Dodge Dart Blacktop

Dodge Debuts New Dart Blacktop at 2014 North American International Auto Show

• With unique wheels, select exterior colors and Gloss Black accents throughout, Dodge brand’s popular Blacktop packages offer customization from the factory, giving vehicles a sporty, sinister look the Press Release from Dodge states.

The Dodge brand is expanding its lineup of Blacktop packages to the 2014 Dodge Dart, building on the success of the Blacktop packages already offered on Charger, Challenger, Avenger, Journey and Grand Caravan. The new 2014 Dodge Dart Blacktop package will debut at the 2014 North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January.

Built to give customers a sporty, distinct look customized by the factory at a tremendous value, the Dodge Blacktop vehicles add unique Gloss Black wheels, select exterior paint colors, Gloss Black painted split-crosshair grille with Gloss Black matching grille surround, darkened headlamp bezels, as well as some unique Blacktop interior touches.

“The Blacktops have become a signature of sorts for the Dodge Brand,” said Tim Kuniskis, President and CEO – Dodge Brand, Chrysler Group LLC. “With the addition of the Blacktop package for the Dodge Dart, we’re adding to our line-up of vehicles that offer the more aggressive look that has become so popular with our customers.”

The 2014 Dodge Dart Blacktop package will start arriving at dealers in the first quarter of 2014.

The 2014 Dodge Dart shows its sinister side with the Dart Blacktop package. The new package complements the freshened 2014 Dart lineup, which features the 2.4-liter MultiAir2 Tigershark engine that produces 184 horsepower and 174 lb.-ft. of torque now standard in the 2014 Dart SXT and Limited models, and featuring a unique calibration on GT models.

The 2014 Dodge Dart Blacktop package is based on the 2014 Dart SXT model with the Rallye Appearance Group. On the exterior, the Blacktop package adds as standard equipment Gloss Black mirrors and unique 18-inch Gloss Black aluminum wheels, adding to the features already included on the SXT and Rallye Appearance Group, including Gloss Black mask and split crosshair grille, dark-tinted projector headlamps, projector fog lamps, integrated dual exhaust, LED racetrack tail lamps, leather-wrapped steering wheel, Bluetooth and much more.

The Dodge Dart Blacktop will be available in Redline Red, Header Orange, Blue Streak, Granite Crystal Metallic, Billet Silver, Pitch Black and Bright White.

The Dart Blacktop also features unique interior details, including Black/Ruby Red premium cloth interior with Ruby Red accent stitching on the instrument panel brow, center console and seat bolsters. dual Ruby Red accent stripes on the front seats. and Ruby Red accents in the door trim panels. A Black/Light Tungsten cloth interior is also available on Dart Blacktop models.

As with all Dodge Dart SXT models, the Blacktop can also be equipped with the Sun and Sound Group, which features a power express open/close sunroof, nine Alpine speakers with subwoofer, 506-watt amplifier, Uconnect 8.4 CD/MP3 radio with 8.4-inch touchscreen radio, iPod control, SiriusXM Satellite Radio with 12-month subscription, ParkView rear backup camera, floating island bezel illuminated instrument panel surround and glove box lamp, Navigation and the Cold Weather Group, which includes heated exterior mirrors, heated front premium cloth seats, tire-pressure monitoring display and remote start (with automatic transmission).

The 2014 Dodge Dart SXT Blacktop package is available at a U.S. MSRP of just $295 on the Dart SXT with Rallye Appearance Group.


The Dodge brand has 100 years of History. 2014 Dodge is building on the technological advancements of the ‘30s and ‘40s, design evolution of the ‘50s, the racing heritage of the ‘60s, the horsepower of the ‘70s, the efficiency of the ‘80s and unbelievable styling of the ‘90s as it paves the road to its future. New for 2014, the Dodge Durango “is kind of a big deal,” with a new eight-speed transmission that delivers up to 25 miles per gallon on the highway, a new 8.4-inch Uconnect Touch infotainment center and best-in-class power, towing and fuel economy, in addition to its class-exclusive technology. The new Durango joins the new 2014 Dodge Dart with its new 2.4-liter Tigershark engine, as well as the 2014 Avenger, Challenger, Charger, Journey and a 30th Anniversary Grand Caravan. This 2014 Dodge vehicles received a real plus with the   Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) Top Safety picks and Top Safety Pick +, five vehicles with best-in-class power, seven vehicles that deliver 25 miles per gallon (mpg) or higher, three vehicles that deliver 31 mpg or higher and three vehicles that offer seating for seven Dodge states.

