In July 1984 I put a small tear in my Left ACL (Anterior Cruciate Ligament) (see BOAL: 1982 Honda GL500 Silverwing – Chapter 5, The Baby “Wing”). I was discharged from the Navy in 1985 and enrolled at the University of Arizona. On Labor Day weekend in 1987 I was stepping into the hot tub at a friends apartment complex when that ACL ruptured. I decided to schedule the reconstructive surgery for winter break.
With my left knee unstable I couldn’t depress the clutch on the Jeep, nor was it advisable for me to ride the motorcycle. I needed a car with an automatic transmission.
The Jeep went up on jack stands and everything that wouldn’t appreciate sitting exposed to the weather for many months was removed. For a mere $800 I found this 1984 Dodge Aries at a local dealer.
The Aries K cars have been covered extensively here at Curbside Classic. My first hit on google looking to add detail was Paul’s Curbside Classic Lite: 1984 Dodge Aries – When a Compact Sedan Was a Savior, Not a Coffin Nail. Mine was a pretty basic model. To the best of my recollection it didn’t have power windows, power door locks, a power mirror or power seats. It had the automatic transmission I needed and it had air conditioning (a requirement in Tucson for an enclosed car).
I owned the Aries for about 9 months and it served me well. I don’t recall it needing any repairs or maintenance. I drove it to campus, I drove it to work and after my surgery I drove it to physical therapy. They were common enough that it didn’t attract any attention. The only strong memory I have of it is realizing 20 minutes after I sold it (for $800) that I’d left my prescription sunglasses in the door pocket. Not counting what I’d paid for taxes and registration ownership of this car was a break even deal.
My parents had a 1984 Plymouth Reliant wagon. It was the 2.2 Auto with air. Was a good car but it wasn’t great in the power department. It also had trouble at times where it didn’t want to stay running. Some say the cars had problems with the carb icing up. They never solved that problem and eventually sold the car. The 1984 were the last year the Aries and Reliants had Carbs. The 1985s were the first throttle body fuel injected models. The K cars were comfortable drivers and were good “transportation form Point A to Point B” cars.
We had an early Reliant/Aries (not sure which) as a company pool car. I remember all the hype when introduced. Our was very basis (A/C, AM radio, vinyl and plastic on very touch surface) with the most primitive, hard plastic steering wheel. It served its purpose, but it wasn’t something that I would have bought unless under duress.
My parents had a 1981 Reliant, which I’ve COALed about before. Good, reliable car.
The standup hood ornament always seemed like an odd touch for such an otherwise inexpensive car. This has Iacocca’s fingerprints all over it.
” I was stepping into the hot tub at a friends apartment complex when that ACL ruptured. “
I read this, got up to get more coffee, and felt a twinge in my left knee.
The power of the written word.
(I’m ignoring the fact I moved a bunch of large-ish rocks yesterday as part of cleaning out lamb’s ear winter debris in two rock gardens, and then replacing said rocks.)
Later K car derivatives were popular rental car options in the late 1980s and I always preferred them to GM alternatives and Fords (once my favorite Ford Fairmonts were cycled out).
At some point very early, they should have offered a performance version, to improve their too conservative image. A no-frills wagon, with the turbo 2.2, tighter suspension, fat tires and flashy wheels. Low volume, to not compete with upscale K-variants. The basic boring K-Cars always really needed an image enhancement, as Shelby did for the Omni and Lancer.
Spoken like a true enthusiast, and total heresy to a 1980s Chrysler executive. A rival for the Volvo Turbo Brick might have made some sales.
I remember that in the mid 80s these were considered decent cars, the problem is by the mid 90s the were well past their sell by date.
It is funny that as common as these were all through the 80s and as active as I was in buying and renting cars during that decade (and buying 80s cars in later decades) that I don’t believe I have ever driven one of these.
I was really into these very early-on because of their status as the car that brought Chrysler back from the brink of death. Who knows, my mother might have looked at one of them had she held out for another year, but these were only rumors when she was in the market.
As with the Volare/Aspen, the wagon was the only one that I really liked the looks of. The only real problem of these for me was the bad case of anti four cylinder/automatic disease I suffered from then (and still do, to a small extent).
Seth,
Those were the days, when you could buy cool cars for less than $1,000! One day when I get time, I need to write some articles about all of the cars I bought from my first one I bought in High School in 1966 (a Falcon Sprint). By 1972, I had had a dozen or so cars including a 1962 Corvair Spyder, 1959 Ford Skyliner retractable hardtop, 1950 Nash Statesman, 1963 Corvair, 1967 Thunderbird, 1955 Chevy, 1957 Chevy, 1969 Ford Galaxie (to this day the newest car I have ever owned with only 13K miles), 1965 Chevy 2 dr sedan, 1968 Plymouth Fury III, 1970 Dodge Challenger 225 slant 6, 1969 Corvette convertible.
