



AUBURN HILLS, MI- Just how important is the 2013 Dodge Dart to Chrysler Group LLC?

To answer that, all you have to do is drive near the automaker's Auburn Hills headquarters, where Chrysler installed a building wrap that covers 13.5 floors of its 15-floor headquarters tower.

"The launch of the 2013 Dodge Dart is one of the most anticipated in our history and represents a tremendous source of pride for the Brand and the company," said Reid Bigland, Dodge brand president and CEO, in a release.

The wrap -- 116 feet wide by 145 feet tall -- was installed just days after Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne called the vehicle one of the most important vehicles to the company since its emergence from bankruptcy.

The Dart – set to hit showrooms in late-June – is particularly important to Chrysler because it is the first vehicle jointly designed with the automaker's Italian owner, Fiat SpA. It is based on the Alfa Romeo Giulietta, a compact sold in Europe, but is wider and longer to handle Americans' need for more space.

"We are looking forward to a successful launch of a c-segment sedan, which is a piece of the market that we've been absent from for a long period of time," he said during a conference call April 26 to discuss the company's quarterly profit -- its best since 1998. "We're expecting great volume in terms of the Dart for the remainder of the year."

The 2013 Dodge Dart will be available in five trim levels that start from under $16,000 to more than $22,500, according to Chrysler.

Chrysler has touted the Dart as the embodiment of customization, with 14 interior colors, 12 exterior colors, six wheel options, three engine choices and three transmissions.

The first production version of the 2013 Dodge Dart rolled off the line May 7 at Chrysler's assembly plant in Belvidere, Ill.

Wraps of the automaker's Chrysler 200 and Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT were on the building before the Dart.

Building wrap facts from Chrysler: