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Lackluster Dodge Dart sales trigger layoffs

Hidden amidst the overall very positive sales figures that Chrysler released earlier this week were a few disappointments, the biggest of which may be the Dodge Dart. While Dodge sales in general were down 11 percent from a year ago, the Dart's poor figures stood out from the rest - with 4,888 units sold, the Dart was down 37 percent in February.
It comes as little surprise, then, that the automaker has announced layoffs at its assembly plant in Belvidere, IL. According to The Daily Herald, Dodge will temporarily lay off 325 workers "to balance vehicle supply with current sales demand." Put more simply, there are more Darts than buyers at the moment...
We don't think the Dodge Dart is a bad car, but it's playing in a market that offers a few standout sellers, like the Chevy Cruze, Ford Focus, Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla. According to AutoPacific analyst Dave Sullivan, as quoted by The Daily Herald, "great incentives on the Dodge Avenger" are also partly to blame for the Dart's poor showing.

SRT back to Dodge, Dart SRT, new Challenger, Charger and Caravan's death outlined in 5-yr plan

The onslaught of news from Fiat Chrysler's layout of five-year plans continued with Dodge CEO Tim Kuniskis this morning, including the unexpected announcement that SRT was coming back into the fold.
After just a few years existing as an independent entity within the Fiat Chrysler universe, an unceremonious press release hit in conjunction with today's lineup of announcements, saying "the SRT family of vehicles will be consolidated under the Dodge brand." Group CEO Sergio Marchionne thanked SRT headman Ralph Gilles for his dedication to the high-performance wing, calling out is efforts in expanding the vehicle lineup and including more customized models. He did not reference disappointing SRT Viper sales today, but we sense there's a bit of subtext.
With the SRT reunion at Dodge, it's appropriate that some of the most exciting product announcements for the next five years have to do with upcoming performance products. First out of the gate will be a refresh for that flagging Viper in 2015, which comes as little surprise.

FCA issues recall for 300k Dodge Chargers over airbag sensor

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has issued another recall, this time for the Dodge Charger. The issue stems from an overly sensitive control module that could deploy the side-curtain airbag and seatbelt pretensioner if the door is kicked or slammed too hard. The recall affects certain Charger sedans from the 2011-2014 model years, specifically those manufactured between May 6, 2010, and June 5, 2014. All told, that amounts to an estimated 322,078 units, including 284,153 in the United States, another 13,169 in Canada, 2,484 in Mexico, and 22,272 overseas. Owners of those vehicles will be asked to bring their vehicles in to their local dealers to have the Occupant Restraint Control module recalibrated, and are being advised in the meantime to "exercise caution when closing doors." If this issue sounds familiar, that's because the automaker issued a similar recall for Ram trucks just last week, affecting over 667,000 four-door pickups in the United States alone. Following a further investigation into its passenger cars, FCA found a similar problem with the Charger, whose door design mandated specific calibration of the module in question for that model. The company says it is aware of three minor injuries potentially related to the issue, but no accidents. This campaign is just the latest in a string of recall-related issues to have emerged from Auburn Hills recently. The Ram truck recall was issued in tandem with another airbag-related recall for a further million pickups. Prior to that it called in another 1.4 million vehicles to update their infotainment system software due to a security issue. Another 350,000 Dodge Journeys were called in before that to have their engine covers secured. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is expected to issue the company a massive hundred-million-dollar fine for failing to follow proper procedures related to safety and recall issues. Meanwhile, another NHTSA investigation that could have affected 4.7 million units was closed with no further action deemed necessary. And an appeal court judge in Georgia reduced the damages the company will be ordered to pay the family of a child who died in a fire in a Jeep Grand Cherokee. Statement: Occupant Restraint Control Module August 1, 2015 , Auburn Hills, Mich. - FCA US LLC is conducting a voluntary safety recall to recalibrate control modules on approximately 284,153 U.S.-market sedans to prevent inadvertent side-curtain air-bag and seatbelt pre-tensioner deployment.