Most automakers release their sales reports quarterly. One of our favorite things to do when those arrive is to find so-called “zombie cars.” Automakers track and report every new sale coming off a dealer lot. And a zombie car is an out-of-production vehicle, often long-forgotten that defies all logic, finds a new home, and ends up in that new car sales release.
Some zombie cars rising from the dead every so often make sense. For example, Dodge has been selling a handful of Vipers every year or so, despite it going out of production in 2017. One sold in 2024 — no sales so far in 2025. The main reason is that Vipers are cool, especially with potential Dodge customers. Dodge dealerships held onto them as display models for several years after production ended. Other zombie cars make much less sense. Consider the case of the Dodge Dart in 2025.
The Dodge Dart nameplate may ring a bell. Dodge used the nameplate for a popular compact vehicle in the 1960s and 1970s. The brand sold an infamously named “Dodge Dart Swinger” muscle car version – during a time period where that double entendre would have been apparent. And as a fitting testament to what times were like in the automotive world, Dodge once built a Dart with a 7.2-liter V8.
What you may not remember is that Dodge revived the nameplate in the mid-2010s. Dodge brought back the Dart as a front-wheel-drive compact sedan for the 2013 model year. It offered a manual transmission and multiple four-cylinder engine options, delivering up to 184 horsepower. Alas, the Dart only got a brief run in the Dodge lineup. The car did not last long enough to get a planned SRT version, as Dodge canceled the nameplate at the end of 2016.
The Dodge Dart was not a bad car, per se. But it also wasn’t a particularly good one. Car and Driver noted in a 2016 review that the competitors had surpassed the Dart “in nearly every measurable way.” The Dart hit the market right as sedan buyers started converting to crossovers in droves. And like every other small American sedan, the Dodge Dart didn’t really provide an answer for why a customer shouldn’t just go buy a reliable Honda Civic or Toyota Corolla. Legendary Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne described the Dart’s platform as the single worst investment the company had made (which was saying something).
“I can tell you right now that both the Chrysler 200 and the Dodge Dart, as great products as they were, were the least financially rewarding enterprises that we’ve carried out inside FCA in the last eight years. I don’t know one investment that was as bad as these two were,” Marchionne said at a press conference.
Fast-forward to nine years later. Stellantis released its Q3 2025 sales report. On it, the company reported an incredible six Dodge Dart sales, a huge percentage leap from the one unit sold in 2024. We don’t know how much these buyers paid for nine-year-old Darts. The base model Dodge Dart started at $16,995 MSRP for the final model year in 2016; that’s how long the Dart has been out of production.
Car
2025 Sales YTD
Dodge Dart
6
Dodge Caravan
9
Dodge Journey
17
Fiat 500L
2
Fiat 124 Spider
1
Jeep Patriot
1
Stellantis brands seem to produce an inordinate number of zombie cars. The Dart was not the only zombie car to pop up at Dodge. Buyers have purchased 17 new Dodge Journey crossovers and nine new Dodge Caravan minivans so far in 2025. Both cars went out of production after the 2020 model year.
Fiat produced a pair of zombie cars too. Thus far in 2025, buyers have purchased two of the ungainly-proportioned 500L vehicles and one decidedly less homely-looking and MX-5 Miata-based 124 Spider convertible (a bargain when Fiat was trying to clear inventory in the early 2020s). Both of those cars left the lineup in North America after the 2020 model year. Even Jeep, an inveterate sales and profit driver for whatever conglomerate has owned it for decades, somehow sold a new Patriot SUV in 2025. Jeep ended Patriot production at the end of 2016. We hope that customer who picked one up enjoys their Freedom drive. Yes, Bush-era Jeep sold a vehicle called “the Patriot” with “Freedom” drive.
There are also some zombie cars scattered elsewhere in the industry. Audi is still working through its R8 inventory, despite killing off its halo car in 2024. The brand did not sell a single one in the third quarter, but has sold five units so far in 2025. The hydrogen-powered Hyundai Nexo does not quite meet the definition of a “zombie car,” as it’s not officially dead. But Hyundai has sold just three of the profoundly niche vehicles so far in 2025.
It won’t be news to anyone that cars have gotten expensive. The average new car purchase price in America, as of this writing, is $49,927, according to Automotive News. Pickup trucks are driving that price up. But affordable new vehicle options below $30,000 are becoming harder to find. Part of that is inflation. But inflation existing does not mean wages have risen with it.
Six people coming home with a Dodge Dart, built during the Obama administration, could be a cry for more affordable options on the market. The same could be said for Dodge minivan buyers, where a new 2025 or 2026 model minivan will start at $40,000.
Of course, it’s important not to read too much into what are a triflingly small amount of car sales. This could just be a Stellantis-specific problem. FCA and Stellantis created a fertile climate for producing zombie cars. They had a lot of brands – hey, let’s introduce Fiat to the U.S. – selling cars that weren’t especially popular – and often left dealers with enormous inventory backlogs to work through.
So it’s perhaps not so surprising some cars would still be kicking around well past their sell-by date. And looking at the pricing of some new Stellantis vehicles, it’s not surprising a few buyers would take a flyer with a hefty discount on an older model.
Sources: Motortrend, CarScoops, Car and Driver, Automotive News, Stellantis.
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