Dodge Dart could join local line-up

The Koreans starred, the Japanese mounted a comeback, and One Ford hit the headlines with an extended family of Focus-based newcomers that it is certain to make a big hit in Australia. But it was one car and the commitment of its company chief that made the most impact as America fought back on the opening day of the 2011 North American International Motor Show.

The first-born child of the new Fiat-Chrysler alliance, the new Dodge Dart is unveiled this week as Chrysler's headliner at the Detroit motor show and the jockeying has already begun to get the car confirmed for local showrooms.

It will not arrive before the second half of 2013 but, because it is based on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta already sold in Australia, there is a better-than-even chance of a go-ahead for local deliveries.

"We find out the production plan this week. We believe there is no inhibitor. If the numbers support the engineering investment it should go ahead," the managing director of Chrysler Jeep Australia, Clyde Campbell, tells Carsguide.

"We need help from the UK, South Africa and Singapore, as well as Australia and New Zealand, to band together to build the business case. If not, we've got to carry the cost ourselves."

The Dart would take Chrysler back to the compact class for the first time since it sold the good looking but underwhelming Chrysler Neon in Australia in the late 1990s.

"We're pretty keen. It's a good segment. We don't have an offering there so we'd be delighted if we could get it," says Campbell.

Early information on the Dart shows a stylish four-door sedan with the sort of punchy looks that have made the Chrysler 300C a success in Australia, with three four-cylinder engines and three six-speed, front-wheel drive transmissions, as well as five different trim levels.

Chrysler is claiming significant American input on the conversion of the Fiat Group engineering package for its local needs, and production at its factory at Belvidere in Illinois.

“Dodge is back in the compact car segment in a big way. The Dart is well-crafted, agile, powered by world-class, fuel-efficient powertrains, loaded with high-tech features that are both clever and useful, and it’s fun to drive," says Matt Liddane, the vehicle line executive responsible for the car.

The Dart is the real beginning of genuine product sharing spun from Fiat's effective takeover of Chrysler, which will see the American brand putting fresh 'top-hat' bodies on Italian platforms and Fiat tapping larger cars and Jeep vehicles for its needs in Europe.

Chrysler is touting the Alfa Romeo DNA in the car but pushing its styling work on a car which looks massively different from the Italian original.

“The Alfa Romeo-based architecture allowed us to design an exterior with great proportions that say ‘fun-to-drive’ when you look at it," says Joe Dehner, head of Dodge Design.

But one thing could easily change before the Dart makes it to Australia - the badge. Dodges are not sold downunder and Campbell hints it might need a new name here.

"It might as a re-badged product in another brand. Perhaps a Chrysler," he says.

Campbell also says the Fiat-Chrysler alliance, which might eventually see his team take over local distribution of the Italian brands from the Ateco Group in Sydney, will definitely bring more models for Chrysler.

"Obviously the platform sharing will bring further opportunities. If something is engineered in one brand, then it increases the likelihood of getting more product to our market."

But he warns against any early optimism, even if the Dart is fired from Detroit.

"We wouldn't get it until 2013. We certainly won't be getting it this year. It's a 2013 model launch late this year in the USA and we would be somewhere behind them, perhaps even in 2014."