The sun was shining brightly, the new restaurant Mrs. Jason and I had just tried was a success, and we were taking a nice stroll around the downtown area. With it being our anniversary we were reminiscing as we walked, tying these memories into future plans.
As we crossed High Street to head back toward the car, there it sat, dwarfed by its much younger contemporaries. Once upon a time it hadn’t seemed so small, but cars have puffed up in the forty years since this Omni was built. Mrs. Jason and I had been chuckling about how time flies; this little Dodge was proof of that.
But this Omni stimulated many memories from my formative years, involving a similar Omni that was in the formative years of its run. Was it really that long ago? Yes, it was.
It was a cold Saturday in January 1981. I was lying in bed eavesdropping upon my parents who were nearby in the kitchen talking about car shopping. Unable to hear every word, I could hear enough to determine the old, brown 1973 Ford Torino sedan was on the chopping block, having accumulated 123,000 miles since they had purchased it new. It had had zero issues other than a broken timing chain but it was looking tired.
It’s biggest virtue was consistent fuel usage of 12 miles per gallon. Nobody likes surprises.
Pop knew the Omni and Horizon were front-wheel drive but he wasn’t sure if the Escort was or not. He suspected it was yet pivoted to talking about base model Fairmonts. In disbelief how something so readily obvious had escaped him, I piped up from my bedroom: “Pop, the Escort is front-wheel drive. It’s about the same size as the Horizon.”
I could hear my mother mutter about my being awake as I tromped into the kitchen. At eight years of age I was showering automotive knowledge onto my father. That was the last time he listened to any of it.
Later that morning, I found myself with them and my younger sister at Ford Groves in nearby Cape Girardeau, Missouri. The industrious salesman had wheeled a very cold Mercury Lynx, the Escort clone, up to the front door. All I remember is that two-door Mercury was gray with a red interior, had a manual transmission, and neither of my parents were particularly impressed.
Upon leaving we drove the forty miles to Guetterman Chrysler-Plymouth-Dodge-Ford-Lincoln-Mercury in Cairo, Illinois. Guetterman’s had been strictly a Chrysler franchise until about 1980 when, for some unfathomable reason, they acquired a Ford franchise. Sitting on the lot was a light blue Dodge Omni Miser, the Miser being powered by a 1.7 liter Volkswagen engine. It went home to Casa de Shafer and the Torino was promptly sold.
The Omni perched in the driveway next to the 1978 Plymouth Volare two-door. While both were Chrysler products, the Omni had used a vastly different design template. Despite its diminutive size, the legroom was not much different than what I was accustomed to with other cars.
For years Pop had a commute of fifty miles each way and the Omni was his new commuter car, the Volare being promoted from commuter car to family car. The Omni was equipped just right for my father with air conditioning being about the only option. It had an AM only radio, a four-speed manual, light blue vinyl seats, and no power steering. It served its role of commuter car with amazing distinction.
My father kept fanatical records about the Omni’s fuel consumption and maintenance in a log book he kept in the glove compartment. That Omni routinely achieved just over 30 miles per gallon.
On a few occasions the Omni served other purposes. It ferried the Shafer family to Knoxville, Tennessee, in 1982 for the World’s Fair.
Incidentally, we rode one of those blasted cable cars. A thunderstorm blew up right as we were hustled into Car #13. The ride was uneventful.
This trip also took us to Lynchburg, that tiny town in which Jack Daniel’s whiskey is produced. The brewery had running jokes about their whiskey being produced in a county in which liquor sales were still prohibited.
Another time my mother used the Omni to transport me and a few friends on a Cub Scout outing. We convoyed with two other mothers to tour the facilities of KFVS, Channel 12, the CBS affiliate in nearby Cape Girardeau. The two other cars were a 1977 Pontiac Grand Prix and a 1979 Cadillac Coupe deVille. When we got to straighter road, the other mothers decided to recover lost time. That Pontiac and Cadillac flat ran away from that 63 horsepower Omni. My mother quit trying to keep up as there simply weren’t enough squirrels under the Omni’s hood.
My embarrassment was immense.
That was a day of varied memories. Seeing a television station in operation was fascinating as was meeting the local television legends of Don McNeely and Mike Shain, the meteorologist and anchorman, respectively. McNeely was a fixture on KFVS from 1943 to 1993, first on radio then on television starting in 1954. Shain joined KFVS in late 1972 and retired in 2009.
Meeting them was like seeing old friends.
As an aside Mike Shain once did a live report after a snowstorm in Cape. Any snow in Cape Girardeau is newsworthy as it’s far enough south to be an irregular occurrence. This particular snow, likely in 1979, was much deeper than most.
As is the habit with many reporters during inclement weather, Mike Shain was reporting on this extraordinary weather event by standing in its midst. While on-air in front of KFVS’s Hirsch Tower studio reveling in the sea of white, he took a step. His step was unknowingly down some concrete stairs that were covered. Nearly falling, Shain yelped an excited “WHOA, SHHH…!” in the middle of his live report. Even though he caught himself literally and figuratively, it made for great television, but providing a different dramatic effect than he was seeking.