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BRUCE HUBBARD

JB HUBBARD

BRADLEY HUBBARD

AUTO ADVISOR GROUP

 A SMALL PIECE OF THE HISTORY OF DODGE

John F. and Horace E. Dodge, sons of a Nlles Michigan machinlst, moved to Detroit at the turn of the century, briefly produced transmissions for Ransom E. Olds, and beginning in 1903, became the major suppliers of drive trains to the Ford Motor Company. They built the first Dodge in November 1914 and the new car was an instant success. When the Dodge brothers died in 1920, they employed 22,000 workers and produced 140,000 automobiles per year. Dodge Brothers Company remained an independent firm until 1928, when it became a major division of the fledging Chrysler Corporation.

The Dodge brothers outgrew their downtown plant, so in 1910 they began a new facility on a large tract in Hamtramck on the northern outskirts of Detroit. The plant initially produced machined products, forgings, and castings, all used in parts supplied to Ford. The Dodge brothers enlarged the plant significantly In 1914-1916 in order to produce their own automobile. They built the first Dodge in November 1914 and the new car was an instant success, the plant grew into an enormous complex of more than thirty buildings, where the Dodges manufactured most of the automobile except for bodies, tires and windows. When the Dodge brothers died in 1920, the plant had approximately 22,000 workers and produced 140,000 automobiles per year. Dodge Brothers Company remained an independent firm until 1928, when it became a major division of the fledging Chrysler Corporation.

In recent decades the Dodge complex has evolved into an assembly plant, as Chrysler moved the major manufacturing operations elsewhere. The 1930s was a difficult period, but the plant thrived during the Second World War, with peak employment of about 40,000. No major new construction has taken place since the early 1950s and the plant has become smaller with the demolition of peripheral buildings in the 1960s. Automation has also reduced the workforce substantially. By 1964, the plant employed only 8,000 and while some temporary increases occurred in the years following, only 5,000 worked at Dodge Main when it closed in 1980. In addition to serving as the chief plant of one of the major American automobile companies for over a half century, this manufacturing complex is historically significant in other ways. The Dodge complex represents the only major effort outside of Ford's Highland Park and River Rouge complexes to fully integrate automobile manufacturing and assembly operations on a large scale at a single site.

1920-1928

John Dodge died from pneumonia on January 14, 1920 In New York City, where he and his brother had attended an auto show. Horace Dodge died less than a year later in Palm Beach, Florida on December 10, 1920.

The Dodge children were neither able nor willing to manage the firm after their fathers' deaths, although the two widows made a weak effort to do so. The works manager, Frederick J. Haynes, became the chief executive officer from 1920 until 1925. The firm continued to grow during these years, with output reaching a plateau of about 200,000 cars in 1924-25. However, they were still well short of Ford's production of 1,675,000 cars and Chevrolet's 470,000 units for 1925. On May 1, 1925 the Dodge heirs announced the sale of the firm to the New York investment bankers Dillon, Read & Company for $146 million. Dillon held the property for three years before selling it to Walter P. Chrysler in May 1928 for $170 million.

Plant expansion continued during the 1920s, but at a much slower pace than before. Seven new buildings and one major extension added another 1.2 million square feet of space to the existing area of about 3.3 million square feet. A second Assembly Building, constructed in three segments in 1923-25, was easily the most impressive new structure. Located south of the original Assembly Building and running parallel to it, the new building was a six-story reinforced concrete design, 100 feet wide and 1,080 feet long, creating about 700,000 square feet of floorspace for the trim departments. The remaining new construction included a five-story concrete addition (1925) to the Warehouse Building; the narrow four-story reinforced concrete Main Building No, 4, built in 1926 and running parallel to the Forge Shop; three steel-framed buildings -- Heat Treat No. 2 (1925), Pressed Steel Stores (1926), and Maintenance No. 2 (1927) -- all on the northern fringe of the plant; and the Driveway Garage (1927) at the southwest comer of the complex. This was the last wave of construction.

