The Dodge Avenger name returned in February 2007 as a MY2008 model as a sedan to replace the Dodge Stratus, whose coupe version had replaced the original Avenger in 2001. According to some reports, the Avenger, along with the redesigned Chrysler Sebring, shares a DaimlerChrysler/Mitsubishi Motors platform called JS which used the Mitsubishi GS as a starting point, then was heavily modified. The base engine in the SE and SXT trim levels is the 2.4 LGEMAI4 naturally-aspirated "World Engine", a joint venture between DaimlerChrysler, Mitsubishi and Hyundai. Additional engines include an optional 2.7 L V6 in the SXT and a standard 3.5 L V6 in the R/T trim level. In addition to the 2.4 L "World Engine" and the V6s, export vehicles will be offered with the 2.0 L naturally-aspirated "World Engine", as well as a 2.0 L turbocharged diesel (Pumpe-Düse) made by Volkswagen. As a 2008 model, the Dodge Avenger came to showrooms in February 2007. The Avenger replaced the Charger as Dodge's car in NASCAR in 2007 for Car of Tomorrow races. It got its first win with former Formula One driver Juan Pablo Montoya in the 2007 Toyota/Save Mart 350 at the Infineon Raceway.Dodge Avenger sedan
Also called Dodge Evangeline R (Israel) Production 2008–present Assembly Sterling Heights, Michigan, United States Predecessor Dodge Stratus Body style(s) 4-door sedan Layout Front engine, front-wheel drive /four-wheel drive Platform Chrysler JS platform Engine(s)
2.7 L EER V6
3.5 L EGJ V6
2.0 L TDI I44Transmission(s) 4-speed 40TES automatic
6-speed 62TE automaticWheelbase 108.9 in (2766 mm) Length 190.9 in (4849 mm) Width 71.8 in (1824 mm) Height 58.9 in (1496 mm) Related Mitsubishi Lancer Designer Ryan Nagode, Graduate of theCleveland Institute of Art, Industrial Design Program 2003
Features on the new Avenger include optional heated/cooled cup holders as well as Dodge's new "Chill Zone", a feature that comes standard on all Avenger models, which can store up to four 12-US fl oz cans in the glove box and chill them to 40 degrees Fahrenheit.
Like its Dodge Journey stablemate, the Avenger's exterior was styled by Chrysler's Ryan Nagode. The interior was styled by Ben S. Chang.
The Avenger was officially unveiled at the Paris Motor Show on September 28, 2006 as a concept car. It has been launched in Europe and is sold in Britain, filling a gap in the Chrysler range that was left by the Neon's demise four years earlier. It has also been launched in Australia, although currently with only the 2.4L engine.
In the United Kingdom, it has been discontinued, although sales continue in the Republic of Ireland and on the Continent (Western Europe). This new version continues with SE, SXT trim levels and is not badged the same way as North American versions.
In the US, the Avenger was launched with a 30 second television ad, "Tuned Up," that debuted Sunday, March 4, 2007 during NHL hockey, an ad in which a lab technician discovers he can play Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple on the Avenger's transmission. Another television spot likened the Avenger to the "superhero" vehicle for the everyman, depicting a driver piloting his Avenger through Gotham-like streets and alleys, speaking to the MyGig entertainment system in distinctly Batman-reminiscent tones, to arrive home, pull into a two-car garage and open the rear door to a sleeping child in the rear car-seat.
