Chrysler hopes to hit target with new Dart

Reuters ^ | 9 January 2012 | Deepa Seetharaman

[Army Air Corps]

When Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne introduces the Dodge Dart compact car this week, he will be showing off the first example of what a merger between Chrysler group LLC and Italy's Fiat SpA can create.

The 2013 Dart -- to be unveiled at the Detroit auto show -- is based on a Fiat-engineered platform that also will serve as the basis for the next generation of Jeep SUVs.

With the Dart, Chrysler aims to take market share from Toyota Motor Corp's Corolla and Honda Motor Co's Civic in an area the U.S. automaker has traditionally fallen short.

[Army Air Corps]

What next, a the new 2012 Plymouth Duster?

[Army Air Corps]

Ping.

[Red Badger]

They never hit the target with the old Dart...................

[Army Air Corps]

The Dodge Dart - Al Bundy’s car.

[Red Badger]

Klik & Klack will have fun with this!........................

[Red Badger]

A Fart and his Dart..................

[Nervous Tick]

>> also will serve as the basis for the next generation of Jeep SUVs.

Ooooh — based on the Dart! I’ll bet THAT’ll be a gutsy li’l monster. Heart be still. I’m gonna start saving up NOW.

[Eric in the Ozarks]

Fiat has consistently produced junk.
This year, they will produce Belvidere junk.

[Past Your Eyes]

Bool sheet. I had a ‘63 Dart. You couldn’t kill it. What a great car. Wish I had it back right now.

[dforest]

Al Bundy’s car for folks with a Kelly Bundy brain. LOL

[Disambiguator]

Will it have a 225 Slant Six?

[Red Badger]

The Wiki says that This car is the basis for the new Dart:

[Army Air Corps]

It could have been worse, they could have considered basing a Jeep on a Neon.

[Red Badger]

Slant six?.................

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

:: What next, a the new 2012 Plymouth Duster? ::

To be quickly followed by a RoadRunner option with a 4-foot tall rear wing! In fluorescent lime!

Meep! Meep!

[Proud2BeRight]

Looks like the ubiquitous ugly jellybean-shaped riceburners.

[Army Air Corps]

An inline six inclined at a slant of 30 degress from vertical.

[cuban leaf]

At an auto dealer near you, the NEW Ford Pinto and Chevy Vega!

[Malone LaVeigh]

2013 Dodge Dart

[cunning_fish]

I don’t know what has worse reputation in Europe Chrysler or Alfa Romeo which is a mom for this Dart.
IMO Russia was the best European market for Chrysler last year with....hundred or so cars sold (along with millions of Fords, Toyotas, Hyundais and Ladas).

[HereInTheHeartland]

They must have hired the same consultants that advised Coke to do away with Coke and bring out New Coke.

Really; 2012 and the best marketing idea they have is a Dart?

[FastCoyote]

I had I think a 1967 Dart with push button transmission and torsion springs. Strange little car.

[Kenny Bunk]

FIAT must, must I say, do one thing for America.

We must, must I say, get rid of these damn cars that come at you with the hideous grin front grills that all look like the "Joker" in the Dick Tracy movie.

Now that Alfa actually looks like a car. And, RB, it is available as a diesel.

[maine yankee]

Will it offer a ‘swinger’ pkg including the 440 with six pack carbs ?

Still remember chirping tires in third gear

[SueRae]

LOL.

You would have thought they would have at least picked a popular mopar for recreation, like Ford did with the T-bird and the Mustang.

The Dart? Really?

I remember those Dusters, too...yech.

[oblomov]

It looks like a modern version of the Ford Edsel.

[Bigh4u2]

[taildragger]

Nevermind the Dart, check out the Fusion...

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2830265/posts

[Responsibility2nd]

We must, must I say, get rid of these damn cars that come at you with the hideous grin front grills that all look like the "Joker" in the Dick Tracy movie.

