I don’t know about you, but I’ve been enjoying Mopar week, not least Virgil Exner’s wilder excursions into stylistic la-la land. But there was another era, devoid of Exner’s flamboyant styling, when Chrysler was (and not for the first time) fighting for its very life. Yes, Chrysler didn’t give up performance and luxury models entirely during the late- ’70s through mid-’90s, but everyone remembers those cars. Who will speak for the not very exciting, smallish and squarish basic vehicles that helped keep the company afloat during the Iacocca/bailout era? What the heck, I will. Oh, but please note: cars only here. With one possible exception, I’ll save the minivan pix for another time.
Leading off is an example of the unassuming econoboxes that arguably represented Chrysler’s first shot in its struggle to return to viability: the Plymouth Horizon/Dodge Omni twins. Based on a Simca design, and among the first domestic vehicles to adopt the transverse engine/front-wheel drive arrangement that was sweeping Europe at the time, they sold steadily over an run of more than 10 years, from 1978 to 1990. Unfortunately, they seemed to have about the same 10-year lifespan before they either rusted out or something too expensive broke. So, seeing any non-performance version of these cars in decent shape is something of a rarity today. The reasonably clean post-’83 Horizon shown above was spotted around Christmastime last year, near Middletown, PA.
Originally posted at the Cohort
But hey! I have been the proud owner of one of these cars, an eye-searing metallic brown ’79 Dodge Omni with huge decals screaming its pedigree to an indifferent world. This vehicle was a surprisingly rust-free western Pennsylvania example that I snagged for about $850 in 1989 or so. Equipped with a VW-sourced 1.7-liter four-cylinder, a manual transmission and not much else, it proved a reasonably reliable transportation device for the roughly three years I had it. Stylish it wasn’t, but it made some lengthy drives economically and without fuss.
Equally rare these days seem to be the Cars That Saved Chrysler ™ (’80s edition), the K-body Plymouth Reliant/Dodge Aries twins. The Aries sedan was photographed in Fremont, NE in 2010, and the rust on the rocker panels suggests the way many of these may have met their demise. The two-door Reliant, battered but much less corroded, popped up in front of a dollar store in The Woodlands, in Texas. Both sport the post-1984 facelift that added just the tiniest hint of aerodynamics to their boxy profile.
Back in the day, I drove several K sedans as rentals; I found them to be roomy, reasonably pleasant drivers, but was never tempted to consider actually owning one. If I ever did snag one, I probably would go for the wagon version for its maximum boxiness; however, I haven’t seen one since at least 2003, in Raceland, Kentucky, where this shot was taken.
If you were looking for a subcompact and the Omni or Horizon didn’t do it for you, Plymouth stores would be happy to sell you the Mitsubishi Mirage-based Champ. Along with the more-or-less identical Dodge Colt, these earned a degree of respect as reliable, rather attractive economy cars. The surprisingly clean ’78-82 example here has apparently weathered well in the mild climate of Winslow, AZ.
Same town, same day, different block: Another Mitsubishi product, sold from 1992-96 as the Eagle Summit Wagon (the photo vehicle) and the Colt Vista Wagon. Summit sedans were based on the Mirage, while the wagon version was actually based on the rather different RVR platform.
The Dodge Shadow and Plymouth Sundance were sold from 1987-94. While listed as P-bodies they were, like so many Chrysler products of the era, derived in part from the K platform. For better or for worse, they brought back a more…American flavor to Chrysler’s compact offerings by cloaking their hatchbacks in sedan-like bodies. The yellow-and-blue Shadows appear to be 1989 or later models, based on the presence of composite (instead of sealed-beam) headlights.
The red Sundance flashes ‘Duster’ markings, pinning it down to the ’92-94 model years and 3.0-liter V6 power. All three machines were photographed within a few miles of each other, in and around The Woodlands, TX.
I can’t seem to stop thinking of these as America’s National Pizza Delivery Vehicles of the ‘90s. More than most other older cars, they always seem to be beat to Hell and back, to the point where I can no longer remember what they might have looked like new. Oh well, I guess that’s what Oldcarbrochures.com is for.
