Jalopnik: K Car

The nightmare is real with the 1985 Dodge 600 ES Turbo

Tom Joslin — Sat, 19 Nov 2011 09:00:00 EST

You're working late one night in your high rise apartment when all of a sudden, a wind hits you. You go to close the window, but you can't because there is a 1985 Dodge 600 Es Turbo driving up the side of your building. More »

For $6,500, this Town and Country is a special K

graverobber — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 08:00:00 EDT

The two for one offer is a marketing gimmick older than the Shamwow and more compelling than than an amped up Oxiclean pitch. Today's Nice Price or Crack Pipe K-car offers both Town and Country, plus a but wait there's more Neon SRT4 engine. Will its price however, keep you from calling now? More »

And The Real Winner Is...

Murilee Martin — Sun, 09 May 2010 23:55:55 EDT

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Serious LeMons fans know that the Index Of Effluency— given to the team that accomplishes the most with the crappiest car— is the true top prize, and the Dust-N-Debris Dodge Shadow utterly dominated the IOE this time around. More »

1987 Plymouth Reliant K LE

Murilee Martin — Sat, 02 Jan 2010 09:00:00 EST

Welcome to Down On The Street, where we admire old vehicles parked on the streets of the Island That Rust Forgot: Alameda, California. The K-Car saved Chrysler when it got bailed out the first time, but examples are rare today. More »

This Is What It Sounds Like When You Talk About Cars

Wes Siler — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 16:00:00 EDT

Know that glazed-over look non-car people's eyes get when you start waffling on about 'Ring times and why AWD is a conspiracy? This is what you sound like, K-Car and all. More »

1985 Dodge 600 Convertible for a Life-Altering $15,000!

graverobber — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 07:30:00 EDT

Buying a convertible is a common symptom of the mid-life crisis. Today, Nice Price or Crack Pipe brings you a trophy-winner to go along with a trophy wife. More »

Nice Price Or Crack Pipe: The $25,000 Dodge Daytona Turbo Z?

Murilee Martin — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 08:30:00 EST

Yesterday, 68% of voters felt that $129,900 was too much to pay for a 4-year-old lemon-law-buyback Maybach 57, which is doing pretty well according to the harsh standards set by Nice Price Or Crack Pipe. Today we'll be considering a super-low-mileage, near-showroom-condition Dodge Daytona… but we're not talking about the kind of Daytona with the big wing and U-joint-bustin' V8. No, we mean the K-car-based Daytona Turbo Z, which is pretty much the concentrated essence of 1980s style. It's got lots of plastic body parts. It's got the word "Turbo" printed in multiple locations. It's got 142 factory horsepower, and this one's got just 2,021 miles on the clock! That's averages out at fewer than 85 miles per year! The seller has blatantly disregarded eBay car-seller tradition by using correct spelling, grammar, and capitalization, but he or she makes up for it by pointing out the "Star Power" of the car. Worth 25 grand? What do you think? More »

1984 Chrysler LeBaron: Does The Continental Kit Make It Better?

Ben Wojdyla — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 14:30:00 EDT

The Chrysler K-car is subject to both love and hate. Yes it helped save the Pentastar brand's hiney back in the day, serving as the basis for the mega-hit that was the minivan. Yes, there are still some sick-o's out there who get a kick out of raising the boost on the turbo models and surprising folks off the line. But seriously, they're just so flippin' ugly. Here's example #467: Not happy with the original wood-paneled loveliness of this LeBaron, the owner of this masterpiece decided a continental spare tire kit would be the cherry on top of a sundae of sick. Ugh. [eBay Listing via Cardomain] More »

Government-Issue 1986 Dodge Aries LE

Murilee Martin — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 09:00:00 EDT

There was some grumbling about the first Chrysler K Car we saw in this series, but there's no way I can run across a Government K sedan and not share it with the world. The Taurus and Lumina elbowed aside just about all the "official vehicle" K cars way back in the early 90s (and, to be fair, the K wasn't the most reliable car ever made, especially when operated by lead-footed public servants), but this plain-gray-wrapper Aries managed to beat the odds and stay on the road. It appears to be owned by the same guy who owns the second-ever DOTS vehicle, and it looks like he's fixing it up. Those of you who feel strongly about the idea of DOTS K-cars (for or against) be sure to vote in the poll after the jump. More »

Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!

Murilee Martin — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EDT

You could be stuck in a snowdrift, spinning the rear wheels on what appears to be a mid-70s Buick... or you could head on down to your Plymouth dealer and buy one of the fruits of the US Government's bailout of Chrysler Corporation: The 1982 Horizon, Reliant, and TC3! Remember the TC3? Yes, the Plymouth clone of the forgettable Dodge 024... and who could forget the Horizon Miser? Still, these cars helped haul Chrysler out of the abyss. More »

Like Tina, It Sure Ain't Built For Speed: 1990 Plymouth Acclaim

Murilee Martin — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 11:00:00 EDT

While the ol' Chrysler K platform (or, in this case, its AA cousin) was getting a bit long of tooth by 1990, Chrysler was still able to slather plenty of Virtually Velour™, Simu-Leather™, and Petroleo-Wood™ all over the interior, then pay Tina Turner to reference some Willie Dixon:

Some folks built like this, some folks built like that

1984 Plymouth Reliant

Murilee Martin — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 09:30:00 EDT

