The K-Car - One of the cars that helped save Chrysler

[Triplicate]

My parents went to the local Dodge dealer in 1984 to buy an Omni, and came home in a captive import Colt. The Colt DL had 4 doors, had an automatic and AC, and cost less than the similarly equipped Omni.

These two 4 door hatches were very close to each other on a spec sheet. Why Dodge chose to sell someone else's product right next to their own is baffling.

 

[JTK]

Like said above, what cars weren't crap back then? A horrible era. For the amount of them on the roads, the K-cars were probably one of the better vehicles.

 

[gizzsdad]

I had a gussied up version, a Dodge 400 2-door. It actually had very comfortable velour seats, and fancier hubcaps. I ordered from a local dealer, and it arrived in 17 days!!

Later had a Dodge 600ES ! Four door with cloth seats and a stick. It had the talking nanny that thanked you after closing a door or turning off headlights. I think my record was getting it to say "Thank You" 4 or 5 times in a row.

 

[walterjay]

My parents bought an 84 or 85 K car. It was bulletproof. Turned it over to my daughter. Had no problems till around 150k at which time it had a plugged converter which blew the head gasket. Sold it cheap and the guy repaired it and drove on.

 

[oil_film_movies]

All this talk of k-cars, remember it was the Chrysler-Dodge Minivans that mostly saved Chrysler. Minivans came out in late 1983. They were hot for many years.
Those mini-vans were based on the k-car chassis though, so included mechanically here.

 

[Vuflanovsky]

Originally Posted by oil_film_movies
Originally Posted by Vuflanovsky
I worked for Chrysler in the 80s and I'd agree that within the context ( or PR ) of "better" rather than craptastic cars, combined with the cult of personality around Iaccoca, ..
True, within the context of the times, they weren't too awful. By today's standards, well, they were junk.... Also, at the time, the Accord and Camry was beginning to pick up steam rapidly, although Chrysler correctly noted they were Japanese products, and WWII was still a recent memory in the minds of patriots.


Even then though I think the sentiment was more about a homegrown product where ostensibly the U.S. was doing something right vs.not buying Japanese because of any lingering feelings. My dad was a WWII Pacific vet and a patriot and he had no problem buying Japanese cars as a major purchase from the 70s on versus something like a K car. Chrysler had a fairly deep relationship with Mitsubishi and some would say had models that could be considered competitive with each other. So, I probably take the American-made aspect of Chrysler's PR as geared to work where applicable and look at the re-badged Japanese models as an outlet for those buyers. I don't view that as hypocritical in any way because first and foremost they were there to sell cars.

 

[Patman]

I never had a K car but my first brand new car was a 1988 Dodge Shadow ES Turbo and from what I understand the Shadow was based on a slightly different version of the K car platform. That was a great little car. I had it for 3 years and put 50,000 miles on it during that time and never had a single problem. I sold it to my sister and she put an additional 75-80,000 miles on it and during that time it had to have a head gasket replaced and the turbo wasn't making boost towards the end but otherwise it was a good car for her too. It was a quick little car, I had a friend with an 87 Camaro Iroc with the 350 in it and when we raced from a dead stop I would be dead even with him up to 50mph and then after that he would slowly pull away but not by a huge margin.

 

[Chris142]

Originally Posted by Triplicate
My parents went to the local Dodge dealer in 1984 to buy an Omni, and came home in a captive import Colt. The Colt DL had 4 doors, had an automatic and AC, and cost less than the similarly equipped Omni.

These two 4 door hatches were very close to each other on a spec sheet. Why Dodge chose to sell someone else's product right next to their own is baffling.

Some folks preferred a better car. The omni was garbage. The Mitsubishi was 1 step up.

 

[StevieC]

Originally Posted by Patman
I never had a K car but my first brand new car was a 1988 Dodge Shadow ES Turbo and from what I understand the Shadow was based on a slightly different version of the K car platform. That was a great little car. I had it for 3 years and put 50,000 miles on it during that time and never had a single problem. I sold it to my sister and she put an additional 75-80,000 miles on it and during that time it had to have a head gasket replaced and the turbo wasn't making boost towards the end but otherwise it was a good car for her too. It was a quick little car, I had a friend with an 87 Camaro Iroc with the 350 in it and when we raced from a dead stop I would be dead even with him up to 50mph and then after that he would slowly pull away but not by a huge margin.

The Shadows were good cars and yes based on the K platform but just modified slightly. Same engine/transmission unless you got the 2.2 Turbo.

 

[oil_film_movies]

I got the Audio CD version of Iacocca's 1984 autobiography about 17 years ago. It was exceptional. Read by the man himself !!

Libraries have it maybe. Thats where I got mine. Amazon has cassette tapes. Maybe CD's are available somewhere too.
(Sorry, not available on 8-Track Cartridges ....)
Of course, nowadays it can be downloaded from somwhere on to your smartphone.
https://www.amazon.com/Iacocca-Autobiography-Lee/dp/1555253652/

 

[Cujet]

Originally Posted by john_pifer
Guess I shouldn't be surprised that there are some BITOG members who are gushing over one of the worst cars ever made!



Hahahaha! I used to rent them all the time. Hated it when I got one.

My claim was this: "you would have to look long and hard to find a worse new car".