We close out with a quick look at the Aries/Reliant’s eventual replacements, which some consider to be one K variant too many – the Plymouth Acclaim and Dodge Spirit, both introduced in 1989. The well-maintained pre-’93 Acclaim was found in Yorktown, TX, while the nearly identical (but seriously peeling) Spirit was spotted just off Route 230, in Landisville, PA. The latter looks like a ’93-’95 model, judging by its body-color nose.
Whew, that’s a lot of bread and butter for one post–hope these trigger some memories nevertheless.
Dare I say it, but that dark cherry Acclaim is looking pretty sharp.
Like many identical Dodge and Plymouth products, the white “Spirit” appears to be a little brand confused. It’s wearing Acclaim wheel covers and at least one Acclaim taillight. Those are certainly easier to replace than the hood/integrated grill, although the hood doesn’t seem to be pealing like the rest of the car.
I love your Omni too by the way!
The Dodge Aries in the picture brings back memories for me. Back during the summer of 1994, I was preparing to go for my driver’s test to earn my license by taking some lessons through a driving school. The “school” that I went through was basically an independent, semi-retired older man who was a driving instructor on the side to make a few extra dollars. The car that he gave lessons in was a Dodge Aries that was the same shade of puke yellow as the one in this article. Outside of the hideous color, the only thing I remember about this car was how poorly the gas pedal was designed, as well before the hour lesson was up my ankle would get so sore from driving that car.
My mother bought a very nicely equipped 80 Horizon that she kept for five years. It had its share of minor issues, but was a decent car all the while. She certainly liked it better than the 74 Luxury LeMans that she traded for it.
I may be one of the few who can tell you that after Plymouth quit selling the 1982 Champ, they brought back the very same car the next year as the Plymouth Colt. I know because an 83 version was Mrs. JPC’s first car, and I wound up owning it several years later. I kept having to correct people who tried to correct me: “You mean a Dodge Colt.”
I was excited when the Acclaim came out. America was finally ready to consider Plymouth and Dodge cars, and then this dull, boring, old-ladyish thing came out. Gad, what a lost opportunity. Decent car, if you could ever get someone past the looks. Suddenly it’s . . 1953?
It was always 1955 in Iacoccaville.
Everyone has that time the clock stops, as they get older. For my old man, it was 1958. Everything before that was pretty-good-fine; everything after that…just bites. Kids got smart mouths, cars became junk, people didn’t want to work, the newspaper was farked-up with those college-boy editors.
With Lido, it was “$56 for ’56” in his dim, dank braincase – as it got dimmer and danker with age. No more the youth market; he was out to make cars JUST LIKE HIMSELF. When he was young, it was two-tones and the Mustang. When he got old and bored, it was the Perpetual M and old-lady K derivatives.
My wife and I just loved our ’79 Dodge Omni 024 that we purchased about a year old with 9,000 miles on it. Had the hybrid VW based 1.7 motor, air conditioning, power steering, pb, all the options. The original owner business woman traded it in on a Buick Riviera-guess she wanted a more substantial car.
The Omni handled really well and we thought it was a good, tight car. It had a sports car feel to it, red interior and a white with red striping paint job. I liked the 024 body style much more than the four-door more upright regular Omni. The valve seals were replaced under warranty at the dealer and that car was a economical pleasure to own. We traded it to my brother for a 79 Ford Cruisin’ Van that we also loved.
I guess I should confess – I had continuous exposure to the Omni on the Horizon…from before it started selling, to the time it was finally put to death with a stake through its vitals. I just missed the Horizon as I was buying a Chevette in 1978 – and brother, I WAS mad. It looked like an affordable American Rabbit; and if I had to have a four-door to own one, that was okay. But I pulled the trigger too fast; and since I was underwater from the moment I drove the Chevette off the lot, there was no going back.
Quite independent of me, my old man, living in another state, impulsively decided to buy an Horizon. And that’s when I discovered it had more in common with the Chevette than with the Rabbit. Quality, for one. Traction was good; that’s what I had wanted; but it was noisy and tinny. The VW 4 had more power but had nuisance issues such as an automatic choke sticking.
