1981 Chrysler, Plymouth, and Dodge cars, engines, and technology
by David Zatz • Special to Allpar
1981 was one of Chrysler Corporation's most important years. The new K-car platform was launched, giving Chrysler an advantage over imports for customers who valued space, torque, and comfort. The new car had a new engine, the 2.2 liter four-cylinder, a rugged, durable powerplant that would stick with Chrysler until 1994; from the start it had clearcoat paint and strong rustproofing, so that, in future years, it would not embarass the company. Despite the small exterior size and light weight, the K-cars actually had roughly the same interior space as the Volare/Aspen.
1981 was a financial turning point. Chrysler had hit a low spot in 1980, losing $1.8 billion. In 1981, the loss narrowed to half a billion; in 1982, the company was nearly at breakeven, and by 1983, they were profitable. Chrysler and the pundits often talked about the minivans that saved the company, but in reality, it was the K-cars that turned the corner. Its sales, with just two models, passed 300,000 units in 1981, easily beating a panoply of different rear wheel drive models... and turning a profit.
The new cars for 1981: Plymouth, Dodge, and... Imperial
The Plymouth Reliant and Dodge Aries were built on a 99.6 inch wheelbase. To keep costs down, the rear suspension was not fully independent, but had a new flex arm beam system; the front suspension used struts with rack and pinion steering, both de rigeur at this time for small cars, and a departure from the torsion bar suspensions used for so many years.
The public went wild over the new cars, which supplied most of the positive attributes of Valiants and Volares - space, comfort, easy servicing, and low cost - with high gas mileage, modern design, smaller exteriors, better paint and rustproofing, superior cornering, and much quieter interiors. The sales figures reflected their popularity: the Chrysler sold 300,000 K-cars every single year until 1989, when there was only partial availability. The market was quite happy to keep buying K-cars, mainly Plymouth Reliants (except in 1987-88), until they were taken away.
The ride was smoother than the Volare/Aspen, the noise levels lower, space similar, fuel economy far superior, responsiveness not much different than the slant six (if not better), and, in general, there were few disadvantages over the older product with many leaps forward. They gave buyers a happy medium between their big old American cars and the dimunitive, often slow, imports; and the K-cars had higher build quality than recent Chrysler rear-drivers.
The torque of the 2.2 stood in stark contrast to the weak Escort, Corolla, Datsun B210, and other competitors; and while gas mileage was not as good, the driving experience was far better. With a manual transmission, the light Reliant could be zippy; Motor Trend tested an automatic 2.2 and did 0-60 in 12.5 seconds; the Mitsubishi 2.6 brought that down to 12.4 seconds. Car & Driver drove a four-speed manual to 12.2 seconds, while Consumer Reports took a leisurely 16 seconds with an Aries automatic (13.8 with the 2.6 engine). That compared favorably to the 1984 Toyota Corolla, whose manual transmission-equipped model usually took 14-16 seconds 0-60, with the "hot" SR5 AE86 taking 12 seconds to do 0-60. Thus, the "hot" Toyota SR5 was about as fast as the standard K-car. The five-speed manual and fuel injection would boost the K-cars further, in later years.
The interior boasted cloth and vinyl bench or bucket seats, with stalks for wash/wiper and headlamps. The standard and most common powerplant was the brand new 2.2 liter engine designed by Chrysler, with an optional Mitsubishi 2.6 that, despite being Japanese, turned out to be far less durable than the 2.2.
Bodies included a two-door coupe, six-passenger four-door sedan, and two-seat station wagon, around 900 pounds lighter and two feet shorter than the rear drive Volare/Aspen they replaced; new lightweight seats were thinner, had more seat travel, and were still more comfortable than the ones they replaced. Trunk space was slightly larger in the Reliant and Aries than in the Volare and Aspen.
Because of their interior space, the K-cars were not considered "compact" by the EPA; they were classified as mid-sized. Indeed, they were America's highest-mileage six-passenger car.
