2001 Dodge Stratus Article at Automotive.com

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2001 Dodge Stratus

Below is an enthusiast article written by the automotive experts at Hot Rod. Here we are, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Hemi V8, and what have we got to show for it? Highways cluttered with four-banger, front-wheel drivers, and most of the really hefty V8s swallowed up by lumbering SUVs. What’s a diehard hot rodder to do

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IntelliChoice Value Rating

The chart above shows the purchase price versus ownership cost for each car from a specific vehicle class. The cars with better than average ownership cost/purchase price correlations are the best values, and these best value cars are represented by the dots below the curve. (i.e. the cars that have a lower ownership cost compared to its purchase price.) Those cars, which are worse than average or poor values, appear above the curve.

One way to view the graph is to draw a vertical line through any purchase price. You may see several dots that fall on this line - each of which is a car with a similar purchase price. However, notice the difference in ownership costs of each car represented by the vertical position of the dot. Two cars with the same purchase price can have thousands of dollars difference in ownership costs. This is what separates "good value" cars from "poor value" cars.

What is a good car value?

A "good car value" is one whose cost to own and operate is less than expected. The lower the cost to own and operate a car compared to what is expected, the better the value of that car.

But how do we know a car's "expected cost"?

For each car in the class, IntelliChoice plots the car's purchase price against the total five-year cost to own and operate it as determined by IntelliChoice research. Each dot on the above chart represents a specific car. Generally, we find that as the purchase price of the car increases, the cost to own and operate that car increases. This is why the dots on the graph tend to rise upward and to the right. This phenomenon also makes intuitive sense - as the purchase price rises, financing costs tend to rise, as do insurance, depreciation, taxes, and most other car ownership costs.

This is an important concept. It's normal for car ownership costs to rise as purchase price rises. Therefore, we can't just establish one "average" ownership cost number for each class, since cars in the class have different purchase prices. (This is why the "Relative" shown on each chart is different for cars in the same car class.)

Using statistical techniques, IntelliChoice "connects the dots" to form a curve that defines, for this car class, the relationship between the car's purchase price and car's ownership costs. This curve is our "expected cost" curve. The curve defines, for any car in the class, the five-year ownership cost that we would expect to see at each possible purchase price. If every car in the class were an average value, then all the dots would fall exactly on the curve. However, it's rare that any dot is exactly on the curve. Some dots are a little higher or lower, and some are a lot higher or lower. The dots that are a little lower are better than average car values, while the dots that are a lot lower are excellent car values (A dot that is a lot lower than the curve has ownership costs much lower than expected for a car of its purchase price). Conversely, a dot a little higher than the curve is a poorer than average car value, while a dot that is much higher than the curve is a poor car value.

Value is a relative term, not an absolute term. It is performing better than the logical expectation.

So is a Mercedes-Benz E320 expensive to own and operate? Certainly in an absolute sense. Most other cars cost less. But, when its cost to own and operate is plotted against cars with comparable invoice prices, the E320 costs less. So the E320 is not expensive to own and operate - it is a good car value. The Mercedes does not have low ownership costs, but it has low ownership costs for its invoice price.

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Article From Hot Rod Magazine

One Scrappy Stratus

How Well Does Performance West Live up to its Name? / By Steve Temple / photographer: Steve Temple
/ Article provided by: Hot Rod Magazine

For yet another Performance West rendition of a Dodge, but with a decidedly more upscale flavor, click on the 300M sidebar at bottom left.

Here we are, celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Hemi V8, and what have we got to show for it? Highways cluttered with four-banger, front-wheel drivers, and most of the really hefty V8s swallowed up by lumbering SUVs. What’s a diehard hot rodder to do? Before you hang your head in dismay, we know of at least one guy who hasn’t forgotten how to squeeze the most juice out of low-hanging fruit. That would be Larry Weiner of Performance West, a certified car guy who’s been building show-quality vehicles for more than three decades. His company fills a unique niche, neither a PR firm nor a parts company. What he does is build promotional bridges between the car manufacturers and aftermarket companies, creating one-off cars to garner publicity at events and in the media. He doesn’t actually sell anything, other than automotive fantasies. Great work—if you can get it.

This transplant from the Windy City to auto-centric Southern California estimates he has produced more than 50 customized vehicles over the last 30 years or so. Perhaps one of the most prominent is his PT Bruizer, which was arguably the first in a flood of aftermarket conversions for the PT Cruiser (Click Here for more info).

Shown here are a couple more samples of his imaginative handiwork, the Stratus SportsTouring Klasse, based on a 2001 R/T, and the PWG-300M3, built on a 300M. After seeing the enthusiastic response on the Power Tour to Trepanier’s StratusFear (Click Here for details), there’s obviously a lot of hot rodders who are quite taken by Dodge variants such as these. The feisty "Viper Jr." SportsTouring package was admittedly designed to compete with the boatloads of import tuner cars continually pouring onto our shores. (Truth be told, the stock Stratus is heavily derived from the Mitsubishi Eclipse.) On the other hand, the less brash and more upscale PWG-300M3 offers enhanced performance not only on the road, but inside the cabin with electronics that will likely become popular options in the near future (click on sidebar below).

To take the Stratus to new heights, the performance doctor first ordered a generous injection of laughing gas from Nitrous Express, thrusting the 200hp, 3.0-liter, overhead-cam V6 into the V8 realm of output, just shy of the 300 mark. A Kenne Bell Optimizer tweaks the stock software, adjusting the timing and fuel curve for a more robust throttle response and an estimated 15hp bump in output. On the intake, a freer breathing filter replaces the factory piece. These components, coupled with a low-restriction cat-back exhaust system, further enhance the power curve. Since these power mods are all on a lighter-weight V6 engine, the benefits include higher fuel efficiency and better weight distribution for more agile handling.

Compact sport coupes in tuner car arena don’t know subtle from Shinola, so the silver skunk stripes and 63-inch super touring wing don’t require any explanation. Lowering is also a must, in this case nearly two full inches, and the SportsTouring Klasse also features wider than stock, low-profile directional tires fitted on 18-inch alloy wheels. To clean up the sides of the vehicle, the factory side moldings have been shaved, and visual accents include satin black grille inserts, hood scoops and black satin highlighting of the driving light recesses. A large polished exhaust outlet completes the tuner theme in stylish fashion.

The cockpit treatment is equally sporty, featuring lightweight, ergonomically designed, thin-shell racing seats. We found the bolsters to be a bit too snug for our middle-aged back sides, but they sure look bitchin’, custom upholstered in dual-tone medium gray and black glove-soft leather, and fitted with four-point racing harnesses. Detail enhancements such as aluminum pedals and custom-brushed aluminum interior trim further punctuate the competition statement.

True, there’s no Hemi under the hood, but this Stratus is still an overachiever. And given Larry Weiner’s drag racing roots, we know he has some really heavy-duty rods in the works as well, many of which will be debuting at the 2001 SEMA show. Bookmark this site and check back for further developments.