[CDJSalesPro]

I know the marketing campaign hasn't hit. But I beginning to question the wisdom in releasing the Dart as they did with only 23k Rally manual trannies. I know the automatic wasn't ready yet. But I still have my beautiful first car sitting on the front line. I expected it to be gone by now.Most of my customers want the automatic. I think if it it was a SXT auto and has a price of $19500 or less it would be gone 10times over..... Not panicking just wondering if other dealers have the same concerns.

Don't get me wrong... I LOVE this car. we just need some inventory under 20k.... With the 200 and Avenger offering up to $3750 in rebates the Dart(at 23k) looks overpriced when compared to our mid sizers.

 

[Celicaua]

Not a dealer, but the one Dart that the dealer has near me has been sitting in the same spot now for weeks. The have that slip next to the window sticker marking the price up an additional $1,400 though(so asking a little over $24k). Although that is not exclusive to the Dart; every new car on their lot is marked up $1,400 (must be a result of the record sales that Chrysler has had). I see on their website they have a gray Limited model in transit too, a manual of course.

 

[JRS200x]

No real action on ours either CJD... that being said noone really even knows its here or out yet. Don't get me wrong, we have done a few test drives and have had people looking at it, but its not a ton of traffic. All that being said we haven't had anyone offer to purchase it yet and I am not sure would sell it anyhow until the pre-spec units are closer to showing up (they are shipping out now or soon).

Not particularly worried about it, we have actually placed a few customer orders for Darts as of now but I wouldn't say we have had heavy traffic about it.

Funny enough, we have had a number of people drive right by it, its on the front line by itself on a pad, and come in and ask when we will be getting a Dart. We tell them we have one and they drove right by it and most are shocked...

 

[marlon_jbt]

Attention Chrysler:

This car will not sell without an automatic transmission on lots.

To quote my dealer: "This car would have been gone, but nobody wants to buy a stick."

That is all.

 

[Mark Koskenmaki]

Attention Chrysler:

This car will not sell without an automatic transmission on lots.

To quote my dealer: "This car would have been gone, but nobody wants to buy a stick."

That is all.

If all goes as planned, I will be buying one late this year... But not if It's an auto. That abomination will never darken my driveway.

 

[Stratuscaster]

Abomination? Really? Pretty excessive reaction, considering you aren't forced to buy one.

I will agree - while there are recent articles about how there seems to be a resurgence in demand for stick-shifts lately, automatics are still more popular.

 

[Detonator Yellow]

(Just gonna be completely unrelated here)

"Autostick was invented for the guy who wanted a stick with his family performance car but had a wife."
-Detonator Yellow

Came to that conclusion and I have had neither.

 

[Stratuscaster]

After several attempts at learning - something that's actually hard to do when you don't have easy access to a car with a stick, and those of your friends that have them aren't really keen on letting you grind the gears on their cars to learn - I came to the conclusion that, for the driving I do I didn't NEED to drive stick. My sister, bless her heart, offered to teach me.

Let the clutch out, it dies.
"Oh, you just need to let it out faster."
Let the clutch out faster, it dies.
"Hmm. Maybe you need to try letting it out slower."
Let the clutch out slower, it dies.
After quite a few attempts, I set the brake, shut off the car, and handed back her keys.

I'd still like to learn it at some point - but honestly at the time the frustration set it to the point where I saw no reason to bother with it.

About the only reason I would want to learn now would be to save almost $3000 on the price of an automatic-equipped Dart.

 

[Bj Kline]

I'm not a dealer but I've been watching the website of the dealer I do business with and they have sold 2 so far. When is the automatic coming? I am not very good at driving a stick. The one and only time I really had to do it was in a buddy's Corvette.

 

[srt4evah]

After several attempts at learning - something that's actually hard to do when you don't have easy access to a car with a stick, and those of your friends that have them aren't really keen on letting you grind the gears on their cars to learn - I came to the conclusion that, for the driving I do I didn't NEED to drive stick. My sister, bless her heart, offered to teach me.

Let the clutch out, it dies.
"Oh, you just need to let it out faster."
Let the clutch out faster, it dies.
"Hmm. Maybe you need to try letting it out slower."
Let the clutch out slower, it dies.
After quite a few attempts, I set the brake, shut off the car, and handed back her keys.

I'd still like to learn it at some point - but honestly at the time the frustration set it to the point where I saw no reason to bother with it.

About the only reason I would want to learn now would be to save almost $3000 on the price of an automatic-equipped Dart.

Regardless of how fast you let the clutch out, you have to progressively add throttle at the same time, that's why it stalled. =]

 

[duster92]

After several attempts at learning - something that's actually hard to do when you don't have easy access to a car with a stick, and those of your friends that have them aren't really keen on letting you grind the gears on their cars to learn - I came to the conclusion that, for the driving I do I didn't NEED to drive stick. My sister, bless her heart, offered to teach me.

Let the clutch out, it dies.
"Oh, you just need to let it out faster."
Let the clutch out faster, it dies.
"Hmm. Maybe you need to try letting it out slower."
Let the clutch out slower, it dies.
After quite a few attempts, I set the brake, shut off the car, and handed back her keys.

I'd still like to learn it at some point - but honestly at the time the frustration set it to the point where I saw no reason to bother with it.

About the only reason I would want to learn now would be to save almost $3000 on the price of an automatic-equipped Dart.

It really isn't that hard. Gas in Clutch out. Clutch in Gas out. As you let the clutch out apply pressure to the gas pedal. The trick is getting the car going from a stop and dealing with hills. Then you can learn the nuances from there. And the nuances are fun.

The best way to do it is to buy an old jalopy with a stick and drive it. Its difficult to learn with someone in the car standing over you. That is what I did. Drive it for six months and then resell it. Then buy the new Dart with the stick.

