It’s rather remarkable that this car managed to appear when it did. In late 1978, when Chrysler Corporation was in the depths of its worst crisis to date, this swoopy, rebodied Horizon coupe debuted–and indeed, continued on through many years of production. You would never know how common these cars once were, as nearly all of them have disappeared from the face of the earth. But there’s still one in my neck of the woods.
Before we begin the TC3′s story, we have to go back to its source: the 1978 Plymouth Horizon. Along with its badge-engineered Dodge Omni sibling, these mini-Mopars brought FWD fuel efficiency to Chrysler Corporation’s decidedly thirsty and out-of-date lineup–and all thanks to Simca, which Chrysler had purchased in more flush times. Thanks to their familiarity with space-efficient, fuel-efficient cars like the 1204 (CC here), the resulting “Omnirizon” duo were a fresh breath of air compared with the bulky mid-size Fury and that recall-champeen, the Volaré.
It may have looked suspiciously like a Volkswagen Rabbit–and indeed, utilized a VW-built, 1.7L (104.7 CID) inline four–but the Horizon sold well. I’m sure that came as a relief to many C-P salesmen, who previously had to convince customers to purchase a Volaré over the much more modern Ford Fairmont, or the 1971-vintage Fury over a newly-downsized Malibu or B-body Impala. Finally, here was a Mopar product people wanted rather than settled for! The $3,976 five-door hatchback sold a healthy 106,772 units in inaugural 1978, but didn’t stand alone for long: The companion TC3 sport coupe joined it for the 1979 model year.
The Horizon TC3 was basically a 96.7″ wheelbase, 2+2 coupe version of the Horizon five-door. It shared much with its sibling, including its 70-hp, four-cylinder engine, transmissions and much of the undercarriage. Nonetheless, it certainly appeared different on the outside, and looked very modern for the late ’70s. One you got behind the wheel, though, you knew it had a lot in common with the five-door, with which it shared the entire dashboard. Interiors and exteriors were suitably colorful; after all, this was before Silver Car Fever overtook motordom.
At a starting price of $4,864, the 2,195 lb. sportster cost a bit more than the more Rabbit-like Horizon. Naturally, a wealth of factory- and dealer-installed goodies were available for a price. While the 70-horse engine was no hot-rod powerplant, I imagine it performed somewhat decently considering the TC3′s light curb weight. Actually, it was the sportiest thing to be found in C-P showrooms and a model sorely needed by Plymouth, as the mid-size Fury had departed in 1978.
In 1979, in the Plymouth corner of the showroom, you had the Volaré (at least it was available in coupe, sedan and wagon versions), the Horizon five-door and the Horizon TC3–and for cars, that was it, unless you count such captive imports as the Sapporo (CC here) and Arrow. Poor Plymouth: Just a few years earlier, they had the Fury, Barracuda, Belvedere, Road Runner, Satellite and luxury VIP. Now at least they had a fun, sporty offering like this in their shrunken product line. By late ’70s standards, the TC3 was a nice little sports coupe. Just don’t confuse it for a GTX or ’68 Barracuda Formula S.
As I was checking out our featured CC, I was surprised to see the Horizon badging. I didn’t know the early ones were anything other than TC3s. Even after writing for CC for over a year–and being a car nut of the highest order for the previous thirty-one–I can still learn something new! This one still has what appears to be a factory-installed sport stripe. Obviously it is faded, but I think it was originally navy blue, silver and white. Although the paint is equally faded, it appears to be Cadet Blue Metallic, a 1979 factory color.
Despite costing about $400 more than an equivalent five-door Horizon–a not insignificant sum back then–the TC3 sold respectably in its first year, with 63,715 built. No doubt many were loaded up with lots of appearance and comfort options, including stripes, two-tone paint, power steering, power brakes and A/C. Seats came in either cloth or vinyl. The Premium Interior Package, shown in red in the third and fourth photos from the top, turned your TC3 into a near-Cordoba inside. Just don’t ask for Corinthian leather. Our CC here has the standard Custom all-vinyl trim.
A Premium Appearance Package, Sport Package and Rallye Equipment Group were also available. The latter included a rear spoiler; rally wheels, with bright lugnuts and trim rings; and sport suspension. As far as engines were concerned, you were stuck with the 1.7-liter four, but you could specify an automatic if you didn’t want the standard four-speed manual.