 

 

Reminds me of Mazda 3's. I read where these are really fun to drive cars. But because of their goofy grin front-ends - nobody but chicks drive them.

[Red Badger]

I had an X-1/9 back in the day.
It was a beautiful car.
I spent more time UNDER it than I did IN it!................

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Ahhh....but will it have fine Corinthian leather?

[nuconvert]

How ‘bout a new 2012 Plymouth Barracuda Fastback? (with that giant rear window)

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

You couldn’t kill it. What a great car. Wish I had it back right now.

I agree. I wish I had one. I still see them on the road and get all envious when I do. It's the Urban Tank.

[cripplecreek]

They were good cars. I'm not expecting much this time around.

[WayneS]

Actually, I think maybe they did. Fortunately, though, you and I never wore that particular ‘bullseye’.

I will admit that the slant six engine they used as a standard motor in the Dart and Valiant was one of the best ever made, though.

[Mama Shawna]

1965 Dart, two-door post, slant 6, 270. Much better looking than the new one, even with my two goofy kids on the trunk! You can't see it in this pic, but the license plate says 'NO HEMI' HAHA!

[Boiling point]

I had a 68 Dart with a 318 & 904 automatic Trans. I liked the car as it was simple and easy to fix as were most cars of that era. I couldn’t keep a transmission in it though. Those 904s apparently weren’t very good.

[Army Air Corps]

That would be something. What about a 2012 Plymouth Sunbird?

[blueunicorn6]

Sergio Marchionne? Didn’t he make all those spaghetti westerns with Clint Eastwood? Aheaheah wa wa wa, aheaheah wa wa wa..........

[Army Air Corps]

Ome of my favourite car advert parodies.

[Army Air Corps]

Now, THAT was funny.

[Noumenon]

My first car was a 1960 Dodge Dart. Push button transmission as I recall. Built like a tank, drove like one, got about the same mileage and had fins that gave it the name “Bat Mobile”.

[RightGeek]

[Army Air Corps]

I see an ad campaign...

“The new 2012 Dart; the Spaghetti Western of cars!”

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Looks like just another generic, bubble-like, low drag coefficient, Euro style, 4 cylinder toilet. Change the Logo and it could be a Hyundai or a Kia or a...fill in the blank.

[lgjhn23]

"...What next, a the new 2012 Plymouth Duster?..." Dunno about all that, but I'll be keeping my old blue '72 440-powered Dart Swinger for Saturday nite cruises just the same. Of course, it costs about $5 in fuel just to crank the ugly thing...lol. I do like the 470HP SRT-8 392 Challenger even better though, especially in red.

[Noumenon]

I remember those commercials with Ricardo Montalban. So easy to parody:

“I love to drink in the lush, wine-filled interior...”

[WayneS]

...will also serve as platform for the next generation Jeep SUVs

That's a pretty revolting thought, but in all honesty, as long as they don't screw with the Wrangler line, they can do whatever they want with their "SUV"s. As far as I am concerned, those "SUV"s are not real Jeeps, anyway.

In fact, I was in the "CJ7 was the last REAL Jeep" school of thought, until I test drove, and then purchased, a 2010 Wrangler Rubicon. It is, quite simply, the best Jeep I have ever owned. Over the years I have had a 1951 M38, a '52 CJ3-A, '57 CJ5 and a '71 Commando, among others (a total of seven).

The old military Jeeps, and the Willys, Kaiser-Fraser & early AMC CJs are very cool, and a lot of fun to own, drive and look at. However, with that said, my Rubicon can, just about literally, run circles around them on any off-road terrain I can think of. Also, where comfort, reliability and on-road manners/handling are concerned there is absolutely no comparison.

[WayneS]

I think you might mean “Superbird”.

I’m pretty sure the Sunbird was a small Pontiac from the ‘80s-’90s.

[Dr. Bogus Pachysandra]

I seem to recall that my first van, a Dodge, had a slant six. Good mill! That van was surprisingly quick!