My old man couldn’t be bothered to wait for the fast-idle to come off in the morning…admittedly, often a 15-minute wait. So he took to putting the automatic in R while the cold engine was screaming. And, sure enough, with time he’d damaged the motor mounts. That was four years into it.
But, again, impulsively, he opted to trade while the Horizon was on the lift. Brought home a 1984 Omni…the same car; only much better. Tighter assembly. Sound deadening. It had lost some instrumentation; but on the whole, an improvement.
He had traded it in a year later for one of the first Dodge minivans.
Meantime…I’d gotten to know my (now) ex. Her family was all Mopar, all the time…everything from a rusted 1960 Dodge wagon that ran but little else, that they were hoping to restore, to a 1973 Duster…and THREE Horizon/Omni derivatives. One 1980; one 1982; and one 1984. All the kids were of driving age; and the extra cars were for their use.
The 1982 was a Plymouth TC3; which gave me the chance to see how the two-door fared against the four-door. With lower seat, higher beltline, and the same steering column, now aimed at my face…I wasn’t impressed. The others…the later ones didn’t offer German quality; but it was better than anything GM was doing. Ford…hard to say. The Crown Vics were selling well; my Escort felt more sturdy; but I had a camshaft issue that surely came from a factory goof; and Ford kissed me off. Never heard that about the Horizon derivatives – not with VW OR Chrysler engines.
These were significant cars. But these were not memorable cars. We’d be the poorer had they not been offered; and we are the poorer that they’re gone; but except for the few with back-seat conquests, these are not the stuff memories are made of.
I’d say anyone who managed to complete a back-seat conquest in an Omni is highly deserving of recognition.
I almost pulled off a front seat conquest in a1987 Omni.
Did it!
Great story and you know, the later Omnis with the 2.2 engine were not bad cars at all. By 1985 or so, the interiors were much better and the car had better quality. They were dirt cheap here in Canada and sold well. In sunny Victoria, there were loads of Little Old Ladies with Omnirions of this generation and we serviced loads of them in our garage. Like all the Mopar FWD stuff of the time, it turned to dust right around 140,000 km.
Not very exciting but worthy cars that saved Mopar,without them they would have gone the way of Packard,Edsel and the rest.We got some of these as Chrysler/Talbot Horizons most having been sent to the scrap yard due to the British climate
Same problem here the few we got evaporated long ago.
A question- were the K-cars a derivative of the Omni/Horizon in the same way that the Chev. Celebrity was derived from the X cars?
I’m not the person to answer, at least not with specifics – but, frankly, no. The chassis was different. The Ks came with their own engines; while the L-bodies, the Omnirizons, had engines hastily purchased from VW.
The Ks used a torsion-beam axle in the rear; the O-H cars got McPherson/Chapman struts.
The Ks were done in Detroit; the Ls got started as a Simca project.
Was there a fair amount of cross-pollination? No doubt. But it wasn’t a matter of adding some metal to lengthen the body and ordering new badges. They were entirely-different cars.
I tend to agree. GM’s FWD X- and A-platforms shared wheelbases and more. As you pointed out, Chrysler’s L- and J-platforms, not so much.
Thanks for that info,guys!
That jogged a lot of memories because I’ve driven a batch of them but owned none. Tried to buy an omni/horizon but the guy wouldn’t drop his price. When I first came to Houston I rented a K car wagon. None of them would carry a ladder or enough tools so I drove a truck. Any company that can get as much mileage out of one concept as mopar did here deserves to live.
No question on that. Now, here for another management rant…the skills needed to make a foundering company survive, are not always the same ones as needed to help a solidly-based one get ahead and break out of a rut. Iacocca was blessed with an understanding of the mechanics of the car business; and with that, had at one point some insight on the desires of the younger buyer. But he got in a rut…and I don’t think it was his first. He was badge-engineering at Ford long before he floated his resume at Highland Park. And the Fords of that era weren’t exactly inspirational. Granted, the Fox platform had its merits; the new Mustang reversed serious mistakes; but I would never confuse competence with inspiration. Maybe Henry’s gut feelings when he booted Lido in the rear bumper, weren’t JUST temperment.
