It was only a matter of time before this kind of thing happened. Fiat said all along it was going to bring its platforms to North America to backstop the Chrysler and Dodge brands and here’s the first one.
Let the lynching begin.
“Sorry but two words … junk it … it’s not a Dodge Dart …” writes someone on Dodge’s own Facebook “fan” page.
“I think it is ugly and doesn’t deserve the DART name!!” writes another seething soul on the Auto Shift Weekly Facebook page where a half dozen 2013 Dart photos are posted.
“I have a 1969 Dart (and) this is nothing like it in any way, shape or form.”
OK, we get the picture.
The new Dart is not an old Dart and it doesn’t look like an old Dart. Was it supposed to? Did someone at Dodge say it would? Or is that naturally assumed just because of the name?
Using an old name doesn’t mean that the old car comes with it. History is littered with examples of badges put on cars that were never intended to pay homage to the original, so why the outrage?
To put it rather mildly, Dodge fanatics are, well, exactly that. And then some.
“Italian crap, please, burn it to the ground! Dodge will never be FIAT!” writes another “hater.”
Many are still angered by the fact the current Charger has four doors and not two, even though the new car is light years ahead of the original in terms of performance and comfort.
It’s ironic, really, that those same people are trashing the Dart as nothing more than a badge on a Fiat. You don’t see them trashing the coveted Dodge Challenger because it’s essentially a two-door version of the maligned Charger, do you? Far from it.
So, if it’s about the name and the number of doors, why wouldn’t Dodge just call it something else in the first place, like Giulietta as the hatchback platform is known back in Italy?
Likely being sensitive to the Fiat-izing of the Dodge brand ‘ which Fiat saved, by the way ‘ what better way to keep the connection with Dodge than to saddle what is largely an Italian compact car with an all-American one-syllable name: Dart.
But, Dodge fans are terminally nostalgic and no amount of song and dance is going to convince them that the new Dart by Fiat is deserving of the Dart badge.
“We want nostalgia … and not just by use of a ‘name.’”
Nostalgia?
The naysayers have foggy memories of what the old Dart was actually about: it’s appeal was as a four-door grocery-getter and by the mid-1970s it was a cheaply made one at that.
Of course, the romantics recall the sporty two-door models of the late 1960s and early 1970s that reached star status with their ability to take down cars with much larger engines.
In reality, they were a very small piece of the Dart pie. And the reality today is that Dodge needs a small car to sell as a competitor to the Ford Focus, Chevy Cruze and Hyundai Elantra, and not another rear-wheel-drive V-8 tire fryer like the Challenger SRT8 392.
And here it is. Available only as a front-wheel-drive sedan, 2013 Dart will be available with one of three four-cylinder engines, all of which are from Fiat, which is no problem since there are no other Dodge products to donate the powertrains.
The first is a 160-horsepower 2.0-litre four-cylinder. Optional is the 1.4-litre turbocharged “Multiair” four-cylinder. This will be the best choice for fuel economy and all-around power. It’s lifted from the Fiat 500 Abarth model.
Multiair is a term that describes the variable intake-valve timing. There is no camshaft to actuate the valves. Instead they are controlled hydraulically by electronics, which means the valve timing for each cylinder can be tailored cylinder to cylinder and depending on engine revs and load. At the top is a 184-horsepower four-cylinder 2.4-litre non-turbo Multiair.
If you spend enough time examining the car, you just can’t dismiss it based on its name or the fact it’s part Italian … from an Italian company that happens to own Ferrari.
Perhaps this Facebook post sums it up.
“… it’s all good for me, name and all. Who cares where its origins come from, a real good move on Chryco’s part. I don’t hear anyone complaining where the Cruze or the Fiesta actually comes from! I think they finally got this right … time will tell.”
