“Getting the Dart done became more important than getting it right,” Brinley says.įiat’s desire for control of Chrysler collided with delays to a nine-speed automatic transmission the company wanted to use in the Dart, Larry Vellequette reports in Automotive News. Once it did, the UAW’s health care trust would hand over 5% of Chrysler’s stock to FCA, smoothing the ground for a stock offering and other changes CEO Sergio Marchionne planned. That’s at least, in part, because Fiat’s deal to acquire Chrysler during the recession included a pledge to build a car that got 40 mpg on the highway. “The Dart felt a little rushed,” IHS Automotive senior analyst Stephanie Brinley says. Even in an era of low gasoline prices, claiming the best fuel economy generates headlines and gets buyers’ attention. “The Dart had no built-in customer base.”įiat Chrysler made it easy for customers to ignore the Dart, launching the car with ho-hum fuel economy and performance. “People don’t have a history of going to Dodge dealerships for small cars,” Edmunds senior analyst Jessica Caldwell says. It was not the clear leader in any area that drives customer demand. I’ve driven Darts thousands of satisfying miles, but there was never a moment when the Dodge declared itself to be the best car in its class. The Dart had appealing looks, a roomy interior, fine handling and a very good navigation and voice-recognition system. Much better than the inept Dodge Caliber that preceded it.
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