Dodge Dart Is Back After 36 Years

http://www.kansascity.com ^ | May 09, 2012 | ANN M. JOB

[BO Stinkss]

After 36 years, the Dodge Dart is back, and it's no retro model.

The 2013 Dart five-seat sedan is modern and stylish, with European handling and heritage, fun features, 10 air bags and fuel-thrifty engines, including two turbos. And smart design and attention to detail inside the Dart successfully groups the information from the gauges with the controls in the center of the dashboard better than any car — Dodge or otherwise.

The slew of features, standard on some models and optional on others, include denim material seat inserts, heated steering wheel and a 8.4-inch touch screen with touch screen buttons bigger than most finger tips.

All Darts also come with a uniquely spacious single glovebox with deep-into-the-dashboard depth. There's also a standard hiding place for small items under the front-passenger seat cushion. The cushion pulls up to reveal the hidden storage area.

And in its later-arriving Aero model, the new Dart is expected to garner a highway rating of at least 41 miles per gallon in federal government fuel economy tests.

Best of all, the Dart has a competitive starting retail price of $16,790 for a base SE with 160-horsepower, 2-liter, naturally aspirated, four-cylinder engine. This model, with six-speed manual transmission, is rated at 25/36 mpg, and doesn't have air conditioning.

A Dart with turbocharged, 1.4-liter, four-cylinder engine and air conditioning has a starting manufacturer's suggested retail price, including destination charge, of $19,295. By comparison, the 2012 Hyundai Elantra sedan starts at $16,120 with 148-horsepower, naturally aspirated four cylinder and manual transmission, while the base, 2012 Honda Civic sedan with 140-horsepower four cylinder and manual tranny starts at $16,785.

Neither the Elantra nor Civic sedans come with turbos for 2012.

More than 3.6 million Dodge Darts were sold...

[technically right]

No, Vomit is the model. That would be the Exorcist option.

[MrB]

I had this beautiful machine while going to college.
It started every time...

[bigfootbob]

D.I.N.O.

Best post of the lot...good job!

[Beowulf9]

lol!

[Carriage Hill]

I’m 62, remember all this stuff very well, and almost feel 70 after reading this thread, BJ. LOL.

[Osage Orange]

I've got a 51 yr. old.....VW two door truck.

Drove it everyday...back in the late 70's. Of course that was in SoCal...nice weather. No need for A/C really....

[BO Stinkss]

“Looks like all the other cars out there. Are there no original car designers?”

The turd shape is the most aerodynamic/fuel effiecient design. That is why all cars look the same now.

[certrtwngnut]

I guess you are a drag racer (or were)& are still a fan of the old stuff.
Google 60s funny cars & get a chill up your leg similar to what SissyChrissie gets when he sees the won.
But for a different reason of course.

[rawhide]

I had a ‘65, a ‘66, and a ‘67 Dodge Dart. Good memories!

[rjones0604]

I had a 67 Chevelle with a 396. Went thru the engine (bored, domed pistons, Crower cam, Holley 950 cfm double-pumper with manual secondaries, Hooker headers, etc) and it would get 14 mpg @ 65 mph. Once I went above 65 though, the secondaries opened up and I believe the mileage dropped to about 4 mpg! Loved that car... Oh, it also would turn high twelves in the quarter mile...

[Dr. Sivana]

But IMHO the reason people love A-bodies (or show fondness) is not the car as much as the engine. The Slant 6 was so reliable you had to really work hard to kill it. [ ... ]In the eighties and even nineties you really could get a reliable Dart/Valiant for $500 esp if you knew anything about them.

I think it is more than just the engine. It is the whole car. The Lancers and Belvideres just didn't stick around. The Dodge Darts and Plymouth Valiants and Dusters certainly did. They got everything right except for the ball joints and brakes (pre '68).

Besides the engine, let's not forget the Torqueflite transmission.

I have paid the following for Darts:

▀$200 (1974 Dodge Dart Custom, 144,000 miles) bought in 1988. Brake issues. Sold car for $300 one year later.

▀$5 (1966 Dodge Dart tourquoise, pristine interior, wheel well rot and bad drums, 29,000 miles in 1990, little ol' lady car) I put 100,000 miles on it before parting it out.

▀$55 (1973 Dodge Dart bought in 194 with transmission problems), lasted 10 days before it gave out..

▀$600 identical car in mauve and 59,000 miles in 1994. (little ol' lady car) power steering included in this model. I went 80,000 miles on it, and in '97 slid on some ice into an unmarked Crown Victoria. The Crown Vic won that match up. I still managed to drive the car for another year with one headlight pointing straight up.

▀$250 1976 Dodge Dart Brougham bought in 1997 with the two barrel holley. Mileage unknown. Numerous electrical problems. Rear end collapsed in 2000 after moving to the rust belt (Illinois). Comfy seats.

▀$1500 (1973 Dodge Dart, 39,000 miles). Baby Blue with a white vinyl roof for my wife (my '76 was burgundy. His and her Darts) Car was named Desireé. Great 50 foot car. In reality, skillful use of bondo disguised the cancer. That car had lived in the rust belt all its life, and the body suffered. Bad oil pump eventually led to an engine fire (one way to kill a slant six) at 89,000. Donor engine from a '71 turned out to be a bad match. Eventually the torsion bars tore through the rust and the front end collapsed. Died prematurely at 106,000 miles due to being in Illinois.

The '65 Chrysler 300 2 door hard top coupe (gold) was bought in 2002 for $1050 in Texas, and driven back up. One dented fender. Problematic brakes. Strong engine rebuilt once. Smooth rider with power, room and authority. Parts hard to find.
It was more than I could maintain as an everyday driver, and even as a three season car, the midwest salt was starting to do its thing. I sold the car for $800 in 2006 to someone who had room and expertise to treat it right. When I picked up the '89 Fifth Avenue for $500 as a replacement, I did it knowing that the local cancer would finish it off, and it did.

[Jack Burton007]

The best looking car Dodge has produced recently is the Dodge Challenger in my opinion. I would almost swap my Mustang rag top for one.

[expat2]

I bought a Valiant (slant 6) for my wife when I lived in Michigan, and it worked fine until one day the cam-shaft broke. Fortunately, the car was still, tho’ barely, under warranty. The dealer squirmed like mad, but fixed it under warranty in the end.

[count-your-change]

So true! The old slant 6 just ran and ran. The so-called New Dart is just a ho-hum no head room tin box.

[ebshumidors]

I had two. Loved them.

[Yorlik803]

Its a Dodge. Buy it and you will learn the first name of the dealerships mechanics by heart. Would be easier to buy the car and just park it in a repair bay because thats where the damn thing is going to end up anyways.

[Chuzzlewit]

I”ve also had 2.. a green slant six ... and a gold 318 carb full 8 cylnder..

loved both, especially those side air vents, and the fact that I could sleep in the back seat.

agreed on the huge trunk.

saw drive-in movies with my kids in those cars.’

miss both of my Dodge Darts, to this day.

I know Dodge Dart.. that is no Dodge Dart... they should have given it a diff name...

[cherry]

even if I wanted another Dart, I will never buy from the bamey companies....I’ll buy used from some private party, but never new....

[ebshumidors]

I had a 67 and 69. I drove the 69 from NJ to WA in Jan of 84. I90. I had to put cardboard in front of the radiator just to get the temp in operating range.

[oyez]

I thought they should haved named it “FIART”.