By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman 

 By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Since arriving as the first minivans back in the mid-80s, the Dodge Caravan and Chrysler Town & Country have never relinquished the sales title despite considerable competition that has grown stronger in recent years.

The current generation Chrysler vans — going into the 2011 model year — were appealing in enough ways to continue outselling such vaunted competitors as the Toyota Sienna and the Honda Odyssey. But two deficiencies have stood out in recent years when compared to the Japanese entries.

 By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Perhaps it was part good luck and part cautious driving. But we managed to roll through nearly 200 miles in a 2010 Dodge Viper roadster on main streets, four-lane highways and winding rural roads without incident  while testing the redline limit in second gear, challenging some of our favorite twists at record speeds — for us — and hitting triple-digit numbers on several occasions.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

We acknowledge the many virtues of the Ram 3500 Laramie Heavy Duty Mega Cab (crew cab) dually, but one of them is not as a daily driver. (Note: Ram Truck is now a brand within the new Chrysler Group and Dodge is now solely a car brand.)

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The Dodge Durango started in 1998 as an alternative to the mid-sized sport utilities, none of which came with a third-row seat in those days. Size wise it was also a good alternative to the full-sized harder-to-manage sport utilities such as the Chevrolet Tahoe and Ford Expedition.
 

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

They’ve got it wrong.

They, are those who are asking the question, “Who is going to buy the 2005 Dodge Magnum?” The Magnum being the first American-built rear-wheel drive station wagon (Dodge calls it a ‘sports tourer’) available with aV8 engine since the demise of the large General Motors wagons in 1996.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

The little truck is gone.

Those little Toyota, Nissan and Ford miniatures that puttered around with their paltry 4-bangers in the ‘80s are now just a piece of automotive history. Trucks, like engine sizes, are getting bigger, and the death of the true compact truck is indeed at hand.

In fact, we read the obituaries in 2003 with the introduction of the Chevrolet Colorado and the GMC Canyon and last fall with the introduction of a new Toyota Tacoma and Nissan Frontier.

By Jim Meachen and Ted Biederman

Once upon a time the homemaker wife needed a car to visit her sister. The husband, an auto dealer, was on a business trip and the only vehicle in the driveway was a 2006 Dodge Charger SRT8.

The wife’s choice boiled down to taking the Charger or staying home. Not likely.