The early 1980s was not a great time for American cars. The U.S. auto industry slurped up a lot of alphabet soup in those years – EPA, NHTSA, CAFE and all of the constraints and regulations that came with them. Jimmy Carter had told us that we had to be satisfied with less. Even with him out of office, our new lowered expectations were turning into reality in showrooms everywhere. In 1981, gasoline was over $1 per gallon, roughly equivalent to $3.50 in today’s prices. But even so, it might be possible to have a little luxury in our lives. This was the world that begat this Chrysler LeBaron.
I am not sure that there has been a U. S. automotive nameplate that has been more broadly used (abused?) than Chrysler’s LeBaron. In the 1920s and 30s, LeBaron was a custom coachbuilder which built custom bodies for the most expensive cars of the day. During the depression, the company was responsible for some of the most beautiful Chryslers ever built. When Chrysler renewed its assault on the high end of the market it chose the LeBaron name to grace the best Imperial that the company offered. While other companies watered down the old names and added fresh ones for their newest and best offerings, the LeBaron remained at the top of Imperial’s pecking order until Chrysler threw in the towel (again) and killed the Imperial after a disappointing 1975. Then, from 1977-81, the name was given to Chrysler’s mid-sized line that tried (but failed) to take on the Cutlass juggernaut.
Act III of the LeBaron story brings us to today’s CC. In 1980-81 when this car was under development, Chrysler knew two things. First, it knew that we were entering a new era of scarce and expensive fuel. The party was over, and even the most luxurious cars were going to have to crack 30 mpg. Second, it knew that there was no money for a new platform to replace the larger cars that were being phased out. This meant that anything new was going to have to be based on the K body, because that was all there was.
I have always been tremendously conflicted about this car. During the depths of Chrysler’s near death experience (OK, the 1979-81 edition) I was in college and had become a huge Mopar fan. Chrysler was my favorite car company and I had a big emotional investment in its survival. I followed its ups and downs, and kept a keen eye on its new products. When Chrysler introduced the new 1982 LeBaron, I knew that it was a Reliant wearing a top hat and a carnation, but I tried to be OK with that. I really wanted to like the car. “It’s a CHRYSLER” is what I kept telling myself. But I couldn’t get the image of those big Imperials of the 60s and 70s out of my head. The fact that GM was still churning out rear drive Park Avenues and 98 Regencys did not help. The only consolation was what everybody knew in 1982 – that we were running out of oil, that the day of a car with size and room and power was over, and that we would just have to get used to a new normal where we would have to be impressed with the fact that Chrysler engineers could ingenuously transfer the idle shake of the 2.2 into the front bumper to make the car smoother. This was an actual bragging point at the press conferences.
Really, Chrysler did the best it could with what was available. Chrysler took its best luxury gizmo-tech and put it into this car. Does anyone remember the Electronic Voice Alert system that told you what you needed to know about the car? This was the famous talking car that everyone found so obnoxious and that the comedians could not get enough of. But at the time, the best luxury car thinking was that the only way forward into the 80s was to offer a 5/8 scale of a 70s American luxury car. And they even trotted Ricardo Montalban back in front of the cameras to sell it.
Although I identify this car as a 1986, it could also be an 87 or 88. Not even I can tell you the difference, so please feel free to correct me on this. I am sure that is one of these final 3 years for this car because this is the aerodynamic version. I am not kidding. Kind of like the aerodynamic restyling of the 85 Town Car where they took a belt sander to the sharp corners. But for what it was, it was not a bad car. Given the design constrictions of either the era in general or of Chrysler’s financial situation in particular, they could have done worse. Compact, economical, reasonably durable, reasonably smooth, and with all the toys luxury buyers had come to expect- the car did what it had to do: Preserve the Chrysler nameplate for better days ahead. And in truth, this big little Chrysler was no worse than any of the little Buicks that GM managed to put out with all of its resources. So all these years later, this former Mopar fanboy can take some consolation in that.
