(first posted 11/29/2017) Chrysler’s L-Body Bobbsey twins, the Plymouth Horizon and Dodge Omni had a very long run (13 years) with very few obvious changes. Without doing some research, I’d have to say that they might be contenders for some kind of record that way. I certainly wouldn’t have known what year this one was except for Carfax, although there or of course subtle changes and some of you might well have been able to date this one.
The changes were a bit more extensive under the hood, as these cars had three completely different engine families that did their job propelling the L Cars over parts of three decades.
It was a somewhat curious decision for Chrysler to not use the Simca four that the European Horizon used. I’ve never heard a definitive explanation; I suspect there were about three reasons. One, the 1.6L Simca four was at its capacity limit, and might have been deemed too small and weak-chested to be used with the Torqueflite automatic. That Simca engine also did not have a stellar rep for long-term durability. And perhaps most likely, there probably wasn’t enough capacity in France to produce them in the numbers Chrysler needed. So it went to VW, who was willing to sell them 300k long blocks per year of their SOHC four as used in millions of Golfs and Passats, but with a slightly longer stroke to give 1.7L.
Chrysler added all the rest: intake, carb, exhaust, ignition, and engine controls. It worked pretty well, but the L cars sold so well, Chrysler wanted more than 300k per year from VW, who said Nein!
By that time (late 1981), Chrysler’s new 2.2L SOHC four, as used in the K-car, was ready, and capacity was sufficient to make it available in the L-Cars as an option. And it made them quite peppy, even with the automatic. So after a couple more years, Chrysler ended the engine contract with VW, and replaced it as the base engine (manual shift only) with…the Simca 1.6 L pushrod four, as was used in the European Horizon and other Talbots and such. It was referred to as a “Peugeot” engine, which was technically correct after Peugeot bought Chrysler’s European ops, but it was not really a Peugeot engine in origin or design.
I suspect not very many Omnirizons were sold with the Simca 1.6 in the US, as it was mostly just installed in a stripper price-leaders. And by 1987, it was gone altogether, with the 2.2L now doing duty in all versions.
We can be assured that there’s a 2.2 in this one, both because it’s an ’88 and because it has the automatic. There’s probably no need to point out that this three-speed TF automatic transaxle acquitted itself much better than some other new FWD automatics, and was used for a long time, in Neons and through at least a few generations of base swb minivans.
Needless to say, these cars were bi-continental, as the primary development of the basic Golf-inspired body took place both in France and the US, but although the bodies are largely the same on the outside, their interiors were considerably different. And the suspension was quite different, as the European long-travel Simca 1100-based suspension was tossed for the US in favor of a pragmatic (read: cheap) Golf-like struts and twist-bar rear axle.
These cars were like a 110% sized Golf, and that showed up in small but meaningful improvements in interior space. These cars really were well suited as a way to introduce Americans to the modern FWD hatchback format, without the still common lingering worry about buying a foreign car, especially in places like the Midwest and South, that were slower to make that leap of faith. A safe small bet.
That’s my short Omni story, as this is an Outtake. My full CC is here.
It is difficult to overstate just how successful the L body was in converting many Americans into 1) small cars and 2) Chrysler-built small cars. Chrysler did an amazing job in combining a very advanced (for the time and place) small car platform with a very “American” feel – a combination that was simply unavailable anywhere else. The other “good” small cars were very austere things from Europe and Japan while the other “American” small cars were things like the Pinto and the Chevette that were hopelessly retrograde in their engineering.
Case study No. 1 was my mother. After a lifetime of larger, increasingly comfortable GM cars (like a Cutlass Supreme and a Luxury LeMans) she was willing to consider a small car in light of the high fuel prices, but only if it was “plush” (her word). The Premium interior in the 1980 Omni and Horizon (they were identical) was pure American midwest while the rest of the car was as modern as could be. This brochure pic (ours was blue instead of red) shows just how nice these could be for a middle aged nurse in 1980. It was also the first time she would even look at something by Chrysler.
Once Chrysler got the initial bugs out and started working on their many other issues, these became pretty good, at least as good as the early FWD efforts of anyone not named Toyota or Honda. The 1.7 was reasonably peppy with the automatic. I always wanted to drive one with the 2.2, but never did. I always figured it was pretty quick.
