Dodge Dart -

[Divers]

Thought this article was teasing.....


http://news.consumerreports.org/cars/20 ... sedan.html

[sptcoupe]

A bit more on the same.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/0 ... 31858.html

[WYSpider]

Questions is, will it hit the bullseye?

[Zippy]

What! A Dodge Dart without a 225 Slant Six? Heresy I say!

[courtenay]

Back in the early days. a buddy of mine's mother had a green Dart - 4 door, slant 6. We called it the "dickmobile".

[mdrburchette]

Good grief, couldn't they have come up with a better name? My grandmother had a Dodge Dart. It just does not bring pictures of a sporty, fun car to my mind.

[ronarthur]

The 198 and 225 slant sixes didn't have power but they would run forever. You could practically run them out of oil and they would still run. If you got one with a 318 or a 340, that is when the fun began. Lots of power to weight ratio with that combo.

[tonyfromjersey]

The Dodge Dart was another in a long line of shitboxes that my dad owned. It doesn't wax nostalgic other than that it sucked, had no power, drove badly, and rusted to the frame in short order. Chrysler continues to completely miss the mark.

What's next, bringing back the gremlin or the pacer?

[wikkid]

Hmm. What's not to like here, at least conceptually? An Alfa Guillietta-based car, with some good engine options, assembled at a U.S. plant. Most potential buyers (young) of a car like this have no emotional connection, good or bad, to the old Dodge Dart.

[katsi]

The Dodge Dart was another in a long line of shitboxes that my dad owned. It doesn't wax nostalgic other than that it sucked, had no power, drove badly, and rusted to the frame in short order. Chrysler continues to completely miss the mark.

What's next, bringing back the gremlin or the pacer?

WHAT???

First of all, the Gremlin and the Pacer is an AMC product.
Second, the Dart was an awesome car.

In fact, back in 1984 my mom helped out a person she knew once by buying their old car off of them for $650.00 because they needed some cash. At first we all thought that my mom got ripped off but in time my family all ended up using the car as a backup for when theirs was on the fritz. It was a brown 1971 Dodge Dart. It had a slant 6 with 3 on the tree and sence I was the youngest and had a VW bug and a Honda 250 enduro, I drove that car all the time. Why? Because the bug mostly sat in a state of auto hybernation and it was most difficult to go to the beach or on a date with a motorcycle. I remember my buddies and I actually loading the trunk with our surfboards in a criss cross fassion like and X and actually being able to close the trunk. That car was freaking awesome. Loved it! The whole family loved it. It was always there in a pinch and always ran great. That old Dart lived out in front of our house untill 1992 when a drunk a hole ran into it at 3 o'clock in the AM. It was a sad day for all. Nobody in my family actually realized how much they loved the old Dart or how much they liked the fact that it was always there for them, willing to take them wherever they needed to go; untill she was totalled that night. My mom got a crappy $450.00 bucks from his insurance agency and we all lost a good friend.

This thing is WAY TOO ROUND to be a true Dodge Dart.

[124JOE]

dont take this wrong katsi

im hearing a true AL BUNDY story"he loved his dodge"

[katsi]

dont take this wrong katsi

im hearing a true AL BUNDY story"he loved his dodge"

Hay, Darts are pretty cool looking. Shortly after getting my driver's license, I dumped the bug and got a 1972 Dodge Colt - also a good looking car (Mitsubishi I know). My dad had a Dodge Power Wagon. All in all, say what you want - the old Dodge's were pretty good cars.

Just remember NO MA'AM!

[MrWampus]

When I was in high school I had '66 Plymouth Valiant with the slant 6, which was basically a Dart in a prom dress. The other comments about it are all true. It had NO power, but it would run forever like a beaten down mule. The floors were completely rusted out of mine but I had a killer stereo in it.

What marketing genius decided to revive the Dart name? Would Chevy bring back the Vega? Doubt it. Would Ford bring back the Pinto? Not a chance. Some names were meant to die and stay dead.

That said, should Chrysler bring an Alfa Romeo based platform car to the US to be built in the US? Absolutely! But don't saddle it with a "Dart" name. That's like naming your baby after your grandmother Blanche. Sure it was a popular name in its day and yes you love your grandmother, but come on... Blanche? Really?? (Sorry if I offended anyone's grandmother, Blanche. We love you Nana!)

[jimincalif]

I'm all for new models based on Alfas, but c'mon, "Dart"?

Maybe they are targeting younger folks who don't remember Darts (or Fiats for that matter). But if they want to resurrect a model name from the past, why not "Barracuda" or "Daytona"? When hear "Dodge Dart", I think of Spencer Tracy trying to get away in Mad Mad Mad Mad World:

[spidernut]

I helped my mom buy her first new car after my father passed away. She decided on a 1975 Dodge Dart, 318 V8, automatic and loaded to the gills with options. It was a VERY nice car for a mom or grandparent. It was very conservative to say the least. In the first several years, it had numerous charging and cooling system problems. Once solved, by me at age 17 since the mechanics couldn't figure out the problems, the car ran and ran and ran. It was finally sold with something like 155,000 miles on it. It still started right up, was cold blooded as can be in the mornings, and had no power at all...but it was still a decent driver.

I like the idea of the new Alfa-based car, but also question the decision to use the Dart name. It just conjures up images of a 65 year old man with mutton-chops, bell bottoms and a horrible polyester shirt hopping in the old family truckster and going for a Sunday drive to the local flea market. EEEK!

But then again, there are many horrible car names used on popular cars:
- Escort: conjures images of a prostitute
- Focus: never made sense to me
- Fiesta: a piece of junk when it first came out but a popular new model
- Aveo: means crave in Latin - I guess if you crave a Lemon you should buy one
- Cobalt: Why would anyone name a car after a hard, brittle, metallic element?
- Cruze: Spelled wrong, not that anyone cares anymore
- Equinox: would that be the vernal equinox or a noxious horse (equi means horse in latin)
- Avalance: great...let's name a car after a significant disaster - great idea GM!
- Aspen - a nice looking tree that grows quickly and is shallow rooted - maybe they meant the city in Colorado?
- New Yorker - a car that would be impractical in New York city...makes no sense either
- And lastly, every car that ends in the "uh" sound: Tribeca, Impala, Solara, Venza, Altima, Armada, Maxima, Versa, Xterra, Acadia, Sedona, etc. Why don't they just shorten it to "uh"?

My best guess is that when I was in Marketing, I learned of people and companies that trademark every word in the dictionary so they can profit when companies try to use the word or name. It most likely has forced makers to use known and established names or make up words, numeric names or spellings that nobody managed to trademark.

So, seriously, what name would you like to see on the new Dodge/Alfa? Dalfa? Alfodge?