When Dodge pulled the plug on the Dart back in 2016, nobody expected the compact sedan to have much of a shelf life. It wasn’t a sales hit that they had hoped for, and the company itself openly admitted it was one of the least profitable projects in its modern history. And yet—here we are in late 2025—where Dodge somehow managed to sell six brand-new Darts in the third quarter. Yes, you read that right. Six.
A Car That Outlived Expectations –
The Dodge Dart was introduced in 2012 as a stylish, front-wheel-drive (FWD) compact designed to give Dodge an entry into the growing small sedan market. Reviving a name once used on beloved Mopar muscle, the Dart was intended to replace the Neon and offer Dodge buyers an economical option. Unfortunately, sales never really took off like Dodge had hoped, and Fiat Chrysler eventually decided to phase it out. By September 2016, the last Dart rolled off the line at Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois.
Despite its short life, the Dart still managed to leave behind a decent production footprint. According to GoodCarBadCar.net, Dodge sold a total of 300,289 units in the U.S. between 2013 and 2016. The numbers broke down as 83,388 in 2013, 83,858 in 2014, 87,392 in 2015, and 44,050 in its final year. While respectable for a compact sedan entering a crowded market, those figures ultimately weren’t enough to keep it alive against the rising tide of crossovers and SUVs.
During a press conference in Detroit the following year, FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne was blunt about the car’s failure: “I can tell you right now that both the Chrysler 200 and the Dodge Dart, as great products as they were, were the least financially rewarding enterprises that we’ve carried out inside FCA in the last eight years. I don’t know one investment that was as bad as these two were.”
The Mystery of the Leftovers –
| Dodge Brand U.S. Sales Summary Q3 2025 | ||||||
| Model | Q3 Sales | Vol % Change | CYTD Sales | Vol % Change | ||
| Curr Yr | Pr Yr | Curr Yr | Pr Yr | |||
| Dart | 6 | 1 | 500% | 6 | 1 | – |
| Viper | 0 | 0 | 0% | 0 | 1 | – |
| Hornet | 2,839 | 3,848 | -26% | 8,486 | 15,566 | -45% |
| Charger | 238 | 5,104 | -95% | 1,868 | 31,980 | -94% |
| Charger Daytona | 2,776 | – | – | 7,075 | 0 | – |
| Challenger | 222 | 3,657 | -94% | 1,723 | 24,874 | -93% |
| Journey | 13 | 0 | – | 17 | 0 | – |
| Grand Caravan | 8 | 0 | – | 9 | 2 | 350% |
| Durango | 20,018 | 13,949 | 44% | 54,417 | 46,870 | 16% |
| Dodge Brand | 26,120 | 26,559 | -2% | 73,601` | 119,294 | -38% |
So how in the world are new Darts still popping up nearly a decade later? The best answer is that these cars were stashed away somewhere in dealer stock or tucked into storage lots and simply never moved. Every so often, one resurfaces and ends up on the sales charts as an oddball footnote. It’s not unusual for discontinued cars to trickle out of inventory years later, but six in a single quarter is a notable achievement, especially eight years later.
And the Dart wasn’t the only Dodge zombie car to make an appearance this year. Alongside it, dealers also managed to move 13 leftover Dodge Journeys and eight Dodge Caravans—both models that ended production in 2020. Like the Dart, these vehicles occasionally creep back onto the sales books after sitting in the shadows of storage yards or dealer back lots. It’s a reminder that old inventory can sometimes hang around much longer than expected, quietly waiting for the right buyer to come along.
The Brotherhood of Dart Owners –
For all its struggles, the Dart still has a small but loyal following. Owners often take pride in their sedans, highlighting their comfort, fuel efficiency, and distinctive Dodge styling. It’s not a muscle car, but it carries the badge—and that still means something.
So if Dodge can still sell Darts in 2025; who knows what’s hiding behind dealership walls? But for now, the Dart remains the unexpected comeback kid of the Dodge lineup—alive and selling, long after it was declared dead.