My mother too was a Horizon fan. She owned a white ’84 and red ’87 and LOVED them. She went for the ’87 as soon as the ’84 shit the bed. My brother inherited the ’87 and foolishly put in a sunroof and trashed it. It was a nice car. I wish I could find one for myself but they are scarce around here thanks to rust and cash for clunkers. This was during the early 90s-early 00s as my mother didn’t learn how to drive until she was almost 40! The ’84 was actually her first car. You’ll have to forgive me, she passed over 4 months ago and I’m still trying to process it.
I remember a friend of mine had a used Chrysler Horizon after his Marina 2 dissolved too much (would have been the early 1980s). Always thought they were a bit tinny, but I guess decent enough. Strange to think they were styled in Whitley, near Coventry and had such a long production run in the US (Yes, lots of differences under the skin, but externally they looked very much alike).
One of my first cars was a 78 omni automatic with vw 1..7. Light metallic blue. It looked OK but underneath body was rusted. One day my little brother decided yo add trans fluid BC it looked a bit low. He put in a whole litre. Proceeded to drive it massively overfilled and the trans gave up. Went fine in 1 and 2 shift, but couldn’t keep 3 with any pressure on the gas pedal. We drove it on the streets only from then on. Boy was I pissed.
The GLH-S is one hell of a car I hear.
I wonder if the underbody rust thing was a Chrysler thing back then. I had an ’86 LeBaron GTS that looked great but had rust holes through the wheel wells enough to get my mom’s uniform pants dirty back when it was still her car.
I once read an anecdote about the Chrysler assembly line that may shed some light on the underbody rust thing. A worker assigned to spray undercoating from a pit as cars passed was doing so with a spray wand that had nothing coming out of it. Apparently, the union contract stated that a wand had to be waved a specific number of times under each car. It did not, however, say anything had to be coming out of the wand, and since the worker’s supply of undercoating had run out (and had not been replaced), he simply did what the contract said to do.
Granted, this was from a long time ago (maybe the late fifties), but you get the idea.
My father’s ONLY MoPar purchase in his whole life was a brand new 1978 Dodge Omni, dark green with chestnut brown upgraded vinyl interior, AM radio, no a/c, automatic. It was apparently a special-order and the buyer got impatient and took a different car.
3 of the 4 exterior door handles broke almost immediately, and repeatedly, the 13 inch steel wheels were prone to getting bent in potholes, the steering wheel vibrated alarmingly when stopped in gear. It lasted about 65xxx miles before my dad gave up on it and replaced it with an 82 Olds Cutlass.
Awful little car, he bought it mainly because he had been a longtime VW fan and it was cheaper than a Rabbit, with a VW engine.
I think Mom only broke one door handle. Hers was really pretty decent, she drove it for 5 years and traded it in on an 85 Crown Victoria – she was ready for a little more size and luxury with fuel prices back to more-or-less normal. I do recall that she was getting a raw fuel smell at the very end which probably pushed her over the line when she was starting to think about a new car.
Omni to Crown Victoria – just a “little more size” 🙂
“Omni to Crown Victoria – just a “little more size”
Interestingly, the wheelbase on the 85 Crown Victoria was 2 inches shorter than that of the 74 Luxury LeMans that she traded on the Horizon.
My parents traded an ‘81 Omni for an ‘85 Crown Vic. More room indeed.
This is one example of the big car comeback of mid 80’s. In the depths of Oil Crisis II, no one would have predicted that less than 4-5 years later, Panthers and B bodies would be selling well.
The hanging door handle in the last photo immediately caught my eye. I had a 1985 Plymouth Turismo, which was an L-body variant. From own my experiences with that car, and what I have heard from other L-body owners, the door handles and locks were definitely a weak point of these cars. Even when not outright broken, they were prone to not working in cold weather. It’s a good thing that almost all of the L-body family were hatchbacks (all except the Rampage/Scamp), giving you another way to enter the car if you couldn’t get any of the doors to open….
The 1978 Omni/Horizon used different door handles than 1979 and later models did. The ’78s had fixed outer handles, and you opened the door by squeezing a thin piece of metal behind them against the visible front handle. It felt awkward and unnatural, and apparently broke easily. The ’79 and later used conventional lift bars.
Ok, at least as interesting is that LeSabre (I think it’s a LeSabre, since the Park Avenues of that vintage looked identical despite being a “different” platform entirely). Those are pretty much completely gone from Metro Detroit, being reasonably rust-prone and having returned to the Earth by now.
