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DETROIT — Dodge will resurrect the Dart name with its new compact, the first Chrysler Group product for North America to be built on a Fiat platform.

The 2013 Dart, which will be assembled in the first half of 2012 at Chrysler’s Belvidere, Ill., plant, will have a variety of four-cylinder engine options, including a new, improved version of the 2.0-liter and 2.4-liter World Gas Engine known as Tigershark.

The Dart will debut with a Fiat-derived 6-speed dual-clutch front-wheel-drive transmission but will be available later with a new 9-speed transmission coming from ZF Group. The latter will be built in South Carolina.

Back to the ’60s

The Dart debuted in 1960 as a smaller car for the brand, and sold more than 622,000 units in its first three years of production, according to the Chrysler-centric site Allpar.com. Available with a variety of engines, including Chrysler’s popular “slant six,” the car sold well throughout its 16-year run, and was one of Chrysler’s first unibody vehicles.

Dodge last used the name in the 1976 model year in the United States, though sales of international versions of the Dart continued until 1981.

The historic Dart came in a wide variety of configurations, from an economy version to high-performance versions called “Swinger” and “Demon” in the early 1970s that featured a 340-cubic-inch V8.

The 2013 Dart is the first of at least eight upcoming Chrysler Group vehicles that will be built on Fiat’s CUSW platform, including the replacement for the Jeep Liberty. The Dart will make its official debut at the 2012 Detroit auto show in January.

The 2013 Dart will compete against such fuel-efficient vehicles as the Chevrolet Cruze and Ford Focus, and will ultimately come in an “eco” model that achieves at least 40 mpg. Once that version becomes available, Fiat will receive the final 5 percent of Chrysler Group stock under the agreement that allowed the company to emerge from bankruptcy in 2009.

Read more: http://www.autonews.com/article/20111206/OEM04/111209929 ]]> http://webautoshopper.com/2011/12/dodge-resurrects-the-dodge-dart-for-2013/feed/ 0 http://webautoshopper.com/2011/12/2012-jeep-wrangler-is-a-hit/ http://webautoshopper.com/2011/12/2012-jeep-wrangler-is-a-hit/#comments Tue, 06 Dec 2011 19:31:39 +0000 Editor http://webautoshopper.com/?p=8

Wrangler stands out

The Jeep® Wrangler — with a new, more powerful engine and a five-speed automatic transmission added for 2012 — stands out in the wilderness and the marketplace, the Associated Press said.

Four Wheeler, an opinion-leading off-road enthusiast magazine, this week selected the new 2012 Jeep® Wrangler Rubicon for its “Four Wheeler of the Year” award.

The Wrangler Rubicon “owned nearly all aspects of off-road testing” as its “universal do-all capability allowed the Wrangler to outperform competing 4x4s,” Four Wheeler Editor John Cappa said.

The Wrangler continues to grow in both popularity and prowess, the website Autoby-tel.com said. The 2012 Wran-gler comes with all-new and more premium interiors, plus it now has more power, a tougher chassis, improved on-road handling, and greater fuel economy, Autobytel.com said.

Car Review Soup said there is “only one Jeep and if that is what you hanker for, the four-door Rubicon will carry your rucksack, tent and a family of four on a rugged outdoor adventure.”