The Ks kept Chrysler alive; and then almost killed it. Only fresh blood from American Motors, of all places, got them rolling; and then, sadly, right into the lair set by the highway robbers from Stuttgart.
Totally agree on the Stuttgart fiends. Daimler did a number on poor Chrysler back then, and it almost killed them off.
However, I will also agree that Lido almost killed the company off by milking a good idea literally to death, by building the K car, then stretching, and such it’s basic mechanicals/chassis into other cars with different chassis, but still their roots went back to the K car, and thus lots of basic transportation that while it worked to get them going again in the 80’s, was becoming a liability in the ’90’s.
Glad to see Chryco survive to this day, and I thank Fiat for that.
Not one hour before I read this post I was out and about to check out a local music fes, one block from the happenings was parked a post 83 omlet in maroon with maroon interior in very nice original shape. I breifly owned a k-mart car in that same yellow and in about the same shape. I got rid of it after I deemed replacing the folded over exhaust cost more than the car was worth, heck I think the tailpipe would have been worth more.
I salute you for paying these critters their proper respect! Also, the woodie K in front of that wordy wall looks like a photo-realistic painting – nicely composed.
My first new car was an 87 Omni. 2.2 and torquflite. Full set of gauges. Survived nine years of minimal maintainance and basically fell apart in the summer of 1998 at 110,000 miles. You haven’t lived till you have had a car’s headliner fall on you while driving 75 mph through Atlanta in 100 degree weather two days after your a/c died in Maryland…
Still a decent cheap car, I just kept it one year too long. I remain amazed at how much stuff I could cram into it.
The Colt did have one quite interesting version: the Turbo (I think called GTS Turbo here) with the Twin-Stick transmission, fuel injection and a turbocharger. The U.S. version used the 1,597cc engine and was very quick for the time. Not exactly slick in terms of handling or refinement, but you could do a real number on some substantially more expensive cars away from a stoplight.
THeres one on the cohort pages I shot recently not many of those survived.
There’s some Sundance love I was hoping for!
My Mom drove two Chrysler products of the 1980’s.
The first was a 1980 Dodge Omni sedan which she purchased in 1983. It was a nice little car, very economical and kind of roomy for a small car. It’s only drawback was its temperamental computerized carburetor which gave us a boatload of problems. Other than that the Omni was a reliable car.
The second was a 1987 Plymouth Reliant sedan which she purchased in 1991. In my opinion this was the best car that my Mom ever owned. It was attractive, roomy, economical and well designed. The engine was easy to work on and parts were cheap. We would go on road trips often without any problems. In 1999 the transmission started to give her problems and she had it replaced. Afterwards she decided she wanted another car. I tried to persuade her not to give up on the Reliant but her mind was made up. She offered to give me the car. At the time I could not afford to keep two cars and I did not want to part with my 1986 “baby” Ford LTD. So she sold the Reliant to a neighbor’s friend.
The Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant were fine cars the pulled Chrysler out from the abyss.
juan I was wondering how many miles were on the 87 reliant when you sold it??
In addition to some fairly cool ones, my family has also owned a few of the more humble Mopars. My aunt had two Plymouth Acclaims — boring as hell but dependable. My Mom had an ’83 Horizon, red with a red interior, 2.2 and the TorqueFlite. Dependable little car for the most part — it started overheating on a 12 hour drive to Atlanta that required a 3 hour stop at the Dodge dealer in Chattanooga, but they got it fixed. I remember the 2.2 engines having what was called a “run on” issue, where after you shut it off the engine continued to sputter for a few seconds before finally shutting down.
The Horizon lasted until one Sunday in November ’87, as Dad bringing me and my brother home from the mall. The roads were a bit slick, the Horizon needed tires, and some 16 year-old kid who’d had his license about six months pulled into our lane without looking. He was driving a big early 70s Chevy boat — Dad tried to avoid the collision but there was really no place to go. Got knocked across two lanes of oncoming traffic and the Horizon bent around a telephone pole. It was totaled, and we got a trip to the ER to get some glass vacuumed out of our hair, but for all intents and purposes we walked away. I’ve always thought well of the Horizon for that.
