Cars - Dodge Dart

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	Cars - Dodge Dart

The Dodge Dart was an automobile built by the Dodge division of the Chrysler Corporation from 1960 to 1976. The Dart was introduced as a lower-priced, shorter wheelbase, full-size Dodge in 1960 and 1961, became a midsize car for 1962, and finally was a compact between 1963 and 1976. Dodge also used the "Dart" name for a Ghia-built show car in the 1950s.

1960

The first Dodge Darts were full-size cars developed to replace the Plymouth as the low-priced car for the Dodge dealer network; Dodge dealers had been selling Plymouths since 1930, but divisional restructuring in 1960 took Plymouth away from the Dodge dealer network. The Dart was a shorter wheelbase full-size car than the standard-size Dodge line, and was based on the Plymouth platform. The Dart line was divided into three trim levels: the entry-level Seneca, the mid-range Pioneer, and the well-appointed Phoenix.

Introduced for the 1960 model year, the Dart was at once a short term marketing masterstroke. Sales of the Dart outstripped those of the full-size Dodge Matador and Dodge Polara, but it also created an in-house competitor for Plymouth. Even advertising from 1960 and 1961 compared the Dart to the "C" car (Chevrolet), the "F" car (Ford) and the "P" car, Plymouth.

As Dart sales climbed, Plymouth's sales dropped and Chyrsler's corporate heads did nothing to stop the in-fighting between the divisions. Dart sales were so strong in 1960 that Dodge had to cut back its medium-priced model lineup. The full-size, mid-priced Matador was discontinued after the 1960 model year as buyers flocked to the better-appointed and less expensive Dart Pioneer. The premium Polara was left alone to wage battle in the medium-price segment.

1961

The Dart emerged again in 1961 as the smallest full-size Dodge (118 in wheelbase), restyled to emulate but not duplicate the senior Dodge Polara (which had a 122 in wheelbase). Darts were again subdivided into three trim levels: the premium Phoenix, mid-range Pioneer, and base Seneca.

Engines choices available started with Chrysler's new-for-1960 225 in³ Slant-6 engine; the 318 in³ and 361 in³ V8s were also available in various configurations. Phoenix convertibles were all equipped with V8 engines. Beginning in mid-year, some Darts ordered with the the 225 in³ engine were equipped with the die-cast aluminum block. Darts in all series were equipped as standard with three-speed, column-shifted manual transmissions. Chrysler's pushbutton-shifted TorqueFlite automatic was available at extra cost.

But Virgil Exner's odd restyling with its reverse fins, rear fender scalloping and odd-looking concave grille was highly unpopular with consumers. There was also an adverse reaction to the low positioning of the Dart's taillights; drivers in other cars complained that they couldn't see the miniscule lights positioned just above the corner of the bottom bumper. As designed, the taillights wrapped around to the side of the vehicle to provide side visibility at night, but of the total taillight area, the majority was faced on the side of the car, not the rear of the vehicle. By mid-year, Dodge was forced to make auxiliary taillights available to consumers at extra cost through its dealer network. However, the lights were awkwardly placed near the inboard side of the reverse fins, and made the odd-duck Dart look even more ungainly.

As a result Dodge saw Dart sales drop by 53% to 142,000 units; the even more bizarrely styled Polara fared even worse by producing just 14,032 units — a whopping 67% decline from the "slow" 1960 sales year. And that was just the beginning of the bad news for Dodge in 1961:

Of the total number of Darts sold, almost half were sold in the Dart's least expensive model, the Seneca (66,100).
Combined sales of the Dart and the Polara were lower than Plymouth's sales for 1961.
Dodge ranked ninth in sales in the American market in 1961, down from sixth place in 1960.
Sales of the compact Dodge Lancer
were 74,773 units compared to its Plymouth twin, the Valiant
, which sold 143,078 units for the same year.

The Lancer aside, production of the 1961 model year saw Dodge's total production drop below that of the slow selling 1959 model year and dangerously close to the disastrous Eisenhower recession year of 1958.

1962

For 1962, the Dart was downsized as part of Chrysler's hastily planned effort to compete with what company leaders thought would be downsized large cars from Chevrolet. Chevrolet actually fielded a genuinely full-size car, and the Dart was perceived more as an intermediate than as a true full-size car. The Polara shared the body change with the Dart, but was offered in higher trim. Dodge dealers voiced their displeasure at being unable to offer consumers a true "full-size" car. To placate its dealer network, Chrysler hastily created the Dodge Custom 880 by mating its 1961 Dodge Polara front clip to its 1962 Chrysler Newport's de-finned body. Debuting in January 1962, the Custom 880 helped to remind customers that Dodge indeed offered a full-size car.

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Cars - Dodge Dart

1960

1961

1962

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