Neon SRT4

cargurus.com

            Prior to 2003, the Neon was Dodge and Chrysler’s low priced economical vehicle, which appealed primarily to teenage girls. In 2003, the tuner era was still new, and young adults were taking cars imported from other countries and modifying them into track cars. The head designer at Chrysler decided he wanted the company to be a part of the “tuner era” and put a team of tuner enthusiasts together to design the Dodge Neon SRT4 to compete with imported car manufacturers, who were dominating the sport-compact consumer market. Once the Dodge Neon SRT4 became available it ruled the racetrack, running a 14.2 seconds quarter-mile and launching from 0 to 60 in 5.6 seconds. The Dodge Neon is also very light, so its braking capabilities beat most cars on the track. The Dodge Neon SRT4 design team decided to keep the small, 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine in the Neon, but also introduced a large intercooler and a turbo, which gave the engine a boost of 11-14 PSI.

spindler-muehle.info

            When you climb into the pilot seat of a Dodge Neon SRT4, you forget that you have just climbed into a “girl’s car.” Driving the Neon SRT4 is exhilarating and the luxurious interior gives you a sense of pride as you coast around town. The seats are designed to hug the human body and makes the driver and passengers feel safe; giving the driver extra confidence to go faster when taking corners. Chrysler and Dodge thought of every last detail when they crafted the Neon SRT4, when you gaze at the dashboard everything that meets your eye looks top of the line. The interior lighting and gauges are beautifully designed, and the controls are strategically placed for the driver’s ease of maneuvering and to prevent unnecessary distractions so that the driver can focus on the road ahead of them and enjoy the quickness of the car. When you climb out of the Neon you are quickly reminded that you were driving a “girl’s car,” and all the excitement and pride you felt fades away.

            When I got my learners permit, I was lucky enough to learn in my mom’s car, a brand new Neon SRT4. It was a great car to learn to drive in, not only because it was a manual transmission, but also it was a very fun car to drive. Back then I didn’t care much about how cars looked, or the biases and stereotypes people had about cars. Now that I am older there are some vehicles I would be embarrassed to drive, and the Dodge Neon would be one of those cars. To many car enthusiasts the Dodge Neon is considered a girl, it is also very ugly. I do not like anything about the way Dodge designed the exterior of the Neon. The body style has barely changed since the Neon was first introduced, and the changes that were made for the introduction of the SRT just make the Neon look uglier in my opinion. The Neon is a fun car to drive and handles on the road very well, but overall it is too ugly for me to every imagine owning one.

Wikipedia

Works cited:

Research- www.drivesrt.com