The original owner (who perhaps is still the current owner) must have worked at the Rock Island Arsenal, as indicated by the faded but still distinctive sticker on the left side of the bumper. My parents were members of the Arsenal Golf Club in the ’80s, and I remember that their Volvos had similar ID stickers to allow access to the base. By the mid-’90s, they did away with them, and you simply told the guard at the front gate where you were going. After 9/11, they got ID cards instead of a sticker.
Here’s a fun fact: this car was sold by the same local C-P dealer as another 1979 Mopar product featured here on CC, this 1979 Chrysler Newport. It’s cool to imagine them sitting on the showroom floor together!
Here’s the back seat. As you can see, GM was not the only company that used Multi-Fade™ interior components in the ’70s. The vinyl is in very nice shape, but the moldings have faded to a dirty-white/gray color. Initially I wondered what the button on the interior panel was for, and then I realized that it must be the release for the fold-down back seat.
I first saw this car back in 2007-08, when I would frequently take Iowa Street in Davenport to get to work. I tended to avoid Brady Street, as I didn’t care for the five-minute traffic lights that are rife along that arterial road. So one day I took a slightly different route, and saw this light blue TC3. This was in my pre-camera-in-the-car, pre-CC days, but I remember thinking that that was a rare bird these days. Just a few weeks ago, I remembered that there was a neat old car in that area (I didn’t remember that it was a TC3, just that it had been something interesting), and I had to check and see if it was still there. I was fairly sure it would be–it just had the look of a car that has been a part of the neighborhood for a long time–and I was pleasantly surprised to see it in the very same spot.
And check out that blue vinyl interior! You can tell from the nice seats and ample fake wood on the dash and doors that the TC3 was a cut above the regular Horizon in its standard, no-frills version. And check out that copy of Der Spiegel on the passenger seat. For a minute I thought I was in Eugene! Another thing you won’t see on a late-model car is a floor-mounted automatic, sans console.
The Horizon TC3 continued much the same for 1980, when 67,738 were sold. In 1981 a no-frills Miser model was added, but sales stumbled, first to the tune of 36,312, and then to an all-time low of 12,889 for 1982. However, that was pretty much the same story for every other make: Due to the ongoing recession, no one was very interested in buying a new car, least of all at the current double-digit interest rates. Yikes!
In 1982, the coupe lost its Horizon moniker and became simply TC3. The very next year it was renamed Turismo. Also appearing in ’83 was a sportier “2.2″ model, which received a 94-hp, 2.2-liter inline four in place of the 1.7. In addition to the larger engine, it received a fake hood scoop, stripes, “2.2″ decals and rallye wheels.
I would also be remiss not to at least mention the Turismo’s pickup pal, the Scamp. These cool vehicles were offered for only a short period of time. While the Dodge was available between 1982 and 1984, the 1983-only Plymouth variant was especially scarce. A neat idea and cool utility, these have always reminded me a bit of the VW Pickup sold at about the same time.
The Turismo carried on for several more years, earning itself a 1984 slight facelift with a smoother nose and other minor changes. Also available was a Duster Package with “Duster” decals on the front fender and 13-inch Rallye wheels. The niece of my parents’ friends used to babysit me in the mid-to-late ’80s and she had a Turismo like this one, though I don’t remember if it was a Duster or not. I rode in it at least once, and I remember thinking it was pretty cool.
Between 1984 and 1986, the Turismo sold in the high 30K- to low-40K range despite minimal changes. It was a nice package: a reliable Horizon with sportier sheet metal, two doors and an attractive price. The last ones were built in 1987, when less than 25K came off the line. By that time, the price had risen to the tune of $7,199.
But like all cheap and cheerful cars of the ’70s and ’80s, many of them were used, abused and then disposed of. They used to be everywhere, but this blue example is the first one I recall seeing in nearly ten years. Good to know at least one is still on the road!
It is easy to forget how advanced these were in 1979. Remember that Ford was still offering the Pinto and Chevy was still offering the Monza. IIRC, the Toyotas and Datsuns were still rwd as well. When this car came out in 1979, I was sure that Chrysler’s problems were over. Unfortunately, no.
