[Matt]

All-new 2008 Dodge Avenger Packs a Powerful Punch – Providing Style, Performance and Value Price in Crowded Mid-size Segment

• Bold, aggressive styling brings Dodge heritage to mid-size segment
• Available all-wheel-drive, sport suspension and performance steering accentuate Avenger’s on-road attitude
• Fuel-efficient powertrain options deliver excellent 30 mpg on the highway and flex-fuel availability
• Innovative technologies make life easier and safer
• With a starting U.S. Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of $18,895, priced $1,605 below the comparable outgoing Stratus with $985 more content

The Dodge brand is running on all cylinders, introducing the 2008 Dodge Avenger—an all-new mid-size sedan that combines bold, aggressive Dodge styling with innovative interior features, high-levels of safety and reliability, exhilarating performance and excellent fuel efficiency of 30 miles per gallon (mpg) (32 mpg based on 2007 EPA fuel economy standards).

Avenger also is the Dodge brand’s first mid-size car to offer all-wheel-drive capability combined with a sport-tuned suspension, performance steering and Electronic Stability Program (ESP) with Traction Control, all of which combine to give Avenger its on-road performance attitude. And with a starting U.S. Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of $18,895 (including a $675 destination charge), the all-new Avenger is priced $1,605 below the comparable outgoing Stratus with $985 more content, including standard side-curtain and side seat-mounted air bags, Chill Zone™, theft alarm and a tilt/telescoping steering wheel, to name a few.

This all-new mid-size sedan also marks a milestone in the Dodge brand’s car renaissance. From Viper to Caliber and every segment in between, Dodge now offers an extremely competitive car.

“The all-new 2008 Dodge Avenger continues the Dodge brand’s product offensive and will bring even more buyers into the Dodge brand showroom,” said George Murphy, Senior Vice President—Global Marketing. “Just as the Dodge Charger, Magnum, Caliber and Nitro have sparked new interest in the Dodge brand in their respective segments, the Dodge Avenger brings that assertive attitude and bold styling to the competitive mid-size sedan segment. There’s just nothing else like it on the road.”

The 2008 Dodge Avenger will be available in U.S. dealerships in the first quarter of 2007 and in global volume markets, in both left-hand and right-hand drive, by mid-2007. Four models will be offered in the United States: Dodge Avenger SE, Dodge Avenger SXT and Dodge Avenger R/T, and a first for Dodge in the mid-size segment, Dodge Avenger R/T AWD (late availability).

Bold, Aggressive Dodge Styling

The 2008 Dodge Avenger builds on the bold, aggressive styling, performance and excitement of the Dodge Charger.

“The all-new Dodge Avenger brings Dodge brand American muscle car heritage into the global mid-size car segment,” said Trevor Creed, Senior Vice President–Design. “Avenger does for the global D-segment what Caliber has done in the global C-segment—it offers a unique alternative to the competition.”

From the front, there’s no mistaking Dodge’s heritage in Avenger’s aggressive exterior lines. The brand’s signature crosshair grille and large, modern quad headlamps housed in black add to Avenger’s menacing glare. The Dodge Avenger’s chrome grille with black texture accentuates the vehicle’s serious, almost sinister appearance. A stamped formation carries the vertical lines of the crosshair grille over the hood.

Avenger’s side profile shares more family traits with the Dodge Charger. Muscular rear shoulders, large wheels and tires and a sleek rear spoiler embody the Dodge brand attributes of bold, powerful and capable. Avenger’s long greenhouse is created by black appliqués on the B-pillars, which make this mid-size sedan look like it’s pouncing forward, even when it’s at a standstill.
From the rear, large, expressive taillamp modules placed at the corners frame the deck lid, which includes a sleekly integrated, finely tuned body-color spoiler. This spoiler and chrome-tipped dual exhaust outlets communicate the performance capability of the Avenger R/T’s 3.5-liter engine.
The all-new 2008 Dodge Avenger rides on a 108.9-inch wheelbase and 61.8-inch track, which adds to its athletic stance, improves ride quality and stability and maximizes crush space in the engine compartment. Overall, Avenger is 1.2 inches wider and 4 inches taller than the vehicle it replaces.