It was a big mistake.
In an effort to hold down costs, the Neon debuted with few frills. It came with a cheap interior and relatively little engineering and manufacturing effort went into minimizing noise and vibration.
The Neon quickly gained favor among car enthusiasts and others who enjoyed an inexpensive car that was a blast to drive. But a large group of shoppers complained that the car lacked the features of its competition. It's noisy, they said, and it seems to lack refinement. Many of these people turned their shopping efforts elsewhere.
Now, four model years later, Chrysler has the benefit of spending a lot of quality time on the old drawing board. They've been engineering small solutions to address minor deficiencies. As a result, the 1998 Neons are much more refined than the early cars. Noise, vibration and harshness are substantially improved. More convenience features make the Neon attractive to people who want a lot more out of life than a fast economy car. Chrysler's efforts should satisfy the masses.
But what about that small group of enthusiasts who applauded the Neon's acceleration performance and appreciated its entertainment value? Will they be left out in the cold?
The answer comes in the form of the new Dodge Neon R/T, an enthusiast's model that focuses more on performance than frills. For less than $15,000, the R/T comes with Viper stripes and most of the hot rod hardware found on the ACR competition model that helped the Neon win three consecutive National championships in SCCA Showroom Stock racing. Next Page