One minor nit – Chrysler did not purchase whole VW engines, only 1.7L engine blocks. The 1.7 blocks were supplied under an agreement that was limited to 300K units per year. The Omnirizon was in such demand (particularly in 1980-81 at the height of high gas prices) that Chrysler could have sold many, many more, but their engine supply was limited and VW was unwilling to supply more blocks. The 2.2 was a Chrysler engine, and once production got up to speed (and after the K cars were supplied) the 2.2 was put to work in these as well.
I believe that the engines turned out to be the weakest link in these cars over the long term, both the 1.7 and 2.2. They were quite good against corrosion and as we can see here, the interior materials proved to be quite durable. I think that there were also a lot of nickle and dime issues on these as well. My mother bought an 80 Horizon sedan (same colors in and out as this one, only with navy blue lower sides) and it was a decent car, though not a great one.
A great find. It’s funny how some cars immediately bring up old pangs of love. This one does it for me.
Just so no one gets the wrong idea, by blocks, you mean long blocks, including the head and all the internal components. In other words, the complete engine, minus all the peripherals, like the manifolds, carb, and such.
I had remembered press accounts from the time. I checked Allpar, and you are mostly right. Allpar called it a short block that was shipped to the Trenton engine plant, where manifolds, fuel delivery, and timing sprockets/belts along with all peripherals. There were also apparently quite a few changes to the L body engine block casting compared with the engine going into Rabbits (mainly to accommodate different transmissions and different underhood dimensions), so it was not the simple drop-in that I had remembered. I had also forgotten that it was a cast iron block. Now that I have done my homework, I know the subject better.
You got me intrigued; Allpar actually calls it a “short engine”, which is certainly an apt description, if perhaps not a very common one. Or maybe it is?
The way I’ve always know it is a short engine is the block and reciprocating assembly, and a long engine is the complete engine less manifolds and accessories.
I spotted a good stuff at http://www.hamtramck-historical.com/vintageRacing/1985Cuda/1985Cuda-01.shtml Some guys at Plymouth taught of using the 2.2l Turbo for the TC3/Turismo and revive the ‘Cuda name as a counterpart of the Shelby Charger of that era but Caroll Shelby was opposed to this idea and there still one surviving prototype running.
Awesome. Too bad they never rolled these out!
It is getting pretty rare to find one of those sporty Mopar 2-door hatchbacks. Considering it’s age, that one looks quite good, especially the interior. While home on leave from the USAF in 1978 or 1979 I looked at one of these that was the very similar Dodge model, the Omni 024. Although I never got around to test driving one, I did actually consider the purchase of an 024 based on the excellent fuel mileage. But, was a little too fond of my red,1973 Charger Rallye 340/automatic with a factory sunroof, which was still in great shape and good running condition, to think of getting rid of it to get something more fuel efficient. As mentioned previously, in December of 1987, I did purchase a blue, 1986 Shelby Charger which was seriously great fun to drive.
In 1984, my wife wanted a new car to replace her tired old 1974 Camaro. We dropped by the C/P Dealer one weekend and she fell for a new Turismo, black with red and orange decals and stripes, 4 speed with the 2.2, rally wheels with Goodyear Eagles and dirt cheap. We bought it the next day. It was a little hot rod from my recollection and fun to drive. A couple minor issues that the dealer was unable/unwilling to resolve were the only problems I can recall. It had a constant, annoying buzz in the dash at a certain rpm range. The fix was to disconnect and fill the speedometer cable tube with grease. This was only good for 3-5,000 miles and after 2 or 3 trips to the dealer under warranty, i started doing this myself. The second was a water leak in the cowl when it rained that flooded the passenger floor. The dealer had the car several times to fix the problem with no success. I finally took it apart myself and after applying caulk to the air intake, no more leak. I couldn’t believe how simple the fix was and I am sure no one at the dealer even looked at it.
This was my last experience with Chrysler. Crappy dealer = Crappy car reputation.
We traded it in after a couple years when my daughter arrived. It was too much of a pain to work the kid carrier in the tiny back seat so we moved on to a 4 door and to Ford.
When the TC3/024 came out they should have been a revelation in what a compact economy car could be, but somehow they just didn’t catch on as they deserved to. The only complaint I had about these was that the steeply sloped hatchback robbed cargo capacity at the car’s very end, and IIRC it was too easy for tall back-seat riders to lean back just a little and crack their heads on the glass.
