Jason on Cars

Behold the Dodge Nitro. NITRO EVERYBODY!!!

The strongest fact about this car to me, was the interest it got from people who saw it. Men, women, older, younger… They all asked me about it. I was at my Realtor’s office and when I walked in the receptionist immediately asked “Did you get a new car? What is that?” She was smitten. At a small get-together with friends, the tall, kilt-wearing friend wanted to know all about it, while the mom-rocker was asking for a rerun of my story. Everyone wanted to know about it, which I thought was really odd. I like the car, it’s unique-ish, but I just did not expect the level of interest from those around me.

The Dodge Charger. What a great time for this car to be making a return to the marketplace, just weeks before the Dukes of Hazzard movie comes out and in the height of “Hemi” marketing. Yet, I wasn’t really excited to get behind the wheel as the marketing for this car really has taken my ability to like it down a notch. I don’t really see anything “unleashed” about it, but evidently, it’s there.

The first thing you really notice about this car is its size. This is not a small, sporty car. Four doors, wide stance, big curves; this car really is a throwback to the old muscle its heritage reminds us of. And when you turn the key, the pitch of the exhaust says again, “American Muscle. ”

The actual driving is fairly generic. A heavy throttle, stable steering, and stiff suspension really make this more of a car you point then steer. However, the mini-Charger-catalog that came with the car described its handling as “spirited,” I’d have to disagree. Now, maybe I don’t know what spirited is, but I think of small cheerleaders doing hand-springs, not heavy muscle cars grunting through the corners. However, your miles may vary.