The advertisements for the Omni rang true. That blue Omni did a lot of things and it did them quite well. Folding down the rear seat was like tearing out an interior wall in your house due to the dramatic increase in usable room. The backseat of the Shafer Omni was only dropped a time or two making it all the more memorable. It also highlighted the weird dynamic my father had with my female rat terrier, Pepper.
Pepper had some kind of weird phobia about thunder, loud noises, and butterflies. Seeing them would send her tearing around the seven acre homestead (dogs never came in the house) barking her head off.
My father, who has a phobia about barking dogs, would open windows, run into the yard in all states of dress, and attempt anything to tell the dog to shut-up. The richest was during a thunderstorm when Pepper was in the very back of the yard, a good three hundred feet from the house. A clap of thunder triggered the dog and I could hear a window in the master bedroom directly above me being opened and my father almost hissing at the dog.
As if the dog was going to hear him, let alone comprehend. It’s been a decades long source of amusement for my sister and me.
Even though this essay is about a Dodge Omni, I have to set the stage for my most vivid Omni memory.
Anyone familiar with dogs knows that chicken bones can be deadly as they can splinter and sever intestines. Somehow Pepper found some chicken bones that royally corked her up, an outcome preferable to the alternative. When Pepper was having no success answering nature my mother realized what had happened. As a nurse she knew what needed to be done.
My father actively wanted no part of this plan. My mother is easy going until suddenly she isn’t. And suddenly she wasn’t.
Her remedy involved a rubber hot water bottle, flexible plastic hose, warm water, liquid soap, and a douche wand. You can imagine what happened next.
It worked like a charm although Pepper keenly observed my father’s profound annoyance in helping.
Soon thereafter Pepper got her canine revenge.
We were taking a trip somewhere. This necessitated taking Pepper and my sister’s parakeet Gypsy to my paternal grandmother’s house. Grandma fed the bird and Pepper got to roam the Shawnee National Forest.
The day before our departure, the four of us piled into the Omni along with Pepper and a caged Gypsy. The backseat was folded down. For reasons inexplicable even then, Pop decided to take the longer route to my grandmother’s, a route he was hard-pressed to take any other time.
Pepper got rambunctious mid-trip. The bird subsequently went bonkers and started flapping around, making all sorts of noise. Pop was annoyed but under control. Then, as all got quiet, Pepper spotted something up ahead. She stood on my sister’s lap with my sister about to have a spasm from repressed laughter, as we both knew what was about to happen. Pepper put her head about four inches from Pop’s right ear, and started barking furiously at whatever it is she saw. It was quite the spectacle, mom again inquiring why he had opted to take the long route.
I do give Pop credit. While it likely took every fiber of his being to remain reasonably calm, he managed to do so. Of course the dog got a healthy admonishment that accomplished nothing. Pepper still managed to pull off a few more barks in the backseat of that blue Omni.
My family does not have a good history traveling with dogs.
A Dodge Omni always makes me smile. My parents got 110,000 to 115,000 trouble free miles out of that little Dodge. It went away in 1986 for a lightly used 1985 Ford LTD Crown Victoria which was the polar opposite of the Omni in every way imaginable.
Sometime ago I had wondered if all these early Omnis were extinct. It seems they aren’t.
This particular example may still be a continental traveler. Licensed in Nebraska it had been purchased at one point in Wheaton, Maryland. Google tells me this town is now Wheaton-Glenmont and no doubt somebody from that area will know the story. There’s been forty years for towns to change since this Omni was built.
Our featured Omni appears pretty basic with those fans being a good idea for July travels. This interior evolved some by 1981 but it remained almost elegant in its simplicity.
Periodically we hear about “honest” cars, cars that lack any form of pretension. This Omni is as unpretentious as any car ever built. It is what it is and it is quite comfortable in its own skin.
There’s a lot to like about that. No wonder the Omni stuck around with few physical changes until the end of the next decade.
Found July 11, 2019
Jefferson City, Missouri
Related reading:
Detroit Finally Builds A Proper Small Car by PN
My first car was an ’81 Omni Miser in red with that exact tan interior. It was bad enough that it still wore whitewalls in 1990, and here I notice them on this car now! Made it look five years older than it was (an early sign of what would lead Lee to the unfashionably, unfixably blocky Dynasty et al?)
I put those cheap fake-sheepskin seat covers over the vinyl seats. In summer if I left the windows down the neighbor’s cat would sleep on the driver’s seat but only if BOTH windows were down!
You are a great storyteller Jason. We can tell you really enjoyed sharing these memories. Thank you. The Omni and Horizon were unsung heroes for Chrysler, as the Gm X-cars, the K-cars, and Escort got all the domestic press. While the biggest press the L-body got was the Consumers Reports steering recentering controversy. I think a lot of people discounted them as ‘Rabbit clones’. When they were benchmark cars for the domestic auto industry.
Even though the L-cars were in production for over a decade, it’s always a rare treat to see the early ones. And they are easy to spot. They are time capsules, that bring me right back to that era. I felt then, Chrysler should have found the rationale to ensure all of them were sold with chrome trim rings. I found the plain steel wheels looked a bit too ‘econo’. And they tended to rust early. But as you said, they were very honest cars. Even those, with the fake wood. They were early goodwill ambassadors for the US auto industry. Finally, a domestic small car, in tune with the future, that offered great value. Even if they had strong European roots.
