Dodge revives Dart nameplate for new compact car

[ozpont]

Dodge revives Dart nameplate for new compact car
DALE JEWETT 9:22 am, December 6, 2011

http://www.ksl.com/?sid=18378477&nid=460

Dodge's new small car will revive another of the brand's historic names--Dart.

The 2013 Dart, which is based on a variation of a Fiat platform, makes its debut next month at the Detroit auto show.

The Dart rides on Chrysler's Compact U.S. Wide (CUSW) platform, a widened version of the platform Fiat uses for vehicles such as the Alfa Romeo Giulietta. Chrysler says 68 percent of the Dart's unibody is made from high-strength steel, which gives the car a rigid structure while keeping weight down. The Dart will also be fitted with a four-wheel independent suspension.

Buyers can choose from a trio of four-cylinder engines, some of them branded Tigershark. Two engines will use Fiat's MultiAir variable valve technology for better fuel economy.

The engine lineup is:

-- A 2.0-liter, 16-valve Tigershark four-cylinder.

-- A 1.4-liter, 16-valve turbocharged and intercooled four-cylinder MultiAir engine.

-- A 2.4-liter, 16-valve Tigershark MultiAir four-cylinder engine.

MultiAir regulates the intake valves for each cylinder independently. The technology is designed to increase engine power and torque 10 percent while slashing fuel consumption and emissions by up to 10 percent.

Dodge says there will be three transmission options. It did not release more details. But Chrysler and Fiat have been developing a dual-clutch transmission and is licensing a new family of multispeed automatics from ZF Friedrichshafen. A continuously variable transmission could be another option.

The 2013 Dodge Dart will be built at Chrysler's assembly plant in Belvidere, Ill.

Chrysler originally used the Dodge Dart name from 1960 to 1976, when it was replaced by the Aspen nameplate.