After posting earlier, I came to a conclusion: Somehow, the Omnirizon was the only new Old-Chrysler vehicle launched in that era without horrific glitches. We all remember the 76 Volare, the 79 R body – horrible quality disasters at launch-time, particularly since there was a lot of carry-over from older models. The 1981 K car was also pretty good out of the box, but there was a new sheriff in town and everyone knew that the company was riding on the car. The Omnirizon of 1978-79 was a surprisingly successful start of a brand-new vehicle at the end of the Riccardo-Cafiero era at Chrysler.
The 1978 Omni/Horizon (along with the 1975 Cordoba) were the two, brief successes that Chrysler had in the seventies, neither of which were hardly enough to compensate for the myriad other marketplace failures, particularly right after the 1973 Oil Embargo pretty much wiped-out the US’ appetite for traditional big cars. Chrysler simply didn’t have the resources to be able to downsize their highest profit big cars as quickly as Ford or GM and were saddled with dinosaurs which, in industry parlance, were ‘glued to the showroom floor’.
But the Omni/Horizon sold well (essentially the 4-door VW Rabbit) and went a long way to helping Chrysler get the loan guarantees it needed to survive. For the time, they weren’t bad cars, certainly no worse than anything else (and better than the upcoming X-car Citation).
An interesting design feature was that the HVAC controls were located to the left of the steering wheel, meaning passengers were at the mercy of the driver for any temperature adjustments.
The Cordoba had the benefit of launching in the fall of 1974 as a 75 model, which was about a year before everything really started to unravel. Lynn Townsend certainly knew when it was time to get the heck out of Dodge (so to speak). When he retired in 1975, he chose John Riccardo and Gene Cafiero as co-chairmen. Those two hated each other and everything went completely to hell. What few things had been working well got gummed up. From what I have read, the internal workings of the company were a disaster. Iacocca later said that if he had possessed any idea of how bad things really were, he would never have taken the job. Almost nobody from the old Chrysler management survived 2 years under Lido.
My favorite Riccardo story is when the Roadrunner became a hit (don’t know if he was onboard with it before or not), Riccardo was a junior Chrysler exec and wanted to make an entire Roadrunner model line, i.e., Roadrunner 4-door, station wagon, etc.
I read Iacocca’s statement on how bad the company was when he took over, too. Unfortunately, it’s a nice safe thing to say. If he restores the company to solvency, it makes him look like a miracle worker (which is what happened). If he had failed, well, it would have just been a case of “It was too far gone for me to save it”, which is exactly the excuse Iacocca gave for the abysmal ’81-’83 Imperial debacle, i.e., “It was too far along for me to stop it”.
Personally, though, even though it might not have originally been his idea, I think Iacocca was behind the last full-size Imperial coupe 100%. It was exactly the kind of car he was famous for championing (think Chrysler Continental Mk III), particularly the Frank Sinatra editions.
FWIW, Sinatra was smart enough to forego actually taking a free Imperial – he went with a Lebaron wagon. Gregory Peck (another Chrysler cheerleader at the time) wasn’t so lucky. His free Imperial was constantly breaking down on the LA freeways.
I’m not sure why, because I’ve only ever ridden in a 4-door Omnirizon or one of these 2-door hatches a handful of times, but I have a real affection for these little boxes. They are on the short list of everyday old cars that I watch for, hoping one day to find an original survivor in very good nick.
Wow, I really didn’t expect to be right… ish. I forgot these were originally called TC3s on the Plymouth side.
My first car was a 1984 Turismo 2.2, complete with flashy red/orange tape stripes proclaiming that fact all over the car’s light silver over dark gray two-tone. Dad bought it for me in November 1991 off the back lot at Quality Lincoln-Mercury off “L” Street. November 1991. 68,000 miles, if memory serves, and one owner – a schoolteacher.
Mine was completely loaded, including an automatic (sadly I didn’t learn to drive a manual until a few years later) and a HUGE removable glass sunroof. The car was in amazingly good shape, with only two noticeable dents throughout and a few minor door dings, but it was a mechanical nightmare – all engine fluids leaked from it in various capacities, and the engine wouldn’t hold a warm idle. It wasn’t long before my joy in having a car of my own was overshadowed by the pain of ownership.
