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Hmmm....Mitsubishi front with the Charger talight treatment. I think it look pretty cool...BUT how it drives & how reliable is another story. My stepdaughter has a 07 Caliber & I hate driving that car.....CVT transmisiion,,,,,ugh....

Kewl,a Porta Potty under the passenger seat.

...the "Baleen Whale" grill has got to go (fugly)!

I do agree with the notion that this is what the next Neon should have been, and let's forget the Caliber ever happened. I read yesterday how someone with Chrysler joked that they held a funeral for the Caliber but nobody showed.. Personally, I like it! Looks like they finally have something competitive in this segment, I think they did good job on it. Can't wait to check 'em out when they hit the dealers.

The grille looks fine to me. Looks a lot like a Ford Focus. I'd want a hatchback or wagon version.

Hmmmmm is it just me or does this a lot like a Mitsubishi Gallant?!?Just did a little research and sure enough, FIAT and Mitsubishi are related via Chrysler!! Remember the Dodge Raider among other Mitsubishi rebadged offerings? http://www.toomanycars.info/Ca....htmlMitsubishiDave

Europe gets a hatchback version! The Alfa Romeo Giuletta is what this car is based off of. Sounds promising from a chassis standpoint, provided they didn't dumb it down too much for our unsophisticated tastes. The new Dart certainly looks Mitsubishi. And the same bumper styling like Hyundai is using on everything now. And from the side, I see the last Neon (I'm sure that was intentional) and maybe the last gen Elantra. Can't mistake it for anything but a Dodge from the back end though. Lots of derivative styling with this thing. But it's not related to Mitsu unlike so many prior Chrysler offerings, this is mostly Fiat. 2 of its 3 engine options were a product of the Chrysler/Mitsubishi/Hyundai joint venture though.I gotta admit, I'm in love with that TFT gauge cluster. Certainly more crap to break, but there's just so much you can do to customize it. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...lated

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Cute Dodge Dart Hatch is testing..... in CHINA!
http://www.chinacartimes.com/2013/09/05 ... ing-china/

Havent seen many Darts on the road here in South Fl....not too many sales ??? Its funny how Dodge styling seems GREAT in the 1st year or 2 but they dont age well at all. I loved the Challenger & Magnum when they 1st came out, but WOW the Magnum looks DATED already.....the Challenger only looks good when lowered. Its such a tall car....kinda like a toaster on wheels. Wow, its sure heavy & the top of the line Challenger is pushing 40K & almost 4000 lbs....not that great performance for the price at all ! I would take a USED 05 - 09 Mustang GT any day !

Eh, the Dart looks okay to me. Not quite as aggressively desirable as a Focus or Fiesta or Lancer, but it's okay.

I agree with you on the Challenger - they are just freakin' huge. Must be lowered to try and reduce some of that visual mass. I still love the Magnum - if only the current Charger front end would fit on an old Magnum that would be cool.

cptnsolo77 wrote:Its funny how Dodge styling seems GREAT in the 1st year or 2 but they dont age well at all.

I test drove a dart last week, on a lark, and was unimpressed with the fit and finish of the body work. Especially where the bumpers meet the deck lids, and the gap between the trunk and the fenders looked to be 2mm wider on the driver side as compared to the passenger side.
From a distance it's a nice looking car, and it did drive well, at least in the sub-40mph in-town drive. Interior was comfy too.

The Dart is a Fiat. Anybody remember the Fiat 128, upon which the Yugo was based?
I remember them both, and that does it for me.

Vulcan05 wrote:The Dart is a Fiat. Anybody remember the Fiat 128,

I do! I owned a Fiat 128-sl for 9 years. It rusted very badly in the "Rust Belt" winters and likely would have had to be junked due to rust after 12 years or so. It actually died of a rear-end accident at age 9. Except for the body rust issue, the Fiat 128 was a wonderful car to drive. Independent rear suspension, front disc brakes, and rack and pinion steering made it a sporty drive. The 1300cc engine was the best auto engine I have ever owned! it revved freely to red-line under load and emitted a sweet banshee scream at high rpm and full throttle. I'm getting goose-bumps just thinking about it! I loved the little 128, and so did Enzo Ferrari according to Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fiat_128
"Fiat promoted in its advertising that mechanical features consumed only 20% of the vehicle's volume and that Enzo Ferrari drove a 128 as his personal vehicle."[3] The model was voted European Car of the Year for 1970.[5]"
Dodge Darts' "lack of sales" problem is not that it has FIAT DNA, It's that it didn't get enough! IMO.