Seriously, though, the Omnirizons always fascinated me. Despite there being a handful of them around, though, I never have even ridden in one. But, in a part of the Universe where the common “knowledge” was that small cars were pieces of junk that wouldn’t go 100,000 miles, there were the Omnirizons that just kept going and going and going. Back in the late ’90s, a guy at church had one that had over 200,000 miles on it, and it was still going strong.
I have to wonder how things would have gone if Chrysler had meaningfully updated these at some point. Might have been money down the tubes given the way gas prices ended up going, but might have prevented an evolutionary dead-end in the Chrysler Corporation portfolio, too.
Do you know where It is the heritage of this Car After Chrysler Simca Talbot bankruptcy Yes it evoluted As de Peugeot 309 Which was Never offered in North America a
It’s indeed a LeSabre. The Electra/Park Avenue had a more “formal” roofline, ie. a more vertical rear window. When I was in high school I drove a Park Avenue of similar vintage in that exact color.
It is a LeSabre, as the Electra/Park Avenue has a more upright “C” pillar/backlight and different grille texture. In my neighborhood (Suburban Pittsburgh,Pa) there’s an ’88 LeSabre in almost perfect condition! It’s a DD but garage kept. I’d jump on it if it ever is put up for sale.
The first car I ever drove was my mom’s 1986 2.2/auto Horizon in the same ice blue as this car (but with the upgraded velour highback seats which were the same as in a Dodge van!) and my first car was a 1981 Omni Miser (1.7/4 speed manual) which broke down a lot but had a solid body for a 10-year-old Vermont car back then.
I knew someone in the 1980s who had an Omni with those high-back seats, and remember them being extremely comfortable for long trips. I never realized that they were sourced from the Dodge Van, but in thinking about it now, that makes perfect sense. At the time, I thought the Omni was for more comfortable than any other small car.
Yep, They were the ONLY subcompact of that era that I could tolerate more than an hour’s ride in!
I came close to buying one of these a few times, but I guess the iffy financial situation at Chrysler was too much for me to ignore. The dealers themselves were a bit “spotty” at that time with franchises changing hands quite often in the markets I lived in (Jacksonville and Memphis).
But my biggest regret was the Dodge Rampage and then a Plymouth Scamp that I passed up….both with 2.2 engines and manual transmissions.
Let’s give a shout out to the ’89 Buick LeSabre photobombing the Omni. Another superb Curbside Classic in its own right!
Suddenly, it’s 1990!
+1 for my drivers’ ed car!
I love these little Omnirizons, full stop. I will forever regret not swooping in to offer my elderly next-door neighbor a good price for his nearly pristine ’88 or ’89 when he stopped driving.
A friend of mine had a burgundy Horizon and put a ton of miles on it. Eventually rust claimed it structurally around the 300K mark.
I did love the steering wheel, the spokes just seemed designed to put your fingers through them, though I know you’re not supposed to do that especially now with airbags in the center.
I remember Consumer Reports blasting the Omnirizon for failing some dumb handling test. Stamped on the cover of that issue was “NOT ACCEPTABLE”.
I don’t believe these were bad cars at all, regardless of what some say now, just like the K cars. We did own K cars, but never one of these, although I did ride in a few.
Chrysler did do something rather odd at the time, however, and these, I believe were the first to get the stripped-down “America” series designation in the last year or so before they were replaced. They did the same with the Shadow/Sundance twins.
I’ve got a metric ton of experience with these cars having known several people who owned them in all different states of care. I carpooled with a guy that had an early 80’s Omni, there were four of us in the car. It never had any serious problems, we always got to work on time.
In 1989 a buddy of mine and I purchased one of these together with the intent of racing it in SCCA Solo I and eventually Solo II autocross. We had the support of a local Dodge dealer, so we were able to order an Omni with the 2.2L (non turbo) motor and the five speed. Along with that, we had a bunch of Direct Connection go faster/turn faster goodies we bolted to the car. It was great fun, but a couple of life experiences changed both of our priorities and we soon got out of racing.
As much as I have fond memories of the four door Omni, I’d still rather have the two door hatchback.
I have fond memories of the one my aunt and uncle owned in that shade of blue, a ’79 Horizon with a 4-speed stick. The body lasted eight years; the rear structure underneath rotted away to the point it had become unsafe to drive.
1st car after college in spring ’85, was down to ’82 Horizon and ’81 Champ [Colt/Mirage], and picked Mitsu, from all the raves in Buff Books.