The first week I had the car, a friend of mine replaced the blown-out Chrysler cassette deck with a $30 Kraco. On the way home from his house in Papillion, I stopped by our mechanic’s shop so he could once again adjust the idle to prevent the car from stalling out at every stoplight. Setting the idle to 1,000 rpm “cured” the problem, and also made shifting into gear an interesting ordeal, but at least the damn thing would now only stall at every third stoplight or so. That made it fun driving home from the shop during a rush-hour blizzard, though the car was amazingly surefooted on snow and ice. I’ve never owned a better winter driver.
I had the Turismo for less than a year. Once my family moved down to New Mexico in July ’92, it was nearly impossible to keep the 2.2L engine running in the high altitude, and the prospect of driving it 33 miles each way to school wasn’t an appealing one. It was replaced by a ’92 Geo Storm, and sat parked for several months until an Albuquerque mechanic bought it as a project. I occasionally saw it around town for the next four years.
At the time, it would be fair to say that I hated my first car… but if I ever find one in decent shape, I’d absolutely love to have another one.
I bought a new 81 Omni in 1981 and found it to be a very comfortable car for a small car. Seemed to ride as well as a large car and the seats were first class with interior finish to match in our upscale model. We drove it from Ohio to California and back very comfortably in its first year. However, someone above did mention nickel and dime issues and mine had these by the boatload. We kept it about 3 years and being tired of the continuous repair bills, I then traded it for a used 81 Toyota Corolla wagon that was far less comfortable but free of frequent repair needs. That was followed sometime later by a used 84 Toyota Cressida wagon. The Cressida was one of our favorites though I do recall that none of the Japanese cars we owned over many years were anywhere near as comfortable as the 81 Omni. Even the 93 Nissan Maxima we owned for 10 years and 250,000 trouble free miles fell short of the Omni in ride and seating comfort.
I had one of these, in its 1984 iteration known as the Dodge Charger. This was my first new car and it looked quite sharp sitting there under the lights at Freeman Chrysler-Plymouth in Lumberton, NC. However, its good looks could not be matched by the absolute lack of quality and miserability in driving it on a day-to-day basis. Vibrations, leaks, and a definite feel of “putting on the brakes” when the air conditioner compressor cycled on and off led me to trade it off for an ’86 Thunderbird in 1987. Funny thing, my best friend had an ’85 Dodge Aries with the same 2.2 engine and her car was much smoother than the Charger. The strong selling point was the 5/50 warranty – but as I argued with the dealer who was at a loss for fixing the problems: “what good is the warranty when I spend every day I have off in your service department and you cannot find and fix the problems with this car?”
What a fantastic find and a great write up. I learned to drive on a later one (1986) but always liked the look of these early ones a bit better.
My sister’s first car was the twin of this one, a Dodge Omni O24. Don’t remember the year, but it was the same blue color and pinstripe even. I think it had a split grill if I remember right.
It was pretty advanced and good looking for it’s day but ended up being a pile of junk. Literally. As in it had to be hauled to the junkyard.
I bought the Omni 024 version – my first new car after graduating college in 1982. Paid insane interest rate – 21.5% IIRC. My dad was a C-P guy, even bought an Aspen and kept it for many years (much to my sibs chagrin). My memory of this car is that it was light, very tossable, fast (for the day) and most importantly, cheap. Ate tires like crazy. Local dealer was terrible (not surprising considering the shape C-P was in back then). My future (and now ex) wife nearly totaled it a year after I bought it and it never ran right after that. Thinking back on it – it is amazing that she walked away from that wreck (spun out on ice – hit 2 guardrails and was hit by another car). She wasn’t wearing a seat belt and the only significant injury was to her leg from breaking off the floor mounted stickshift.
Nobody said the obvious yet? Fine then, I will…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ZGwGFpjFxI
Greatest. Commercial. Ever.
Ugh….the 80′s started off with so much promise musically. That was painful to watch/listen to.
Darn, you beat me to this, I was going to post it!!!
I Love The 80′s!!!
My ex-wife had a 1984 Turismo-2.2 litre & automatic. It wasn’t a bad car, although it had its quirks (destruct-o-matic driver’s side door handle, snap-o-matic window drank handles, the sourced-from-Saginaw bind-o-matic steering rack). It was a fantastic utilitarian vehicle-put the back seat down and you could cram in an amazing amount of stuff. It came in handy camping and all of the times we moved. Performance was decent-this was the first american-made small 4 cylinder car that could take being hooked to an automatic. Fairly fun to drive. Unfortunately, the first owner subscribed to the mud-puddle-water-for-coolant school of maintainence-it manifested itself in head gasket problems before we traded it in. I’d still like to have another one.