The 1970 Challenger, I bought in 1972 for $800! I later custom fabricated a custom molded fixed Lexan “Moon Roof” in it. I sold it for around $1,000 (as I recall) in Dallas Texas in 1978. I wonder what happened to it? The picture is of it when I bought it, with the 1968 Plymouth Fury III in front of it before I sold it.
But did you get the subscription sunglasses back?
For me the ONLY appealing vehicles from Chrysler Corp at the time were 83 through 88 🤔 Fifth Avenues. Had 83 and 85 Fifths! Chryslers best transformation ever. Formal roof, luxurious velvet interior, and classic luxury look made these strong competition for Cadillac at a more affordable price! 🏆
Rick: I had a white 1987 5th Ave. at one time. Blue quarter top and blue velour seats. Mega comfy and reliable.
I had an Aries for short term transportation too, as an extended-length rental company car during the start-up phase of the new tv station. It was pretty dull. I was commuting over Coldwater Canyon at the time, and it wasn’t exactly a canyon carver, on those times I came home quite late and the traffic was thin. But it did the job.
The contrast of it to the MB 300E I got next was quite stark. How many folks traded up from a K car to a nice Benz? Lucky me. 🙂
However meek and simple these cars appeared, they helped accomplish several seeming herculean tasks. They restored Chrysler’s viability as a credible carmaker, with a future. They immediately surpassed the GM X-cars, in most car reviews. And they succeeded where GM failed, in making a reliable small car, that used new technology. While helping erase memories of the Aspen/Volare’s bad reputation. Important cars in domestic automotive history, however primitive they seem now.
Interesting story. I can’t recall the year of the car, but in 1996 I was hired by the city police department and would be going to the police academy at the first chance there was an opening. Of course it ended up being over one of the worst Illinois winters in many years, so I didn’t want to drive my new 1995 Mustang 4 1/2 hours in the snowy weather to the university of IL. So I set out to find a cheap little front drive car. I ended up finding Dodge Aries (either 1984, 85 or 86) with over 100K and I picked it up for $800. I made a few minor repairs myself (easy to work on), did a complete service and she was good to roll. There was another new officer going as well, so each Sunday evening that little Aries took us the 4 1/2 hour trip to the academy and on Friday evening the same trip back. We did this in tons of snow for 12 weeks and that little Dodge never missed a beat.
After the 12 week academy was finished, I kept the Aries for a couple months more just because I actually enjoyed driving it. Then I decided to sell it and placed in by the road going past my house. Sold it within days for $1,200.
Your story of needed a temporary car reminds me of a somewhat similar story my father shared with me. In about 1960, a friend of my father’s suffered some sort of arm injury that kept him from being able to drive his Austin-Healey. At the time, my father happened to drive an Olds 88 with an automatic transmission, so the two of them swapped cars for several months. Dad said he got the better end of the deal.
I can see this Aries being a good, temporary car, and you can’t ask more from a temporary car than breaking even financially.
An employee of mine in a small business I owned bought a Plymouth Reliant (I forget what year) to replace her 1972 Dodge Monaco which was definitely showing its age-related frailties. She drove the Reliant thirty miles a day to and from work for many years until her death, and she was not one to see to regular car maintenance. Her son took it from there and drove it many more years, though he DID maintain his cars. K-Cars were stubby looking, plain Jane transportation, but dead-on reliable. One feature it had was the no-longer-relevant AM Stereo radio; it was the only one I ever heard (I was taking it to the gas station while she was busy) and acquitted itself quite well on strong signals from stations that played decent-sounding music.
Haven’t had an ACL in my right knee since November 1977 which was also before any kind of reconstructive surgery. So I wore a Ken Stabler knee brace when playing baseball. Today the brace is long gone as is the ACL.
My favorite looking K Cars were the rag tops .
-Nate
How did the OP find a 1984 Dodge Aries for $800 in the summer of 1984? That was still a new car at the time.
I may have mentioned this before, but in one of my jobs, I commuted in a car pool that included a first year Plymouth Reliant. My “elderly” co-worker (I’m his age now…), Ed, bought it new and drove it until his retirement in the late 1980’s. At first I wasn’t too thrilled about the car as it was a mid level model and I assumed that it would be real dog with the small four cylinder motor. And packed with four passengers, too.
It acquitted itself rather well during our time together, the car was fairly comfortable and could haul the four of us around with fair aplomb. He never seemed to have an real issues with the car and after retirement, he replaced it with a brand new 1988 Plymouth Caravelle.
My positive experience with Ed’s K car led me to look at an H-body Lancer, which was a car I ended loving and kept for 11 years. The K cars could be basic, but I think they were tough cars that did the job just fine for lots of people.
It says it was purchased in the fall of 1987, not 1984.
Oh crud, I mis-read that. However, a three year old K car for $800? That’s a stellar deal, regardless.