1. The car is very spacious inside, more spacious than any other compact car of its day. It is comfortable to ride in.
2. Gas mileage is comparable to the others in its class, and even to present-day vehicles of similar size (like the Chevrolet Caprice). However, acceleration is not as good in these cars when equipped with the slant six.
3. Perhaps most importantly, these cars were practically bullet-proof. The only real weak spot in the cars' record is the body structure, and water leaks and rust are common in the older ones, unless the car has been very well taken care of. But the powertrain goes on forever, as do most of the mechanical components of the car.

Ah, you say, so if all you were interested in was transportation, these cars were fine, but the enthusiast had to look elsewhere. Not so. In the late 1960's, at the height of the muscle car era, Motor Trend compared each US automaker's sporty compacts. The Dodge Dart GTS outaccelerated and outhandled all the other cars. With a 275 horsepower engine in a 3000 pound car, it could blow the majority of today's cars off the road. And, in 1976, the last year of production for the Dodge Dart, Car and Driver conducted a test to find the fastest cars built in America. The fastest car was a Chevrolet Corvette at 124 MPH. The second-fastest car was a Dodge Dart Sport, at 122 MPH.

The owners and the press agree that these were very fine cars. And, if you keep your eyes open, you will see many more Dodge Darts of any given vintage than their competition. How many Chevy Novas do you see? Ford Mavericks? It is another testimonial to the longevity of Dodge Darts.

When I was in Israel in 1992, I saw more Dodge Darts than any other American car. And you can't get parts over there! These cars went out of production in 1976! But they are considered to be luxury cars over there, and rather prestigious, so people keep them around, one way or another.

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