I think I might’ve seen one or two of these growing up in the early 90s, but it could’ve been a Charger, there were enough of them around. Seeing these pics of the early model, I actually like this car. If someone was nuts enough to restore it some, they’d have a sharp little car. I find it interesting that it’s a “sporty” car yet has the hint of luxury with woodgrain on the dash. Just noticed the old-style Dodge(?) symbols on the taillights, nice touch.
Actually, that’s the Plymouth “frog’s legs” emblem. The Fratzog was three of the Forward Look “darts” in a circle.
The Plymouth logo of the 60s/70s was supposed to be a rocket, nearly a copy of Oldsmobile’s.
Der Spiegel in North America?!
Doch! Warum nicht?
I’ve yet to find one of these to shoot, but just a week ago a brown Duster version went by my on the street. Now that was uncommon, even in its day. I didn’t have time to even get one shot of it, but I know it’s out there somewhere, and being driven.
I found these to be a considerably less successful design than the Omnirizon four-doors. Of course, I think the Golf is rather brilliant, so its most faithful imitator would is bound to get good marks from me. But these coupes come off rather clunky, crude and disjointed, from a body design POV. It starts with the excessive front overhang, an unfortunate foreshadowing of things to come. And the shovel-nose front end design is crude. And it’s boxy, even though it tries not to be. I appreciate them for their funkiness, but not for any intrinsic good taste.
I agree. I think the ’84 redesign was more cohesive than the original, particularly with the simpler C-pillar design (that also killed rear side vision) but the four-headlight nose only emphasized how narrow and ungainly the body was:
I remember when that redesign came out – it reminded me of the front of my 1975 Monza.
The Omni/Horizon were decently competent cars overall, and showed a bit of Chrysler’s potential for engineering serviceable, small, FWD cars.
In addition to mine, I remember riding in three others when I was a kid – beginning with what had to be an early-production Omni that my family drove to the 1978 Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. I was 3-years old, but I distinctly remember the interior (dark blue with woodgrain) and being intrigued with the three-spoke, deep-dish steering wheel.
Sometime around Fall 1987, my family rented a Horizon to drive from Omaha to Scottsbluff. There were only four of us (counting the family schnauzer) and of course I was a lot smaller than I am now, but it was an extremely comfortable ride for the seven-hour drive. My mom raved about the high-back cloth bucket seats.
About a year later, my dad took me to school in a black Charger demo. The rotating door locks are what stood out to me from that one; I thought they were rather dumb.
I could be wrong but we got a car like this from Simca with Talbot badging recalling the Rootes owned brand of yore sort of a last ditch attempt to salvage something from the stupidity of Chryslers European missmanagement tour. How many solid brands did they take down?
“Just a few years earlier, [Plymouth] had the Fury, Barracuda, Belvedere, Road Runner, Satellite and luxury VIP.”
Actually a decade earlier, 10 years, not ‘a few’. 1969 was last VIP, and 1970 was last Belv.
By 1979, the muscle car era was a distant memory and gas prices were all people could chat about.
True on the VIP and Belvedere, but Satellite, RR and Barracuda lasted to ’74, and the VIP’s replacement, the Gran Fury, lasted to ’77.
They did bring back an R-body Gran Fury for 1980-81 so that Plymouth would have a full-size car, but most of those went to fleet buyers.
Being in Rock Island IL, I can see this as an original owner car. Omni-rizons were all over northern Illinois, since the L car plant was in Belvedere, near Rockford.
I went to college in DeKalb IL from 81-85, and many classmates got L cars as first new car. If gotten new, heard no compaints, but peers with used L’s had issues. By mid 80′s the late 70′s ones were dying, and were costly to fix. One friend swore off FWD cars because of jalopy O24.
I was a big German Rabbit fan back then. The Omnirizons were interesting cars because they were exactly like they seemed, a combination of German and American. For instance the engine was almost as sweet as the Rabbit’s even though it was carbed and had a longer stroke. The steering wheel was gigantic and dished like an American car and there was push button HVAC where the German car had sliding levers.
