I don't know how many people chose the Mazdaspeed Protoge over the Neon SRT-4 because it was within a couple dollars and available, and then really wished they waited for the underrated SRT-4.
I look at it this way... The Neon SRT-4 is a great deal, at about $21K MSRP. Add in S3R turbo upgrade to get it to 300 whp hp for about $3.6K and toss the powertrain warranty out the window at about 150 mph.
Not including install costs ( I charge about $600- $800 for an S3R upgrade, and I'm under priced), a comparably powered SRT-4 Neon and SRT-4 Caliber are almost the same price, except the Caliber version has a warranty and room for easy improvements.
Maybe I'm just desensitized to the whole $5 and a beercan thing, but the Caliber SRT-4 is priced just as aggressively as the Neon SRT-4 was.
It's also a nicer car, in my opinion.
Regards,
Dale