The Dart name first appeared on a Dodge in 1960. By 1963, it was placed on the compact Dodge and there it stayed until 1976. That year, Dodge launched their new F-Body compacts that soon proved to have alarming reliability and build quality issues. Such a debacle could have irreparably tarnished the Dart name but Dodge had decided instead to replace the venerable Dart and Valiant names with Aspen and Volaré. Except in Mexico.
If Mexican-built Aspens had build quality issues, they mustn’t have been bad enough to tarnish the Dart name. The F-Body Aspen was known as the Dart during its entire run, while its Plymouth counterpart was badged Valiant Volare (no accent, as Spanish speakers pronounce the ‘ay’ anyway in words ending in ‘e’). For 1980, the Dart and Valiant Volare names were moved from the F-Body to the restyled-for-1980 Diplomat M-body.
Confusingly, the 1980 Dart alternately used the regular Diplomat front end and that of the 1980 Dodge Aspen. Likewise, the Valiant Volare used the fascia of the 1980 Plymouth Volaré.
The Dart and Valiant ranges consisted of coupe, sedan and wagon models; a separate performance model was also available, and this will be featured later. Six- and eight-cylinder engines were available and the standard Slant Six with a column-mounted three-speed manual transmission was a popular combination.
While the M-Body Diplomat would live on in North America until the end of the decade, the M-Body Dart survived only until 1982. This new, more formal Dart had been positioned as a more premium offering right in time for Mexico’s worst economic crisis since the 1930s. Rising fuel prices had precipitated the need for a new, compact Chrysler in North America, and the floundering economy of Mexico in the early 1980s also made the new, more economical K-Car a more desirable option.
The K-Car was launched as the Dodge Dart K and Plymouth Valiant Volare K, which were identical to their Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant counterparts in North America but for one strange distinction: the Dart initially used the Reliant’s front clip, while the Valiant used the Aries’ front clip. Power was provided by a lone 2.2 four-cylinder engine; manual and automatic transmissions were both offered, as was a choice of bucket or bench front seating and sedan, coupe and wagon bodies. However, the Valiant was sold only as a two-door.
In 1986, the Dart K sedan was succeeded by the Dart E. This was a version of the larger K-derived E-Body used by the Dodge 600, Plymouth Caravelle and defunct Chrysler E-Class and used a larger 2.5 four-cylinder engine. Two years later, Plymouth received a rebadged Dart E called the Valiant Volare E.
These Dart Es remain an extremely common sight in México, Chrysler having provided consumers with a simple, practical and fuel-efficient mid-size sedan. The Dart E went head-to-head with the Ford Tempo/Topaz and the various GM A-Body sedans.
The E-Bodies were replaced by the Chrysler Spirit – no Dodge or Plymouth nameplates anymore – in 1989, thus finally ending the long-running Dart nameplate more than a decade after its discontinuation in North America. It would not return until 2013 and earlier this year, the nameplate was retired once again.
The Dart name had become synonymous with simple, honest transportation in North America and the trusty, dependable reputation it had developed was echoed south of the border. The spirit of the Dart had lived on in the subsequent Aspen, Aries and 600. In Mexico, both the spirit and the name of the Dart had lived on in these Dodges.
Related Reading:
Curbside Classic: 1974 Dodge Dart Custom – A-Body In Motion Tends To Stay In Motion
Curbside Classic: 1980 Dodge Aspen – Rock Bottom And Loving It
Curbside Classic: 1980 Dodge Diplomat Coupe – The Winter Of Dodge’s Discontent
Curbside Classic: 1983 Dodge Aries – The K-Car Saves Chrysler
I had never known of the Mexican Dart or Valiant Volare. The 1980 front end on the American Volare/Aspen was always fairly attractive, and it looks good on the Mexican M body version.
In that picture with the red Aries wagon. are the buildings really tilted like that or was it the angle of the camera?
(Psst: It’s a Dart wagon.)
I bet the doors and wall are straight up and down while the street and sidewalk are at an angle.
There, I fixed it for you. It’s a very steep street, obviously.
I never really liked the 1980 squared off front end on the Aspen/Volare. It just didn’t flow well with the more curvy back end (especially on the 2-doors). Seeing those top two photos with the squared Aspen front end on Diplomat body, it is quite jarring to me in that I’ve never seen something like that before. Yet, even though it is jarring, I kinda like it. The lines flow better… angular in the front and angular in the back. Not sure if I want to kill it with fire or to build one my own!
You nailed it Brian. There’s something strangely appealing to it.
It definitely looks ‘better’ on the M body than the F body, but still pretty formal looking for anything with 2 doors. What these M coupes need is something more shovel nosed. They look close to the G body Cutlass/Regal as it is, so why not imitate them that much more and seal the deal?
What Id like to do is make a ‘synthetic’ Aspen R/T or Volare RoadRunner but with a Mirada or Cordoba LS front clip. The J body cars are the only of the F/M/J’s that seemed to have the right look up front for a coupe.
The M-body Dart wagon looks very peculiar, as we did not (unless I’m mistaken) get a Diplomat wagon in this country. There was one M-body wagon sold here, the LeBaron Town & Country, but I don’t believe it ever sold in large numbers.
Yeah, we got Diplomat wagons in the US through ’81.
I stand corrected. I’m sure I’ve seen some of the earlier ones, but my mind may have categorized them as a Lebaron T&C as the only significant difference was the grille and headlamp arrangement. I really don’t think I’ve ever seen one of the facelift ’80-’81 models in person.
The M body Lebaron TC wagon sold okay, but remember that it obviously was a trim level of the Volare/Aspen. Same for the Dip wagon in the US. The Lebaron and Dip sedan didn’t get a unique roof til 1980.
The unique M body cars were the 2 doors. The 1977 2 doors were on the F body sedan wheelbase and got unique roof and rear quarters, because big 2 door coupes were where the business was. The 1980 M body coupes were on the shorter F coupe wheelbase with new roof and rear quarters to make room for the Cordoba and Mirada nameplates on the longer wheelbase.
I was up late Christmas Eve, trying to find it in me to go to sleep. That’s not always easy for me. Anyway, I was scrolling through CC and found that this post got just 10 comments. A shame, because it’s enormously informative. I loved learning about the history of the Dart in Mexico, and I’m glad you shared the story. There, now it’s 11 comments.