It was promptly replaced by an ’88 Reliant four-door – midnight blue with a gray interior. It was fairly well optioned as Reliants went — had the bigger 2.5, buckets and a console shifted TorqueFlite, A/C and AM/FM cassette. I don’t remember that car having any real mechanical issues, but after a few years the paint caught a serious case of what my Mom called “the creeping crud” (the extreme fading and discoloration that so many American cars of that era suffered from). It was actually pretty peppy with the 2.5, and it also had the most ridiculously over-boosted power steering of any car I have ever driven. It was truly one of those cars you could turn with one finger.
The Reliant also had the misfortune of being the car both my brother and I learned how to drive in, and the poor thing took some serious abuse — but it held up, eventually became my brother’s car around 1998, and ran for another 5 or 6 years until age and abuse caught up with it. I think Dad sold it for a couple of hundred bucks but it was still running.
Magnum Do you remember how many miles were put on the 88 reliant in all that time!!
Of all of the Omni offshoots it never looked better than when it debuted like in the first picture. It was very Germanic (never saw Simca in it since we didn’t have them here) and it wasn’t just because of the VW engine.
Two French Chrysler products had VW/Porsche designed engines the 1800 that became the Centura had a 4 from those people Chrysler Australia fitted a Hemi6 in 3 differing sizes and created a roadrocket by accident very fast cars both off the line and top speed they didnt handle well and are very thin on the ground now.
Tonight’s Hot Summer Nights cruise-in attracted at least 1,871 cars (count of those who took the time to register undoubtedly more unregistered), and included many rare Mopars. No L cars of any kind, but several T&C wagons were present as well as a Dodge 600 turbo convertible.
If I was to buy an L car, an Omni GLH/S or one of the later Charger coupes that were profiled a few days ago with the Turbo II engine.
We did spot a white Dodge Spirit R/T in the cruise lanes but no opportunity to capture a pic, but it appeared to be in excellent condition as were almost all cars.
As to the 1.7 VW engine, what Chrysler bought was actually a short block, the fitted block what shipped to Detroit where it was dressed with a Chrysler specified head, intake/exhaust and everything else. So it was more of a hybrid engine than a drop in from VW, although I do not know if any of the VW block parts interchange with any VW branded applications.
While many are quick to dismiss various cars that are not of their personal taste, as an engineer that lived through the peak, fall, and now Renaissance of the domestic auto industry, I always look at a car through the lens of the time that it was created and as I experienced things and as I may have done things had I been there. Chrysler was on the skids when the L & K car’s came out. While the M cars had surprising staying power with fleet and luxury buyers (5th Avenue), Chrysler’s future depended on these two models especially the K cars. We can argue whether or not Iacocca overexposed the platform, but there is not arguing that without the K at least, Chrysler was finished. That coupled with the evolution of car design during the 1980s with the demands of CAFE, EPA, and the overall industry push to space efficient FWD designs, theynwere right on target. We can argue the merits of individual models and such, but the design elements were right and bought and paid for the talent and Jeep vehicles obtained from AMC purchase. As such, Chrysler was able to produce the LH and Cloud cars, and eventually made the company attractive to a buyer, namely Daimler. Again we can argue the details such as Eaton’s sweetheart exit package or Daimler’s subsequent looting, but Daimler would not have bought a struggling company.
So with that said, whether or not I actually care to own a particular car, I always judge a car not only on it’s own merits but the effect and influence that car had on the company and the industry. A lot of cars pass away from the consumer mind for various reasons, but in fact, may have had more lasting behind the scenes effects that are not so apparent.
I joined Champion Spark Plug in 1984; I was given a company car, inheriting my predecessor’s Gen 1 Reliant K. Prior to that time, Champion sale reps had driven full-size Chrysler products, so this was quite the come-down for the good-old-boys. But for a 20-something, it probably worse: still single, I kept my GMC and kept face, not daring to be caught dead taking a date out in a K-car.
The K-cars were an outward symbol of Champion’s rude awakening that the good-old-days of unlimited sales were changing (purportedly, Champion didn’t bother with bugets until the early 80s -they had deep pockets). And, as you might imagine, the recessions of the 70s, the trend toward fewer cylinder engines, and introduction of the diesel engines of the late 70s-80s meant that Champion didn’t sell as many spark plugs -let along put them in new Chryslers.
What I distinctly remember about that Reliant (which I drove 5 days a week in Texas heat) was that it was a trooper -it was reliable and the AC did fine in Texas. But it was loud and if you drove over a bottle top, you’d feel it in the ride.
Luckily for me, Champion moved to Chrysler minivans in ’84, which I drove -and extolled- for the remainder of my tenure at Champion.
Okay, I’m going throw a few highly personalized K-car embers into this discussion.
Omni
A friend of mine who was in the auto repair business had the misfortune of repairing a late 1980’s model that was owned by the local mayor’s 90+ year old Mom.
Every year the car would come to his shop within an inch of death, and every year one of his mechanics would spend the entire day, from 9 AM to 5 PM, trying to get the thing to run right.
Whichever one of his mechanics was in the most hot water would get the honors. One of my indelible memories is watching a poor fella cuss, scream, and get into a state of near tears by this overtly neglected piece of trash. I have never bought an Omni or Horizon thanks to what I saw at that place.
Acclaim
24 years old and never even knew that auto auctions existed. So naturally I go to the local credit union which is sponsoring a local drive-and-buy event for one of the nearby dealerships.
I was not in the market at all… but hey! All of these cars could be tested for free! I’m young and have nothing else to do that day. So why not? I hop into an Acclaim and drive off to the library to drop off a book.
Well, that damn coolant temp needle wasted no time in going straight to the red. I end up pulling over. Open the hood. No coolant in the reservoir and f’n mud in the radiator. I get some nearby water from a place, fill it back to the brim, and then watch the one traffic light separating me from the credit union parking lot.
I need to time it right to make sure the damn piece of Iacocca trash doesn’t overheat on me again. I start it in neutral, get into gear, accelerate for a few well chosen seconds, and coast all the way back to the event with the engine turned off and nothing but rough pavement and a green light in front of me.
After parking, I kindly inform one of the salespeople about the recent misfortune, get in my Celica, and drive off in a car that seemed to be two clicks above anything produced by Chrysler at that time.
I have never bought an Acclaim or Spirit. Over 2000 cars and never owned a single one.
Cherokee (late AMC… but a Chrysler by marriage)
Now I have bought and sold dozens of em’ over the years. But there is this one I’ll never forget.
Actually, make that two.
The first was at the bid calling shit-stain of a sale called Logandale Auto Auction. One of my friends was working the ring with me and part of work comprised of raising the hood on each vehicle that made it to the block.
The ones that didn’t make it were pushed out. About one in five would usually not make it in running condition. So those we would both push off into the nearby junkyard down the hill. Really. They create a junkyard down the hill for all those cars that didn’t make it. Those vehicles would be used to help make others run and then eventually go through the aptly named ‘charity lane’ at the beginning of each sale.
Anyhow, you had to be careful with opening and closing older Cherokees because the hoods had a tendency to pinch you if part of the metal hooks were misaligned. Plus, if your hands were too close to the edge of the hood, they could cut you real bad. I remember one guy who had to get stitches on his hand due to the inverted steel blade like crease on the hood cutting a nice gash that went sickeningly deep.
My friend decided to open the hood on this Cherokee that was already worth more dead than alive. As soon as he opened it…. “BOOM!!!” the upper radiator hose blows apart in what sounded just like gunfire to my friend. He freaks out so badly that he starts running into the other lane screaming like a crazy man on LSD.
We all laughed for well over a minute. Auctioneer, seller, the audience, everyone. It was a weird night. Later on my friend tosses me the broom so that we can clear off all the oil and fluid spills with these granules of concrete cleaner that absorbed the messes that came out of the rolling turds. He tosses it only a few feet. The broom hits my open thumb instead of my hand and, amazingly, my thumbnail nearly splits in two.
