THE 2013 DODGE DART
AT 2012 PRESS INTRODUCTION IN DETROIT
BY BRUCE HUBBARD
BONNIE LYUNCH
BRAD HUBBARD
AUTO ADVISOR GROUP
Dodge
Dart returns to North America. Introduced at the North American International
Auto show recently it was a hit for the Chrysler/Fiat Group.
Using
Chrysler and Fiat/ Alpha Romeo design and engineering experience the DART looks
like a real winner.
With nearly 1.2 million
compact car registrations in the 2011 calendar year, the compact car segment is
the largest retail segment in the United States. It represents more than 15
percent of
the U.S. new car sales and
close to 25 percent of new car sales in Canada. And it’s continuing to grow.
Sales in 2011 were up 16 percent from 2010 levels.
“The all-new Dodge Dart is
a groundbreaking car that will surprise and delight customers who want a
no-compromise, fun-to-drive car that’s a great value,” said Reid Bigland,
President and Chief
Executive Officer — Dodge
Brand, Chrysler Group LLC. “With 12 exterior colors, 14 interior color and trim
options, three powerful, fuel-efficient engines, three transmission choices,
unsurpassed safety features and world-class aerodynamics, the new Dodge Dart
sets a new standard for the compact car class.”
“The compact sedan segment
in the United States is the second-fastest growing segment in the industry, so
we’ve been playing with one arm tied behind our back,” Dodge’s Bigland stated. “When
the new Dart hits the streets, we’ll finally be back in the game, playing with
100 percent of the new-vehicle sales market.”
The Dodge brand’s re-entry
into the U.S. compact sedan segment is based off of the awardwinning Alfa Romeo
Giulietta. The Giulietta is renowned for satisfying the most demanding customers in terms of
road-holding agility and safety, with exceptional driving dynamics. The Giulietta
platform was lengthened and widened, creating a spacious compact sedan.
Loaded with innovative
technology, class-leading safety features and clever functionality, the 2013
Dodge Dart sets a new standard in the compact car segment by offering unmatched
personalization,
roominess, style, functionality and fun-to-drive dynamics.
Dodge executives state he
high-tech centerpiece of the all-new 2013 Dodge Dart is the class-exclusive
floating island bezel, which houses the segment-exclusive available 7-inch Thin
Film Transistor (TFT) customizable gauge cluster display with light pipe
surround that also houses the available classexclusive Uconnect® Touch 8.4-inch
touchscreen Media Center – the largest touchscreen in its class Dodge claims.
The 2013 Dodge Dart will
be available in five trim levels: SE, SXT, Rallye, Limited and R/T. It will be built
in the United States at Chrysler Group’s Belvidere Assembly Plant in Belvidere,
Ill. Production of the 2013 Dodge Dart will begin in the second quarter of
2012.
“The Dodge Dart was a dream to
design,” said Joe Dehner, Head of Dodge Design — Chrysler Group LLC. “The Alfa
Romeo-based architecture allowed us to design an exterior with great
proportions
that say ‘fun-to-drive’ when you
look at it. Add in the Charger-inspired ‘racetrack’ taillamps, a new, sleek
crosshair grille and piano black accents, and it all adds up to a
performance-inspired design with just the right amount of attitude.”
The Fiat Group-based Compact U.S.
Wide (CUS-wide) architecture’s low, wide and long dimensions ensured a stable “body-in,
wheels-out” stance and coupe-like silhouette. The CUS-wide platform allowed for
accentuating the fender formations and pushing the wheels as far out to the
corners as possible, creating a very stable look, which gave Dodge designers
incredible opportunities for some very dramatic sculpturing. Designers visually
stretched the skin of the car over the vehicle
framework as if stretching nylon
over a surface.
“The all-new Dodge Dart is the
showpiece for Dodge’s next generation philosophy of interior design,” said
Klaus Busse, Head of Interior Design — Chrysler Group LLC. “The Dart interior
takes the beautiful, precision-crafted interiors we rolled out last year and
adds a little bit of fun with surprises of color, eye-catching ambient lighting
and some really cool technology.”