Driving a stick makes you a better driver IMO. You are more alert to what is going on. Its a pain in traffic, but low displacement 4 cylinder motors usually have light clutches so its not that big of a deal. It's just an extra thing you have to do.

 

[valiant67]

I learned to drive a stick when I had to. When my grandpa's Pinto died I had to borrow another relative's car to pick him up from the hospital and it was a manual transmission Chevette. Before that, it was only tractors and motorcycles.

The car that cured any desire to own a stick shift car for quite some time was my 1968 Dart with a 170 slant 6, 3 on the tree and non-synchronized first gear. And the thing is a Chrysler automatic was so much better than a Ford or GM automatic back then you didn't sacrifice as much for the auto as in the others.

 

[mastertech10]

personally sticks are better because it helps remove a lot of the distractions and auto gives you. I am originally from england and 90% are stick, if you write your test in a stick you are good for both, if you pass in a auto you are only allowed to drive and buy autos.
(few years on a visit to the u.s a friend of mine picked me up and was driving an auto, i questioned why and she said its better. she showed me over the course of the drive how it was "better" first stop for coffee, then whilst holding and drinking the coffee start texting people and driving with your elbows!!!) and she is not the only one, guess that might be why our rates are so high. haha

 

[Stratuscaster]

Thanks for the encouragement. For those of you willing to send me cash to buy this "stick-shift jalop" in order to learn, you can contact me directly.

I'll also have you sign a form to let my employer know that I'll be late to work for a while until I get this whole stick-shift thing down.

 

[Dave Z]

Just because you had a bad experience, doesn't mean sticks are bad or hard to use. It took me a LONG time to learn -- I wasn't giving it enough gas -- but when I did learn, I loved it. It adds a whole new dimension to driving. I was a die-hard automatic enthusiast before that, but I was converted and didn't get another automatic for a long time, and then only because there are no manual transmission minivans any more.

 

[Bob Lincoln]

Not a dealer, but my dealer has 3 red Dart SXTs on his website. These cars, along with the whole inventory, are discounted 10%. I'm shocked that someone thinks they can mark them up and sell them at $24K. Not gonna happen.

I sat in a white Dart at Carlisle, with 1.4L turbo and automatic. It fit like a glove. I'm 5'9" and 190 lbs. I put the seat where I wanted, and all the controls were easy to reach, read and use. My feet fit fine, dead pedal was just right. Then I got in the back and my knees did not touch the front seat. Decent room. The trunk appeared very large. Overall, I like it, and eventually when it comes time to replace my daily driver Daytona, this will be the car. I want the 6-speed manual, and I want top gas mileage with adequate acceleration, will have to drive one to see what engine suits me. Others have said the 1.4 is slow, but my 2.5L TBI with 100 hp might get the same reaction, and it's all I want.

 

[haggman7]

Took my mom to see the Dart Rallye at my local dealership. She absolutely LOVES it! I'm taking my dad tomorrow and we're going to test drive it. He's so excited. However, both my parents agreed on waiting to get one when the dual clutch automatics arrive. I feel like that's what a lot of people are doing.

 

[duster92]

Thanks for the encouragement. For those of you willing to send me cash to buy this "stick-shift jalop" in order to learn, you can contact me directly.

I'll also have you sign a form to let my employer know that I'll be late to work for a while until I get this whole stick-shift thing down.

You could also take a driving course. There are auto schools that teach people how to drive stick. Don't give up!!

 

[Moparian]

The easiest way is to slowly let out the clutch until you feel the car start to slightly move, do not use the gas. Just continue doing that until you are able to get the car rolling about 5-10mph without using the gas. Once you get that down then you start adding gas. I would hold my revs around 1500 and let the clutch out slowly once you notice the rpm start to drop then give it a bit more gas. Keep practicing that and you'll be ready in no time. Hills and actually getting going are the two hardest parts. most new Chrysler with manuals have hill start assist now.

 

[waspie]

The easiest way is to slowly let out the clutch until you feel the car start to slightly move, do not use the gas. Just continue doing that until you are able to get the car rolling about 5-10mph without using the gas. Once you get that down then you start adding gas. I would hold my revs around 1500 and let the clutch out slowly once you notice the rpm start to drop then give it a bit more gas. Keep practicing that and you'll be ready in no time. Hills and actually getting going are the two hardest parts. most new Chrysler with manuals have hill start assist now.

agreed on easiest part. find a nice level parking lot. start the car and put it in first. then, as said above, using no gas, slowly let the clutch out til the car starts to move and continue letting it out. then once moving you'll stop and repeat the same drill several times. then start adding a bit of throttle to the routine.

IMO it is important to learn that when you add throttle maintain the rpms just above idle level (~1300) as you take off from a stop. Some friends I know that drive manuals tend to let RPMs dive far too much when taking off which makes for jerky starts. I pride myself on my smooth starts without excessive revving or anything so that gets on my nerves quickly.

This Friday I took my dad to our local dealership to take it for a spin. He'd been there already to look at it but he's unable to drive it. Overall I liked it but the clutch pedal feel was very numb to me. Power seemed perfectly fine to me but I drive a 100hp diesel every day so my view is not the same as someone who drives a v6.
I was a little disappointed in something as silly as the trunk dressing. My MK5 jetta's trunk is very well carpeted and all the wires hidden. The trunk on the jetta feels like that of a much more expensive car and my dad's 200 is much the same with nice carpeting. The dart on the other hand, at $23k mind you, felt cheap. The interior was very nice, though! The seats felt amazing and had a fantastic amount of support. I really, really like the 8.4" radio. Super responsive and so easy to use.

Sorry for my part in the derailment!