Thanks again for these great memories.
I joked once to some friends in high school, that the greenhouse of the mid to late 70s BMW 5 series, looked very much like the greenhouse on the Omni/Horizon. This was after the Jetta was launched, and I used to watch the auto magazines to see if Chrysler was contemplating introducing an Omni with a trunk. If so, they could have relatively easily made it look like a 530i. Which would have been pretty cool in GLH or GLHS form.
I’m certain it was discussed and rejected as coming too close to the Aries/Reliant.
That being said, I’m surprised there wasn’t a “Euro”-inspired trim level of those, at least for the 4 door and maybe the wagon. There was room between the Omni and 600 ES models for an Aries ES.
The Dodge 400 may have initially been targeted for that role.
Dodge 600 and Chrysler E-class were targeted for the Euro role in K car land.
Then the Dodge Lancer and LeBaron GTS hatchbacks filled that role.
Great little cars with great mileage that served as the foundation for the K cars.
One question, how did you get four people and two pets into the car with the rear seat folded down? Even if two were kids, couldn’t have been very comfortable.
It likely wasn’t comfortable but the novelty of a folded seat and lots of space trumped comfort.
Also helping was a small dog and a small cage.
I’m sure Mrs. Jason enjoyed sharing her anniversary night with an Omni… especially since the sight of it dredged up all of these very vivid memories of various dog crises!
But that said, the Omni/Horizon is my favorite 1970s/80s economy car. I’d known quite a few people who’d owned them, and all of them provided long, reliable service like your father’s did. And it was a good-looking car, too — something that can’t be said about all of its competition.
It’s more than surprising to see one of these still on the road, and in active use; I haven’t seen one of these early Omnirizons in years.
Regarding Wheaton Dodge, I think it was closed when Chrysler cut franchise agreements with lots of its dealers back in 2010 or so. The building still exists, and is a used car showroom for Wheaton Dodge’s former owners (a large chain of dealers). Below is an ad from when your featured Omni was new:
From the ad, I see that average interest rate was 11.2% APR in 1978.
And people bitch today when a car loan is 3% or 4%.
The inflation rate was 7.59% in 1978. That’s why.
Exactly. When I started working in the banking industry in 1980, there were times when the rate of inflation was so high that it almost made sense to borrow money – even at double-digit rates – to buy certain big-ticket items sooner rather than later, when the price would be higher.
Jason, there is so much I love about this post. The thing that stopped me dead in my tracks, though, was that there was (is still?) a car dealership in Cairo, Illinois. I thought they have a population in the hundreds these days. I’ve long been fascinated with Cairo.
My thoughts exactly!
I just checked, and Guetterman motors is still open in Cairo! I was also way off about the population of Cairo – looks to be about 2,200 at present, according to Wikipedia.
Joe, in regard to Cairo I’m wanting to say the population during my teenage years was around 6,000 although the census data on wiki could prove me wrong. The exodus from there has been considerable.
If you are ever up for a weekend trip I’ll meet you and give you a tour of the area. You’d never guess you were still in the same state as Chicago.
Sounds awesome, Jason.
Great stories! My mom had an ’88 Omni from 1991 until she passed in 1998. She traded in her 1978 Aspen 4 door in on it when we moved to Florida. It was a good little car, actually, both were.
I visited the Jack Daniel’s distillery in Tennessee. Must have been in 2005. It is in a dry county as you say, so no drinking is allowed – no selling, either.
We were disappointed, but did the tour anyway. They open the vats to give you a whiff. One vat, two vats, three vats and you’re drunk on vapours, without having touched a drop.
Then, at the very end, they give you a glass of lemonade.
No sample tasting?? What’s the point then?
When we visited they would let you eat all the sour mash you wanted. Straight from the vat, just grab yourself a handful. For a young me the taste was rather off-putting.
Sounds like vegemite mixed with alcohol!!
Happy to say that sampling at the distillery in Lynchburg has been possible since about 2012. How much and what you get to sample depends on which (paid) tour you choose.
Same deal now in Bourbon country in KY (many of those tours were sample-less in the past as well). It’s still not on par with Scotland’s distillery tour scene, but the US places have started to get with the program.
One of the most honest things I find about this car, is the lack of loud branding. Look at how discreet the badging is. ‘Dodge’ is comically small on the hatch lid. No oversized corporate logos. No steel wheel centre cap branding. They even had that meaningless generic crest on the grille, that Dodge used on their various car lines at the time, that did nothing for the Chrysler brand. Almost like they had to put something there.
http://i.wheelsage.org/image/format/picture/picture-gallery/d/dodge/omni/dodge_omni_2_1.jpg
As I recall, most Omnis I remember seeing had this very 70s appearance package.
Yes, that tape package was popular on early models, for those owners that wanted to remind the world what they were driving. Thankfully, it went away.
If Chrysler had kept building cars as honest as the Omni, they wouldn’t have been ‘reorganized’ time and again. Contrast the good memories posted here to the almost universal loathing the Dart got a few weeks ago (https://www.curbsideclassic.com/curbside-classics-american/future-curbside-classic-2015-dodge-dart-missing-the-bullseye/). Which one would you rather drive for 5 years? They were both basically built for the same mission, fuel sipping commuter.
