Creating a joint-venture can be very helpful when at least one of the interested automakers finds itself in distress, or just wants to expand its operations. The intention is to use each part’s own tools for the sake of the group, looking for sharing the costs while increasing the profits. However, one of the most important steps of those unions turns out to be one of the most tricky: projecting the first shared vehicles. There have been several terrible examples on this area, but Fiat-Chrysler is managing to do very well.
Even though this task looks somewhat similar to a couple having children, for automakers it becomes so hard to perform because the concept of “correct” for them is the opposite: while the new parents get happier when their newly born turns out to have a combination of their characteristics, the goal for a new vehicle is to expose only the values of the brand under which it is released. After all, these are precisely what make a customer loyal to it, and not to another company – some examples of that are Citroën’s concern with the design, BMW’s with sporty driving and Volvo’s with safety. Therefore, vehicles derived from a shared project can only be successful if they preserve at least most of such values. This topic results so important for Chrysler and Fiat because they both had some problems with that, the last ones at the last decade: the first tried to sell Crossfire as a stylish futuristic coupe in 2004, but sharing 80% of its parts with the first Mercedes SLK, which had nothing to do with any other Chrysler and was already being dropped at that time, didn’t help the new car’s sales. Fiat, on the other hand, tried to sell the entire first Suzuki SX4 in Europe as Sedici, but didn’t succeed either.
With such experiences from both sides, it isn’t surprising at all that these two’s first “children” were created so carefully. Yes, Fiat Freemont and Lancia Flavia, Thema and Voyager are rebadged Dodge Journey and Chrysler 200, 300 and Town & Country, but each group is offered in different markets. The new sedan becomes different because it’s the first Dodge to have Italian genes: Compact U.S. Wide is one of Fiat’s new platforms to be used with the group’s future releases. That attention with the exposed values is observed with the fact of Dart sharing only structural parts. Leaving everything but structure and powertrain to Dodge enabled it to truly deserve being part of the brand’s recent decision of reviving classic names, such as Challenger and Charger. The pictures show a very well-designed car, whose combination of smooth and strong lines makes the car opulent without looking too long. Not to mention that the European trend of using three-dimensional elements, visually integrated to the entire body is an excellent match to one of Dodge’s most typical values: Dart looks naturally sporty, with no need of extravagant accessories. Another interesting feature is the central console, whose design was inspired on Dart’s own full-width LED tail lights.
There’s the same black-and-chrome combination as in other Dodges, but with much more lines than what was seen on Caliber. Actually, this time there will be only a sedan, not a compact crossover: the 72-inch width and 106.4-inch wheelbase come with new structural specifications to suit North-American tastes, including die-cast aluminum suspension, electric power steering as standard and several aerodynamic improvements: the car’s smooth design’s potential is enhanced with active front grille, special underbody panels and laser-brazed roof, everything tested in more than 600 hours of wind tunnel to reduce internal noise and fuel consumption. Dart’s item list wants to raise the compact category’s standards, including Uconnect infotainment system with 8.4-inch touchscreen and voice recognition, Alpine audio system, keyless entry and start and digital 7-inch dashboard, divided into SE, SXT, Limited, Rallye and R/T trims. The powertrain will combine both automakers’ engines: there will be the Tigershark 2.0L and 2.4L and the MultiAir 1.4L, along with three six-speed transmissions: manual and single-clutch and dual-clutch automatics, depending on the engine. This car will start at US$ 15,995.
