2013 Dodge Dart

[696pack]

What makes this any different than Chevy's use of the Impala name? When you say Impala to many they immediately think of 1958 and the 283 F.I or the 348 Tri Power. Others think of the 63-64 409s. Others think of the later 60s 396-427s. Others think of the mid 90s Impala SS.

It is called EVOLUTION!! The auto industry changes to meet the demand of the masses not the minority which is what we are here. It is their tradmarked name and they can use it the way they see fit and no amount of bitching here is going to change it.

 

[72Satellite440]

You forgot to take ur happy pill 696

The difference w/the impalla and the dart is..They nvr stopped making the freakin impalla...And then theres the ol Dart, life ended in 1981.. It had a good run-The difference is if they are going to throw this brand name back at us they shouldnt just jump 30 freakin yrs of evolution - we need a farmilliar older body style-remending us of how good they were...

Your right no amount of bitching here is going to change it...but forum's are here for us to voice opinion of the crap they throw out

RIP DART--->:spam-press:

 

[696pack]

Nothing unhappy about the post, just the facts.

People will always find somthing negative about things to complain about rather than the positive. Regardless of the name being continuely used or not. Tis same thing happened when the Mustang introduced the Mustang II and the Ford guys got all bent out of shape. They too forgot that in 1969 after the car line had built over a million cars that well over 1/2 of them were 6 cylinder models.

The Dart A body line was conceived as an answer to the the Ford Falcon, Chevy's Corvair and Rambler's American as a economical compact. The performance models were an after thoughts. It has it's roots in the very car they are reusing the name on.

 

[Satellite65]

Well then why not modernize the old dart body style ...like the charger/challenger was- but noo instead they made a new neon body and slap a good name on it.That car wont sell well guarenteed... im disapointed

Challenger, yes. It's a niche market vehicle targeted toward the musclecar/retro market which pretty much dictated that it look like the original. The Charger, aside from a few styling cues taken from the '68-'70 era looks nothing like the older cars yet is still a nice vehicle and seems to sell pretty well. The original Dart, and please don't take this the wrong way as I've owned several and love them, was a box with the aerodynamics of a school bus. Aeros play a major role in fuel efficiency and since this car is going to be a mass market product will have a serious impact on CAFE ratings. The nose and tail (all we're allowed to see as of now) look pretty good to me. Don't let the 'disguised' version fool you. A lot of times they put filler and stuff underneath those cloakes to hide the actual shape until they're ready to let people see it. The final product might not look as bad as you think it will.

We Mopar afficionados seem to have this belief that the company exists to please our tastes and this just ain't the case. They're in business to sell cars, millions and millions of them and our 'club' is really quite small in comparison to the market they're after. The guys that were designing, marketing and selling the cars we now view as classics could never forsee, nor could they care less if these cars were going to be around 40 years later. Just kinda worked out that way.

 

[Jonnyuma]

I'm with 696pack on this one. The meeting probably went like this...
What are we gonna call our new 4 cyl econo-poopster?
How 'bout we put some numbers and letters on it? They don't have to mean anything...
Nostalgia is big, how 'bout Valiant?
Too long, we'd save .02 cents on each car if the name had less letters in it.
Dart?
You're a genius.
Won't that piss off the purists? The guys who remember Darts from the old days?
Yes it would. How many are we talking about?
Potential buyers? Or in total?
Both.
In total, about 50. Potential buyers...4
Run with it!
The manufacturer's main business isn't making cars, it's SELLING cars. If the marketing guys think they can move more units with a snappy old school name, thats what they'll use. Hence Charger, a generic 4 door meant to utilize the LX platform in a downmarket segment from the 300. The Charger only got "Charger" styling cues in the refresh last year. I'd say the new Dart is closer to the original Dart concept than the Charger was/is, and don't even get me started on the 99 fwd 300M...not even close.
They have to market these things to youngsters, to lure them away from imports and try to build new brand loyalties where practically none exist anymore.
It's maybe a bit cynical, but to expect purity of brand and worthy legacy badging is to be left disappointed.
As they often do, they'll probably hold off the SRT version til 2014 and release it mid-year. And they'll probably have a GT and GTS which will have stripes and scoops and embroidered floormats and a limited edition shift knob and some big ol' wheels and we can have this conversation again.