Consumers are a lot more knowledgeable today. Most people know that generally Toyota and Honda, acknowledged class leading cars, will usually give you years of reliability and service with routine maintenance. Many people don’t have the patience, or want to pay, to deal with the inconsistent quality of Fiat Chrysler or GM, for example. Back in the 70s, not as many people made that realization yet. And were still willing to tolerate average quality in most cars. The quality difference between Toyota and Fiat Chrysler is more clearly established today, and a big buying factor, through their reliability and durability history.
Well sure, Chrysler screwed the pooch and it was all their fault. I seem to recall that Consumer Reports liked the Omni back then and it was the most reliable car you could get from Mopar, followed closely by the K-Car and Arrow. If they’d focused on making the rest of their products more durable (the writing was on the wall even then as word of Toyota, Honda and Datsun reliability and service began to spread in the early 80s) they wouldn’t be in the shape they are now.
The only cars I’d consider buying new now are from Honda and Toyota. Nissan used to be up there, but no more. I might consider a Hyundai , but the deal would have to be pretty good to compel me to sign loan papers.
The Omni and Horizon initially had their share of teething problems, too. They certainly weren’t as bad as the GM X-cars, but they were not reliable right out of the box.
In February 1978, my best friend’s family bought the first Horizon in our town. It had its share of problems, ranging from flimsy exterior door handles to a propensity to stop running at traffic lights.
Our next-door neighbor bought a brand-new Horizon (complete with the optional woodgrain siding) in the spring of 1979. My father carpooled with him to work. One day it died in our driveway, and had to be towed away. He had owned the car for less than three months.
I COAL’d my ’89, one of the last of the breed. The 2.2/5-speed was a significant improvement in performance with little-to-no loss in economy. They really were fine cars for their time, and even through the 13 model year run, they were really never out of date. One of Chrysler’s Greatest hits.
Wow, a blast from my past. My mother bought a new Horizon in 1980 after trying to buy an Omni and getting messed around by the dealer. It was really the only game in town for someone looking for a modern, economical domestic, particularly one that could be equipped with some luxury. They were certainly the only thing in high demand at Mopar dealers that year. Chrysler could probably have sold double what they did had they not been hobbled by the 300k limit on engine blocks VW would sell them.
Mom’s was a navy blue over silver blue two tone (the break being at that big line that goes through the door handles) with a very attractive light-ish blue velour interior. I do not recognize this vinyl and wonder if this makes your subject a 1978-79. Every low-trim 1980 I recall seeing came with a coarse cloth on the seats. The a/c was good and cold and it had a really nice sounding stereo from the factory. The only thing I really didn’t like was the way the steering wheel vibrated at idle.
And what is funny was that Mom traded her Horizon in on – – – an 85 Crown Victoria. Night and day, as you note. And one final point, you have shared reason number 629 to never own a dog.
My Mom got a brand new well equipped 1986 Dodge Omni in a metallic blue color as a company car. It had great AC, wonderful stereo, comfortable velour seats. It was easily the nicest car in our driveway.
She left that job for another one a year later. I was very sad when she had to return the car.
A wholehearted agreement on dogs. They are fine so long as they are someone else’s. I’ve not had a dog since Pepper and I don’t see that changing.
Speaking of, I debated long and hard about whether or featured example had a/c. Even blowing the pictures up on my computer, before reducing them to place here, I could not quite tell if there were a/c vents or not. The fans made me think not but it’s hard to know. The glare in person was exactly what was captured in pictures.
The featured car is delightfully basic.
I bought a well-worn 10 year old Horizon from auction as a backup car; it served well in its limited role, and was just as stated above – honest.
It’s weird looking back at these older cars and not seeing cup holders or center arm rests. I nominate both along with XM, ventilated seats and ABS as the greatest developments over the past 30 years….
I had two, both used. The first an ’81 2.2 automatic as a used car in ’91, reliable and good for 28 mpg after feeding gas to a 318 van to the tune of 12 mpg.
The second, my one great buy of a lifetime, a black ’88 2.2, 5-speed, f.i., 38mpg consistently, reliable and fun to drive. From ’93 started at 51K miles, ended ’02 with 287K miles. Never again will have a car that delivered to so many miles for so little other than routine maintenance and repairs. I call it “my one great buy
OK, it’s not about cars, but I am now fascinated by Hirsch Tower, having never been to Cape Girardeau. Its footprint is 38 by 32 feet!
Is there really any rentable space in there or is it just a better-looking radio tower? Sadly I can’t find interior photos.
When I saw the image here of the KFVS Tower, it immediately reminded me of another building I’d seen recently in a similar-sized Midwestern City. This is the original Phillips Petroleum headquarters in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. Similar layout — a 14-story office building with a very small footprint. It was built in the late 1920s.
Google StreetView image below:
Boone, Iowa has a similar building in their downtown.
From what I can remember, the majority of the building houses KFVS and the sister radio station offices.
