FCA has decided to cease production of the Dart! They still make that car? Who knew!?
What will happen to the good workers that build the Dart? They won the lottery, that’s what happened. Instead of the Dart, they will build the Jeep Cherokee. FCA stops production of a car no one wants, they invest in a vehicle that is very popular, and the workers get 3 or 4 shifts of work each week. Sounds like a winner in the end.
Do you think FCA will every sell a popular small car again with the Dodge badge on it?
The new Dart is actually an Italian car, I believe Alfa Julietta or something. They just increased the body proportions for US, probably didn’t do much to increase power/engine. In my search for a fun stick shift car, I have seen quite a few for sale and seems like they depreciate a lot but also on their forums, a lot of complaints about the car’s built/reliability.
Here’s a cut and paste comment of mine from back in January of 2012 about the at the time new Darts.
My prediction is the new Dart will not be around very long and count my vote as those 80s era Pontiac LeMans as being some of the worst tin cans ever inflicted upon the driving public.
I added “more words needed!” Because “Dead Dart” was under 10 characters.
It’s had terrible sales for the few years it has been built, despite generally good reviews. It probably suffers Catera disease. The lousy Cimarron did in the well executed Catera before it hit the market. Likewise, the Dart’s predecessor, the Avenger, made the public turn away from the significantly better Dart. Maybe FCA should try selling under the Fiat or Alfa Romeo name instead.
I had a 68 Dart. But “Dart” is a pretty common use name. There is Dart Transport, dart games, you can buy darts, or you can dart around someone. I don’t see how they can prevent someone else from using it, but then why would anyone want to use it? Another damaged brand beat to death.
The first Dart was in 1960, if my memory is still useful. It was a big car, a Plymouth for the Dodge dealers.
http://s.hswstatic.com/gif/1960-1961-dodge-dart-2.jpg
The small car that showed up later that year was a Valiant/Lancer. The Dart name was given to the smaller car a few years later. The later 60’s Dart was a pretty solid car.
The latest form of Dart was a perfectly forgettable rental car. I can’t really even waste the time it takes to pull up an image. Maybe the made a profit on it for fleets and rentals. The car as home appliance.
@wentwest. I remember the 1960 Dart very well. Chrysler scored a hit with that Dart. It was essentially a Plymouth, but was much better looking. Many buyers thought they were stepping up to a higher priced car, when in fact it was priced the same as the Ford, Chevrolet, and Plymouth. The senior Dodge was the Polara. For the 1961 model year, the design was changed and IMHO really looked strange. All Dodges and Plymouths were redesigned in 1962 and reflected only automotive tastes of Virgil Exner. The Dart was an intermediate sized car that year and the smallest Dodge became the Lancer which was essentially a Plymouth Valiant. In 1963, the Dart became the smallest Dodge. The Dart has been different things.
