I bought a brand new neon in 2000 for my wife. we gave it to her step-dad in 2004. In that time:

Blew a head gasket at 30,000 miles
paint is peeling all over
squeaks/rattles everywhere
replaced the wipers every three months (used good ones, so I dont know what the problem was)
transmission feels weird (automatic)
interior falling apart
etc, etc, etc...

I took good care of the vehicle too, no mods, nothing to f- it up. IMHO, the SRT4 is really fast, but it's still a neon. take a look around your town. I can bet you the majority of neons have the paint peeling off/oxidizing.

I bought my wife a Camry in 2004. It now has 23,000 miles on it. Do you know what problems we/ve had with it? here's a list:

(insert absolutely nothing here!)

So, if you wnat a FAST car that will fall apart every weekend, get the SRT4. If you want a QUICK car that you will be able to give to yur kids, get the tC.
DISCLAIMER:
(attention all Neon/dodge/mopar fans- these are my opinons based on owning a neon, a camry, a tC, and an MR2 turbo. please dont hate, your dodge may have had no problems at all and may last forever. Again, these are just my opinions based on my ownership experience, thanks for understanding)

 

I definitely agree with them putting it in the two most boring cars they have as well. I will give GM credit with what they do though. The Sky and solstice are slick little cars that do not cost a fortune, and the turbo solstice GSX is very cool. At least they have style with them. Saw the GXP at the minneapolis car show and was pretty impressed. Not to mention when people start tweaking the turbo setup on them.

 

Ahem, but you can't blame Dodge for the potential shortcomings of their CVT considering it is made by Jatco, who are partially owned by Nissan.

I also think Chrysler's newer lineup has seemed to have gone up in overal quality since Mercedes Benz took them over, even though MBs are not at their best currently. In other words I never heard anyone wine about their Chargers or Magnums just yet. But I guess I am going off topic since I am stating about their newer models. However, every Neon SRT4 I have seen doesn't seem to have visible paint peel.

 

Incredible! Dodge comes out with a car that will blow the doors off of every other car within $10K of it's price and all it does is generate a buch of haters.
To those who whine "It;s till just a Neon". So what's wrong with that? Ever hear of the ACR? The "just a Neon" has been one of the best handling cars on the the track for the last 10 years!
I have owned Hon-duhs. 5 in fact. They are nomanufactured form majic dust. I had an Accord that lunched it's tranny at 48K. IT also went through 3 sets of pads and 2 sets of rotors by 50K.
I have owned Subarus. I had a turbo AWD Subaru that spent almost as much time in the shop as on the road.
I have also owned Dodge and other DC products that have been trouble free and reliable. I have owned 4 "still a Neons". All 4 have been trouble free. I currentlyt own an '04 Dodge Stratus which has never been to the shop for anything other than oil changes. I own an "01 PT Cruiser which has never been to the shop for anything other than oil changes. I just sold a Chrysler Cirus that had 151K miles and was still running great, and had been trouble free in the 6 years i owned it.

 

i was reading about the new mazdaspeed 3, nice ride, id take that over a neon any day......price is probably the same, and your getting a better quality car, not to mention its turbo and puts out 250 Hp, which is more then enough

 

How did I miss that? The Mazda speed just came out, after one year producition is time to move on? I wonder is the RX-8 is down the line. I'll watch this one for sure. Awesome fine, good time for mazda.

 

mazda has always made some of the best performing cars over the years. the problem is that they aren't advertised enough to get anyone to buy them. if you want a quick car, just go buy a 90-94 protege lx (DOHC 1.8l iron block, piston oil squirters, main bearing support plate), buy a turbo setup for about $1k, boost about 17psi daily, and run low 12s. all for under 2000 dollars, including buying the car. oh, and it will outhandle most other fwd compact cars on the road, with about 300 into suspension, good driving skills, and tires.

 

im not sure if the mazdaspeed3 is out yet, i was reading about it in the may issue of road and track, it has a more aggressive front clip side skirts and has a more ridgid frame, im not sure of the price but its a nice car, 4 doors and a hatchback, its aim is at the new GTI....
im seriously considering getting one if the price is under 30k, but at the point im getting a older g35.....
there are a lot of options out there for a fast under or around 30k car......

 

Word to that.

Bonus points for making it an MR setup so it can have RWD with no modification to the engine.

 

The Mazdaspeed3 is not out yet btw. I believe Mazda is aiming for a Sept-Oct launch.

I think the car is basically going to destroy everything in the segment (including my precious WRX). Civic Si, GTI, SRT-4, WRX TR, TRD s/c tC, whatever.

The word on final power numbers is unofficial at this point, but is supposedly confirmed to be an incredible 268hp/280tq. This in a car with an LSD, and Mazdaspeed-tuned suspension. I've test driven a regular Mazda3 and I have to admit it was probably about the best handling FWD car I've ever had the pleasure of driving. Thing did donuts like a freaking go-kart. Interior was top-notch and I loved the look of the hatchback (The MS3 is hatch-only). I didn't get one because I wanted more power. i can only imagine what that car would be like on a tuned suspension with good summer tires. It's going to be a handling beast and if the power specs are true, it's even going to give Evos and STIs a bad day from a roll.

 

yeah, the HP numbers i got were from some small blurb in road and track...... 268 is nice, i too have driven a 3, it was that car or the Tc and i can tell you the 3 handled very nice. I cant wait to see the mazdaspeed3, that car is going to be hot.

 

you've got to be kidding. can you say "zoom zoom"? They plaster the tv with a brand identity to get you to the showroom.

I'd say the main problem is that Ford starting building their trucks. ford needs to dump the Mazda truck, it doesn't fit with their image. but then nobody at ford has a 1/4 of a clue, or they'd have brought the Cos and the Cosworth over 10 years ago, and they'd be a very profitable company right now.

 

Ford has been married to mazda forever.. the probe is a great example of a car that was built by mazda and badged a ford (and also a pos ) About the same relationship as chevy and isuzu I believe.

 

They are no longer married, Ford owns Mazda.

And for those studying the SAT:

Ford:Mazda::GM:Chevy

 

okay, but i have never seen a mx-5 ad, and im sure that the 1st gen protege lx, escort gt, 323 gtx, mz3, rx7 weren't advertised that much.

 

Ford owns stock in Mazda, not the whole company.

 

they have a partnership on many different levels.....from design to production. I would not say its ownership, however they own volvo and jaguar

 

My bad, it's only 33% ownership.

 

ownership would be 50.1% or higher of stock accumilation, however they can have full rights and priviledges if signed over from mazda even at 33% stock ownership. but who cares.......the mazdaspeed3 is what matters.

 

they do have controling interest tho. meaning, they are the largest stockholder.