The link for Don McNeely above is an obituary of sorts but contains a video in which there is a snippet of the Hirsch Tower being built in the 1960s. It was named for Oscar Hirsch, who was a local businessman who founded KFVS television in 1954 after having had KFVS radio for some time. He sold the station sometime in the 1970s or 1980s.
The rentable space downtown is in adjacent buildings. The Hirsch Tower is also next door to the Royal N’Orleans restaurant, which was at one time the swanky place to go in Cape. After we returned from our honeymoon Mrs. Jason and I ate there and she about chocked when she saw the bill. After I saved her I then saw the bill and choked also.
I rented for different weekends an Omni and a Chevette, the latter CR’s recommended car. Based on those very disparate experiences, I never trusted CR again.
I went to a seminar in the mid 1990s where the very impressive speaker was a partner in a very large law firm. When it was over, I observed him drive away in an Omni which was about eight years old. I mentioned this to another lawyer in the firm and he told me that the car was a reflection of the value the man placed on cars.
Thanks for the great story. The Omnirizon is one of those cars that fascinates me. Took a TC3 for a test drive in early 80, but Chrysler’s future was sufficiently clouded right then that I didn’t pull the trigger. When I visit the Ford museum, the Horizon, Escort and Nash Rambler are always my favorites. By the way, the car exhibit is being heavily revised right now. Last time I was in the museum, probably late March/early April, most of the car exhibit space was walled off for the remodel.
Great story–the memories we have with the cars of our youth!
I thought these were good cars back in the day. My sense is that their quality/reliability varied–like GM cars and FWD VWs, from excellent to lemon. Sounds like you got a good one.
As the years go by, I appreciate these more and more. I didn’t have any time for them back in their prime, but they have aged very well and seem to generate more positive than negative thoughts and memories.
In the early ’80’s this probably was a much better choice than the Escort and Chevette if one didn’t look off-shore. Although it may have been better than some of those offerings as well, I suppose.
Great memories, Jason, nice to see this car imbued/associated with the personalities of one family and their experiences with it, I believe you are the only person I know who (through immediate family) owned one, strangely enough.
Don’t forget that from 1978-80 the domestic alternatives were the Pinto and Chevette. The Escort did not come along until 1981.
The Chevette was cramped inside, and slow, but it was a pretty durable car, and handled and steered well (though not in snow).
Omnis, like Rabbits, seem to come in two flavors–a ‘good car with good parts’ that was reliable, or a lemony one. The Chevettes seem more reliable, other than the floorboards rusting in the rust belt.
The Omnirizon was VERY space efficient–it was probably the roomiest economy car of the late 70s/early 80s. The 1.7 had more pep than the Escort and Chevette, on par with a Corolla, but the car was not as zippy as the Rabbit or Fiesta or Civic.
The Omni’s stroke of genius was, as the car got older, when Chrysler replaced the carbureted 1.7 VW engine (and briefly a 1.6 sourced from Peugeot, I think) with the K-car 2.2 liter AND 5-speed.
Now you had a zippy car with better highway mpg, and about the same in town mpg. And the automatic version were pretty good also, better than their competitors. And Chrysler cut the price in 1985-86. Also, by then, the quality was better. So, you had an older car, but a very good one.
Indeed. For once you in the US got the better world car variation, here in the EU we had the Chrysler/Simca/Talbot Horizon with the unrefined Simca Poissy engines having 92 hp at the most and no real sports versions. They sold in far smaller numbers than the VW Golf, Opel Kadett and Ford Escort and were not thought of very highly. Unloved then and forgotten today.
From the guidebooks I’ve seen, the Pinto was substantially cheaper than the Omnirizon with the Chevette in between. In 1980 an Omni had a higher MSRP than an Aspen, let alone ATP.
Ford pushed Pintos (and Mercury Bobcats) heavily during 1978-79, as it needed to sell more Pintos and Bobcats in order to balance the strong sales of its full-size cars and personal luxury coupes for CAFE.
The tooling had likely been long amortized by that point, so Ford could afford to sell them at a very low price.
My parents bought a 78 Omni in about 1983. Within a year the head gasket went, and the car overheated while driving up a hill and was scrapped. For their next purchase, they bought a volume of Lemon-Aid used car guide. Just out of curiousity, I looked up the Omni/Horizon and I distinctly remember the book describing it as “One of the worst cars ever made, do not buy at any price.”
I bought a number of Phil Edmonston’s “Lemon-Aid’ Used Car Guides in the early and mid 1980’s. And even as a teenager, I could tell his content, and writing-style was pretty over-the-top towards hyperbole. I soon started to view the publications as light reading for entertainment. I don’t know if the testing, and/or surveys of the APA (Automobile Protection Association) he was the President of, improved or became more refined and specific, but many of the opinions of many cars seemed subjective, based upon opinion. Or small owner survey samples? He made so many strong criticisms of so many cars, that it was hard to know if you could take this source seriously.
I recall entire chapters would be devoted to specific cars who’s interior’s were determined to be carcinogenic. For example, page after page of say Plymouth Volare vinyl interior colours that could give you cancer. I don’t recall their source. And I don’t recall the NHTSA or Transport Canada ever recalling any cars for interiors that caused cancer. I’m sure their was some validity to his work, as Edmonston was often quoted in the media. I always remained on the fence trusting their advice.