Unfortunately for Chrysler, a rising economy and falling gasoline prices doomed this car to also-ran status for the rest of its days. Chrysler would spend several years slicing, dicing and stretching this car like a 53 Studebaker until the company could bring out some cars more suited to market preferences during the Lutz-led product renaissance of the mid 90s. Having lived through this era, I am not so sure that I am ready for another sip of CAFE.
My father-in-law had one of these in champagne, kind of a pale pinky tan, with an interior the same maroon color as the lining of a clarinet case. It felt like it could have been the same fabric too. After we inherited the car I drove it for a couple of weeks, and one morning on the way to work it interrupted the tune on the radio to tell me that the water level was low. That was when I found out that the radiator was made of plastic. Already I didn’t have a strong commitment to keeping the car, and our daughter’s reluctance to use it as transportation to and from school meant that it was soon traded on a 1984 RX7.
Oh wait: Now that I think about it, I think that car was a New Yorker. Not that this made a great deal of difference.
“your door is ajar…bing” “your door is ajar…bing”
“All monitored systems are functional!”
Actually, since I was mature enough to get my driver’s door properly shut, it more frequently double-“Booped,” and admonished “Please close your passenger door.” When my careless passenger complied, it responded with a curt “Thank you.”
My Maroon MoPar saved my life one afternoon. I was idling at a red light when, just as my light turned green, Captain Gizmo blurted “Washer fluid level is low.” I was slightly startled and momentarily hesitated my typical aggressive green-light acceleration (did I mention mine was a Turbo?) as a Grand Cherokee flew across my path, missing me by inches. Had I not hesitated, 4000 pounds of hurtling Jeep would have come right through my driver’s window and played hopscotch on my innards.
Great car!
Around the same time as this Chrysler Australia released a truly awful car and it bears a resemblance to this The Mitsubishi MAGNA was the culprit here a terrible car full of wonderful features and fuel saving under body design but it was rubbish from day one. FrontWD 4cyl &V6 Trans guarenteed to grenade by 50000m/80000kms then the block would crack one model the roofs rusted off this POS was a tecnological masterpiece if you saw the ads, but no it was the worst car ever made, though Hyundai built the same car as a SONATA and it was a much better car . Are these related to the K car they seem to share so much.
1986, huh? As I recall, that was just about the time when Lido inked the deal to buy the remnants of AMC Jeep for $1.5 billion.
Seems that the finance boys at Chrysler, having made some money off the K and more out of the (Ford-originated concept) minivan…were sticking it into the mattress. There was certainly, by this time, the capital to do something a little more creative in that market sector…and the later LH cars and Neons, proved it.
Yeah, I know the story – that the savior of Chrysler from this drought of imagination, came from the AMC transplants. And that the unimaginative new line of full-size cars were quickly scrapped in favor of Renault Premier-based LH and LHS.
It all turned out well for Chrysler; maybe less so for AMC – which, if one can judge by how Nissan was later reinvigorated with Renault oversight, would have fared much, much better as a quasi-independent with the team and product finally put together in 1987. But it all begs the question, WHY? WHY was Chrysler so berift of creativity at that point? They had a double with the K platform…not brilliant, but the right car at the right time. AND THERE THEY SAT.
Was it that Lido was less the Great Leader Of Men than his press releases painted him? Did the Finance boys he brought over from Ford try and recreate that Bean-Counter Hell at Chrysler? Had Lee just gotten tired and/or bored with the whole thing? And if so, why didn’t he just hand it over to Sperlich or even Lutz, all the sooner…rather than raking the muck at the bottom to find Eaton?
Questions, questions. But it shows that Chrysler, although in better health by the mid-1980s, still was completely clueless as to how to put together a successful car company. That bit of the puzzle was completed by the AMC transplants – led by François Castaing.
Without them, there’d almost certainly have been no Chrysler by 2000.
