Posted on 05/10/2012 11:51:39 AM PDT by 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...
(Excerpt) Read more at kansascity.com ...
Yeah, well, dissolving bodies do tend to make a car less roadworthy.
That was then -- this is now. The new Dart looks pretty sharp. I won't buy one; I like Fords. But it'll be a good thing if they do well with it.
Gee another FRONT WHEEL Drive egg shaped vehicle. How exciting. /sarc
I remember going through a carwash in my ‘67 and bubbles coming out of the air vent doors. (seals were shot)
Feeble Itailian Attempt at Technology
LOL I see a lot of little old lady cars in there - my favorite kind.
Usually they were pretty straight, except for the occasional sideswipe (usually getting in and out of the garage).
Like you I have had 20 or so. Still have several in different stages of repair.
take care
There is a scene in Groundhog Day where Bill Murray decides to do a good deed for a car full of ol’ ladies in an old Dodge Dart. Also the old Spencer Tracy drove Darts in “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner?” and “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World”. And who can forget the Dart that took out the Peterbilt in Duel?
“It’s a Dodge. Buy it and you will learn the first name of the dealerships mechanics by heart. “
I always bought my Dodges at plus 10 years or 100,000 miles. The ones that make it that far are fine in the powertrain. The one time I tried that with a Honda, I spent more money on repairs than all of ky Darts put together almost, in under ONE YEAR!
“What about its sister, the Plymouth Valiant?”
Also great, and avqilable even MORE stripped down (less chrome). Reminds me of the time I had borrowed a 67 Plymouth Valiant. My cat know the familiar ticking sound of a slant six from a half mile a way, and knew it was me, as the 170 slant six in the Plymouth waw close enough to my Dart that he respondee and waited for me at tge door. Extraordinary cat, extraordinary cars.
IIRC the car that Dennis Hopper drove in Duel was a 67? 4-door Valiant. Note that that’s important or anything ;)
About as “traveling salesman” as you can get!
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.