Talk about your attitude adjustments. The Caliber is a nice little car, to be sure, but the SRT-4 version gives it a whole new set of angry, burbling pipes, guaranteed to plaster a smile on the face of the driver and a grimace on the mug of the guy who thinks hatchbacks are uncool. Get more hatchbacks like this in America, and the next thing you know, it’ll be just like Europe, from sea to shining sea.

But we’re getting a little too excited. What the 2007 Dodge Caliber SRT-4 does upon introduction is give the Chrysler group yet another smokin’ performance variant, one that firmly plants the Tire Burn Out crown on top of the collective heads of the guys at SRT. It’s rare to see such a long string of successes from a mainstream performance brand, and amazing to see what a car company can do with some engineering smart-alecks and a great engine lineup.