The crack is nearly the entire length of the nail and I run off upstairs to get a bandage, some ointment, and three big long drinks of Southern Comfort.
Cherokee II:
The second Cherokee of ill repute was sold to a bitch. At least I think that was her first name.
Bitch calls me on Superbowl Sunday and says, “I absolutely have to get this car for my daughter. Please! Please! Will you show it to us?”
I explained to her the virtues of this day and my time with family and friends. But no was not a word that existed in her desire to please a sixteen year old kid. So I pick up the Cherokee and have her meet me at my home.
Her kid drives it. She drives it. They like it, and I already can tell this isn’t going to end well. I tell both of them that this is a 22 year old vehicle (an 85′ model at the time) and that these cars are far more complex than they realize. I think this car had a computer and a carburetor, along with a long list of unique AMC components under the hood. The more I tell them it’s not cheap to keep, the more they want it.
Apparently the husband is a mechanic…. (it took a lot of self-control for me to not roll my eyes when I heard that remark)
So we sign the paperwork. They go back to start the vehicle and… no go. I spend about 10 minutes trying to make the thing go and then offer them their money back. They refuse and arrange to have the car taken to the husband’s shop.
Well, a month later she calls me and wants her money back. I asked her why the husband had been unable to fix it and she tells me, “Oh, he knows nothing about these things. He tried to fix it, and the car won’t even move now.”
Great. Well, sorry, but I’m not going to pay for your mistakes. She starts to whine and I let her know that a lady driving a $50,000 Mercedes is more than capable of paying a qualified mechanic to do the work right the first time. Also, if she can afford a car like that, why is she sticking her 16 year old daughter with a $1500 car built in 1985. No airbags. No ABS. I mean, God damn! Think woman!
The conversation quickly degenerates and I just give her a reference to the shop that fixed the Dodge Omni. Misery deserves company, which is the main reason why most 1980’s Chryslers are better off as Chinese washing machines than American cars sold to poor old dumb shits.
We shoo away neglected European cars at the shop for that reason. I don’t know who that mechanic was, but that Omni must have been pretty dismal to have caused that much grief. I can bring an Omni back from the dead much easier and for far less money than the oft neglected 3 Series Bimmers we see around here driven by marginal people that have no business driving them.
In 2001, I was given a 1993 Plymouth Acclaim 2.5 model in trade for some work that I had done for someone. The car originally belonged to the man’s father and he inherited it when he died. The man’s wife ran into the back of a FedEx truck at low speed with it’s high bumper sill damaging the grille, headlights and hood but not the bumper itself. I took the car because repairs were easy and parts cheap. When I obtained the car, I opened the radiator cap and could not see any fluid. So I filled it up (it held at least visually there), and drove it for several days after removing the hood and damaged front pieces. Yes it was a strange sight a car with no hood and basically no front end, but where I was going no one cared. Later once I acquired the parts, I inspected the car again and discovered a leak in the radiator and by that time the system was dry. The Acclaim had a temp gauge, and while it did creep toward the 3/4 mark, it never rose to a point that would have caused action on my part. Perhaps it was the fact that with all the parts removed, the engine was effectively air cooled in addition the the cooling fan, but it was apparent that I had been driving dry for most of that time. With the a/c going that still worked despite the condenser being bent back some.
Eventually, I replaced the body parts, installed a new radiator, and gently bent the condenser back which held, cleaned up the car and sold it for $1000 with about $300 in real money into it.
