What is the Plymouth version of the Dodge Dart?
The Plymouth version of the Dodge Dart was the Plymouth Dart—a badge-engineered sibling car produced by Chrysler in the early 1960s.
To understand what this meant, consider that Dodge and Plymouth often shared platforms, engines, and mechanicals during that era, while branding and styling were tailored to each division’s audience.
Origins and badge engineering
Below are the core characteristics that defined the Plymouth Dart as Chrysler’s badge-engineered answer to the Dodge Dart.
- Shared platform and mechanicals with the Dodge Dart, enabling Chrysler to offer similar performance at different brand pricing.
- Plymouth-specific exterior styling, trim, and badging to distinguish it from its Dodge counterpart.
- Part of Chrysler’s early badge-engineering strategy, common in the 1960s among its Dodge and Plymouth brands.
- Similar body styles to the Dodge Dart, such as sedans and hardtops, with variations depending on market and model year.
In short, the Plymouth Dart represents how Chrysler used branding to broaden its lineup without fully duplicating engineering across brands.
Market presence and design cues
These points summarize how the Plymouth Dart fit into its era, visually and commercially.
- Distinct Plymouth grille and trim accents alongside the shared underlying structure with the Dodge Dart.
- Interior materials and instrumentation aligned with Plymouth’s typical equipment levels, while remaining mechanically compatible with the Dodge variant.
- Relationship to other Mopar models of the time, such as Belvedere/Savoy variants, as part of a family of compact/mid-size cars built on common architecture.
- Presence primarily in the early 1960s, with branding changes reflecting Chrysler’s ongoing brand strategy.
These design and market choices illustrate how Plymouth leveraged the Dart platform to reach different buyers without creating an entirely separate engineering effort.
Legacy and collector interest
Today, collectors and historians view the Plymouth Dart as a notable example of badge engineering within Mopar’s history.
- Badge engineering is a hallmark of the era, and the Plymouth Dart is a specific, identifiable variant within that strategy.
- Relative rarity compared with its Dodge Dart counterpart can make surviving Plymouth Darts of particular interest to Mopar enthusiasts.
As a result, the Plymouth Dart stands as a concrete illustration of how automakers diversified a single platform across brands while maintaining brand identity and appeal.
Collector’s note
For buyers and researchers, verify model-year documentation and VIN to confirm branding and trim specifics, as branding and features varied by market and production run.
Summary
The Plymouth Dart was the Plymouth-branded version of the Dodge Dart, produced as part of Chrysler’s badge-engineering approach in the early 1960s. It shared the Dart’s underlying engineering while offering Plymouth styling, trim, and branding. Today, it remains a niche but meaningful chapter in Mopar history, valued by collectors who seek authentic badge variations and period-specific details.
Is a Plymouth Valiant the same as a Dodge Dart?
The Dart was available in all the same body styles as the Valiant, except there was no Dodge equivalent of the Barracuda. All Darts used a larger, 111 in (2,800 mm) wheelbase, except for wagons which used the Valiant's 106 in (2,700 mm) wheelbase.
What was the Plymouth version of the Dodge Dart?
Valiant sedan
In 1974, the 108 in (2,700 mm) wheelbase variant of the A-body sedan was dropped, and the Valiant sedan became a rebadged Dart.
What's the difference between a Dart and a Duster?
The Demon and Dart Sport was the Dodge version while Duster was a Plymouth. Most of the sheet metal was the same between the Dodge and the Plymouth, except the front grille and the rear trim between the taillights. The Dart Sport had the infamous "beak" front grille while the Duster retained the Scamp front grille.
What was the Dodge equivalent of the Plymouth Fury?
The 1978 was the last model year for the Plymouth Fury and its Dodge Monaco counterpart, which was renamed as such during the start of the previous model year (1977), which, in turn, was called the "Dodge Coronet" (1965, 1966, and 1967, from 1968 until 1974, and from 1975 through 1976), while the former full-size C- ...