Sure wish I got the Horizon!
Hemmings Classic Cars had an article recently about the restoration of a 1979 Plymouth Horizon:
https://www.hemmings.com/magazine/hcc/2017/10/New-Horizon—1979-Plymouth-Horizon/3751178.html
I had an ’89, which I wrote about in my COAL series. Bought it brand new for $6000, and I thought it represented the best value in a new 1989 car. I still think so.
Except for depreciation. It went from a $6k car to a $1k car in 4 years/50,000 miles.
I owned the 1980 Horizon, but the 2 door hatchback model. 1.7 VW block engine, 4 speed manual, A/C. It was baron red with light brown vinyl interior.
As long as I didn’t try to be “Speed Racer” the transmission shifted ok. Keeping maximum air pressure (35 psi?) in the front tires assured that I could parallel park it with manual (non-power) steering. The 1.7 engine felt adequately peppy to me; a real powerhouse compared to the Fiat 128 I traded in. The HVAC was unobtrusive and worked well; requiring a half can of freon around 70K.
The non clear coat, deep red paint required waxing about every other month to keep it from going chalky here in the equatorial sun of New Orleans.
I can’t recall any squeaks or rattles or examples of poor build quality; but that huge rear hatch did creak sometime going over rail road track “at speed”.
I put right under 80K trouble free miles on it; a co-worker eagerly bought it from me for his son’s first car.
It was a much better car than the Volvo (WHAT was I thinking of?) that I replaced it with.
My Dad bought a 1980 Dodge Omni 024 (never figured out what the 024 represented) new. His was white with beige vinyl interior. I think of it as his “midlife crisis” car, it wasn’t too fancy (his lacked air conditioning but he bought it in Vermont, sure he was sorry he didn’t get it when he moved to central Texas 2 years later. He was 49 when he bought it; it was out of character with his previous cars which were not stylish but practical (it replaced a 1976 Subaru DL). He got a sunroof put in it when he bought it, it was an aftermarket tinted “porthole” type which I didn’t care for. When his best friend as a kid came to visit them and they went up to Montreal, I bought him a cassette deck and put it in as a Father’s day gift.
He didn’t have it long mostly due to lacking A/C but he braved it out till ’86 when he replaced it with a more conventional Dodge 600 sedan. After he bought the 024, I looked at used ones but fell in love with a ’78 Volkswagen Scirocco which I guess was the closest I’ve come to a midlife crisis car, but as I was 23 when I bought it I was more likely my “I’m tired of my college deprivation lifestyle and want something nicer to spoil myself with. It was used, but in 1981 interest rates were sky high, and I really couldn’t yet afford a new car (still have owned only 1, the 23 year old car I now have)….not really luxurious, but it was what I wanted and I’m glad I bought one when I was young (now my Golf even seems low to me to enter/exit).
The Dodge wasn’t impressive as a new car (less than 1000 miles) it broke the clutch cable and had to be towed. Only worse car was their 1984 Pontiac Sunbird which broke a timing belt with only about 500 miles from new (it was maintained per schedule and still went through 2 engines in less than 90k miles and was junked after 2nd one threw a rod).
Interesting my Mom actually worked at a Dodge Dealership (not the one my Dad got his car from) but she’s about the least car oriented person you’d ever meet.
Dad did several “rebuys” of the same brand; a ’61 and ’63 Rambler Classic wagon…a ’69 and ’73 Ford full size wagon, his ’80 Omni and ’86 600, followed by qty-3 Mercury Sables in a row and his last 2 cars, a 2001 and 2006 Chevy Impala (he finally got over the terrible ’84 Pontiac and bought GM cars in the end. Interestingly he stopped buying import cars in 1980 with the 024, about the time many people likely started buying their first, he got a preview in the Army who assigned him an early 50’s Beetle rather than a Jeep.
I do know that the 2.2L engine in the Omni/Horizon nodels held on to carburetors up until 1987, switching to EFI in 1988.
It was a mid-year switch…some 87s got EFI. (My mother had one.)
We had a new 1980 which replaced a 1977 Accord. The Accord was far from trouble free both mechanically and with front fender rust. Our Horizon was a mid level 2 tone tan and dark red, 1.7 4 speed. In three years it ate one alternator and one set of cheap tires. I waxed it once or twice. We traded it at a Plymouth Dealership for a one year old, 1982 V8 Pontiac Gran Prix. The salesman complimented me on how nice the Horizon’s paint was.