If you think that's bad, my wife wants a Nissan Cube! And I can't talk her out of it (she sez "at least its not a Prius" yeah). Maybe I'll take her to look at a new Dart....and so it goes...

 

[Jonnyuma]

I see that my post is very similar to Satellite65's. We must have been typing at the same time cuz his wasn't up there when I started and my time stamp shows an hour later posting. I wasn't trying to restate what he already said very well......
I'm just very slow.

 

[Finallygotmine]

Hmmmmmmmmm......Well......I see a green Dodge Dart and a Neon II in Lingerie..

It's in their rights, but shame on Chrysler/Fiat for using that name to help sell cars. It's obviously nothing like its ancestors.

I'm not interested in getting in a pushing match over it...Just my opinion.

Totally agree. What I find really funny is the "need" to camouflage the car, like its the next great supercar or something. It's obviously another high mileage car for the masses like the neon.

 

[Jonnyuma]

They always do that, no matter what manner of turd the car is.
When I hauled cars I LOVED getting those...I only had to load one car but I got paid for a full (enclosed) trailer. And I could just slam it in and strap it down without worrying about scratches. Didnt even have to use chains cuz, since they bought the whole trailer, it got to ride smack in the middle of the flat floor.

2 reasons for the camoflage..often its hiding unfinished body panels and/or ugly bits the manufacturer doesnt want the public to see. It's not very likely there's anything ground-breaking or revolutionary under there but they spend a lot of effort and money to be able to unveil their cars on their own timetable no matter how how mundane. Hopefully create some pre-introduction buzz to get people into dealerships to look, but not have people bored with the thingbefore it even hits the showrooms. Remember all the hubub over the PTCruiser? What was THAT about? A re-bodied Neon that looked like a milk-truck and had a waiting list and people paying over sticker to have one. Weird bizness, cars.

 

[scotts74birds]

Since I work for them, I always remain hopeful! FACT!! For Chrysler to survive, we need a competitive, stylish, entry-level, compact. Everyone else has one. Maybe we can get a hit with the tuner crowd?! The car will be built at the Belvedere Assembly plant in Illinois [American jobs, this could have just as easily been an import like ford and chebys compacts!] Engineering costs were saved by widening a European chassis. They will feature Fiats multi-air motors. [they are a bit ahead of us in small motor technology]. I actually think "Dart" is a GREAT name for it! Not all car-buyers these days are old gear-heads! Half the new buyers never heard of Pearl Harbor, so why are we bent about them not knowing of the history of the Dodge Dart? The main goal is for Mopar to still be there to support us [and they do a GREAT job of supporting their 40+ year old cars!] Times change. We must accept that. Save the anger for the election! Where we have the choice of 4 more years of Obama, or 5 Republican turds! Ron Paul, 2012!

 

[Plmouth 340]

Hmmmmmmmmm......Well......I see a green Dodge Dart and a Neon II in Lingerie..

It's in their rights, but shame on Chrysler/Fiat for using that name to help sell cars. It's obviously nothing like its ancestors.

I'm not interested in getting in a pushing match over it...Just my opinion.

I agree with ya Prop, it looks nothing like the original Dart and they couldn't go the way of the new Challenger? The new one looks very similar to the older 70s. The new Dart is ugly and nothing like its predecessor. And the cover for it is nice. :rolling:

 

[scotts74birds]

Dart is a GREAT name for an AGILE, NIMBLE, small car! Stop hating and look at the bigger picture. It might just drum-up some interest in it's namesake, and help all of us!

 

[drjay0]

Regardless of everyone's views, check this out. http://www.dodge.com/en/dart/
The promotion and site is spectacular. Click on the promo photos and that will open up slideshows. Most folks were looking for vintage styling cues. If you don't see them clear as day in that dash, you are blind. Even the drivetrain and tranny combos mentioned are peaking my interest plus the support of the Mopar aftermarket mentioned. Forget the camouflage, this could be interesting.

