Another quarter is over, another batch of zombie cars stubbornly appears in Stellantis' sales chart. Indeed, the numbers are out and they show some vehicles simply refuse to die, making them the mainstream equivalent of a Pagani Zonda. There were no Jeep Patriots or Chrysler 300s in Q1 2022, but one person bought a Dodge Dart while another two purchased its equivalent from the Chrysler, the 200 compact sedan.
How old are these cars? Well, the final Dart produced in Illinois at the Belvidere Assembly Plant dates back to September 2016. The Chrysler 200 is nearly as old, having left the assembly line at the Sterling Heights factory in December 2016. We wouldn't necessarily rush over to buy a car that has been collecting dust for nearly six years, but maybe the juicy discount was worth the risk.
But wait, there's more. A deeper look into the numbers shows other dead-but-still-alive cars. We're specifically talking about Fiats as the 500 and 500L each racked up a sale during the first three months of the year. The cutesy city car and its minivan equivalent left the United States after the 2020 model year when the electric 500e also bid adieu to the US. The Italian Miata, Fiat's 124 Spider, was discontinued for 2021, and yet five people bought one in 2022.
A single Alfa Romeo 4C was sold in the same interval, but it's unclear whether it was a Coupe or a Spider. The former was axed in 2018 while the latter was retired in 2020. Speaking of sports cars, we are a bit disappointed the Dodge Viper hasn't generated any sales so far this year. However, it's a bit strange the model is still listed in the Q1 2022 sales chart where we're being reminded two were sold in the same quarter of last year. Another big "0" is next to the Chrysler Town & Country minivan.
Overall, the North American side of Stellantis sold a total of 405,221 cars in the first quarter of the year, representing a drop of 14%. All models were down compared to Q1 2021, save for the Jeep Compass (+22 percent) and the Grand Cherokee (+36 percent). Newcomers Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer racked up 7,055 and 3,169 sales, respectively.