Numerous steps were taken to cut drag; after the basic styling was done, wind tunnel testing cut drag by 20%, through revised pillars, hood and grille shape (cutting drag by 6% alone), an air dam, backlight headers and a roof trailing edge, and contoured park and turn lamps.
by David Zatz • Special to Allpar
1981 was one of Chrysler Corporation's most important years. The new K-car platform was launched, giving Chrysler an advantage over imports for customers who valued space, torque, and comfort. The new car had a new engine, the 2.2 liter four-cylinder, a rugged, durable powerplant that would stick with Chrysler until 1994; from the start it had clearcoat paint and strong rustproofing, so that, in future years, it would not embarass the company. Despite the small exterior size and light weight, the K-cars actually had roughly the same interior space as the Volare/Aspen.
1981 was a financial turning point. Chrysler had hit a low spot in 1980, losing $1.8 billion. In 1981, the loss narrowed to half a billion; in 1982, the company was nearly at breakeven, and by 1983, they were profitable. Chrysler and the pundits often talked about the minivans that saved the company, but in reality, it was the K-cars that turned the corner. Its sales, with just two models, passed 300,000 units in 1981, easily beating a panoply of different rear wheel drive models... and turning a profit.
The new cars for 1981: Plymouth, Dodge, and... Imperial
The public went wild over the new cars, which supplied most of the positive attributes of Valiants and Volares - space, comfort, easy servicing, and low cost - with high gas mileage, modern design, smaller exteriors, better paint and rustproofing, superior cornering, and much quieter interiors. The sales figures reflected their popularity: the Chrysler sold 300,000 K-cars every single year until 1989, when there was only partial availability. The market was quite happy to keep buying K-cars, mainly Plymouth Reliants (except in 1987-88), until they were taken away.
The ride was smoother than the Volare/Aspen, the noise levels lower, space similar, fuel economy far superior, responsiveness not much different than the slant six (if not better), and, in general, there were few disadvantages over the older product with many leaps forward. They gave buyers a happy medium between their big old American cars and the dimunitive, often slow, imports; and the K-cars had higher build quality than recent Chrysler rear-drivers.
The torque of the 2.2 stood in stark contrast to the weak Escort, Corolla, Datsun B210, and other competitors; and while gas mileage was not as good, the driving experience was far better. With a manual transmission, the light Reliant could be zippy; Motor Trend tested an automatic 2.2 and did 0-60 in 12.5 seconds; the Mitsubishi 2.6 brought that down to 12.4 seconds. Car & Driver drove a four-speed manual to 12.2 seconds, while Consumer Reports took a leisurely 16 seconds with an Aries automatic (13.8 with the 2.6 engine). That compared favorably to the 1984 Toyota Corolla, whose manual transmission-equipped model usually took 14-16 seconds 0-60, with the "hot" SR5 AE86 taking 12 seconds to do 0-60. Thus, the "hot" Toyota SR5 was about as fast as the standard K-car. The five-speed manual and fuel injection would boost the K-cars further, in later years.
The interior boasted cloth and vinyl bench or bucket seats, with stalks for wash/wiper and headlamps. The standard and most common powerplant was the brand new 2.2 liter engine designed by Chrysler, with an optional Mitsubishi 2.6 that, despite being Japanese, turned out to be far less durable than the 2.2.
Bodies included a two-door coupe, six-passenger four-door sedan, and two-seat station wagon, around 900 pounds lighter and two feet shorter than the rear drive Volare/Aspen they replaced; new lightweight seats were thinner, had more seat travel, and were still more comfortable than the ones they replaced. Trunk space was slightly larger in the Reliant and Aries than in the Volare and Aspen.
Because of their interior space, the K-cars were not considered "compact" by the EPA; they were classified as mid-sized. Indeed, they were America's highest-mileage six-passenger car.
Numerous steps were taken to cut drag; after the basic styling was done, wind tunnel testing cut drag by 20%, through revised pillars, hood and grille shape (cutting drag by 6% alone), an air dam, backlight headers and a roof trailing edge, and contoured park and turn lamps.
(Four door sedan) | 1980 Volare | 1981 Reliant |
|
---|---|---|---|
Wheelbase | 112.7 | 99.6 |