2010 Dodge Hornet Details

The 2010 Dodge Hornet will be built in Japan. The 2006 Hornet Concept is pictured here.

The one other question about the 2010 Dodge Hornet is how much it will look like the well-received 2006 concept. After all, the showcar styling was done with no spec­ific platform in mind, but must now be retailored to fit Nissan Versa bones. That suggests the production Hornet will add some 2.6 inches to wheelbase and a whopping 16 inches to overall length versus the concept. Otherwise, the Nissan architecture is a good choice. The hatchback Versa is a close match for the Hornet concept in width and height, and both are boxy 4-doors with short overhangs front and rear. Despite its greater length, we expect the showroom Hornet to be usefully lighter than the porky concept at under 2,700 lb versus 3,100, a benefit of the Versa's weight-watcher engineering.

­Count on Chrysler stylists to preserve all the concept visuals they can so the 2010 Dodge Hornet won't be mistaken for a Versa. That almost certainly means an aggressive cross-hair Dodge grille, circular wheel openings that are large enough for optional wheels of maybe up to 18 inches (15s may be standard), prominent fender creaselines, high-rise bodysides, and a ruler-flat roof ending at a near-vertical liftgate. One thing likely won't carry over and that's the concept's center-opening doors with no B-pillars. Chrysler is sharing a platform, remember, and has no money to pay Nissan for modifications, so expect conventional doors, same as the Versa.

You can also forget other fanciful concept features such as Jetsons-style "floating" seats, a pop-up dashboard screen, and rear-seat TV screens. They're just too rich for a compact-class car. However, mainstream infotainment and rear DVD entertainment systems might be available to help the 2010 Dodge Hornet stand further apart from its Nissan parent.

In other respects, the 2010 Dodge Hornet will be a near photocopy of the Versa hatchback. That means a 1.8-liter 4-cylinder engine sending 122 horsepower to the front wheels through a 6-speed manual transmission or an optional 4-speed automatic. A continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) could also be available if Nissan decides to share that. Other Versa features passing to Hornet should include front-disc power brakes with optional ABS, electric power steering for saving a little gas over a conventional hydraulic setup, front side airbags, and curtain side airbags. The no-cost card should also list active front head restraints (designed to minimize whiplash injury), air conditioning, tilt steering wheel, power mirrors, a split-fold rear seatback, variable-intermittent wipers, rear-window defroster, and rear wiper/washer. Options, too, will be much like Versa's, so look for power windows, power remote-entry door locks, a keyless entry and starting system, remote engine starting, power sunroof, satellite radio, and sporty styling add-ons including a spoiler atop the liftgate.

Dodge dealers probably wish they had the Hornet right now, given that the larger Caliber compact hasn't exactly had people rushing in to buy. Still, it remains to be seen whether a re-trimmed Nissan will do any better. If it doesn't, Chrysler's troubles would seem a lot more serious than Cerberus bargained for.

A Notable Feature of the 2010 Dodge Hornet

We don't see the 2010 Dodge Hornet being any more innovative than its orthodox Nissan parent. Though Chrysler marketers might come up with an interesting special feature or two, it won't be anything major. There's no money, for one thing, and Nissan can't let Chrysler tinker too much with the basic design, lest production costs spiral out of sight.

Some readers may have a sense of déjà vu about the 2010 Dodge Hornet, and that's no surprise. This isn't the first time Chrysler has teamed up with another automaker more skilled in the small-car art. Remember the Dodge Colts of the 1970s and '80s? Those were re-trimmed Mitsubishis secured through an alliance not unlike the new collaboration with Nissan. We needn't bother to recount the whys and wherefores of that previous partnership, other than to note that Chrysler was in the same dire straits as it is now. Coincidence? We don't think so.