Dodge’s 40 mpg compact sedan 14 months away

We’ve been hearing a lot about Dodge’s new compact vehicle for the past couple of weeks now. So far, we know that the model will be a sedan, will be based on the same platform as the Alfa Romeo Giuletta, will go into production in early 2012 at Belvidere, Ill (14 months from now).

Today we learned that the compact sedan will average 40 mpg making us believe that this new Dodge compact sedan will compete with the likes of a Honda Civc, Toyota Corolla and the Hyundai Elantra.

Dodge CEO Ralph Gilles told journalists on Sunday that the tooling for the car was recently handed of to Chrysler Group’s engineering department.

The compact Dodge sedan is key to Chrysler’s recovery and meeting tougher U.S. fuel-economy standards.

At the 2010 LA Auto Show, Dodge will display the new 2011 Charger, Durango, Challenger, Avenger, Journey and Grand Caravan minivan.

– By: Omar Rana

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)