Sales of the Dodge Dart in the US affected by the manual gearbox

There is no denying that Americans still prefer an automatic gearbox over a manual one, despite the large number of European brands that have recently started selling their products with a Stick Shift, as they call it. In the case of the Dodge Dart, this phenomenon could not be more pronounced.

The first phase of the Dart’s sales in the US only covers units fitted with a manual gearbox, of which only 974 have been sold in the two months it has been on sale. However, the executives at Chrysler foresee a better future with the arrival of the automatic gearbox, known as the Aero Dart.

The differences with the current Dodge Dart are not few, and a certain preference for the automatic Dart is understandable: while the current model has a six-speed manual gearbox and a 2-litre engine with 160 hp, the Aero Dart will feature the Fiat 1.4 MultiAir engine coupled to an automatic gearbox, with fuel consumption that would be hovering around “at least” 6 litres per 100 kilometres.

According to the current CEO of Dodge, this is a transitional stage focused on “ensuring build quality and safety”. Apparently, everyone who wants to buy a Dart is waiting for the automatic version that will arrive shortly, so the nerves have not yet started to show among the executives at Fiat-Chrysler.

Source | Autoguide