Thanks
to Fiat’s Alpha Romeo Giulietta architecture the Dart is lengthened 12 inches
and widened almost an inch on each side for the North American market. The Dart body has one of the highest
high-strength steel contents in the industry, 68 percent, which results in a
solid rigid structure.
The 2013 Dodge Dart will
be powered by three fuel-efficient, powerful, state-of-the-art
four-cylinder engines that
add to Dart’s fun-to-drive quotient.
Drivers can select from a
new 160 horsepower Tigershark 16-valve 2.0-liter engine, a 160 horsepower
16-valve 1.4-liter MultiAir® Intercooled Turbo engine and a new 184 horsepower Tigershark
16-valve 2.4-liter MultiAir 2 four-cylinder engine. These three engines,
combined with three transmission choices — six-speed manual, six-speed
automatic or six-speed dual dry clutch (DDCT) transmission — redefine
performance by providing the most diverse powertrain lineup in its class. MultiAir
technology delivers optimum combustion at any speed under all driving
conditions by
allowing direct and
dynamic control of air intake and combustion. The result is up to a 15 percent increase
in low engine rpm torque and a 7.5 percent improvement in fuel efficiency.
The 2013 Dodge Dart
features the proven, lightweight MacPherson strut front suspension, Dodge
states was specifically tuned to minimize camber loss, resulting in more
responsive steering and handling characteristics, improved ride quality and a
reduction in road noise.
A bi-link independent rear
suspension enables European handling capability for those drivers who love to
lean into corners and the smooth ride North American drivers covet.
The all-new 2013 Dodge
Dart is the first Dodge vehicle to use an active grille shutter system. The
system automatically stops airflow through the lower intake at highway speeds when
less engine cooling is required and aerodynamic drag is most significant. When
closed, the shutter system enhances aerodynamic performance by redirecting
airflow around the front of the vehicle
and down the sides, rather
than through it. The active grille shutter system will open or close automatically
based upon engine coolant temperature and vehicle speed.
The Dodge Dart was
engineered with 60 safety and security features to ensure driver’s and
passengers’ peace of mind when traveling. The Dodge Dart starts with a
strongfoundation, a body that has a high-strength steel content of 68 percent,
one of the highest in the industry, and then adds both active and passive
safety features. Driver and passenger safety features include 10 standard
airbags: dual-stage adaptive venting front driver and passenger air bags,
front-seat-mounted driver and passenger pelvic and thorax air bags, two
rear-seat-mounted pelvic air bags, front driver and passenger knee air bags and
all-row side-curtain air bags. The Dart also features a reactive head-restraint
system; available Blind-spot Monitoring and Rear Cross Path Detection,
three-point safety belts in all five seating positions; front driver and
passenger dual seat belt pretensioners at the anchor and retractor positions
and active load limiters. These features and more all work to protect
passengers in the event of a crash. All three rear seat positions feature Lower
Anchors and Tethers for Children (LATCH).
The 2013 Dodge Dart
features 3-inch fascia-mounted twin elliptical bright exhaust tips artfully
integrated into the diffuser panel on Rallye and R/T models or when equipped
with the 1.4-liter MultiAir® Turbo engine.
“The new 2013 Dodge Dart is the
first of our next-generation interiors,” said Klaus Busse — Head of Interior
Design, Chrysler Group LLC. “We are able to give customers a well-crafted,
high-quality interior similar in its execution to that of the award-winning interior
of the Charger but infused with exciting colors, eye-catching ambient lighting
and state-of-the-art technology.”
The Dart’s signature “driver-centric”
layout is designed to put all controls within easy reach of the driver. Easily
customizable displays and comfort-tuned seats are packaged in an exceptionally
spacious, pleasing interior. Busse further states that the 2013 Dodge
Dart features the footprint and value of a compact car, combined with the
interior spaciousness of a mid-size sedan, and it boasts best-in-class hip
and shoulder room and superior
rear seat leg room compared with some mid-size sedans.
Viewing the Dart is one thing. We
cannot wait to drive and find out if all Chrysler and Fiat’s engineers and
designers is true.
Bruce Hubbard
Bonnie Lynch
Brad Hubbard
Auto Advisor Group
Autoadvisorgroup.blogspot.com
brucehubbard@earthlink.net
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