By 1925, Dodge Main incorporated all the major production processes and departments needed to make it a fully integrated automobile manufacturing and assembly plant. Most of the castings and forgings needed to produce the Dodge car were made on the premises, along with all the required pressed (stamped) steel body parts. The machine shops housed 300 automatic screw machines, 60 cold heading machines, 325 gear cutting machines, and 215 grinders. The heat treatment department hardened about 100,000 parts per day. The fourth floors of the Assembly Building and the Pressed Steel Building, as well as the roofs of both, held 54 enameling ovens and an elaborate conveyor system to move parts and bodies through three separate painting operations. The entire complex was largely self-sufficient: the powerhouse supplied electricity, compressed air, and steam; the Construction Department handled most building and repair projects; testing of raw materials was done in physical and chemical laboratories on the premises; the complex had a staff of 475 tool makers who produced all the jigs and fixtures required; and the plant had its own narrow gauge industrial railroad with four miles of track. Dodge Main was large enough to have its own hospital, laundry, post office, fire department, print shop, photographic department, instrument repair shop, weather bureau (an aid to the enameling operations), restaurant, barber shop, and a police force of 125 men.

The Chrysler Era 1928-1980

When Walter P. Chrysler bought Dodge in 1928, he rescued a failing business which was barely meeting its payrolls. Dillon, Read & Company were un- familiar with the automobile industry and as absentee owners were not able to keep the firm operating efficiently. In 1925, the banking firm also acquired Graham Brothers, a large truck maker, and the three Graham brothers became large Dodge stockholders. During the Dillon, Read era, Raymond Graham served as Dodge general manager, while Edward J. Wllmer, a Wisconsin utility executive, was president of Dodge. By the end of 1925, Dodge had truck and forge plants located between Huber Avenue and Lynch Road (northeast of the Hamtramck plant), a small plant on Harper Avenue, and the Service Parts plant on Conant Avenue. To avoid confusion, the Hamtramck plant became known as "Main Plant" or simply "Dodge Main" from 1925 on.

Walter Chrysler's purchase of Dodge, described by one observer as "the minnow swallowing the whale," was a key element in his plan to challenge General Motors and Ford. He introduced the low-priced Plymouth and the DeSoto in 1928, so with the addition of Dodge, Chrysler had four major car lines and instantly became the third largest automaker. He built a new plant for Plymouth on Lynch Road northeast of the Dodge plant, while the older Highland Park and Jefferson Avenue (Detroit) plants produced Chryslers. DeSoto used part of Dodge Main for a brief period before moving to the Jefferson Avenue complex, Chrysler later reflected on this decision: "Buying the Dodge (Brothers Company) was one of the soundest acts of my life. X say sincerely that nothing we have done for the organization compares with that transaction. We had, before the merger, an intensely sharp spearhead in the Chrysler Corporation, but when we put behind it all of Dodge our spearhead had a weighty shaft and had become a potent thing,"

Dillon, Read & Company sold the Dodge property to the Chrysler Cor- poration on May 29, 1928 and on the following day, the new management team headed by K.T. Keller moved into the Dodge offices. Keller, the Buick master mechanic under Chrysler, rejoined him in 1926 as vice president in charge of manufacturing. Keller became a Chrysler director in 1927, president of the Dodge Division in 1929, and succeeded Chrysler as corporation presi- dent in 1935, He was so effective in streamlining production at Dodge Main that he freed up enough floorspace in his first three months to house the DeSoto Division.

Dodge Main felt the full brunt of the Depression along with other auto plants. In 1928-29, about 30,000 workers produced a quarter-million cars per year at the complex. Total production in 1932 amounted to only 28,111 units. On May 8, 1937 about 10,000 Dodge Main workers began a two-week sitdown strike to win company recognition of the United Automobile Workers (U.A.W.). The strike, the largest sitdown in American history, ended on March 25 and on April 7, the Chrysler Corporation recognized the union. War contracts revived the plant, with peak employment reaching about 40,000. Even after Dodge Main returned to civilian production, high postwar demand for cars brought continued prosperity. With the Korean War further stimulating production, 33,000 worked at Dodge Main in 1951. Since the early 1950s, employment has steadily fallen as various operations were automated or moved to other plants. Dodge Main had become an assembly plant by the early 1960s, with a capacity of 2,000 cars per day or approximately 600,000 per year. The plant employed only 8,357 production workers by June 1963 and while employment temporarily increased by as many as 5,000 in the mid-1960s, the long-term trend was downward. When Dodge Main closed in January 1980, there were about 5,000 hourly workers still employed there.

In the future we will add more to the History of Dodge.

Will update the Dodge lineup of Blacktop vehicles after the NAIAS and a test drive of each.