 

[Propwash]

Let them slap "Dart" on this "we need a piece of the market" side show Neon II. With its Buck Rogers dash, Evinrude 4 popper, I just called my BFF with my car..Oh my gawwwddd Becky!!!, and let's not forget it seats 4 folks under 5' 7", this thing should be a hit! Wow Weee..pretty neat cutting edge stuff. It goes to show that most of the general american public has completely lost their love affair with the automobile and thanks to American MFG's selling cars instead of building them..

Some of you guys want to call this "evolution", I call it extinction!!!

For the love of god American car MFG's, would you stop trying to play catch up or copycat Japanese, European and each other and actually think out of the box for a minute. I'm not talking about changing the screen color on your video game dash clusters or painting a stripe on a fender either. You wanna sell cars? Try imagination, inovation and good old american craftsmanship. The old cars had hips and curves like a woman, fins and lines like a jet, glistening chrome and trim like jewelry, such a strut when they sat, it felt like they were staring right back at you..What exactly do you offer now days??? The cars are dead looking drones..There is no unique theme, no jazz. Yep they're safer, yep they get better gas mileage, handling performance is up there and yes, we now have stow away for 9 soccer balls under the rear seat. Congratulations....but everything else around it sucks! Frankly I think the american public has be cheated...


I totally disagree that most Americans do not know what a Dodge Dart was...I bet at least over half of adults could tell you some kind of a story or another about one in their past. And that's a major part of the reasoning behind the name....To sell cars. They did the same dang thing with the Charger.


Bottom line is, i've been lucky enough in the past to own a few Darts and right now i'm blessed to have a Coronet and a Roadrunner under my wing. These are the cars that I have always known to be and will always be Mopars.......FIAT/Chrysler can prostitute out whatever names they want to sell cars, but rest assured that one will never be sharing the same garage or driveway with the cars the actually deseve to be decorated with the emblems they're wearing.

 

[kb67mopar]

Being from a younger generation (born in 84') and still being an old muscle guy I really have to say it doesn't bother me at all. The majority of the people buying a car of this size will be younger adults to kids. By the time folks like us are willing to buy a car we want something bigger, with v8 power, rear wheel drive and to appease us would result in low sales volume.

The dart of old was meant to be the small economical model...that's what this is and from what i can see its about 400% better then the old neon.

That being said, I would prefer a retro-styled Dart with rear wheel drive and a small v8 as an offering, I would buy it...(well after I sell something)

 

[scotts74birds]

Sorry to fire you up, Prop. And I respect your opinion buddy. The Dart name has been gone from the American lexicon since 75. That is about 38 years! And the memory that most of us have of them is the A-frames collapsing, and having to tie the doors closed cause Chrysler couldn't put a decent door latch in it! I'm as die-hard Mopar as you, but we must accept the short-comings of the past, and the enticement of a new generation. A new Mopar following will build on the history of the past. And they WILL seek out the past, and continue it. Relax, we are in good hands. Don't count out our future Mopar gearheads!

 

[Propwash]

No problem at all Scott, and I as well respect your point of view as an autoworker and a fellow mopar gearhead. Obviously I'm frustrated with the direction that the american legacy of the automobile has gone over the years. Not just Chrysler, but all. Yeah I'm spoiled enough to still have the forefathers in my garage to admire, but at the same time I get to watch the good ol' days (in my eyes) slowly decay away. I think Chrysler pining Dart on something like that is so far away from the idea of mopar that I truely relish, is sort of like another nail in the coffin...

I'll admit I can be pretty conservative, but that's just the way I am about this subject. In other peoples eyes its more like a passing of the torch. I just don't see it that way. I respect yours and the others opinions on that side of the fence and surely don't hold it against anyone for their view. In the end, if chrysler can make this work, then good on them for continuing to keep americans working as well as keeping americans in Dodge's. I'll leave it to other generations or brands of people to take the reigns on these new era Dodges and i'll keep trying to resurrect the old...

