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New Dart Pictures

manimal

manimal

Lifer
http://jalopnik.com/dodge-dart/


Maybe a repost but I am really liking the design.

xlarge.jpg
 
Dodge sold only about 25,000 Darts in FY'12 -

They are really trying to sell these and get some presence on the street. I like the design, great interior room with a decent interior and it handles really well. Some materials could be improved but its no Civic or Corolla in the hard plastic department.

They launched with a poor automatic trans - supposedly the new one is out or coming soon that will greatly improve the driving.

$4K off Limited at Rallye's at the local dealer -

I think its a solid #2 behind the Focus for best compact.
 
I don't normally like stripes and stuff on cars, but the viper ACR stripe looks pretty good, i just wish the stripes were paint instead of stickers 🙁
 
ehhh. it needs to be just a couple inches wider. Then it would look badass IMO. If I was on my other computer I would photo shop what i visualize.
Its just too narrow. but I digress, darts are pointy.
 
I was recently in the market for a new DD and took a long look at the Dart before deciding on the Fiesta and it seems like it is "almost there". The glove box on these things are GIANT BTW. The interior was quite nice and the package as a whole was great value for the money but there are 2 issues that kept me away. The first is that Dodge still hasn't gotten all the transmission/engine options out there yet and the 1.4 turbo NEEDS to be the base engine or something less than a $~1,500 option. The more difficult issue to repair is that this car is seriously overweight. It carries around just shy of an extra half ton as compared to the Fiesta and it is obvious behind the wheel. Maybe the 2nd gen will fix this.
 
nismotigerwvu said:
The more difficult issue to repair is that this car is seriously overweight. It carries around just shy of an extra half ton as compared to the Fiesta and it is obvious behind the wheel. Maybe the 2nd gen will fix this.
Click to expand...

It does not compete with the Fiesta - it is overweight compared to the smaller compacts but its interior volume is clearly a leader in the segment.

Passenger volume
Dart - 97.2cu/ft
Corolla - 92.1
Cruze - 94.6
Focus - 90.7
Camry - 102.7
Fiesta - 85
 
Just because I purchased a car from a different segment doesn't mean the Dart isn't overweight. It's still ~400 pounds heavier than the Focus, 100 pounds more than an Altima, ~700 pounds more than Civic, 200 pounds more than the Cruze.....It actually weighs about the same as the last generation Legacy GT even with it's AWD system. The Dart is a porker plain and simple.
 
I sat in one at the auto show. It had a pretty lime green exterior paint job. Interior fit and finish was a cut above competitors. Very comfy seat and interior feel. Looking at the specs, engine output seems weak for its displacement and design.
 
Madness autworks has a tune option for these already. They are selling magneti morelli tunes that really wake up the 500. I am looking online for someone who used it on a dart.

I posted some dyno sheets a while back of what an abarth 500 can do with bolt on mods. Whats nice about that morelli tune is is go back to stock rather easily so warranty concerns should be moot.


So even though they are new one could mod an existing CAI into the car based on where it is. You could then have a custom shop weld in some race cats and a borla muffler, Morelli tune and your golden!

I would drive that as a DD.


I bet a downpipe would be easy to fab as well

TMC Motorsport
http://www.tmcmotors...arProducts.aspx
Giulietta 1.4 170hp 184ft-lb
Tuned 204hp 221 ft-lb

Abarth Punto Evo 163hp 184ft-lb
Tuned 193hp 225ft-lb

Abarth Punto Evo SS 180hp 200ft-lb
Tuned 207hp 236ft-lb

Novitec
http://de.novitec.nl....asp?prodID=127

Abarth Grande Punto EVO 1,4T
Standard : 163HP
+ Powerjet 2 : 184HP

Alfa Giulietta 1,4T
Standard : 170HP
+ Powerjet 2 : 195HP
 
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Chrysler knows how to make a car that looks good inside and out. So does Fiat SpA. Problem is they still struggle with the mechanics, which is all that really matters in the end. The transmissions have long been a problem. Having an attractive, affordable car isn't enough. They need to bring their reliability ratings up considerably. I've known a lot of people who have owned Chryslers. The most common complaint is they quickly become a money pit.

LTC8K6 said:
Plus the Dart turbo requires premium fuel in addition to getting beaten...
Click to expand...

It uses the same engine out of the 500 Abarth. Higher compression ratio. It gets great fuel economy for the power so using premium is not such a big deal. Something worth chewing on is the EPA claims the Dart Turbo gets better fuel economy than the Smart Fortwo on the highway. Most likely due to it's 6 speed manual transmission.
 
mmntech said:
Chrysler knows how to make a car that looks good inside and out. So does Fiat SpA. Problem is they still struggle with the mechanics, which is all that really matters in the end. The transmissions have long been a problem. Having an attractive, affordable car isn't enough. They need to bring their reliability ratings up considerably. I've known a lot of people who have owned Chryslers. The most common complaint is they quickly become a money pit.



It uses the same engine out of the 500 Abarth. Higher compression ratio. It gets great fuel economy for the power so using premium is not such a big deal. Something worth chewing on is the EPA claims the Dart Turbo gets better fuel economy than the Smart Fortwo on the highway. Most likely due to it's 6 speed manual transmission.
Click to expand...

We know it's the Fiat engine.

Who wants a car that needs premium and is slower than cars that don't? If premium got you a faster car...

Also, the mere fact that it needs premium turns off buyers of lower end cars.

Ford has a better sales strategy. Say the engines require regular, and just make a note in the manual that premium provides "better performance". :biggrin:
 
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