[MP81]

http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/9-general-discussion/207274-now-time-buy-august-1-14-2017-a.html

2018s coming in soon, I'm guessing?

 

[MP81]

The best time for GM to start discounting is around March every year. And specifically to order a car before the model year change (with nice deals for returning customers). Maybe GM would know better when to wind down inventory, dealers get a clue what to order, and more people get the car they want instead of just getting what's left.

They heavily overproduced the first half of the year, so inventories are way too high - hence why this is happening.

 

[MP81]

Probably to a crossover. Nobody is buying cars.

 

[MP81]

To literally anything else because they probably test drove it and realized that the Dart was such a miserable piece of junk.

I had one for evaluation for a week (a loaded Limited with the 1.4T and DDCT), and it wasn't too bad, actually. But the 1.4T was the engine to get in that car, and they removed it from all but the Aero, for some unknown reason. The exhaust note was almost like that of an Abarth 500, just a bit quieter - real snarly. The interior in the car was the high point, really. It handled competently enough, but it was heavy and too large for the segment - and that DDCT...my god...dreadful. It added a full second to the 0-60 time compared to the manual (which, itself, was already terrible - but the better option).

I had one time where it seemingly forgot its US programming (where they tried to make it mimic a torque-converter automatic), and it was absolutely ripping off gear changes, with the dual-clutch-characteristic burp between each. But it only did it once, and then it was back to slow and confused.

Then they made the horrendous 2.4L the "high-performance" engine across the board, and further cemented the Dart as something I did not want to own.

It did decent on fuel economy, considering it was winter out, and I used remote start a lot. I did run it on Premium, though, as that is what the 1.4T wants.

http://www.fuelly.com/car/dodge/dart/2013/mp81/248739

 

[MP81]

I drove a manual 1.4T aero.

The high point of the interior was uConnect and the dash cluster; otherwise, it felt cheap (especially the seats) and nowhere near the other Chrysler products. The engine was super laggy below 3000 RPM and nearly undrivable with the AC on. My foot caught on the bottom of the dash when pushing in the clutch no matter where I put it, and I don't have big feet. Handling felt chintzy and heavy.

The Fiat 1.4 does sound amazing though.

2/10 would not buy.

The Aero is lesser appointed, with a lot less of the "good bits" mine had, since it was focused on managing some of that too-much weight.

And in order to get the 41 mpg it was rated at, you had to run premium. And I've definitely heard the complaint of catching your foot on the dash when coming off the clutch quite a few times...

Someone asked my wife why we didn't even consider a Dart Aero when we got our CTD, and it was pretty easy: no leather (and, of course, significantly more torque and MPGees).