Dodge Goes Back to Future with New Dart

Naming a new car after a venerable nameplate from its heyday is hardly a new ploy for the Dodge brand. Dodge did it with new muscle cars such as the Challenger a few years ago.

But today marked the first time that a Chrysler Group brand has gone back to the future for a nameplate since it has been controlled by Fiat. Dodge unveiled the 2013 Dodge Dart at the North American International Auto Show this morning, a new vehicle that should prove to be the most credible entry by the company in the compact-car segment since — well, since the heyday of the original Dodge Dart.

Accompanied by puslating techno music and lights in the predictable meme of auto-show unveilings, Reid Bigland, president and CEO of Dodge, said that the brand "wanted to create a world-class compact car" because Dodge wasn't "competing" in this segment with its Caliber model, introduced in 2006. "And we approached this segment with a clean slate — no baggage."

What Dodge used to fill in the void was the mechanical platform of a vehicle by Alfa Romeo, a Fiat-owned brand in Europe. This is the first Chrysler vehicle to be built using Fiat architecture under an arrangement that had been expected to yield such benefits when Fiat accepted what was left of Chrysler from the U.S. government in 2009.

The new Dart (which fans are invited to check out on Facebook) will retail at prices starting at $15,995 — less expensive than starting prices for some models that currently dominate the segment, Chevrolet Cruze, Ford Focus and Hyundai Elantra — and at least some versions will yield 40mpg, making it competitive with Elantra and with versions of Focus and Cruze. The new Dart goes on sale in the second quarter.

Dart is loaded with technology, including a smart-phone application that goes as far as monitoring the driving speeds of drivers who might have a lead foot. It also is "a compact car with midsize-interior roominess," Bigland told reporters gathered at the Detroit auto show. "It has features and attention to detail that you would not expect in a compact car."

It also has a cool name and heritage, harking back to the Dodge Dart whose production ended in 1976. Nostalgic nameplate, European small-car heritage, solid appeal in all the major criteria — expect Dart to pick up with small-car buyers where Chrysler's 200, introduced last year as a replacement for its old Sebring, left off.