Manual-Transmission Darts Are Sticking To Showroom Floors

Jack Baruth
by Jack Baruth

The folks over at Allpar are concerned about Dart sales. The initial batch of Darts were released as “Rally” models with manual transmissions for about $23,000 — and apparently, one of the Allpar reader’s dealers has an ADP sticker on top of that! The Darts don’t seem to be selling. Not for $23,000, and not with a manual transmission.

Now the Wall Street Journal is chiming in.

“Too Many Stick Shifts Hurt Dodge Dart Sales” they say, and for proof they offer the statistic that 974 Darts found homes in June and July. That’s equivalent to 6,000 a year, which would be great volume for the Lamborghini Aventador but in the compact-car arena is a bit slow.

One dealer complained to the WSJ that people just don’t buy manual-transmission cars. There was much hue and cry about the fact that Dodge was planning to sell 20% of Darts with a clutch pedal, but let’s face it: the guy is right. This is America. If you want to shift your own gears, buy a Harley trike.

While the manuals-only rollout of the Dart was more a consequence of certain parts availability and QA issues than a legitimate marketing strategy, it can be seen as an acid test of a philosophy long-expressed on every Internet discussion arena since AOL started participating in USENET in September of 1993. That philosophy claims that if manufacturers just make well-equipped manual-transmission cars available to their early adopters, they will reap huge rewards.

It turns out that there are rewards, but they won’t be reaped by dealers or buyers. Instead, it’s your local Dodge store’s bank, which earns interest on “floorplanned” vehicles, that will be cashing in. Cha-ching!

Jack Baruth
Jack Baruth

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  • Tinker Tinker on Aug 31, 2012

    I like manuals, I learned to drive on a Chevy Suburban manual, started out with a commercial license. Drove a 5 speed w/Split axle in high school. The problem is, my wife didn't. She got her DL at 32. So when her Ford Escort Auto began to die at idle, she couldn't cope, and with my well practiced left foot on the brake, and my right foot on the gas, to keep the rpm up, I drove it to the shop. She is convinced that she can't DO that. So we have a mixed marriage. One optional manual operator, One mandatory auto operator, so we always buy an Auto. Anyone fail to understand that? Didn't think so. Just want to keep her happy, and that means she has to be able to drive BOTH CARS!

  • Brettc Brettc on Aug 31, 2012

    My manual cars: 1985 Jetta diesel 1989 Jetta Turbodiesel 2003 Jetta TDI 2002 Golf TDI My automatic cars: 1993 Golf 2.slow - the wife's 2000 Jetta TDI - the wife's 2012 Jetta wagon with DSG - primarily mine I just bought the Jetta wagon 2 weeks ago. I got a DSG because it's our new trip car and I needed something the wife could drive. I was going to buy a manual and this time successfully teach her how to drive one. But she insists that it's too hard (hehe). So I gave in and got the automatic. Because as we all know - if mama ain't happy, ain't nobody happy. In the words of Maurice Sendak...the sad thing is, I like it. It's actually a nice automatic and the manual mode is nice to have so I can still kind of have a manual transmission. Combined with the common rail TDI, it's a really nice combination. Hopefully it holds up for the long haul though.

    • Vyk Vyk on Aug 31, 2012

      brettc, I got the slushbox in my 128i for much the same reason. My wife also feels it's too hard to drive stick, so it was either a stick and we'd continue to take her Saturn L200 on trips, or an automatic and we'd take the 128i on trips. (Which would you pick?) I'm pretty pleased with it, though--it's no replacement for a third pedal, to be sure, but it's a very direct feel for a slushbox (stays locked up as much as possible) and the manual-shift mode is acceptably quick. I share your concerns about durability--one of the points against a 135i for me was the DCT. If I were leasing, it'd be a no-brainer, but I like to keep cars for a long time and have more faith in the longevity of the conventional slushbox. [Insert joke about BMW long-term reliability here.]

  • Bill mcgee Bill mcgee on Aug 31, 2012

    In my last job some of our company vehicles were sticks . It was inconvenient to have employees who couldn't drive them so we would have to teach them . Many were illegal immigrants from Mexico or Central America , who unless they had driven before coming to the U.S. usually had only driven automatics , or twenties -somethings from the U,.S. , who usually were more likely to be able to drive stick if they were women . The older employees usually had driven manuals in their younger days . The point is , it's not THAT hard to learn . If you are married and have a little patience you should be able to teach the dumb ass wife - or husband - to drive a stick . Incidentally , I remember one kid who said he could drive a stick- shift , it turned out he thought we were talking about a auto-clutch trans like he had in his car .

    • Highdesertcat Highdesertcat on Aug 31, 2012

      Brought to mind the time I had rented a pre-Volvo Mack to haul bricks, cement, tile and mortar up from El Paso, TX to my house I was building in the desert. Once there at my worksite I asked my young helper to move the Mack and the flatbed so I would not have to maneuver my forklift as much to pre-position the pallets. He drove a pickup truck so I had no idea that he could not drive a stick or manage a clutch. What a mess that was! It's hard to stall a rig, but he did it several times and I swear I smelled an overheated clutch. Maybe he tried to move it with the trailer brakes on, but the unloading took a lot longer than the loading did. Finally, I just maneuvered the forklift a lot more and took longer runs pre-positioning the pallets.

  • PrincipalDan PrincipalDan on Sep 01, 2012

    It just occured to me that the price of a manual Dart with decent options isn't far off the starting price of a Focus ST.

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