I don’t know if the “Lemon-Aid’ Used Car Guides became more credible. I wanted to trust them, but I was pretty suspicious at time that the author was trying to make a name for himself. And I am a pretty big fan of Ralph Nader.
”vinyl interior colours that could give you cancer” Retina cancer of course
I used to read the Lemon-Aid guides. I distinctly remember Phil’s write-up of the 1988 Chrysler Fifth Avenue, where he classified the vehicle as “Highly Recommended”. I don’t recall any other car receiving that designation. This still seems odd to me.
Pretty much every other domestic car in those days – other than the Taurus and Mustang – was listed as “Not Recommended” or “Acceptable”.
I think he was being a bit unfair about the Omnirison.
Thank you for the entertaining trip down memory lane.
What is it about fathers and advice from sons? I strongly recommended the Omni to my father to replace his Fairmont wagon in 1981; he declined to listen and purchased a used ’76 Pinto wagon in the belief it would live up to the standards set by the Fairmont. Grievous error. Later he chose a Dodge Shadow over a Corolla, an Aerostar in lieu of a Caravan, then a Grand Caravan instead of the recommended Sienna. Oh well.
Several friends/acquaintances bought Omnirizons through the 80’s, and they were, without exception, durable and reliable. I regularly rode or drove one friend’s Omni with the 2.2 and 5 speed, and it was by far the best of the domestics, and was damn near as good as the Japanese competition. The Omnirizon twins ranked as one of the best value propositions in its day. Most succumbed to the tin worm, sadly, but there are still enough on the road here that they’re not elevated to “rare” status quite yet.
The Omni and Horizon were Rabbits for people who (perhaps with cause) didn’t trust VW. They were actually the closest any American manufacturer had gotten to equalling or beating the import economy car.
And then in the first couple of years they got a Rabbit engine in their Omnirizon anyway. Then a Peugeot engine, and finally a Chrysler 2.2 when that came out.
I can think of a few examples of domestic cars equaling imports. The Toyota based Chevrolet Nova/Prizm/Pontiac Vibe. The Mazda based second and third gen Escort. The Mazda based first gen Ford Fusion. Maybe the only truly domestic car that gave the imports a good run would be the second gen Saturn S. I still see a few of those on the road in good condition 20ish years after they stopped being built.
I think it is important to note that not all imports are created equal. I would not put VW, Fiat, Mitsubishi or Nissan in the same category as Honda or Toyota. Most quality surveys have them lagging far behind Toyota and Honda, sometimes even GM.
I only have one memory of an early Omni. In ’91, when my wife and I had just started dating, her car was an ’80-ish Omni. It had auto and power steering, but other than that very basic. It felt very light, had the feel of NO vibration or sound insulation, tracked well and had very direct road feel. Too much, in fact. It reminded me of a bicycle, so directly transmitting every nook and cranny of the road into the steering wheel. It had more power than I expected. Overall it felt very basic and cheap, which it was, and that’s neither praise nor damning of it. It was also beige in and out. So very very beige. All in all a merely adequate ride. It made my ’79 Accord feel like both a sports car and a luxury car. But when new, Accords we’re much more expensive, so not really a fair comparison. But when they became older used cars they cost about the same and I really noticed the difference then. We took long trips in the Honda and felt like we were really pampered. We drove the Omni when it was in the way of the Honda in the driveway.
I bought A Brand New Plymouth Horizon in 1980 what great car with thw 1.7 Volkswagen Engine strong running
I bought a new 1980 Horizon in burgundy over tan; 4 speed with AC. It replaced a 1977 Honda Accord. The Horizon was much less trouble for the three years that we had it.
My wife drove it as a local outside salesperson.When I traded it, the dealer remarked how nice it looked. I had waxed it once.
Since then, among others, were 4 more Hondas, a least a dozen Acuras, and only
one used Chrysler.
It looks strange to me to see an Omni without a big Pentastar badge in the middle of the grille, since that was the Chrysler/Plymouth/Dodge emblem of my childhood. I’d almost forgotten that they didn’t start putting that badge on cars until around 1982, so of course the Omni would have worn the older Dodge badge for the first few years.
Yep, that’s the original Omni interior. I rode in blue one. I remember those deep dish steering wheels….deep.
And I remember watching Good Morning America at breakfast before school, watching the Consumer Reports test showing the test driver tugging the wheel sharply to one side and then letting it go. The car didn’t straighten itself out, it veered in the other direction, then veered back more, then more, until it finally spun out.
I thought it was dumb test, as an 8th grader. But, then again, if other cars didn’t behave like this….. But then again, at some point during this era, CR rated a BMW 320i lower than a Corolla SR-5….what did they know?
I hardly see these now, but in North Carolina (low rust) and Michigan (rust capital), by the early 90s, the early Omnirizons seem to have vanished. The ones I’d see all had the CHMSL (3rd brake light), so those were all 2.2 engines. Which makes sense, as the 2.2 was so much more powerful.
