I'd rather drive a Drat.

timujin: Thrilled:
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Came for this, thanks. Were it not for Tom and Ray, I would have forgotten about the Dart years ago.

My dad owned a 1974 Dart Swinger from 1974-87. One of the most indestructible cars around, although it was really starting to show its age (and rust) toward the point he sold it to a friend. My dad told me a story about how the car got rear-ended by a Toyota, long before Toyota figured out how to make cars better than domestics. Because of the solid rubber blocks on the bumpers, there was a tiny scratch and an even smaller dent. The Toyota vaguely resembled an accordion.

/Cool Story, Dad.

Toquinha
My dad owned a 1974 Dart Swinger from 1974-87. One of the most indestructible cars around, although it was really starting to show its age (and rust) toward the point he sold it to a friend. My dad told me a story about how the car got rear-ended by a Toyota, long before Toyota figured out how to make cars better than domestics. Because of the solid rubber blocks on the bumpers, there was a tiny scratch and an even smaller dent. The Toyota vaguely resembled an accordion

my neighbors dodge dart hit the sidewalk curb at 50 mph and the front end was a pretzel. i hit the same curb with my ford fiesta at 75 and hop, skipped, and jumped merrily on my way.
so you have two 18 year old guys
the kid whose old man is going ballistic because the kid ruined the great piece of made in america automobile
and me with a euro designed front wheel drive 1978 5 speed pocket rocket americans said was cheapy and never sold well in its day but somehow is a euro rally staple.

A Dart's engine bay will hold a 426 Hemi. You think you couldn't race that light little car with that engine?

AdolfOliverPanties: This one doesn't look too bad.

This does not look like a small car. Yes it's a two door but that looks like a boat.

I had a 1966 Dart. It was a great car. The slant six was one of the best engines ever.

Ahh, the Dodge Dart, my first car. Had no idea it was a compact.

Jean Paul Sartre for Dodge Dartre

"In my journey to the end of night, I must rely not only on dialectical paths of reason. I must have a good solid automobile, one that eschews the futile trappings of worldly ennui and asks only for basic maintenance. My Dodge Dartre offers me this elemental solace, and as interior parts fall off I am struck by the realization of their pointlessness. I may not know if the window is up or down. It is of no consequence."

I owned a Dodge Dart for a few months. Then I owned a huge paperweight.

first car was a 74 Dart Custom, canary yellow with a white vinyl top, four door, slant six.

indestructible. still running when I sold it with 280,000 miles.

the slant six was enormous for the small displacement. but the thing would just not quit.

My dad owned one of the '60s Darts.

He got rear ended by a mid-'80s Hyundai.

Dart did not have crumple zones-instead, the frame bent a bit and Dad got whipped back and forth, nice whiplash case there.

Hyundai looked like an accordion.

Just to prove he's a practical man...now he drives a Hyundai, and so do I.

/although not before sampling the rounds...over the last 30 years, my family has owned two Toyotas, a Mazda, a Subaru, a Chevy, an Acura, a Nissan and a Datsun
//although to be fair, the Mazda and the Acura were given to him by his siblings, and the Toyotas well earned their reputation for indestructibility

Saw a photo of it on the news tonight.

It looked surprising well-designed.

AdolfOliverPanties: This one doesn't look too bad.

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That took a lot of polishing...

In the early '90s, I think it was, I had a '69 Dodge Dart 2-door I bought from a friend for $300. No interior headliner, no radio, no AC, but vinyl bench seats, an automatic and a 272 V-8 (or whatever the small V-8 below the 318 was). The car would go anywhere ... I got at least two multi-state road trips out of it. Nobody wanted to steal it ... it was just a tin can with a V-8.

/sigh

Ah, the Dodge Dart! You could just patch it up with duct tape and it would keep on running.

Ah, the Dodge Dart! You could just patch it up with duct tape and it would keep on running.


That's good, because it means Chrysler is basing the new Dart on an appropriate platform. You know Alfa is a good choice when TopGear say, "nobody is a true petrol head unless they've had an Alfa Romeo."

They see me rollin.. they hatin

/know it's not a real Dart, but it portrayed a Dart.

Really, it is the second sentence that is comedy gold: "Chrysler said Tuesday that it will use the Dart name for a new compact car based on Italian technology that it will introduce in the U.S. next year."

Combining the quality of Dodge and Fiat... they'll never make it off the lot without breaking down.

BRING BACK THE OMNI!

Another Dodge Dart first car here; used 1966, no AC, Slant Six 225. It had some weird electrical problem we could never run down, and would just refuse to start on occasion. Plus some kind of front-end issue, we kept going though idler arms.