They lacked the tight and solid feel of the Rabbits so I never became a fan.
It was weird that these had power steering (unusual for such a small car back then) and the steering wheel tended to self center very aggressively.
I remember that sensation quite well. It was particularly noticeable for a guy used to 60s Ford and Mopar power steering systems.
I always liked the looks of the 024/TC3 but found them cramped for my 6’2 height.
In 1980 I bought a 79 Omni dealer demo car that had about 3500 miles on it.
All things considered it was a pretty good car.
Peppy ,fun to drive ,and even with an automatic transmission it returned decent gas mileage.
It also never had the stalling / accelerator sticking problems that my sisters 78 Omni suffered with.
Of course all of this is dredging up painfully repressed memories of the very very nice 74 Plymouth 360 Duster that was basically given away on trade to the Dodge dealer for this Omni
My mom had an ’84 Omni 4-door with the 2.2 engine and a 5-speed stick. Not a bad car, though the 2.2 was a little stubborn on a cold day. The 5-speed had a heavy clutch and the usual clunky cable shifter, but it worked all right once you were used to it. She put it in a ditch after 2 years and got an ’87 Sundance with the turbo 2.2 and the same clunky 5-speed. The Omni was the first of several Mopar vehicles she owned over a 25 year period, and she got all of them through my (now retired) brother-in-law, who was in management at Chrysler Canada and was able to hook her up with off-lease executive driven vehicles. She got good service from all of them, but she now drives a Honda CR-V.
This is a great find Tom! I haven’t seen one of these in quite some time.
My parents had a 1980 Omni five door. My dad brought it home to my mom in early 1983 to replace a well worn 1972 Impala. The Omni was a manual, mom didn’t know how to drive a manual. Needless to say, she learned.
It was a cute little bugger, silver with red cloth buckets. AM radio, no AC. But it did have a clock and a little light that lit up the ignition switch.
I think the lack of AC and the fact that the trans had some issues is what caused dad to trade it a year later for a 1982 Aries.
Chrysler was one of the first to light up their ignition switch, my 77 New Yorker had a light on the ignition. My friends mom bought one of the last Omnis as a replacement for her well worn Datsun wagon, it was like an 87 Omni?(?) and even then I recall it was like a brand new 70′s car.
That was a longtime Mopar feature – my 71 Scamp had it as well. I liked it a lot.
My first car was an ’85 Omni with the 2.2 and 5-speed. I had one friend with an older 024 with the lethargic automatic and another friend with a ’79 TC3 with the 4-speed, and they both had the weak 1.7 motors, so I was very thankful for my motor and tranny. Carb was a POS, though, even though I had it rebuilt. Finally the family got a new ’93 Sable and I inherited the ’89 Omni America with the fuel-injected 2.2 and 5-speed and nice full-back cloth seats. Wow, what a difference fuel injection made! Drove it for four years and traded it with 122,000 miles for a ’91 Spirit, the biggest mistake of my life as that one promptly blew up seven months later with 90,000 miles on it.
A 1983 Turismo 2.2 just like the one in the “rally checkpoint 2″ photo was my very first new car purchase. That was after my older Omni 024 was totaled in a wreck. Those, plus the folks’ first-year Omni, and my brother’s later Rampage racked up a lot of fun and dependable miles for our family. Fun to drive, and we drove ‘em hard. Never felt the need to rally them, but we lived out in the middle of nowhere, so just getting to town offered plenty of fun roads.
As recent as 5 years ago, I had a co-worker, about 6’2″, who drove a 4-door Horizon sedan which was in amazingly good condition. It was clean and well cared for inside and out. Not sure what year he bought it (used), but it was very low mileage. Back in the mid-’80′s, also had a co-worker with a Horizon sedan which I rode in once. Even got to drive it (an automatic) on one occasion, though I don’t recall what my impression of it was. Will also say that my 1986 Shelby Charger was the single most fun-to-drive car I’ve ever owned. And, sure I’ve owned quite a number of bigger and faster cars, But, the Shelby Charger being smaller and lighter, and being nimble and easy to maneuver while offering above average power for the time was a superb package that was just a blast to drive. Would definitely love to find another one in great shape, but think I could also be happy with one of the Charger 2.2 hatchbacks with a stick, or even one of the earlier 024 models; would of course also include a Turismo or TC3.