Although, towards the end, the luxury versions were not awful. They were comfortable and had enough power.

 

[Andrew1972]

My '82 k-car purchased for $250 in 1993 got left at Logan Airport Parking when it would not start needed a tow and also $85 parking associated.Pulled the plates never looked back.

 

[Dave Sherman]

When I took driver's ed in high school, our car was a 1987 Plymouth Reliant. Was also the car used by auto shop class to "practice" on

. Steering wheel was off by 90 degrees, weak detent on the shifter so it often slipped out of D into second in mid flight, and there were great gaping holes in the seat covers. After driving the driver's ed teacher to the city offices during class one day so he could pay his water bill before it got turned off, was wondering what was poking me in the back inside the driver's seat. Pulled a beer can out of the seat innards, quickly realized this was bad news and shoved it back in there before the teacher got back. Only good thing that came out of that class was the certificate that says I took driver's ed. Mostly we were just the teacher's personal chauffeurs so he could run his errands, go catch up with his fishin' buddies about the upcoming fishin' trip, and to have a couple smokes while we waited in the car. Really bad smelling smokes at that

.

 

[Wolf359]

Originally Posted by gizzsdad
I had a gussied up version, a Dodge 400 2-door. It actually had very comfortable velour seats, and fancier hubcaps. I ordered from a local dealer, and it arrived in 17 days!!

Later had a Dodge 600ES ! Four door with cloth seats and a stick. It had the talking nanny that thanked you after closing a door or turning off headlights. I think my record was getting it to say "Thank You" 4 or 5 times in a row.


I had a 85 LeBaron GTS with the 5 speed turbo. Was fun to drive. I think I had it on a truck scale once at work and it was about 2600 pounds, not like the 3200-4000 pound cars today. Anyway, it also had the talking feature, spoke about 10 phrases. There was a switch in the glove box where you could shut it off. I only turned it on to show people that the car talked, but then promptly shut it off afterwards. I bought it used so when the car's engine went for the 3rd time (blow head gasket), I shopped around for another one, but they seemed slower. I guess the previous owner had put in an aftermarket turbo computer so it was probably getting more boost than stock and hence why it felt so fast, at least for the time. Family also had a Reliant, I remember those mufflers would always go after 2-3 years so it helped to get those lifetime warranty mufflers, but that only covered the muffler and we still got stuck with the labor charge which was always a lot more than the cost of the muffler.

 

[Patman]

Originally Posted by StevieC

The Shadows were good cars and yes based on the K platform but just modified slightly. Same engine/transmission unless you got the 2.2 Turbo.


That's what I had, 2.2 turbo with a 5 speed manual. I ordered that car from the factory in bare bones form in order to save money and have the lightest possible Chrysler vehicle with that turbo engine (I would have bought an Omni with the turbo but they didn't offer it for 1988) It had no AC and crank windows! Rated at 146hp but I bet it was closer to 175. I think it only weighed about 2500 pounds too.

 

[02SE]

A family member had a Dodge Dynasty, with the 2.5 and 3-speed auto. They drove that car for 19 years, with nothing but regular preventive maintenance. Yes, they were inexpensive. but I drove it a few times, and it wasn't terrible to drive with comfortable seats, and low 30's mpg on a highway drive.

In stark contrast was another family member's Taurus, which was a true pile in comparison. Three transmissions, water pumps, alternators, power steering pumps, steering rack, clattering hydraulic lifters from low miles, finally at about 100k a headgasket let go. It wasn't neglected or abused, it had the same maintenance as the 'cheap' Dynasty. The Dynasty lasted twice as many years with no major repairs.

 

[PimTac]

That whole era was a aberration in automobile history. The K car, Chevrolet Citation and the Cavalier and the Ford Fairmont. The term morning sickness became popular as did pinging

 

[Cdn17Sport6MT]

I'll say it again: when the 2.2 liter engine was stroked to 2.5, given balance shafts, and equipped with Bosch throttle body fuel injection (and lockup was added to the 3 speed A/T) it made an incredible difference in how drivers experienced the car. The 2.2 with electronic feedback carb was s**t. Would NOT carburete properly.

This was brought in, in 1986... with the lock-up on the A/T in '87. My '87 was the 7th model year iteration... and Chrysler ended production with the 1988 model year cars, if memory serves. This car brings new meaning, in my mind, to NOT buying the first model year of a new (north american) car. The Japanese do not seem to be afflicted with this same issue. For my Reliant it was evident in the extreme.

Did I also say how gnarly the wintertime / in-snow traction was... with the standard all-season tires. Unstoppable tractor of a car!

 

[caprice_2nv]

Originally Posted by JTK
Like said above, what cars weren't crap back then? A horrible era. For the amount of them on the roads, the K-cars were probably one of the better vehicles.


Most economy cars were junk back then. As someone who still daily drives only cars from that era, ignorant statements like yours annoy the [censored] out of me.

You'll never convince me that there is any car being built today that I could go out and buy and drive for 35 years and still not worry about reliability on a trip, or finding parts etc.

Have you ever heard of the Chevy caprice, Ford crown Victoria, oldsmobile Cutlass, etc?. Those are the cars I think of from that era because they are the ones that were still plentiful 15-20 years later when I was first driving.

 

[Yah-Tah-Hey]

Typical Chrysler junk.