Dodge Caliber SRT4 dies quick and painless

Dodge is dropping its fastest, most powerful small car for the 2010 model year. The Dodge Caliber SRT4--a turbocharged, muscle-bound version of the Caliber--is being discontinued.

"The Dodge Caliber SRT4 was planned for a limited production run in the highly competitive sport compact market segment," Dodge said in a statement.

Dodge did not provide information on the number of Caliber SRT4s sold since the vehicle was introduced in late 2007.

The Caliber SRT4 was Dodge's attempt to add a little muscle-car panache to its smallest car. It was powered by a 285-hp turbocharged version of the inline four-cylinder engine built at the Global Engine Manufacturing Alliance factory in Dundee, Mich., operated jointly with Hyundai and Mitsubishi. The six-speed manual transmission was supplied by Getrag, of Germany.

Chrysler's SRT (Street and Racing Technology) group now has five vehicles for 2010: the Chrysler 300C SRT8; the Dodge Charger SRT8, Challenger SRT8 and Viper SRT10; and the Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8.

By Bradford Wernle- Automotive News