On the other hand, it didn't burn oil, and that slant six inside that massive engine bay was easy to work on. It was a good first car.

Sadly, I sold it because I had access to another car, a repo from my mom's workplace credit union. It was a wonderful invention, but will never replace the automobile: The Audi Fox.

No Catchy Nickname: Ah, the Dodge Dart! You could just patch it up with duct tape and it would keep on running.

Why would you use duct tape on a Dart? Are you going to a fancy store, like Wal-Mart?

The new car is based on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta



People under 25 will drool over this thing.

Arrrr, sixteen men on a dead Dodge Dart.

Sensei Can You See: some.old.lady.: If there ever was a car that I never expected to see again, it would be the little dart ;)

My first car was a '68 Dart GT. Came with a 318; I rebuilt it and added an Edelbrock intake, Holley 600, Mallory ignition and several other goodies. AND THEN I REBUILT IT AGAIN. AND AGAIN. AND AGAIN....That sucker ran like a scalded dog.

FTFY... LOL

This is priceless:

Dart name for a new compact car based on Italian technology that it will introduce in the U.S. next year.

Yea, that'll be about as awesome as the GTO based on Australian technology. Or the "Malibu" based on, shiat.

I owned a 65 Dart slant 6 225 as my first car.
Completely stock it would easily do over 100MPH.
I did that on a dirt road, living out in the boonies at the time.
Surprisingly the bumps smooth out after you hit 70-ish. You are essentially bouncing from peak to peak at that point. Sure, you can't steer or stop in that condition, but oh what fun!
Helps to be young and indestructible with an indestructible car.

I tried that trick in my Dads car and destroyed the front suspension. Blamed it on my brother and got away with it!

tricycleracer: The new car is based on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta

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People under 25 will drool over this thing.

Hm. And some people over 35... me likey.

bradley547: I owned a 65 Dart slant 6 225 as my first car.
Completely stock it would easily do over 100MPH.
I did that on a dirt road, living out in the boonies at the time.
Surprisingly the bumps smooth out after you hit 70-ish. You are essentially bouncing from peak to peak at that point. Sure, you can't steer or stop in that condition, but oh what fun!
Helps to be young and indestructible with an indestructible car.

I tried that trick in my Dads car and destroyed the front suspension. Blamed it on my brother and got away with it!

Back then, being able to go over 100 MPH was probably impressive. These days, every car sold can easily go over 100 MPH, and, assuming the road is flat and straight and the weather is clear, without even there being any particular danger.

/I've gone 105 MPH in my 2006 Scion xA with a tiny 1.5 liter 4 banger

The UAW really should do the world a favor and just kill themselves out of shame.

pdieten:
A Dart's engine bay will hold a 426 Hemi. You think you couldn't race that light little car with that engine?

So the Mopar answer to the Chevy Monza, or vice versa?

erveek:
BRING BACK THE OMNI!

Near a friend's house, there's an Omni parked on the street. Aside from some body rust, it looks in pretty good shape, but it doesn't seem to have moved from that spot in the last few years. The other notable feature is the Antique Car license plate, which you can get in Virginia once your car reaches 25 years old.

jdjoker: pdieten:
A Dart's engine bay will hold a 426 Hemi. You think you couldn't race that light little car with that engine?

So the Mopar answer to the Chevy Monza, or vice versa?

erveek:
BRING BACK THE OMNI!

Near a friend's house, there's an Omni parked on the street. Aside from some body rust, it looks in pretty good shape, but it doesn't seem to have moved from that spot in the last few years. The other notable feature is the Antique Car license plate, which you can get in Virginia once your car reaches 25 years old.

Sounds like the engine is past 150,000.

jdjoker: pdieten:
A Dart's engine bay will hold a 426 Hemi. You think you couldn't race that light little car with that engine?

So the Mopar answer to the Chevy Monza, or vice versa?

No, more like putting a 427 in a Chevelle. Darts weren't that small like a Monza. They were about the size of a Camry.

My dad had a '72 Dart that he passed along to me wtith the standard 225ci Slant 6.
I drove it for a couple years. It had over 475,000 miles and a couple of rebuilds on the the engine before I finally sold it.
I'm told the new owner drive it home just to have it croak in their driveway as they pulled in.

Yeah? Well, Dodge Ram is an oxymoron.

"The new car is based on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, a compact sold in Europe, but will be wider and longer to handle Americans' need for more space."

It ain't MY fault them Italians is anorects!