#DodgeDart

You’ve got to give Sergio Marchionne credit for at least one thing: he’s a masterful negotiator. The Italian-Canadian FIAT exec bluffed General Motors into paying $2 billion for the right to NOT buy the Italian company. He went on to acquire a controlling stake in Chrysler for no cash. Instead, FIAT agreed to provide the auto maker, hollowed out by Daimler and Cerberus, with powertrains and platforms. Three years after that deal, Chrysler has introduced the first car developed for North America around FIAT innards, the compact Dodge Dart sedan ( pre-production review).

After seeing this 1968 Plymouth Valiant a couple of months back, I kept my eyes open for an example of the Valiant’s Dodge sibling languishing in one of Denver’s self-serve wrecking yards. Last week: pay dirt!

The last time Chrysler made a serious attempt at the C-segment was in 1995 with the Neon. High initial sales were soon followed by less-than-stellar crash scores, a redesign that put off buyers, the death of the Plymouth brand, and the unholy offspring that was the Dodge Caliber. With Fiat needing to add a “ 40 MPG CAFE” vehicle to the fleet to continue their acquisition, the Dodge Dart was born. This first fruit of the Fiat/Dodge marriage isn’t just a rebadged Alfa Romeo Giulietta (pronounced Juliet-ta), and there’s a reason for that. Dodge wants a bigger part of the pie since sedans account for 80% of the compact segment. Rather than “sedanify” the Giulietta, Dodge took the extra step of crafting an entirely new vehicle that shares little with the Italian organ donor. Can some Italian spice give Dodge what they need to compete with the growing compact sedan segment? Dodge invited us to a regional preview event to find out.

Dodge dealers looking to get their hands on the 2013 Dart are in for a bit of a surprise – their allocation of the new compact sedan will be based on how many units of the wretched Caliber they sold before the car was killed off.

Following the product-centric interview Marchionne gave to Automobile (which is still not available online), Sergio Marchionne revealed even more Chrysler/Fiat product plans at a media event last week.

An article in Automotive News lavishing praise on the Chrysler/Fiat [s]merger of equals[/s] marriage inadvertently spilled the beans on a couple upcoming products from Marchionne’s minions.

Looks like the Dodge Dart will apparently break 40 MPG adjusted in the end…but you’ll need a special option package to do it, just like its chief domestic rivals, the Ford Focus and Chevrolet Cruze.

[INSERT JUVENILE QUIP ABOUT THIS CAR’S NAME AND HOW MUCH IT SOUNDS LIKE ANATOMY]. Just kidding. We’re not that silly. Here’s a look at the Fiat Viaggio aka the Dodge Dart for China.

Dodge has released pricing for the 2013 Dart compact sedan, and the base SE will go for $15,995. The most expensive R/T model will top out at $22,495.

Debuting at the Beijing Auto Show on April 23rd is the Fiat Viaggio. If it looks familiar in these teaser shots, that’s because it’s a Dodge Dart with a different badge.

Chrysler will hire 400-500 new workers to help build the upcoming Dodge Dart compacts at its Illinois plant. The workers will be added to the plant’s current shifts.

A USA Today interview with Sergio Marchionne revealed some interesting details about Chrysler’s future product plans – among them, a wider adoption of the Dodge Dart/Alfa Romeo Giulietta platform, a possible small hatch dubbed the “Chrysler 100” and Alfa Romeos built on American soil.

With all of the leaks, it’s not so easy to be surprised at NAIAS. But I managed to learn a thing or two by attending. My top dozen takeaways:

1. Compared to a Lamborghini, a Ferrari seems…normal. Which isn’t necessarily a bad thing.

Chrysler is facing a dilemma straight out of “Sophie’s Choice” – whether or not it should kill the wretched Dodge Avenger to help the marginally better Chrysler 200 thrive. But words straight from the mouth of Dodge boss Reid Bigland made it seem like it’s all but a done deal.

What don’t you know about the Dart? I will tell you something: it is spacious inside. The rear seat is no-kidding suitable for full-sized adults In fact, it’s quite nice to sit in, front and back. Click the jump for some comments from Speed:Sport:Life’s Byron Hurd: