Chrysler brings back the Dodge Dart
- Thread starter notenoughcash
- Start date
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It's a FIAT dart not Dodge
340sFastback
Well-Known Member
Kinda dumb they are naming it Dart but I like it a lot more then the Caliber. Getting rid of the Caliber is a good thing. Yeah if they come out with a 2.4 turbo SRT-4 version that would be pretty cool. Love my '05 SRT-4, one of the best new cars I ever bought, Chrysler should have kept making the Neon.
cudavert
DARTAHOLIC
Funny you mention that, because Scion is getting ready to launch a new, honest-to-goodness front engine/rear drive small car, so it CAN be done. This is supposed to be around $25K. I don't think this is exactly the market the Dart is going after, but hey, this thing's going to have a 2.0 liter and a 6-speed or paddle shifter automatic. Geez, what's so hard about making a cheap, small rear-driver??
Blue87D100
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Mustang= Pony Car
Camaro= Pony Car
Dart=Compact economy car
Your logic does not make sense. The Dart is nothing like a mustang or camaro. Plus,it does not matter what the mustang looks like people will still buy it,and keep buying it no matter what. From the late 70' to the late 90's the mustangs were UGLY as sin!!!! They still sold millions of them.
The dart as we know it was introduced for the 1963 model year as a compact economy car,and the slant six was the only engine option that year. Six cylinders were the engine of choice for economy cars at the time. What kind of engine is now? Oh ya a four cylinder. RWD was the standard platform at the time,what is it now? Oh ya FWD.
Sure you could get a big block from 67-69,and even a 340 till 73,then a smog low hp 360 till 76,but you couldnt order them in a 4 door dart! The dart was a bread and butter,point A to point B compact economy car,and that is what chrysler is building now.If they make an srt4 version it will most likely run 13's in the 1/4 and still get 30 mpg on the highway;can your big block or small block Dart do that?
64drtGt
Slant Six Lunatic
AMEN! I want a cheap economy car that I can also raise a little hell in I dont care if its FWD or RWD. I personaly will buy one of these and gladly have it sit beside my 64 dart gt.
This will make for some real confusing conversations...
"Hey, I got a dart!"
Cool, 4 speed or auto?
"I got the 5 speed"
Wow! Tremec conversion?
"Uh whazzat?"
Is it a slant six, or a V8?
"Huh? only came with a 1.8L 4 banger"
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When somebody tells me they have a Charger, I ask if it is a 2 door. When I hear "4 door" I tell them they have a Taxi Cab. Seriously, half the taxis in this town are chargers. That is how daimler-chryscrap made that car a 'big seller".
I am at wait & see on this re-badge of an italian car goes. Fiat's legendary lack of reliability or service commitment is still following them.
B.
"Hey, I got a dart!"
Cool, 4 speed or auto?
"I got the 5 speed"
Wow! Tremec conversion?
"Uh whazzat?"
Is it a slant six, or a V8?
"Huh? only came with a 1.8L 4 banger"
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When somebody tells me they have a Charger, I ask if it is a 2 door. When I hear "4 door" I tell them they have a Taxi Cab. Seriously, half the taxis in this town are chargers. That is how daimler-chryscrap made that car a 'big seller".
I am at wait & see on this re-badge of an italian car goes. Fiat's legendary lack of reliability or service commitment is still following them.
B.
slantsixdan
=..=
Would've been much less dorky if they'd actually brought out the "Charger" show car they showed in 1998. It was also a 4-door, but wasn't as dorky-lookin' as the one they wound up releasing.
So were the '70-'74 E-bodies, so that's staying true to the car's roots.
Think about the fun you can have with that.
mr.318
Well-Known Member
Joe i think your a foreigner, All you do is talk down dodge and mopar you don't know nothing about the new dart, Who knows it might be better than your yota Joe you and people like you are whats wrong with this country, Don't know why you hang out here, guess to piss off real mopar people,
Unfortunately, this thing is going to look like everything else made in the last 15 or 20 years, Butt F Ugly! The most recent spy photos show the same distorted proportions and cartoon like, caricatured features as everything else penned by graduates of the Art Center working in the SoCal design houses run by all the major automakers.
slantsixdan
=..=
The '60s-'70s Darts also looked just about like everything else made in their era.
Can't disagree with you there, and Chrysler's been one of the worst offenders.