I sold the car to a neighbor’s son who was trying to clean up his act, I took $500 down and $500 in 30 days. I kept the title. Suffice to say, the son had a relapse of some kind, got busted in the car and society took him away. No one knew what happened to the car until about two months later I get a letter from the DMV from a wrecking yard looking to place a storage lien on the car. I called them and they wanted something like $450 (I can’t remember the figure) for something like 45 days of storage. Since I was already ahead of the game despite the turn of events, I was ambivalent as to whether I wanted to bother with the car any more. Eventually I decided if I could talk them into coming down on the storage (it’s not like they had anything really into the car beyond the incidental gas and driver time to haul it) I would take it and sell it again. Well I offered to pay half of what they wanted plus explaining to them that I was a Unit Manager at GM and could spread the word that they were a “friendly” agency. They were having none of it and got quite belligerent to the point that I told them that the dude had the title and good luck processing it with the DMV. It probably would take them another 45-60 days to obtain a clear title on the lien maybe more on a car that had limited value. So their obstinance put them between a rock and a hard place. Not sure what the laws were about disposing of title less cars but I am sure it cost them a fair amount of economic value if not real money.
This post brings back tons of memories.
My mother owned two Horizons, a white ’84 and red ’89 (the ’89 was my brother’s first car). Our family wagon was a ’88 Reliant K wagon (I learned to drive in this). I owned a blue ’94 Spirit. My mother also owned a ’02 PT Cruiser.
So many memories. Chrysler family here as we had a ’84 Voyager (prior to the Reliant K) and now my parents have a ’06 Town & Country.
There were actually two Eagle Summit Wagons, the four door as shown with the single sliding van-like side door and removable rear seat and a five door with more conventional portals.
In dealing with end of life geriatric issues for Mom & Dad we choose the four door as shown for not only the economy of operation but largely for the ease of passenger access to the rear seat along with convenient hauling of Dad’s wheelchair. I couldn’t find a similar combination of success in those virtues from any other maker. We didn’t need or want a full size mini-van, but this mini mini-van was just perfect, as far as it went. It was a bit low-rent feature-wise but in practicality in use it couldn’t be beat. Dad, even in his severe infirmity, was able to manage his way in and out of the back seat with little if any assistance. The sliding door really was the ticket for that.
To this day I don’t understand why this configuration has not been offered by any other maker in a car this size, particularly given the continued popularity of the sliding door feature in full-size vans to this day. It is about as supremely functional and versatile as a box can be. My main gripe about the vehicle was that I wished it had been built by Honda with typical Honda attention to small features, driving characteristics, and build quality/reliability. I love my xB2 (in spite of the many who don’t) but this body configuration would still be my first choice were it available today.
Wow, you covered a lot of ground in this post. Initially, I thought it was about L bodies, but I see it went all over the place. I’ve been to those places, in many of these cars.
I have several L body experiences, but my most personal was the Omni a buddy of mine and I bought together to make a ProSolo racer. At the time (late 80’s) Chrysler was pushing the car as a cone dancer (with the proper amount of Direct Connection parts thrown at it), and we took the bait. I should explain we had been running various RWD Mopar products in the local bullrings with help from a local Dodge dealer who wanted to increase his exposure to the local community. All told, he might have done better sponsoring a little league team. Which he ended up doing later on.
We got the Omni at dealer cost (so we were told) and bought and installed the parts on the car. We did fairly well in the first season, but due to a combination of personal events happening in both of our lives, the second season fell apart. First, his divorce and both parents dying within a year of each other, me with my wife making more demands upon my time and impending arrival of my first child made keeping up with all of the travel a bit difficult.
I sold my share of the car to my partner, who mothballed the car before the end of the second season. Over that winter he put the car up for sale, but took a bath on it when finally sold. I moved to Atlanta the next spring, we eventually spoke less and less.
About a year before he passed (1998), he called me and we had a real nice chat. We spoke about our bullring days and the disaster that was the foray into parking lot racing. We had a few good laughs about it, to be sure. He had no hard feelings nor did I. Unfortunately, I had no idea that it would be the last time I spoke to him, as he died from pancreatic cancer within the space of a year from our phone call.
The Omni was a neat little racer, it stuck well in the corners (as it should have!) and the carbed 2.2 with 5 speed was a pretty tractable combination. It was probably good we didn’t shift much in that car, even with an aftermarket shifter, the action was rubbery. I would have liked to have raced the car further, but our situations didn’t allow it. It would have been a fun little driver on the street, but the lightly massaged 2.2 wouldn’t allow you to blow VTEC’s or LT1’s into the weeds. But it would have been entertaining…