even have storage for glasses or a radar detector.

Pros: Starting at just $24,420, the bang for your buck is monumental. The digital screen between the dials records miles per gallon; I ranged between 18 and 24.7mpg. Still less mpg feels worth it, the car is fun to drive in my opinion and is very comfortable on the highway. The cruise control is better than I expected, it's smooth and fairly intelligent as computer-drivers go.

Cons: The button to open gas cap is in driver's door, hidden from sight until you open the door. In states such as NJ that are full service, you won’t get out to fill up, it’s not so obvious if you need to find it. This is at least, unless you get amnesia frequently, a one-time problem.
There is notable body roll in sharp corners, typical of a heavy four door sedan, which while true to the Charger's roots gets old fast. Times have changed, we turn corners now. This should however be much reduced in the higher end models.

Overall; this is one of the best cars I've tested in a while. I drove the 2010 before all the updates and it was a boring cookie-cutter standard four-door compared to the 2012. A couple of years ago it seemed Dodge didn't want to give you anything standard, but with the Charger they've gone almost overboard. If this is Fiat's impression on the final product from Dodge, I'm all in. I can't wait for the new Dodge Dart if this is is the new definition of a reasonably priced Dodge.

In short, I want it. I want to buy one for every can-do kid, every underdog and every hero that makes this country great. American cars were really awful for a while, we got lax. But when challenged, when tested, we have never been a country of quitters. We can be nostalgic and still blaze forward, hanging on to what made us great and dreaming of what will define us tomorrow. I'm not sure if I agree with Clint Eastwood about it being "half-time" in America; it feels more like 4th and long throwing a hail Mary. Chrysler has seen some rough times. It took Italian giant Fiat to save them. But Based on this car, Dodge is still Dodge, without the rusted broken bits.

As tested:
$25,615 Net Price
292HP / 260 Torques@4,800rpm
Full specs at Dodge.com

Product Review: Turtle Wax T-240KT Headlight Lens Restorer Kit

“This unique process restores dull, yellowed headlights to like new condition in less than 5 minutes per lens. The Lens Clarifying Compound quickly removes surface discoloration and may be all that is needed to restore clarity.” Or not.

Cost: About $8

Going into another brutal New England winter it’s important to be able to see where you’re going, especially since if you own a car you’re likely to be driving it in the snow at some point in the next 3 months. Headlight plastic dulls, clouds, and frankly turns yellow as it ages. I drive a 14 year old car with 177K+ miles, a perfect example. Most of the headlight restoring kits I’ve seen (Mothers for example) require the use of a power drill to do the buffing, and that scares me. Drills near the paint, no. So I picked this one up as an alternative. The directions are fairly simple, and anything that states “well ventilated area” is at least more than water… probably.

Here’s the before photos of my car’s headlights. The driver’s side one is far worse, I’m guessing from spending the majority of its driving time in the left lane.

Turtle Wax recommends using masking tape to protect the paint, which I gladly did after scrubbing the headlights clean.

Step one involved the gritty cream and a cotton cloth. You wax-on that stuff, and then wax-off with a terry cloth. This was enough to get my passenger side light crystal clean, but that wasn’t bad to begin with.

The instructions then say if step one doesn’t get your headlights properly clear to use these three pads in numeric order with a bottle of water-like lubricant it came with. After scrubbing through all this I have to admit I don’t see a lot of difference.

Last is a sealing towelette, which oddly they give you gloves for.

I suppose if you get what you pay for, than that’s what $8 of headlight cleaning and 20 minutes looks like. They do give you enough off the bottled stuff to do this a dozen or so times, but really it doesn’t look like it’s going to help. In the end the headlights don’t really look much better, but at least they don’t look any worse. I recommend saving your $8 for a better kit or a professional job.