OK, so maybe it wasn't fair that Uncle Sam bailed out Chrysler but told AMC to drop dead, back in the Malaise Era. It seemed like the Chrysler bailout worked out as hoped, though, once the K Car emerged from factories that had long created gas-swilling behemoths. With so many early Ks made, you'd think there would be more of them still on the street nowadays, but that's not the case; I went out looking for a non-beater example and it was tougher than I'd expected. Finally, I found this '84 Reliant parked just around the corner from the '84 Porsche 928 (and, yes, I see that 70s Firebird in the background, next to the 70s Mercedes; unfortunately, driveway-parked cars are on private property and thus off-limits to DOTS... which is a shame, because there's a very clean 4-speed AMX parked in a driveway nearby). More »

Workhorse Engine of the Day: Mitsubishi Astron

Mike Bumbeck — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 14:30:00 EDT

From a distant galaxy of single overhead cam engines comes the Mitsubishi Astron series. The mighty Astron began life in 1972, and is still ticking away under the hoods of everything from Mitsubishi Starions to the panoply of Chrysler K-Car variants. In the beginning, the Flying Sikh himself pummeled an Astron equipped original Lancer to numerous rally victories. Patented silent shaft technology canceled out harmonics as the engine grew in displacement from 1.8 to 2.6 liters of four pot fury. The last production car to pack the Astron was either the the 1991 Pajero or the 1990 Starion, but only if not counting the diesel version of the Astron - which motored on with turbo until 1993 amid Galants. 21 years of Astron! In sourcing a new cylinder head sans jet valves for one of the two 2.6L G54B turbo variants of the Astron in our garage we learned that the 'ol G54B aspirated on propane with propane accessories serves in many forklifts to this day. The odd marriage of Mopar, Mitsubishi, and K-Car station wagons also led to some innovative badging - as seen in the bonus pic after the jump. [Mitsubishi Astron] More »

Dodge D-50 Smokes the Baloneys

Mike Bumbeck — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 15:00:00 EDT

The torquey 2.6L Mitsubishi G54B four-banger was installed under the hood of a great number of vehicles, including but not limited to this rusty Dodge D-50 pickup - aka Mitsubishi Mighty Max. There are enough of these engines still running in Monteros, forklifts, K-cars, Starions, and other more industrial applications that parts are still readily available. Good news in case one spins a bearing or kicks a rod while doing a burnout. More »

'87 Plymouth Sundance: 47 Standard Features To Convince Ya!

Murilee Martin — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 11:11:01 EDT

The pride is back! Just ask Lee Iacocca! Featuring Lite-Brite-style graphics and Reagan-era patriotic fervor, this ad captures both the optimism of Chrysler's rebirth and the gloom of the still-fresh-in-memory Malaise Era that nearly doomed the company. The Sundance, sibling to the Dodge Shadow and based on the P-body variant of the jack-of-all-trades K platform, could be had with the base 96-horse 2.2 four, but the smart buyers plunked down the extra $815 for the 146 horses of the turbo 2.2. Actually, the really smart Mopar buyers in '87 went straight to Mr. Shelby for the Omni GLH-S! More »

Chryslerati: Gorman Edition

Mike Bumbeck — Wed, 16 May 2007 14:30:00 EDT

A recent stop in lovely Gorman, California for some overpriced gasoline and a bag of peanuts revealed this Chrysler TC. A ghostly sheet covered what was assuredly a fine interior, and also hinted at possible hard or soft top trouble. Out of state plates and location next to one of America's numerous yet fine numbered hotel chain and Sizzler oasis told us this TC was traveling. Not just any TC - Chrysler's TC. Go Chryslerati go. – Mike Bumbeck More »

Ultimate K-Car: PPG Dodge Twin Turbo Interceptor

Mike Bumbeck — Wed, 09 May 2007 16:30:00 EDT

Although based on an eighties Dodge Daytona which is technically a G-platform, the Indy World Series Dodge Pace Cars nonetheless represent the apex of K-platform engineering. A Chrysler 2.2L topped with a Cosworth twin-cam head served as the mid-engine heart of this eighties automobile of the rear-drive future. Twin turbos helped the mill create 440 horsepower. An even more futuristic version of these cars known as the M4S Turbo Interceptor starred in The Wraith alongside Charlie Sheen. Though a slew of the cars were built for the movie, the M4S was never put into anywhere near production. Gullwing doors made for star quality egress – Mike Bumbeck More »

Feel the Turbo Activated to Serve You Forever

Mike Bumbeck — Wed, 09 May 2007 15:00:00 EDT

We just can't make up a better line than used by the seller to describe this 1986 Plymouth Caravelle. The turbo sedan also features a cassette deck, and enough burgundy velour to make even Ricardo Montalban jealous. Where was this guy in 1986 when Plymouth needed a catchy ad slogan for this fine Chrysler Corporation K platform derivative? – Mike Bumbeck More »

LeBaron Turbo: Luxury and Performance

Mike Bumbeck — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 14:00:00 EDT

From the faded luxury sleeper department comes this Chrysler Lebaron turbo. Grandma picked up the turbo K-car off the showroom floor and passed it on to this guy, who installed a manual boost controller along with an exhaust and brought it out to the track. Running 20 pounds of boost the turbo K clicked off the quarter mile clocks in the mid-thirteen second zone. After being stamped into dozens of somewhat different variants that stretched across numerous brands, it was the K-car that saved Chrysler last time around. At the nexus of this cross-engineered platform jamboree was the Chryslerati, which saved neither Chrysler nor Maserati from anything but opera windows. – Mike Bumbeck More »