Final note…in 1979, at least on Long Island, a Chevette, or a 1980 Escort were bog slow, but viable. Today, with people driving longer distances to bigger homes and often on freeways, where the de facto speed is 70, these cars would be borderline safety hazards, even an Omni 1.7 auto. The 2.2 on the other hand would be OK today.
Rat Terriers and Budgies! What a combination! Too bad you didn’t have Sparky to throw into the middle of things too, from the ’50 Pontiac! Great ride in the Omni!
I’ve mentioned on here before my experiences with Omnis, but seeing the pics of this elderly one reminds me very much of my co-worker’s 1980-81? Omni. I had only ever been in the 024/TC3 clones before commuting in Ed’s four door Omni. It had been a few years since the 024 experiences, so I’d forgotten some of the pleasant characteristics those cars had. Especially the big comfy seats. I had friends who had Rabbits and Civics and etc., and when sitting in those chairs, you sat on them. With the ones in the Omni, you sat in them.
Like others mentioned, these were generally well built little cars with a lot to recommend them. Glad you found a survivor.
Somewhere in my stack of hard drives, I have pictures of a 1984 Omni my brother owned for about two months. It came out of the Pacific Northwest and was covered in rust. Despite coming home on a flatbed, it was coaxed back to life relatively easily and ran remarkably well for its poor condition. It burned oil, but beyond that it was fine. Then my brother pulled the engine to change the clutch, got bored with it and junked it. It probably wasn’t long for this world when he did, but it probably had a few more miles in it.
I bought a well-worn 10 year old Horizon from auction as a backup car; it served well in its limited role, and was just as stated above – honest.
It’s weird looking back at these older cars and not seeing cup holders or center arm rests. I nominate both along with XM, ventilated seats and ABS as the greatest developments over the past 30 years….
I vote for Android Auto. It’s pretty awesome and works beautifully in my VW.
My early Omnirzon story is about my grandma’s 1978 Horizon, She bought it new (actually. my grandpa bought it new for her before they divorced). It was a loaded example, Beige with the Tan interior-the uppermost-trimmed interior available (although with vinyl seats), light group, convenience group, all of the chrome trim that could be applied to the outside, the ‘Uppity Grandma Package’ (*floormats for the floormats, 2 layers of carpet to cover the carpeted rear cargo area, and giant doilies-I kid you not-for the seat bottoms-I’m surprised she didn’t buy a set of the clear plastic seat covers to add to the ambience), and automatic transmission hooked up to the 1.7.
The one thing it did not have when it chugged off the line in Belvedere, Illinois was factory air conditioning. Strike One against the car. An aftermarket a/c system was retrofitted. Not being the factory-style, a giant cast-iron monster of an a/c compressor hung precariously on the side of the 1.7. It was heavy enough to make the engine idle rougher. Once it was engaged, about 60 of the 70 horsepower the motor put out was called into “run the air conditioner” duty (plus, the aftermarket a/c’s venting eliminated the fresh air vents). Not fun.
Strike Two was that the car was bought for her by my grandpa before they divorced. The divorce was ugly.(most of us in the family sided with Grandpa) My grandma was an unpleasant person. My grandpa was a very pragmatic, good-humored person. How they stayed married almost 40 years eludes me…but I digress. Grandma would nitpick and berate the car because Grandpa bought it for her and it reminded her of him. Despite the aftermarket Franken-ac system, the car ran great, never broke down, and never failed to start (a remarkable feat for any 1978 model year vehicle).
Strike Three was that the Horizon never could live up to the level of her beloved 1965 Dodge Dart. (sadly totaled in 1973 when someone blew a stop sign and ran into her, totalling the Dart). She never was fond of the 1970 Dart Grandpa bought as a replacement for the 1965. (luckily-Grandpa got the Dart in the divorce settlement).
Even though she hated the car and what it represented (in her view), it was always kept up and insanely clean. She ended up trading it in for a 1984 Honda Accord (of which she bragged about so much, I got sick to the sight of that era of Accord…).
I once owned a 1990 Omni-I never had a chance to give her a ride in it (thank God…)
I like these a lot…you just have to look at my current car, a 2000 VW Golf, and it’ll be pretty obvious.
My Dad bought a 1980 Dodge Omni new (the 024 version, not the 4 door sedan)…I think it was his mid-life crisis purchase. He almost immediately had trouble with the clutch linkage and the car had to be towed to Goss Dodge for repair (where my Mother worked at the time). I liked the looks of the 024, and though in the used car market at the time (1981) and couldn’t afford a new one, didn’t find one in the right shape, but I did find a ’78 Scirocco which I ended up buying and is my favorite of the cars I’ve owned, in fact I’ve owned no other make since 1981. I went on to buy an ’86 VW GTi
(partly because the Scirocco didn’t have air-conditioning and we moved to the sunbelt, though I liked the Scirocco so much that I put up with the lack of air-conditioning for 3.5 years before I bought the GTi. That’s pretty much the same fate of the Omni, as it also lacked air-conditioning and my Father eventually replaced it with another (family car this time) Dodge 600 in 1986. He had several more cars before he passed away, as he tended to change cars more frequently than I do…in fact, my current 2000 Golf was the replacement for the 1986 GTi.
