2010 Dodge Hornet Buying Advice

The 2010 Dodge Hornet probably will have conventional doors, unlike the 2006 Hornet Concept, which is shown here.

The "Plan B" 2010 Dodge Hornet should be a much more professional effort than it would have been under the original plan. It's generally agreed that China's native automakers, Chery included, still have much to learn about vehicle quality and lag well behind First World companies in mastering safety and emissions technology (though they're bound to catch up on all those counts, and probably sooner than we think). Nissan sourcing also implies the 2010 Dodge Hornet will be in ample supply, which will be good news for Chrysler if sales take off.

That said, the 2010 Dodge Hornet will face stiff competition from many quarters, being positioned below the Caliber as the brand's smaller compact car. That puts it in a growing but very hard-fought group of subcompact and compact cars that naturally includes the parent Nissan Versa, which has much to recommend it right now. The same goes for the highly rated Hyundai Accent, Kia Rio, and Suzuki SX4, all of which will see updates or redesigns in the near future. The Toyota Yaris also deserves a look, if only for the implied virtues of its brand name. Other promising alternatives include the clean-sheet 2009 Honda Fit, Chevrolet's redesigned 2011 Aveo, and Ford's equally new 2011 Fiesta. And that's not counting the slightly larger compact cars that often sell for the same or little more money.

The bottom line is that there's no shortage of good buys among fuel-thrifty cars. But smart shoppers always aim to find the best buy for their particular needs, and Consumer Guide can help, both here online and in the pages of our Car and Truck Test magazines.

2010 Dodge Hornet Release Date: There's nothing official yet, but we should be getting full details on the 2010 Dodge Hornet at a major upcoming auto show, possibly the L.A. expo in November 2008 or at Detroit in January '09. Trade weekly Automotive News reports that Hornet will start production at Nissan's plant in Oppama, Japan sometime during 2009. That implies a sales kickoff as early as next summer and probably no later than fall.

2010 Dodge Hornet First Test Drive: There's no word yet on this, either, but the above timing suggests initial seat-time in late spring or early summer of 2009.

2010 Dodge Hornet Prices: In theory, at least, the Dodge Hornet should cost no more to build than a comparable Nissan Versa. But all car prices keep going up in America because of rising energy and materials costs, the weak dollar, and renewed inflationary pressures on the global economy. With that in mind--and our thinking cap firmly in place--we'd guess the Hornet will run in the $13,500-$15,500 range, depending on model, standard content, and the state of said global economy by the time sales get underway.