Thrashard340
Well-Known Member
Actually, just the opposite. you have to understand what the "original" was about. The Dart's most popular years 63-76 was spent as a compact car. The idea of a compact car back then and what it is today isn't that much different...small, affordable, good on gas. The new Dart will reflect the old Dart in this aspect. Plus, I'm willing to bet the new Dart will have some type of SRT4 variant (like a 340 GTS Dart back in the day in the sense of a performance offering for the model).
BTW, Pontiac did try to bring back the GTO...great price, great performance, severely undermarketed, and it failed. You want a future collector car? Get your hands on a 2004-2006 GTO today. There were less than 41,000 made.
goldfish65
Well-Known Member
I would be happy if they made a crease just below the beltline that jogged up a little like the '67 up Darts had....or even a lower horizontal crease that jogs up like on the new Challenger.
chlngr1970
Well-Known Member
I was just about to bring this up. What I really hope for is not another chevy/Toyota hybrid (a remember the '87 Nova?)? I would hope they consider a two door fir the performance crowd as I can't stand 4 doors...its the biggest reason I wont buy a new Dodge truck. No extended cab...only standard cab and 4the door. The SRT4 was a winner with the extra doors being the deal braker for me. Its also the main reason I believe they do not make a "Charger" to this day.
So...to bring some coherence to this ramble...the new Dart could be a great little car and do Chrysler proud. It may not be for me though.
J
Thrashard340
Well-Known Member
I hear ya' Chlngr70. The 80's were a bad time for American cars. I can only count on one hand with regards to what car I would buy from that era.
I can understand where you're coming from on the two door thing as well. It's another reason why I didn't buy the Charger. For me, I don't NEED a four door. I would think that if Chrysler wants to play in the same space as Scion Coupe, Cobalt, Civic Coupe SI, then they will have to offer a 2 door equivalent.
Our '72 Challenger weighs 3,340 pounds, and our '76 Dart weighs in at 3,420. My Duster weighs 3,300. Everyone thinks the old Challengers are a lot heavier than they really are.
340sFastback
Well-Known Member
Really? Grand Nationals running 14 flat and dipping into the 13s bone stock. What about the Grand National GNX that ran 13 seconds flat. 5.0 Mustang running low 14s and some of the stippo notch cars could dip into the 13s stock. What about the '89 Trans Am with the Grand National engine running 13 seconds flat? Camaro 5.7L in the late 80s I saw them running low 14s at the track right off the show room floor. Definately not a bad time for American cars at all. Late 70s yes those cars sucked. Late 80s that was the return of the American muscle car those were good years.
cannucky
The Guy With No Birthday
I'm pretty sure i read last year that Chrysler re-secured the Cuda name but we've all seen some pretty shytey examples of classic car names ,heck the new Camaro comes to mind pretty quick
Well then I guess you could lump the Corvette and a Chevette together! After all they are both Vettes! When they brought back the Camaro and the Challenger at least they were rear wheel drive, and the engine is North and South. What in the heck does the new Dart hold in common with the original? And hey, this is my opinion, I don't really care if you agree or not.
Blue87D100
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Is this directed at me? Because I dont care what you think either. I was just pointing out that lumping the Dart with the Mustang and Camaro is wrong.If you cant see that,then its your handicap. Corvette and chevette??? Come on man,now you just sound foolish.
As far as what the old Dart and New Dart have in common is this: Both economy cars,both are compact cars,and both are priced to where first time buyers and frugal buyers will be able to attain them.Both have multiple engine and transmission options. Both named Dart,and both are made by Chrysler. Thats enough in common for me.
slantsixdan
=..=
For perspective, let's keep in mind that those of us who have an opinion one way or the other on the Darts of the 1960s and '70s are statistically nonexistent.
I agree 100%. AND, I guess I'm not allowed an opinion,by some.
67Signet
Smoke and chaos stunt coordinator
This will help the value of the classic Darts in time!!
Good choice by Fiat!! and Mopar
Good choice by Fiat!! and Mopar
Thrashard340
Well-Known Member
Like I said, I can only count on one hand how many cars I would care ot own from that era...Grand National, 5.0 Mustang, Turbo Daytona...that's about it for me. I could easily double that count for 90's era domestics.
And I wouldn't really consider late 80's return of the Muscle Car. I consider 80's more of a statement for Sports Cars with an emphasis on handling versus straight line acceleration. I would consider late 90's return of the muscle car with the 320 HP LS1's, and Cobra Mustangs. And that's really borderline...the true muscle cars are really making a come back today with the Challenger SRT8, 5.0 and Camaro SS all making over 400 HP. THAT's muscle car territory.
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