You raise an interesting question – why did Chrysler stick with the K body and its variants for so long. What I have read is that Iacocca did not consider Chrysler capable of fighting GM and Ford across a full line of models. In his early days with the company, Iacocca had to make a choice about where Chrysler would stay and fight. In one of his few really wrong moves, he put all his chips on $2/gal gasoline (double what it hit in 1981). The big cars were killed and all long range planning was going to be on the OmniRizon, the K and what could be based off of them. That the Fifth Avenues and Diplomats stayed on so long was reaction to strong sales rather than planning. This is just a guess, but I think Iacocca spent the rest of his days at Chrysler waiting for fuel to spike again, and he would be ready with showrooms full of fuel-efficient cars.
Interesting (and plausible) theory, jp…very similar to what George Romney did at AMC some 25 years earlier.
Also interesting is that Chrysler Corporation downsized its B-bodies in 1962, about a dozen years too soon. It’s as though Chrysler’s success with 1957’s “Forward Look” started a series of attempts at being one step ahead of the competition, with varying degrees of success.
Unfortunately, this quest for innovation seems to have come at the expense of product development and manufacturing quality, which ultimately cost Chrysler dearly in the form of warranty costs, as well as damage to its reputation that resulted in poor sales.
I’ve read that, as part of the federal government signing off on the loan guarantees, Chrysler had agreed to kill the R-bodies. Given their dismal sales, this probably wasn’t a difficult promise to make or keep…if this is true.
I’ve also read that Iacocca’s reluctance to replace the K-platform stemmed from learning some lessons during his tenure at Ford a little TOO well. Ford was ruled by its Finance Department and a conservative Henry Ford II, both of whom were very reluctant to invest in new product. Ironically, while at Ford, Iacocca railed against this mentality, and it was one of the flashpoints in his long-running battle with Henry Ford II.
He then went to Chrysler, and after bringing the K-cars and the minivans to market, he became very conservative about new products…just like his old nemesis, Henry Ford II.
It was apparent even back then that Chrysler needed a completely new platform by 1988. Even if Iacocca was betting on $2-a-gallon gas, he still should have authorized the development of brand-new, fuel-efficient platforms to replace the Omni/Horizon and K-cars.
“Kind of like the aerodynamic restyling of the 85 Town Car where they took a belt sander to the sharp corners.”
Pure gold!
Did these Lebarons ride like Town Cars?
Uncanny, I just sold my father’s very similar Burgundy ’90 LeBaron today, then saw this. He bought it new and it’s been a good car for them. Like you said, trim size, decent mileage, good room inside and the plushness and goodies they liked then. The Mitsu 3.0 L V6 certainly helped too.
My father had the 1986 New Yorker that talked. He loved that car, even though it only had the 2.5 in it. They drove that car all over the country (with a few breakdowns). I always thought of it as a tarted up K car.
Ready for another sip of CAFE? This time Detroit’s finally bringing over their sophisticated European cars, full of character, future CCs for sure. Ford’s apparently having good success with the Fiesta and Chrysler’s bringing over some Fiats, even Alfas. Maybe the Starbucks generation is ready for some automotive cappuccino.
A little clarification on LeBaron. LeBaron was founded by Thomas Hibbard and Raymond Dietrich in 1920 (there was no one named LeBaron, and it wasn’t French — they just thought it sounded good). At first, they weren’t actually a coachbuilder; they designed cars, but didn’t build them. In 1925, the firm merged with Bridgeport Body Co., which allowed it to actually build bodies, as well as design them. (By then, both Hibbard and Dietrich had departed for other ventures.)
Briggs Mfg. Co. bought out LeBaron, Inc. in 1927, using it both as a coachbuilder for upscale customers. The Briggs Styling Office also did a lot of stuff for major automaker clients — both Ford and Chrysler commissioned Briggs for design work. So, there were Chrysler Imperials with bodies by LeBaron, and Briggs/LeBaron-styled Chryslers (notably the 1935 Airstreams).