Thanks for taking the time to post back and have a good weekend

 

[Ron 73]

I believe in Chrysler trying to make more jobs and come out with new cars. What im having the problem most with is the naming of it a Dart. The Dart already has a place in history, It is Chrysler's choice to name them what they want and yes its true that most of the younger crowd may not even know what the original Dart looked like, but if there going to call it Dart then make a resemblance to it, the Challenger of new looks like the one of old, They purposely did this, great idea!... The Challenger, the Road Runners, the Chargers ect all were named for whatever reason, Id think if there not making one that resembles the original then pick a new name that in 30 years will be part of Chrysler's great names and legionary cars we all enjoy now, Maybe it will be a fantastic accomplishment but with all the accomplishes that Chrysler has made, It would be great for this to have its own given name, one more to add to the great list they have now.. Just a thought... I respect everyone's view on it, i just think its own name would be the best option for Chrysler Corporation is all, now and possibly 30 years from now as others remember this car when it came out.

 

[696pack]

If they would have continued to build a car non-stop with the Dart name in 2 doors, 4 doors it would have evolved just as all cars have over the years and we would not even be having this conversation.

 

[Satellite65]

No problem at all Scott, and I as well respect your point of view as an autoworker and a fellow mopar gearhead. Obviously I'm frustrated with the direction that the american legacy of the automobile has gone over the years. Not just Chrysler, but all. Yeah I'm spoiled enough to still have the forefathers in my garage to admire, but at the same time I get to watch the good ol' days (in my eyes) slowly decay away. I think Chrysler pining Dart on something like that is so far away from the idea of mopar that I truely relish, is sort of like another nail in the coffin...

I'll admit I can be pretty conservative, but that's just the way I am about this subject. In other peoples eyes its more like a passing of the torch. I just don't see it that way. I respect yours and the others opinions on that side of the fence and surely don't hold it against anyone for their view. In the end, if chrysler can make this work, then good on them for continuing to keep americans working as well as keeping americans in Dodge's. I'll leave it to other generations or brands of people to take the reigns on these new era Dodges and i'll keep trying to resurrect the old...

Thanks for taking the time to post back and have a good weekend

I believe in Chrysler trying to make more jobs and come out with new cars. What im having the problem most with is the naming of it a Dart. The Dart already has a place in history, It is Chrysler's choice to name them what they want and yes its true that most of the younger crowd may not even know what the original Dart looked like, but if there going to call it Dart then make a resemblance to it, the Challenger of new looks like the one of old, They purposely did this, great idea!... The Challenger, the Road Runners, the Chargers ect all were named for whatever reason, Id think if there not making one that resembles the original then pick a new name that in 30 years will be part of Chrysler's great names and legionary cars we all enjoy now, Maybe it will be a fantastic accomplishment but with all the accomplishes that Chrysler has made, It would be great for this to have its own given name, one more to add to the great list they have now.. Just a thought... I respect everyone's view on it, i just think its own name would be the best option for Chrysler Corporation is all, now and possibly 30 years from now as others remember this car when it came out.

At the risk of sounding insulting, I have to say that you guys are taking this WAAAAAY too personally.

 

[Ron 73]

I don't see anything insulting, i see another opinion on a car were all talking about is all. I just personally believe that Chrysler would of benefited more by naming it on itself, not after one thats a piece of history now is all. If this car works out well then it would have its own rightful place along side all the great cars they have produced, Just for the sake of talking if they would have named it the Dodge Receiver, everyone would come to know and remember the name as we did the others, its own place in history with the others. With this im done, it was just my thought on the name they picked for the car. The Challenger was made to bring back the look of an original, great idea and worked, this can hardly be called the same with this car. As far as taking it personal, you may be right, I always try to judge things on there own merits, i cant do that with this honestly.. i think there hoping the name Dart will help sell this car, may-be im wrong... time will tell all with this. Thanks, im done!