Dodge Dart missed oppurtunity

[VNTS]

Typical media drive by article, they actually sold 69000 for 2012, not bad since they didnt reach full production until June.
http://www.allpar.com/news/index.php/2013/01/chrysler-2012-production-up-18-8-percent



Originally Posted By: rjundi
Another hyped up car which is not doing that well. The CEO says they missed it resulting in a paltry 25,000 in sales last year. I don't see these driving around just like the Focus everyone was so over excited about.

http://money.cnn.com/2013/01/14/autos/dodge-dart-marchionne/

Not sure what they can do to make it appeal.

 

[JetStar]

2 or 3 of these have shown up in the parking lot at work recently. Not bad looking for a 4 door.

 

[VicVinegar]

I think I've seen one in this area, not counting the 3-4 at the Dodge/Jeep dealer 5 minutes from my house. One was in some lime green color.

IMO domestics have made strides in that market, but apparently the good vibes from consumers didn't rub off on Dodge. After initially moving to this area, I noticed how few domestic sedans there were rolling around. Every car was a Honda, Toyota, Nissan or a luxury badge. Trucks/SUVs of course had strong domestic representation. About the only time I saw a bow tie was on the back of a Tahoe.

Then about a year ago I started noticing more and more Focus and Cruzes on the highway with me on the "earlier riser" rush, which normally means longer commutes. I see more of the previous gen Fusion than I ever did other domestic mid-sizers.

I just think people still don't consider Chrysler unless you were a Mopar or Jeep guy. Maybe you can be swayed by the Hemi in a Charger, but there is no Hemi to sell the Dart. Having just shopped the compact car market briefly, there are just too many good competitors out there. Heck, I forgot the Dart existed until I saw the thread on here where the one member bought one. So I went and priced one up on the website and still had no real reason to check it out over an the Ford/Mazda/Honda/Hyundai/Chevy/Subaru.

 

[artificialist]

I live near a Chrysler dealer and there still aren't many Darts on the road.

I believe it has to do with the number of bad Chrysler products built, plus political reasons.

 

[rjundi]

Production #'s are different than sold and sitting on lots.

I read in December they had 23,000 Darts sitting on dealer lots with sales down to 4000 from 5000 previous month.

 

[GROUCHO MARX]

Sell them to fleets at a discount.

 

[E365]

Originally Posted By: rjundi
Originally Posted By: E365
I've seen literally just one Dart.

Not sure about the Focus comment, they are everywhere. It was the #6 selling car in the US in 2012 and the #11 selling vehicle in the US for 2012. Sales were up 40% from 2011.


I meant Fiesta oops.


Ah, that makes sense. Yeah, I rarely see Fiesta either.

 

[cptbarkey]

i saw two in the same parking lot at home depot. shrug.

i'm not impressed with the drivetrain, but it does looks sharp on the outside, i like the rear end alot. i would still pass it over for a hyundai or honda.

 

[asiancivicmaniac]

I like the look of this more.

The front of the Dart reminds me of the Dodge Stratus, and ours left a bitter taste in our mouths

 

[bretfraz]

Interesting comments.

We have sold a reasonable number but it has not set the world on fire. It is a very nice car, very competitive, better than most every compact car in most respects.

Pricing is an issue as is consumer visibility / awareness. Darts are not selling themselves like so many of its competitors. A Dart needs to be sold to a customer.

I've spoken to many customers about the Dart, done many walkarounds, and only a few have expressed the thoughts and comments mentioned here.

 

[SteveSRT8]

Originally Posted By: artificialist
I live near a Chrysler dealer and there still aren't many Darts on the road.

I believe it has to do with the number of bad Chrysler products built, plus political reasons.


Sadly this is true. Chrysler needs to do a LOT of work to shake their bad rep.

The Dart II is actually a great lil car!

 

[KrisZ]

I see quite a few of them around GTA, as well as Fiat 500's.
In my eyes Dart is definitely one of the better looking compact sedans currently available. Chrysler is doing quite well in Canada with their smaller offerings, which is no surprise give the price of gas around here.
What's nice is that Chrysler is actually taking notice and apparently they are planning to bring few more models, all Fiat based, to Canada but not US.

 

[NHHEMI]

I got my 1st close up look and sat in one just the other day. At 1st glance it looks pretty small and I figured no way I would ever consider one due to the size. When you are 6' 3" and 300lbs+ size matters.

However after looking at it inside and out I kind of liked it. Then on a whim I opened the door, slid the seat all the way back and cranked it down and got in. There was actually a lot of room. I actually could drive one and not feel like a sardine in a can.

Unfortunately, the pretty radical angle of the windshield compromises head room and visibility for someone as tall as I am. Long term I don't see a fit for me based on that. Other than that I saw nothing wrong with it at all. Seemed pretty nice.

I will say though I don't care for the name. Bringing back these names for me means they need to stay true to the original vehicle.

 

[itguy08]

Originally Posted By: Danh
I guess this isn't too surprising. Reputations matter and the Dart is a marriage of Fiat engineering and Chrysler production quality, both of which are damaged in the US.

