Car Lust--1997 Dodge Neon
Submitted by Rob the SVX Guy
After my '68 Charger was vandalized one night, my Grandma thought I should drive a less obnoxious automobile. She bought me this Dodge Neon back in 1998. It was only one year old but it had 24,000 miles on it, and we picked it up for $7,000. What was interesting about this Neon is that it was a base model, an extreme base model. It had power steering and power brakes, and that's about it. It didn't even have rear window defrost, which, frankly, kinda sucked here in Wisconsin.
I kept it stock for a long time, taking it on road trips out to the badlands, getting up to speeds of 130 mph in South Dakota, and it got pretty incredible fuel economy. On one trip I even averaged 43 mpg, going a steady 65mph.
Later on, the mods started. I blame Neons.org, a forum for Neon enthusiasts. I spent $600 on some 16" TSW Trophies wrapped in some sticky Falkens, and was amazed with the handling improvement. Prior to this, I had always been a rear-wheel-drive/V8 guy in terms of performance, but a new set of shoes really opened my eyes in terms of how a small 4-cylinder car could perform.
I attended the Neons.org 2001 gathering in Rockford, Ill., and spent $50 for a used stock muffler off a DOHC Neon. The DOHC muffler supposedly added about 8 horsepower, and I did notice a slight increase in MPG. After that, I added some KYB GR2 struts, and some eBay special strut towers. The car could now handle pretty well. I used to drive it out into the country and find a nice set of twisties, then just practice sliding it around corners and seeing what would happen while pushing it to its limits. This was back when gas was around $1-1.50 though, so I don't think I'll ever do that again.
After modifying the Neon, now being an honest-to-goodness Neon enthusiast, I had a hatred for all the ricers with their bodykits, wings, and other pointless poser crap, so I invested in a windshield banner to make fun of them. My windshield banner read: "WINDSHIELD," which was supposed to piss off the owners of Hondas who had 'HONDA' or 'CIVIC' pasted across their windshields. Because of this, my Neon had its 15 minutes of fame on collegehumor.com and a mopar muscle site. :)
I street raced quite a few times with it (chill out, nobody died, it was in areas without any traffic), and ended up beating an Acura Integra GS-R, a base model Mitsubishi 3000GT (not very hard), and tons and tons of Civics, even modified ones. Why? Powerband. Hondas might make more horsepower, but unless they have a really good driver who can keep it in the powerband, the Neon's big, fat, juicy, torquey power curve (for a 4 cylinder) is going to make it faster.
At 60,000 miles my head gasket failed and was replaced under a Chrysler extended warranty. After 1998, all Neons came with Multi-Layer Steel (MLS) head gaskets, which supposedly fixed the problem completely.
I sold the Neon back sometime in 2001-2002, but not because it was a bad car, unreliable, or anything of the sort. I sold it because I couldn't stand the interior. Yes, Chrysler--you built a reliable, cheap, and fast car. However, you also completely neglected the interior. That interior was a rattling, creaking hell of shiny, hard plastics. I hated it.
I sold it for my Subaru SVX, which you already featured, and which is the love of my automotive life. Sometimes I miss the tossability of my Neon, and the mileage, but man ... that interior was awful. I hope to own another someday, but I plan on gutting the interior completely and just turning it into a cheap autocross car to beat on during the weekends.
--Rob the SVX Guy
SilentStorm on March 25, 2008 at 09:41 AM
Rob, that is one great story for a car that I would have typically turned my nose up at.
I must give you props for the "Windshield" decal. That is one of the few times where I would not only type "lol" for it, I actually did in fact "lol" on that.
Now I'll have to think of something equally witty for my van.
Chris Hafner on March 25, 2008 at 09:44 AM
I love, love, love your windshield sticker. That's completely awesome.
I'd never had a particularly high opinion of Neons--a knew a couple who were in a relatively minor accident on the way home from their honeymoon(!) in their Neon, and the thing just came apart around them. But my cousin recently bought one--a two-door kinda like yours, which I understand are somewhat rare--and he's been considering doing some autocross in it.
I share your disdain for the interior, though. Chrysler interiors from that time period are just awful.
David Drucker on March 25, 2008 at 12:24 PM
You exhibit a level of enthusiasm I'd never have associated with the Neon. Bravo! I wonder about that 130MPH statement, though. I'd have thought that to get a Neon going that fast you'd have to drop it from an airplane!
Cookie the Dog's Owner on March 25, 2008 at 12:42 PM
I had a '98 for a while. You're right about the powerband; it had very good pickup for a base-model car with a slushbox. I never quite fell in love with it, but it did everything I asked of it and never let me down.
mochi mochi on March 25, 2008 at 02:44 PM
The banner is a hoot. Why didn't you just rip everything out of the interior and go bare? Maybe drop in a roll-cage for fun. But then the call of an SVX would be pretty hard to turn down... The future autoXracer sounds like a great idea.
You're right about the Honda power curve... I think it's the motorcycle history that focuses on high end power, but that's part of the fun too. I often think of my civic as being close to a motorcycle with a second set of wheels... especially when I reach out the window and can almost touch the ground.
