It should be a Neon - a commodity to fill the segment, mass produced with trim levels to compete with Japanese and Korean rivals. There's a good reason as a long-time Jeep family I'm now messing with and tuning Neons instead of just Jeeps... they were commodity vehicles and Neon or Jeep parts are simple and extremely plentiful.

The other side of that coin is we have bought our last new Chrysler SUVs or cars after generations of Jeeps. (Except for my hunting season lifted project perhaps). The cheap has gone out of Jeep. I bit the bullet and bought the wife a fully loaded Hyundai Santa Fe V6 Ltd with every conceivable option for almost half the price of an equivalent Jeep (Grand/Laredo or even Liberty).

As far as the Dart goes - I love the look - a reskinned Fiat that looks pretty Dodge. But it's too little too late. The Korean style move to Tigershark is underpowered and overpriced. Unless a 2014 push in the R/T or SRT trims can compete with the Kia Optima 2.0T or Hyundai Sonata 2.0T in any way the bar has already been set too low and this is another Neon... but in the Neon's defence there will never be enough new Darts produced or sold to rival the K or Neon as a commodity that keeps the company alive in the segment IMHO.

Why wouldn't one of these be our summer or commuter sedan for -25K ?!

A KIA Optima 2.0T at 274hp / 269 ft/lbs with a 6 speed sportmatic?

http://www.kia.com/#/optima/specifications/

A Hyundai Sonata 2.0T with same specs in a comfier package?

http://www.hyundaiusa.com/build-your...nata&year=2013

As for the base trims, pick any Jap, Ford, GM or Euro in the segment and it's dollar for dollar a losing proposition. (ex. Focus is a reverse-case) Unless there are enough production savings and synergies with their Euro FIAT counterparts this line is a loser. Go ahead and call a long-time Dodge/Jeep guy anti-Chrysler or a turncoat - but economies of scale cannot be denied.

Bottom Line - they have to have a little 4cyl sedan in the segment... what choice do they have? A 200? A 100? :P

 

Why support the Koreans?

 

LOL. Really? I supported my local dealer and the jobs here in my neighbourhood, and bought her a car made in ALABAMA.

Why support the Italians? I suppose the last two Jeeps I was supporting the Germans?

Have to love the "new" globalization... do remember without Chinese buying US treasuries there would be no US carmakers... or America for that matter. When we get past the campy narrow worldview we realize there are no American cars anymore, the US is just part of the production chain and part of the market like everyone else.

Anyhow - the Dart is a "remains to be seen" with so many unkowns, despite a half decent one page test writup in this month's Car and Driver - without a new 2.4T and a next-gen transmission it isn't the "American" car that we're looking for yet... IMHO.

 

okay.. think of the business guys


neon

INCREDIBLE seller for dodge.
they went STUPID with the caliber where they lost their low model sales

took it out and didn't wanna bring the neon back so they make the dart.
I personally will be looking greatly at this car as if I MAY buy it in the next few years (when the srt version comes out). but this is dodges competition vs the focus, elentra, civic, and corolla.

and if you're rippin' SO much on dodge.. why the HELL are you on this forum? lmfao just askin

 

reminds me of the ford mustang tragedy of the late 70's when gas prices where high.

 

And if people re-elect OBOZO for another 4yrs, the world will become ONE nation and it wont matter WHO builds what or where you buy it.
Ask europe how thats working out for...."them".

 

If you think you can do better, then I expect to see you running in the next presidential campaign.

 

I'm not rippin' on Dodge - I'm just questioning FIAT's marketing and product selection for us North Americans. Like I said above, I _LOVE_ the look and feel of this car. I actually lined up to see it at an autoshow. Don't get me wrong, the Dodge trucks and Jeeps we've owned in the past have made me a lifelong fan. I have two Jeeps and two Neons here in the garages as we speak - and love to wrench Dodge stuff - albeit older stuff. If an SRT trim in this car (currently lots of rumours so far) makes some sense and has everything the Neon SRT4 did and more then you can count me in - but it'd have to beat 274hp like I mentioned above with similar trim and price, right?

It's suffering through the insolvent bailout, two European ownership changes and very strange model and platform changes that are what have left a lot of us Dodge fans (diehards like y'all or I guess a less-diehard guy like me) bewildered and lost. People in any product line here could tell a similar story: your Dakota, 1500, Jeep whatever ... has suffered change x or remarket y due to strange happenings with Chrysler ownership.

At least we both agree that a commodity car like the Neon made a lot of sense in 1995 - and still does today. Let's see if FIAT has learned from Chrysler and makes a solid go of it! A lot of North American jobs depend on their success, (speaking as a Canadian it's not just IL, MI, OH - but in my own backyard too).


I won't speak to your political process in the US, but it does appear globalization is getting a pretty bad name pretty much anywhere you go, pretty much since 2008 at least . Always wonder what caused all that?

Like I said above, I have tried to pick local dealerships where family or friends are employed over the years to buck the trend of supporting carmakers based on country or origin. We were lucky to have a Jeep family connection but the local Dodge dealership was shuttered in the downturn - so what's a guy to do?

Thank God for online parts and these communities or I'd be SOL not just for vehicles but a means to keep wrenching the Dodges I do have and love.

I guess we can just hope someone at head office actually reads stuff like these threads on boards out there and takes heed - all the marketing surveys and consumer studies in the world can sometimes not add as much value as what a few old enthusiasts can tell plainly...

 

Let's dispel some myths some of us are not objectively looking at this car...here are some "brass tacks", like the revised review from car and driver I spoke of:

http://www.caranddriver.com/news/201...nd-info-news-1

The print writeup last month was little more wordy but this does give some justice to the engines and trannies. Still cannot get over the specs on the 2.4 in the R/T. Where are the ponies... let's hope it looks a bit more like this in SRT form:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEvw0Gs2_ko

Travis Pastrana or rally fans eat your hearts out. AWD SRT? Now that would be art. At almost 500K views someone is looking at this configuration and drooling - not just us.

And for the other Canadians out there, here is our hero Cato's view on the subject. Just to remind Americans we buy Dodges too - but usually in less numbers and always a couple quarters later than you guys.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe...rticle2419500/

Common complaint up here is even though our Canuck-petro-buck is worth as much or more than USD our cars are more expensive. If Chrysler FIAT opens up the warranty specs for us I might just buy an SRT that reads miles instead of kilometers on the speedo!

This is Sergio Marchionne spelling it out at the Belvedere plant last week - Dart is not only crucial to the company's success...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tvLSLTTAOt0

Hopefully this can bring a good thread back to the car itself and away from our political posturing. Cheers Dodge fans!

 

I bought my 2003 Neon almost brand new with 153k miles on it now, and rising(original drivetrain).

And I plan on buying the dart when it comes out.

Both cars are Made in America.