I’m not sure why I didn’t consider the Omni sedan when I bought the GTi in 1986…they were only made a few years longer and I think the Shadow took over (another car I missed). I remember looking at the Honda Accord (2 door Hatch) and liking it, but didn’t like the way they bundled option packages (which has become normal now)…but I wanted one with fuel injected engine but no power windows, so I went with the VW, which was more al-la-carte in those days. For some reason I also looked at the Mitsubishi Galant, not sure why as I’m a confirmed hatchback buyer….guess that’s part of the reason I’ve stayed with VW…none of the other makes consistently offered the hatchback model, when I was ready to buy…and I’ve never gone the wagon nor SUV route (at least thus far).
I remember putting in a Radio Shack tape player in the Omni for a suprise Father’s day gift (maybe around 1982?)…my Father’s best friend growing up came up to visit us in Vermont (only visit I think he ever made)…and while my Parents were up in Montreal showing his friend and friend’s wife the big city (closest large city to Burlington) I took the opportunity to put in the tape player.. He did have the 5 speed, with the VW block (1.7 litre) engine, but I think it was still carburated. My brother-in-law drove it when they moved from Vermont to Texas (still their current house) back in the summer of 1982.
Oh, yes, I was also at the World’s Fair in Knoxville in 1982…had just started graduate school at Clemson SC (my company sent us there for the summer) and carless, we rented a B body station wagon and about 8 of us drove through the Smokey Mountains to Knoxville. We also had a rafting trip on the Chattooga river on the border of GA, right before finals, the idea was that if you drowned at least you didn’t have to take the exams….otherwise living in New England at the time I probably wouldn’t have made it to Knoxville….though I did get taken to the 1964 Worlds Fair, plus Expo ’67 up in Montreal.
My best friend and his sister were driving a Dodge Aspen and an AMC Gremlin when I first met them. Because my family owned a service station and we took care of these cars, I knew what sort of rolling disasters they were. When the Omni/Horizons were rolled out, I urged them to look them over. They each traded their little pieces of hell in for new Omnis, one in maroon and the other in dark grey metallic. They drove them for over ten years each with nothing out of pocket other than general maintenance. The only loser in the situation was my bro-in-law, who lost two chronically broken vehicles to repair.
Great story! Reminds me of traveling in the back of my parents’ 1973 AMC Gremlin with my brother. Much less room in the Gremlin than in the Omni, but at least we weren’t traveling with a dog and bird!
My parents had nearly the exact same Chrysler lineup in their garage as yours did. We had a ’77 Aspen as the “fancy car” (a fully trimmed out SE but with AM radio and no A/C), and an ’81 Omni Miser that Dad used as his commuter car. I learned to drive in the Miser-with the 1.7 VW engine and the stick-in-a-bucket-of-bolts 4 speed. It was a nice looking car with clean, contemporary lines, although the big Mi$er decal in the back window was embarrassing. Despite horrible build quality – you could see daylight between the passenger door frame and the A-pillar – the Omni was reliable through over 100K miles. I wish there were some modern cars more like this Omni – an easy on the eyes, simple, honest, unassuming little car.
A family friend bought a new 1978 Omni in two tone green with some sort of tweed like interior in green as well.It was to replace a 68 AMC Javelin. He had that car until 1991 when it was replaced with a Chevy Sprint. My aunt and uncle replaced their 1980 Volare with a 1989 Horizon in a dark red wine color with a very nice matching velour interior it had A/C and a decent factory radio with cassette player. They had it until 1994 when it was written off after being hit by a drunk driver while parked on the street. They replaced it with a new Plymouth Acclaim in almost the same color. After that bought a 2005 Pontiac Sunfire which was their last car. My uncle still raves about that Horizon to this day as being his best car – good on gas and pretty peppy with the 2.2 liter and automatic.
Nice storytelling as always, Jason!
Funny, but I had an early Mercury Lynx with your gray/red combination–though a wagon with the automatic. It could cruise the interstates just fine, but by today’s standards scary on on-ramps, trying to get up to speed to smoothly merge. Likewise with passing, which was rarely attempted.
I never heard any special complaints about my relative’s Omni/Horizon, so it was have done its Honest Car thing respectably. Having driven Rabbits and Pintos and and Escort/Lynx, I wonder how the O/H compared?
Until I read this article I hadn’t seen a Mercury Lynx in so long I forgot there was such a vehicle. I’ve never forgotten the Bobcat . . . but the Lynx had slipped my mind.
Great find and story! I like the fire truck you caught in the third photo.
Very enjoyable story, Mr. Shafer. What a cheerful little car that OMNI is.
This is my car! I was googling dodge Omni to show a friend what it looked like and my car popped up on google images. I recognize my crochet mushroom on the mirror that a friend made me. I live in Omaha Ne but am from Jefferson City area and drove it down for my sisters wedding. It feels very strange that someone wrote so much about my little car but I’m so happy someone loves it as much as I do. I do all my own work on it and it is a constant battle keeping it running as it was originally designed to be pretty cheap and disposable. Thanks for all the appreciation!
You are quite welcome. I found it July 11, 2019; as you read, it brought back a flood of memories.
Congratulations on keeping your Omni running. These were great cars, so much different than what Chrysler had been making. May you have many more happy miles with your Omni.