I have not kept too close an eye on the Neon though I did rent one a couple of years ago here in Los Angeles before my move. It was pretty nice. In stock rent-a-car form it was no killer, but it did a creditable job, handled well, was good in the canyons, and was a nice ride. Mine was fairly new and the interior while not great was not horrible - even for a rental.
You did a nice job making the car a subtly aggressive ride. It looks like its got both a sense of humor and some sharp teeth. Great story.
Rob the SVX guy on March 25, 2008 at 03:22 PM
Oh, I definitely thought about ripping out the interior.... but I wanted a 'nice' daily driver badly. If I had a garage and enough cash to purchase my SVX on top of it, I might have kept it for exactly that: a track/autox toy. It was a fantastic car to drive, the shifter bushings really made the 5spd a lot more fun.
If you ever come across a 1st generation neon, do yourself a favor and test drive it. If you can put up with the interior it's a pretty fantastic car. Decently fast, handles well, brakes well, and gets pretty amazing MPG, much better than almost anything available even in today's market, over 10 years later. If mine had come with rear window defrost, air conditioning, and power windows, I might still have it.
Steaming Pile on March 26, 2008 at 09:26 AM
Just don't drive it in the Northeast in winter. Most I've seen up here are half-dissolved from the road salt.
bullet on March 26, 2008 at 07:37 PM
Sweet ride. Neons have real potential to be giant killers. Thanks for a great article on an under-appreciated car. It's like a micro-hot-rod.
edwin on December 06, 2008 at 01:57 PM
i have a 96 NEON. ive owned mustangs,eclipses,civics,etc. and out of all of em the neon has been my favorite. its kinda wierd i bought it as a beater and fell in love with it. its been four years ive had countless other project cars but the neon always wins out when its time to sell one.
Josh on January 20, 2009 at 05:17 AM
I own a 2004 Neon SXT and I LOVE it. I was in the market for a new car two years ago and looked at every compact available. Then I saw the Neon. It had an infectiously cute cross-eyed fascia and a stance that looked as though it was ready to pounce. Once I took it for a drive, it proved not only did it look ready to pounce, it WAS ready to pounce. With great acceleration, acclaimed best handling in class, and good braking, it was exactly what I was hoping for. Two years later, I am still pleased and in love with this car. The first years of the Neon earned it a bad rep, and Chrysler worked to better the line. Unknowingly to most of the world, they did. The car is reliable, good on gas, comfortable, and sporty. If you haven't lusted over the Neon yet, you should give the SXT level a go... If you require a bit more power, try on the SRT-4. Aggressive styling with the guts and muscle to back it up.
colin arntsen on February 24, 2009 at 10:33 AM
I have a 97 dodge neon I love it so very much the car has been rebuilt, the last owners put so much money into it, it has a lowering kit 16 inch rims with low pros, short throw shifter and dual exaust, under the hood it has a stabilizer bar to hold the corners and a cold air intake. the car will go very good
Smilin' Jack on July 16, 2009 at 01:44 PM
Ohhh, didn't know about this post; late to the party.
I've got a 2003 stick-shift SXT that I bought new. I always thought the Neon was a chick's car and wrote it off. I was a truck guy anyway and hadn't bought a car since '71. On a business trip in 2002, I rented a Neon that was almost new and loved it. The idea of a small sporty runabout that got better gas mileage than the FWD F150 took root and I ordered one when I got home. The big rebates at the time didn't hurt either.
It's been a great car, very reliable and is still a lot of fun to drive. In warm weather it routinely gets over 35 mpg and, when driven carefully, will get over 39 mpg. In Winter mileage will drop to 32-33 mpg, but that's expected here in the Northeast. Hit a deer with it. Mileage was poor for awhile after that incident...mostly because the tires were no longer round. With new rubber, the mileage bounced back.
Worst thing about this car is that they stopped making them. I'm really pissed at Chrysler for that. I'd buy another in a heartbeat.
george on January 19, 2011 at 08:52 AM
I absolutely love my 2000 dodge neon. its beaten up on the outside and its my first car and I have had it for 6 months but i have already put 30,000 miles over the 120,000 it already had when i bought it. And the mileage is awesome!
I am surprised that it has never given me a single problem. All my friends who got mitsubishis and hondas had something or the other to fix every month or so. And everywhere on the internet, the japanese cars are listed as highly reliable with the dodge being the least reliable. I don't get the basis of this assessment. The car is wonderful and it runs smooth without much engine noise and it hasn't had a single performance part replaced since it was manufactured. The only part that needed was an oil pan, all thanks to the jerks at Jiffy Lube who don't know that sometimes screwing things too tight isn't such a good idea.
I love my neon and I would get one in the future if they ever made another. But I don't think that will ever happen considering that everyone trashes the neon on forums even though they have never owned or driven one.
the neon might be a bit low on the safety side (i dont know how they assess that either), but if that is the case then all people should drive hummers or monster trucks to keep them safe. And even those cars can be taken out by huge trailer trucks or a concrete wall.