With today’s release of the sixth version of the Fast and Furious series, Dodge is hoping to use the movie to help sell its new Dodge Dart. 

How is this you ask?

Through a commercial that showcases the Dodge Dart along with some action scenes from the Fast and Furious movie. A little strange given that the Dart doesn’t make an appearance in the movie, but they feel that they can grab the attention of that young, mostly male audience. 

In the United States, the Dart got off to a slow start, but showed promise at the end of the year and has shown continued progress at the start of 2013. In Canada, Dart sales totaled 3,460 last year and have also seen a surge in sales in the new year. 

”Dodge Dart sales really gave us a boost this month as well, more than doubling our February sales,” said Dave Buckingham, Chrysler Canada chief operating officer.

I guess when there’s so much hype and promise for a new launch, expectations might be falsely high. The Dart is in a packed compact segment that features the likes of the Honda Civic, Hyundai Elantra, Ford Focus and Mazda3, among many others. It’s just going to take some time for consumers to get comfortable with the Dart after a seven-year Chrysler hiatus from the compact sedan segment. Perhaps this commercial and other movie tie-in marketing ventures can help push the Dart swiftly up the ladder. We will soon find out.