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Yesterday, 68% of voters felt that $129,900 was too much to pay for a 4-year-old lemon-law-buyback Maybach 57, which is doing pretty well according to the harsh standards set by Nice Price Or Crack Pipe. Today we'll be considering a super-low-mileage, near-showroom-condition Dodge Daytona… but we're not talking about the kind of Daytona with the big wing and U-joint-bustin' V8. No, we mean the K-car-based Daytona Turbo Z, which is pretty much the concentrated essence of 1980s style. It's got lots of plastic body parts. It's got the word "Turbo" printed in multiple locations. It's got 142 factory horsepower, and this one's got just 2,021 miles on the clock! That's averages out at fewer than 85 miles per year! The seller has blatantly disregarded eBay car-seller tradition by using correct spelling, grammar, and capitalization, but he or she makes up for it by pointing out the "Star Power" of the car. Worth 25 grand? What do you think? galleryPost...
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newVideoPlayer("/87_Plymouth_Sundance_Quebec_494.flv", 506, 423,""); It turns out that Céline Dion really did make French-language Chrysler commercials back in the 80s, and here's another one allegedly featuring the future superstar. Thrill as she hoons that '87 Sundance right up the Stade Olympique in Montreal, miraculously avoiding arrest at the summit. Maybe 146 turbocharged horsepower (although this car appears to be the 97-horse NA version) is all you need to accomplish such a feat!
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After Uncle Sam bailed out "too big to fail" Chrysler in 1979, the race was on to bring to market small front-wheel-drive cars that could compete with Japanese imports better than sluggish Cordobas and Volares. The K-cars were powered by Chrysler's very first all-metric four-cylinder engine, the 2.2, and it proved to be a reasonably reliable and versatile powerplant. Just about every car Chrysler built from 1981 through the mid-90s could be had with some flavor of the 2.2 or 2.5 engine, and the turbocharged versions made plenty of power; the peak was the Turbo III, with Lotus-designed DOHC head and an output of 225 horsepower. Be sure to check out Allpar's interview with engine designer Pete Hagenbuch , for the scoop on how the Slant Six and 2.2 were developed. [Allpar]
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How about an engine family that included V6, V8, and V10 variants and is still being manufactured today after more than 40 years? Starting with the 273-cube V8 in 1964 (itself a descendant of the mid-50s-vintage A series engine) and proceeding through vast numbers of 318s and 360s (and let us not forget the screamin' 340 Six-Pack pictured above), the LA design ended up as the basis of the 488 and 505 V10s used in Vipers and SRT-10s. While the Slant Six has pretty well established itself as the top contender for the All-Time Most Bulletproof Detroit Engine Award, its 318 stablemate makes a strong bid for second place. [Allpar]
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OK, so maybe it wasn't fair that Uncle Sam bailed out Chrysler but told AMC to drop dead, back in the Malaise Era. It seemed like the Chrysler bailout worked out as hoped, though, once the K Car emerged from factories that had long created gas-swilling behemoths. With so many early Ks made, you'd think there would be more of them still on the street nowadays, but that's not the case; I went out looking for a non-beater example and it was tougher than I'd expected. Finally, I found this '84 Reliant parked just around the corner from the '84 Porsche 928 (and, yes, I see that 70s Firebird in the background, next to the 70s Mercedes; unfortunately, driveway-parked cars are on private property and thus off-limits to DOTS... which is a shame, because there's a very clean 4-speed AMX parked in a driveway nearby). It's not quite as pathetic as Ford claiming the Granada looks just like a Mercedes , but the Benz-ified pentastar emblems of early-80s Chryslers always...
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newVideoPlayer("84_Duster_476.flv", 463, 387,""); I was a senior in high school in 1984, and I recall hearing Baby Boomers going on and on about the goddamn 1960s at the time and thinking "There's no possible way anyone will ever be nostalgic for the 80s- no way! " How wrong I was- 80s nostalgia is like herpes, with sudden painful flareups and a miasma of shame surrounding its participants. And that brings us to what I believe may well be The Most Eighties Car Ad In All Of History: a 1985 Plymouth Duster ad that was apparently shown during the 1st Annual MTV Music Awards. And you know what that means- it's poll time! newVideoPlayer("85_Pioneer_Stereo_476.flv", 475, 376,""); We had a Most 80s Car Ad Ever poll last month, and the Pioneer ad above blew the other contenders out of the water. It's got the hair product, the jarring colors, the implied cocaine abuse... but does it have what it takes to keep its crown in the face of...
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newVideoPlayer("Tina_Turner_Voyager_476.flv", 475, 376,""); Say it's the 80s and you've got the Chrysler advertising account. You've got Tina Turner signed up to do an ad... but what's the best vehicle to have her pitch? Maybe something sporty, like the Shelby GLHS? Or luxurious, like the Chrysler/Maserati TC? No, no... when you think Tina Turner, you think minivan , right? Exactly.
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Sometimes the old 413 in the '65 Imperial just won't run right. That's when it's time to buy a case of Pabst Blue Ribbon and invite some of your grimy gearhead henchmen to dive into the Chrysler 's innards with you! I shot this circa-1987 image on a keychain...
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newVideoPlayer("laser2_ad_gawker_gawker.flv", 475, 376);It's quicker zero-to-fifty than the Supra! It beats the Z28 through the slalom! Not only that, you could get Mark Cross leather! Yes, the era of turbocharged front-drive Mopars was truly a Golden...
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