There was less of that kind of work after the war, as more automakers had well-developed in-house styling departments, but Briggs continued to produce bodies for various clients — by 1950, I think they had something like a dozen plants in the U.S. and Britain. Walter O. Briggs, the founder, died in 1952, and his family decided to sell off the company’s assets (possibly to pay the inheritance taxes), creating a panic for automakers like Packard that relied on Briggs for body stampings.
Chrysler ended up buying nearly the entirely works in 1953, including the LeBaron division (by then mostly defunct) and the rights to the LeBaron name. It was first applied as an Imperial trim series in 1957, and was applied to all Imperials in 1971.
I knew that grill looked familiar! I owned a 1986 LeBaron for a while – probably one of the worst in existence. I paid $160 and drove it for eight months or so. During that time I painted it flat black for a poor man’s rat rad look. Looked not too bad with the red padded roof actually. The interior was the 80s whore house red but mine had the digital dash and rarely seen floor shifter. It didn’t however have the talking option. It was quite reliable around town but I took it out on the highway once where it promptly burnt or leaked out all its oil. I poured in the used oil from our van’s recent oil change and drove it a few more months with no issues. I ended up trading it for a rough Lada Niva.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/daveseven/4482634487/
In early 1986, per our Saturday afternoon custom, I was walking with the dog and kids up the street and through the local Dodge dealer’s lot – everyone knew us and one particular salesman loved our dog. I spotted a 1984 long wheelbase (EEK) E-class sitting in the used car section – it had that gorgeous gun metal blue hood and silver body two-tone treatment that was just perfect for this car. Well, I told my wife about it after I got home and she said she wanted to see it. So, her and I went back to the dealer, looked over the car and took it for a drive. As we drove it by the house and around the neighborhood, she said “Dear, somehow we have to find a way to buy this car!” I couldn’t have agreed more.
The car had that light bluish-gray plush cloth seats (no mouse-fur) and interior – very sweet. 2.2L, PS, PN, tilt wheel, auto, A/C, AM/FM radio (no tape), no cruise control but had the message center.
Well, we did buy it and it simply was the finest car both of us had ever owned since we were married! We kept that car for 8 years!
Except for MAP sensors going out (which were always taken care of under warranty), the car served us very well.
On this car, ol’ Lido did us right!
This brought a smile to my face. Always nice to hear the positive.
I currently drive a pale blue 1986 chrysler lebaron (identical to the brown one shown above) that only has 52k miles on it. Bought it with only 37k at an auction for ratheer cheap, so cheap I won’t even say the price for sake of astonishing some of you. Given the age of the car though it is one of the smoothest cars I have ever driven
Hi, I just acquired a 1986 le baron 4 dr turbo landau style. Its white with tan leather int. loaded, with 18,117 orig miles. Absolutely mint with 145 pics of every part of the car displayed. Car never in snow. I know next to nothing about its original selling price new and was hoping some one had that info, or could anyone tell me where to get it? [I have my 1983 TC convertible which I dearly love]. At the moment I am undecided whether I’ll keep it or sell it. Any info will be welcome. Thanks Phil. E-mail or call 1-518-834 7226
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Sounds fun. You might want to start over at Allpar.com, as they have a lot of info on Mopars of various eras.
You can ID this Lebaron as an 87 or 88 by the steering wheel. The 84-86 used a different style wheel. The only way to ID between an 87 and 88 is by the VIN. Great cars, roomy, good on gas, good looking and reliable. Better than any new car made today! And classy!!
I always thought these were stylish cars. Clean, sharp edges, with a tasteful touch of chrome. I was in my late-teen years, and cars with “classic” styling touches were what I was attracted to. Here is a picture of the 1982 LeBaron coupe and Town & Country wagon.
Sadly, the only thing I remember about this car was the “voice warning-alert system”-catnip at its worst. That ultra annoying synthesized voice that reminded you to shut your headlights, check oil, door ajar, etc.That Stentorian male voice sounded like a disembodied John Houseman. At least the voice in the Datsuns-Nissans sounded like an attractive Oriental woman.A Geisha girl maybe?