I was asked by a client asked me about the Dodge Nitro. I looked at him and raised my shoulders, because I have seen it on the street and nothing more. My friend was asking me because his neighbor was selling his 2010 model.

Nitro was first sold in the fall of 2006. Powered by a 3.7 liter Powertech V6 or a 4.0 liter SOHC V6 engine. This made the Nitro Dodge’s least powerful SUV’s on the market.

Today, the Dodge comes into three basic trim levels. Dodge Nitro Heat comes with a 3.7 liter V6 engine that produces 210 horsepower. The Nitro Detonator and Shock comes with a more powerful 4.0 liter V6 good for 260 hp.

The 2010 Dodge Nitro is a five passenger compact SUV available in Heat, Detonator and Shock trim levels. Marketing calls them “snappy trim levels”. The only real difference I found between the them is their accessories.

The Dodge Caliber is another one of those compact crossover vehicles. The Caliber comes only as a compact hatchback/wagon. The rear seats fold in a 60/40 split.

Under the hood you will find a 2.0 liter 158-horsepower four-cylinder engine.  The Rush model comes with a 2.4 liter 172 horsepower inline 4 cylinder. All models come with five speed manual or continuously variable transmission (CVT).

If you have not notice there has been some funny looking work van starting to show up in the past few years. They are thinner and smaller than the traditional work utility van the plumber or electrician usually drives around.  This uncommon looking van is the Dodge Sprinter.

According to Car and Driver, Mercedes-Benz has been building a commercial van since 1995. This different kind of van first showed up in the United States in 2003.

This week we are going to look at the Dodge Journey. The Journey is a crossover from the classic station wagon and SUV. 2010 is the only the second production year for the Dodge Journey.

I would normally wait until a car has been on the street a couple of years before writing an Auto Recon. However, because of the requests I have had about the Journey and the reputation of Dodge’s minivan fleet, I thought I would at least introduce it here.

Cars to the left. Cars to the right of me. There are to many cars to compare. Now is the time to get all these choices to a manageable level.

The first and foremost consideration should be how much can I afford to spend, along with how much I can afford for regular maintenance.

According the the calculator at Cars.com. If I want to buy a $10,000 car, with a $3,000 for a down payment or trade, I will have 36 payments at $268.26. Provided the interest rate stays a 7.69%.  That is $538.30 to be paid out in interest.That is almost 5 months of gas for the car