Detroit 2007: your guide to the show - Dodge

Let me hear you say muscle
If you've seen Dodge's small family car, the Caliber, you won't be too surprised by the looks of this Avenger, the company's new family car.

Although we've already seen it in near-finished form, Detroit is the debut of the production version of the car.

In both name and appearance, the four-door saloon will tackle the likes of the Ford Mondeo with about as much subtlety as a sledgehammer. It arrives on our roads in September.

From launch in the UK it will be available with two petrols and one diesel (courtesy of Volkswagen). The 2.0-litre 154bhp petrol is matched to a manual gearbox, as is the 138bhp diesel, while the 173bhp 2.4-litre petrol uses an automatic gearbox.

Four-wheel-drive versions have, however, been ruled out for sale in the UK.

Performance SRT versions would fit in neatly with Dodge's aim of providing lots of bang for your buck, but there's no word yet on when these might make an appearance.

Anything else?
There's no firm decision on the new Viper SRT-10, either, but it's not been entirely ruled out. It could arrive some time in 2008, but it's likely to be in small numbers and only in left-hand drive.

It would also carry the nifty SRT-10 name, because Dodge doesn't own the Viper badge in the UK.

Power comes from an 8.4-litre V10 engine - yes, 8.4 litres - that develops 600bhp and shoots the car to 60mph in under 4.0sec.

Then there's the Magnum, which Dodge still says it won't bring to the UK, and the Grand Caravan (the next Chrysler Grand Voyager by another name), which also isn't coming our way.