The Dodge Stratus is a 4-door sedan from Dodge, built from 1994 to 2005, when airbags, anti-lock brakes and Japanese build quality became the world standard. Michael Santoro (1992) drew it.
Where it came from
The Dodge Stratus is a mid-size car introduced by Dodge and Chrysler in December 1994, built on the four-door sedan Chrysler JA platform. Immediately recognized for its design and performance, the Stratus, alongside its platform mates, the Plymouth Breeze and Chrysler Cirrus, gained Car and Driver magazine's "Ten Best list" for 1996 and 1997. While initial critical acclaim was high, its ratings eventually declined.
An updated version was introduced for the 2001 model year when the Cirrus was rebranded as the Chrysler Sebring, and a coupe body style was added to the lineup. Production of the Stratus and Sebring models at the Sterling Heights Assembly Plant ceased in early 2006 after 1,308,123 Stratus and Chrysler Sebring sedan and convertible models were built since 2000. The Dodge Avenger replaced the Stratus nameplate in early 2007 for the 2008 model year. After the Stratus sedan's discontinuation, Chrysler sold its assembly line and tooling to the Russian concern GAZ, which produced almost 9,000 slightly modified units as the GAZ Volga Siber from 2008 until 2010.
Under the skin
The record carries the shape — a 4-door sedan — and the layout: the engine drives the front wheels, the packaging choice that gives a small car a big cabin. The engine, output and weight have not yet reached the open record, and MotorJury does not guess at them.
In context
Its family tree is legible: it took over from the Dodge Spirit & Dodge Dynasty (sedan) / Dodge Avenger (coupe) / Dodge 2000GTX; its successor was the Dodge Avenger (sedan) / Chrysler Sebring (Europe, Brazil, Argentina and South Korea); assembly was at Sterling Heights, Michigan (Sterling Heights Assembly), United States. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Audi A4, the Toyota RAV4, the Audi A6 — show what else the money bought that year. Nearby in the Dodge catalogue sit the Dodge 1500 and the 1955 Dodge.