Why is the Dodge Dart such a slow seller?

The Dodge brand was a part of the Chrysler Corporation which became Daimler Chrysler in 1998.

Dieter Zetsche (Dr. Z), Daimler's mustachioed CEO (pictured) appeared in a series of interesting Chrysler commercials like the one below.

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When the all-new Dodge Dart first appeared at last year's Detroit Auto Show, the media was excited. It marked the revival of a once-admired automobile brand and the first major collaboration between Chrysler and Fiat the new Italian owners.

The new Dart was a reasonably priced compact sedan offering an appealing range of options.

The public acceptance of Dart has been less than enthusiastic and Chrysler executives have taken pains to explain the underwhelming sales of the Dart.

The first problem was with the manual transmissions in the first wave of Dart cars. The number of stick-shifters accounts for only a tiny percentage of the buying public.

Those first manual-only models turned off automatic fans and prevented many consumers from taking the Dart for a test drive.

By the time the automatics arrived the buzz about the Dart had begun to wane

Also causing trouble: the optional dual-clutch transmission, which, by CEO Sergio Marchionne's own admission, was too European for U.S. drivers.

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