The Dart could be a fine automobile and brand perceptions may be out-of-date but consumers pretty much evicted Fiat from the US marketplace decades ago and Chrysler has ranked at or near the bottom of reliability ratings for generations. With so many other good choices, why take a perceived chance with a Dart?


Bingo. When you are at the bottom of the reliability ratings from just about every place that tracks these sorts of things people tend to pass you by. And I doubt the Fiat marriage will improve things - their reliability in Europe is not that great either.

Heck, look at the valvetrain and other issues with the Pentastar V6. You didn't hear of these issues when Ford brought out the 3.5 V6, the Ecoboost 3.5, the 5.0. Even the Ecoboosts in the Fusion and Escape only had software tweaks and a leaky coolant hose. Not a bum valvetrain.

I could go on about Chrysler but until they seriously up their quality game (unlikely as it's in their DNA) they will still face an uphill battle. It will be interesting to see if the long term Ram sales will keep up or if people will realize they are not up to par and mainly "flash only" trucks.

 

[rjundi]

Originally Posted By: VNTS
Typical media drive by article, they actually sold 69000 for 2012, not bad since they didnt reach full production until June.
http://www.allpar.com/news/index.php/2013/01/chrysler-2012-production-up-18-8-percent




If you read closer they produced likely that many cars but SOLD were as stated and confirmed by CEO at the low # unfortunately. Remember during automotive crash Chrysler had acres of fields of unsold inventory.

 

[sciphi]

The Dart is a nice-looking car. I sat in one briefly, and was taken with how nice the interior looked on the mid-level trim. I didn't like how the pedals were set up, with the clutch being very high off the floor like an afterthought.

There's a market for domestic smaller cars, as I see lots of Cruzes and a slightly lesser number of Foci around me. I've only seen 1 Dart on the roads, though.

 

[rjundi]

Positive comments but no one is biting on this one. Lots of negative press/comments on the 2012 Civic (except driveline) yet it sold like mad last year. The negative was covered off with 2013 refresh that sales # did not even honestly justify.

Definitely a tough business hitting it right for sales, press, and preception.

Its not my cup of tea but the entire lineup of Chrysler/Dodge not my style.

 

[VNTS]

And if you bothered to go to Allpar you would understand that the figure in the CNN(Communist news network) is wrong, here is how Chrysler counts the car as sold.

They sold 70K units of Dart, note they didnt ramp up production until June, They also sold 94K units Patriot and 97K units Compass during 2012, roughly 260K Units from Belvidere Plant.

Marchione was refering to the fact that he wished the new 9spd auto was available so he could of mafe the car more competitive.

Below from Allpar from JTE engineer

10.These vehicles are shipped to the dealers directly and the paperwork comes from the zone (IIRC);the zone still maintains ownership of these vehicles at this point. The floorplan of the dealer has "x" number of cars available for the dealer to purchase (I will not go into the specifics as it is not relevent). If the dealer has 100 cars available his account is charged for the number shippid, if less than 100. The MCO for each sold car is then sent to the dealer upon shipping acceptance by the dealer. These cars are NOT added to the sales figures reported until SOLD TO THE END CUSTOMER.

11.The sales groups, the engineering pool, financial pool and other corporate pool cars that are delivered to various people and groups within the corp are also now sold to these groups (as lease or purchased vehicles) and the MCO is transferred ot the groups. IF a group has a normal corporate plate (which all pool cars do, for example-any NON TESTING vehicle is required to be titled by the end user-be it a group or an individual), it can finally be added to the reported sales numbers.

 

[SteveSRT8]

It should be noted that GM counts shipped as sold. Think about it. Some will get it, some won't.

Pentastar V6 issues are LESS THAN ONE PERCENT! That hardly counts as an "issue". Failure rates that low would be considered good for many makes, but too many people here believe in rag ratings and would never imagine that the overwhelming majority of the owners of ANY new car are happy with it.

I know some folks who have had bad Toyotas. But I don't write them off as bad cars because of a few problems. Buy enough cars and sooner or later you'll get a lemon. And it won't matter what brand it is or how much it cost.

 

[KrisZ]

Originally Posted By: itguy08
Bingo. When you are at the bottom of the reliability ratings from just about every place that tracks these sorts of things people tend to pass you by. And I doubt the Fiat marriage will improve things - their reliability in Europe is not that great either.


Do you or anyone you know have any experience with recent Fiat offerings, or are you basing your opinion on what you read in magazines, internet or Fiats that were sold in US long, long time ago?

My family has a pretty good experience with Fiats. These are definitely underrated cars by most people that usually NEVER owned one. Similar to regular domestic bashing by people that never personally owned them, but their father's, uncle's second cousin had terrible luck with one of GM products.

My most immediate family in Europe swears by Fiats. They usually buy them used for much, much cheaper than anything German or Japanese. French offerings come close. The parts are plentiful and cheap. Lower end models, that’s what the buy, are very reliable, simple and easy to work on.
Fiat cars are not as bad as media and internet makes them out to be.