“Small” Car

Somehow the other day I got in a discussion about the Dodge Caliber with my current cubicalmate and summer hire. He told me it was a small car. I told him he was nuts, I had seen one in a motel parking lot on Donna and my last road trip. It was parked right next to a last generation Mustang and the Caliber seemed to dwarf the ‘Stang. From my vantage point, a second story balcony, it looked taller, wider and longer. I countered with, “The Neon, the car the Caliber is replacing was a small car.” Adam countered with, “The Caliber is smaller than the Neon.” The gauntlet was thrown down. Off to the internet for some research.

The following are from Automotive.com:
2005 Dodge Neon
– Overall length (inches): 174.4, overall width (inches): 67.4, overall height (inches): 56, wheelbase (inches): 105, cargo volume (cu. ft.): 13.1 trunk, curb weight (lbs) 2,582.
2007 Dodge Caliber
– Overall length (inches): 173.8, overall width (inches): 68.8, overall height (inches): 60.4, wheelbase (inches): 103.7, cargo volume (cu. ft.): 18.5 w/seats up, curb weight (lbs) 2,996
2004 Ford Mustang
– Overall length (inches): 183.2, overall width (inches): 73.1, overall height (inches): 53.2, wheelbase (inches): 101.3, curb weight (lbs) 3,254

Boy do I feel like a fool, somewhat. The Caliber’s length and wheelbase is shorter than the Neon, but it is 1-1/2″ wider and nearly 4″ taller with 5 more cubic feet of storage (35 if you fold the back seats down.) The only thing bigger about the Caliber over the Mustang is height. Must have been parallax error or maybe too many refreshment from the mini-bar.