Official: 2013 Dodge Dart production kicks off in Belvidere [w/video]

Filed under: Budget, Sedan, Plants/Manufacturing, Videos, Chrysler, Dodge, UAW/Unions

The 2013 Dodge Dart's trajectory towards dealer lots has officially begun. The first Dart rolled of the line at Chrysler's Belvidere Assembly yesterday, en route to a late June appearance at your local Dodge showroom.

Belvidere's future was uncertain after the poor reception given its previous product line, the Dodge Caliber and its Jeep platform mates, the Compass and Patriot. The Dart launches with more promise than any product since the original Neon, which began production at the Illinois plant in 1995.

While Belvidere has been open since 1965, it has had a long history of building inexpensive Mopar models since the Dodge Monaco and Plymouth Fury went out of production in the late 1970s. Belvidere built Dodge Omnis and Plymouth Horizons through the 1980s, and the K-car-based Chrysler New Yorker and Dodge Dynasty before retooling for the Neon.

Belvidere was also home to several of Chrysler's awesome budget performance models, the Shelby GLHS, Neon ACR and Dodge SRT4. Here's to hoping that it can soon add a hot-rodded Dart to that resume.

Scroll down to see video of the event and read the full press release.

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2013 Dodge Dart production kicks off in Belvidere [w/video] originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 08 May 2012 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.autoblog.com/2012/05/08/2013-dodge-dart-production-kicks-off-in-belvidere-w-video/

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