I liked the Horizon better than the Accord, but have since had 5 Hondas and many Acuras. here in Southwest Florida I still see the occasional Horizomn, but no K cars.i
My opinion on the Omni/Horizon has improved a bit in recent years, in no small part thanks to this site. In my mind I always kind of lumped them in with the other American small cars of the era, like the Chevette and first generation Escort. That was mostly out of ignorance, probably, having never driven or even ridden in one. And probably a bit of anti-domestic bias thrown in, that is the assumption that Detroit couldn’t possibly build a good compact car, at least not in those days.
Detroit could build anything. What they had trouble with was designing compacts. It’s no surprise the US Horizon outlasted the European one: it had a lot more competition in Europe, and therefore aged quicker. And it was marketed as a Talbot from 1980, which didn’t help.
My first automotive memory is sitting in the backseat of a Horizon parked outside the Pioneer Livestock Pavilion at the Iowa State Fairgrounds, gazing in wonder upon the deep-dish three-spoke steering wheel. This would have been in 1979, so I was just two years old. Dad tells me it was a demo (he sold Plymouths at the time) and he’s pretty sure it was two-tone blue.
It’s rather fitting, then, that my first car was an ’84 Turismo… the two-door Horizon. I’d be willing to spend some serious money if I could find one in decent shape today.
In a disparate, hard-to-believe, two-cars-coming-from-the-same-company-in-one-year comparison that comes close to the the 1960 Corvair and Chevrolet full-size, so, too, goes the 1978 Omnirizon and Mopar full-size. I can’t imagine walking into a Dodge dealership and seeing the brand-new Omni parked next to a St. Regis on the showroom floor.
Chrysler didn’t have many success stories in the malaise-era seventies (besides a deep slide in quality, their timing was horrible), but the Cordoba and Omnirizon were a couple of shining beacons in an otherwise sea of despair. They’d really gotten ahead of the modern, domestic, FWD small car curve with GM having only the agricultural, RWD Chevette and Ford with the belated import of the German Fiesta.
OTOH, it’s quite easy to understand the reason – the profits on small cars simply weren’t enough for the other, more financially astute companies to invest.
…but the Cordoba and Omnirizon were a couple of shining beacons in an otherwise sea of despair.
Some of my readings on the subject indicate that it was the Omnirizon that Iacocca used to show Congress that Chrysler actually could create cars that people wanted to buy, which made his assertion that the K-Car would sell credible.
This makes sense. If not for the Omnirizon and upcoming K-car, one wonders if Iacocca would have signed onto Chrysler. Other than those two vehicles, Chrysler didn’t really have much to sell in the late seventies to think they’d be solvent much longer. Then there’s how badly mismanaged the company had become, with stuff like the Sales Bank still going strong. Iacocca, for all his showmanship and bluster, was no dummy, and I don’t think he would have agreed to be Chrysler’s CEO without Chrysler’s domestic industry leading FWD cars.
A few Omnirizon bits acquired over the years:
-A coworker with a 2.2 Omni loved the car, said he wouldn’t touch an Omni with the VW engine, but he said he had noticed Omni-VW owners said they loved the VW engine and wouldn’t touch a 2.2.
-Another coworker bought a 78 Horizon used when his Citation was totaled around 85. He said that when he bought it, there was a rust hole in the floor right under the gas pedal. A couple years later he was driving home one night and heard “bang, bang, bang ,bang” coming from the front of the car. The car seemed to be driving OK and the noise had stopped, so he proceeded home. The next morning, he noticed one side of the hood was sticking up a couple inches. Opened the hood and he found the strut towers had rusted through and the noise he had heard was the last few spotwelds holding the tower together breaking. The car still looked fine on the outside.
-R&T did an owner’s survey of the early Omnirizon. The Omnirizon was the second worst car they had ever surveyed, only exceeded in fragility by the Lotus Elan. One of the frequent failure points was the wiper on the rear window. After reading that article, I started noticing the number of Omnirizons driving around town with the rear wiper stopped in mid-wipe. Apparently the weak spot was the plastic gears in the wiper transmission.
Personally, I test drove an 80 TC3 VW/5spd. Quite liked the car, but was less enthusiastic about Chrysler’s prospects, so passed.
I do hand it to Chrysler for bringing out the Omnirizon, rather than phoning it in with another rebadged Mitsu. Pretty bold move for a company on the brink of bankruptcy.
