Challenger

Make
Dodge
Segment
Coupe

Around this time of year, much of our time is spent pouring over manufacturer's first-quarter sales reports. They're an interesting look at what is and is not working for some of the biggest automakers out there. It's also a great way to gauge how competition between certain models is going. For example, the Ford Mustang won the muscle car wars this quarter, outselling both the Dodge Challenger and Chevy Camaro. But if you look at Stellantis/Dodge's numbers, you'll see something odd.

A singular Dodge Dart was sold new in 2022. As some of you may have already guessed, the Dart hasn't been in production for some time. Since 2016, in fact. So that begs the question: where did this Dodge Dart zombie car come from? Who on earth bought a 6-year-old car brand new? And why has it happened eleven times in the last two years?

The answer to the first rhetorical is pretty simple. Frankly, the Dodge Dart wasn't all that popular. After all, it ran for only four years before getting the ax. It also wasn't the most reliable of vehicles, per se. Regardless, it's pretty obvious that these leftover Darts are still laying around simply because Dodge can't sell them. They've been slowly selling off over the years since its discontinuation, with ten cars sold last year. However, thanks to the current market, we're betting a near-new car that's been maintained by a dealership for six years looked pretty attractive to whoever bought it.

Funnily enough, this recently-sold Dart managed to sit on the dealer lot for longer than the model itself was in production. The Dart ran from 2012-2016, while this newest sale sat on the lot for two whole years longer than that. Also worth noting is that the Dart's twin, the Chrysler 200, sold two units in the first quarter of this year. Again, we expect the story was much the same as the Dart. After years of dealer maintenance and a rough new and used auto market, that Chrysler 200 probably looked like quite the deal.

Whether these cars represent good deals or not is in the eye of the beholder. We don't have any additional info on what kind of Dart or 200 sold this year, unfortunately. The top trim Dart Limited was sold with a 6-speed auto gearbox and a 184 hp inline-4 motor, with a sportier GT trim on offer with a 6-speed manual moving the front wheels. We'll probably never know the details of the sale, but it is odd that these models are still sitting around on dealer lots. Perhaps we'll hear this story again, as it remains unclear how many unsold Darts remain in existence.