There were reports in the mid 80s that Chrysler had approached VW about building the Omni at Westmoreland then further speculation that Chrysler would buy the Westmoreland plant from VW. The Omni ended up being produced at the AMC plant in Kenosha, taking advantage of the state of the art equipment Renault had installed for the Alliance program.
I suspect that one of the primary reasons why so many of those rear wiper motors failed was that people didn’t unstick the wiper blade frozen to the window before getting into their car in the winter.
Once you turned on the wiper and the shaft turned a bit, it would be in ‘park’ mode, meaning that even if you turned the switch off, the motor was energized until it completed its cycle. This resulted in failed rear wiper units.
I suspect that one of the primary reasons why so many of those rear wiper motors failed was that people didn’t unstick the wiper blade frozen to the window before getting into their car in the winter.
Every car owner’s manual, the great unread American classic, says to make sure the wipers are free before turning them on. How many people heed that advice? It appears the rear wiper of the Omnirizon was more fragile than usual, because the people R&T surveyed didn’t complain about the front wipers, which were most likely treated the same as the rear. The ones I noticed that appeared broken were in mid-wipe, rather than in the parked position.
I know some people who had a late model like this and they praised it to anyone who’d listen. The bugs had been worked out, the 2.2 was reliable and probably gave up very little in economy to the smaller engines.
Very nice “dash-to-axle” ratio for an FWD car.
Probably more because of the upright windscreen compared to more modern cars, with the base further back? Which is great for visibility of course, and roof crush but probably less optimal for frontal impact and of course aerodynamics.
The longevity is an interesting one, I can’t think of a car built for longer off the top of my head excluding trucks/vans and cars where production transferred to another country, eg the 1970s VW Passat that was built for years in China.
Off the top of my head:
Mini, Ford Model T, 2CV, Renault 4, Peugeot 504, VW Beetle, Goggomobil, Lada Niva, Tatra 613, Citroen Traction Avant, Dacia 1300, Rolls Phantom VI, Daimler DS420, Jaguar XJ6…
My ’83 Omni was the first Chrysler product I’ve ever owned, and one of the best cars I’ve ever had.
I bought it used in 1988. It had the 1.6 litre 4 (which I was told was manufactured by VW) and 4-speed stick, and about 65,000 miles on it. Maroon with a matching maroon interior.
I drove the wheels off the thing, and all it ever needed done was basic maintenance.
I kept it until the clutch went out on it in 1991. A friend of my wife’s bought the car, had a new clutch put in it, and ended up wrecking it 6 months later.
When introduced, the Omirizon twins looked so much like the Rabbit to me that I assumed there must be some sort of collusion. It wasn’t until later that I learned of the VW long block . . .
Bought an Omni America new back in 1987. The America package got you the better seats (same as in the GLH), automatic, A/C and a few other goodies. All for about $6400. Drove it 14 years. Only drawback was that ’87 was the last year for a carb on the 2.2 and they lasted about 50k miles and were about $300 new because nobody wanted to rebuild them. Great car otherwise.
I had an 87 Omni America as well, bought new. The thing was the object of some derision but it survived my nine years in grad school with poverty level maintenance. My friends used to always borrow it for moves since the thing was comparatively massive inside and the bumpers made great tie downs.
Had the “bus” for 11 years.
You are right about the carb, it really let down a great engine.
I’m a Mopar fan but I really like the Park Avenue/LeSabre in the first shot. One of my favorite GM products besides the GMT’s and a few other cars from various years. Nice, clean and conservative. Why can’t we have that in 2017?
OTOH, the Omni looked so stodgy. The K and its derivatives that succeeded it seemed more “rounded off”, especially with the facelifts. The Omnirozon just didn’t seem like a Chrysler product, much like the captive imports from Mitsubishi. From far away, they look like VW Rabbits.
I found it interesting that some offered VW drivetrains. It really made me wonder. Then thirty odd years later, Chrysler makes a minivan for VW, the Routan. I wonder what other bits I’m missing of a Chrysler-VW relationship? We all know Mitsubishi was heavily involved with Chrysler. Nissan built a diesel engine with Chrysler for Chrysler’s marine division (I think a few made it into some late 60s D-Series).
This morning http://www.barnfinds.com posted a 1986 Shelby GLHS.
I seem to recall that the rear license plate on the Buick LeSabre of that era was not just screwed to the body, but dropped into a slot between the taillamps. The reverse-hinged hood was also well outside the norm for GM in the 80s…cool touches on that design.
1984 Horizon was my first brand new car. I read in one of the “buff” magazines ( “Car and Driver?”) that it was a bit of a “sleeper” if equipped with the 2.2 engine, 5-speed, the ” heavy duty” suspension and a tachometer. I was a brand new lawyer in Los Angeles and the partners all laughed at my choice. I loved it, even with its faults (a CV joint came apart on my way to the Pomona Courthouse, but it was repaired under warranty.) The partners laughed again. I liked my Horizon so much, I later (after leaving the law firm and moving to Sacramento) bought an Omni GLH Turbo that I really would like to have back, since I did not squeeze all the fun out of it before selling it to fund a different project.
I bought an 83 Omni new. It was a stripper with the 1.6 and 4 spd. Plus an AM Radio. It was the small second car I drove to work. Drove it 8 yrs then my kids drove it in high school for a year or two. That engine was a pushrod 4 with solid lifters. The only thing I did to the engine besides tune ups was adjust the lifters once. I did have to put a clutch in it. First and last FWD clutch I changed in the driveway. Overall great car. Rust was the enemy here in salty NE Ill. But it was no worse than any other car of the era.
My 82, 2.2L 4spd was a fun car that I beat the heck out of. Crude, for sure, but I raced a kid in a Rabbit GTI and beat him easily. My brother, in the passenger seat, was LHAO at the next stop light, which infuriated the kid and he insisted on going again. I watched the cross-traffic light turn yellow, beat him off the line and embarrassed him even more the second time. I had always been impressed with the GTI, until then.
As a protest to my then-employer taking our company trucks in favor of a vehicle allowance, I bought a brand-new ’87 Omni America (2.2l 5-sp) as my work vehicle. Other than the required spare pickup coil in the glove box, this car stayed on the job for almost 5 years coming very close to 200K with only normal maintenance.
Oddly in 1988, Chrysler started selling the Plymouth Horizon in Canada, as the Plymouth Expo. At least in some regions, as my brother bought a new black five-door Plymouth Expo. Perhaps a tie-in to Expo ’86 in Vancouver. Strange marketing move.
This car was on the market one year before the Omni. Similar looking in many ways. This particular one is older than this Omni and is still a daily driver. I’ll show only this pic as the rest are sitting in another COAL.
What a Great Little Car! Paintwork and alloy wheel look beautifully maintained.
It is a time capsule for sure when you see the other pictures.
Looking forward very much!
Apparently out of my hands now ( 5 stories) with no contact.
tbm3fan; Rich and I have repeatedly told you that none of your submissions will ever be posted unless you establish contact with us.
Well this worked better than the four emails I sent, with the last being on October 25th, when I stopped for no response to them.
And to what email address are you sending them to? None have been received, yet others don’t have this problem.
The one you gave me “curbsideclassic@gmail.com” So watch I’ll send one more and just say #5. Sent 13:24 hours.
Not received.
We receive numerous emails everyday on this account, and from dozens of contributors. No one else has ever experienced this before. There’s no explanation. Does this email show up in your “Sent” folder?
I have also sent you several emails to you at your account “mmcd7276@astound.net” and received no reply. Is this still your current email address? I just sent you another one. Did you get it? (I will delete this address in this comment after you respond)
This takes me back to my high school years. I had a 1982 Escort with the high output 1.6L and close ratio four speed. It was surprisingly quick compared similar cars. A friend initially had an Omni/Horizon with the 1.6L and my Escort would fairly effortlessly eat its lunch. The 1.6L car was later replaced by a slightly newer one with the 2.2L, which provided much tougher competition to my Escort. Somehow we managed to not put them in any ditches, get any tickets, or throw any connecting rods.
The Omnirizon was the one, lone bright spot in the bleak Chrysler of the seventies (the Monte Carlo-clone Cordoba was just lucky timing with some terrific marketing in that the PLC fad was still going strong).
In fact, I’ve sometimes wondered if the Omnirizon was one of the main products that Lee Iacocca thought Chrysler could still be a relevant part of Detroit’s Big 3 and convinced him to take over as CEO.
One case in which the US and Canada got the better version of a world car, our Horizons here in Europe were the dreariest cars in that class. Basic transport but nothing else, whereas at the same time you got things like a 2.2 turbos which, with relatively slight modification, will be quicker than most modern hot hatches.