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Valiant

movies

Crazy Frenchmen Make Amazing Sweded Version Of Spielberg's Duel

OK, so it's a Mustang instead of a '71 Plymouth Valiant, but we'll cut the makers of this homage to Steven Spielberg's Duel some slack on that detail; it's not easy finding a toy 4-door Valiant in France. Thanks to- who else?- Franzouse for the tip! [Dailymotion.com]

classic ad watch

1967: The Dawn Of A New Day For Plymouth

"Dawn Of A New Day" sounds much better than "Plymouth: Only 34 Years To Go," though of course Chrysler's marketers at the time had no idea that the Plymouth brand would barely outlive the current century. What we have here is the '67 Belvedere (a "whale of a lot of car for the money"), the "rich-looking compact" '67 Valiant and the '67 Fury, whose "beauty and luxury make it hard to believe you're in the low-price field." Hmm, for a minute there we were thinking we were actually listening to Chrysler's most recent "new day" marketing campaign. Well, except without the animated kid, of course.

down on the street

1975 Dodge Dart Swinger

The '65 Barracuda won our Favorite DOTS Chrysler A-Body Poll back in March, but since that time I've found this '75 Dart Swinger. Would the Swinger, with its name conjuring up images of Malaise Era key parties, have triumphed over the Barracuda? Perhaps I'll have another A-body poll, once we've seen a few more of them; until then, we can only speculate.
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classic ad watch

Ethel Lusts For Slant Six Duster, Mom Worried

A woman who feels great passion for a Chrysler A-body with Slant Six power and takes one on a test drive through a corn field? While we're pleased that Ethel has such an excellent sense of priorities, her mother seems hell-bent on getting her to stick a big icepick through her Mopar-loving frontal lobes, find a husband, and settle down for some serious breeding. But then why does Mom take A-body-addicted Ethel to the Duster pusherman?

down on the street

1970 Dodge Dart, With Bonus A-Body Poll

Is it really possible that it's been two months since our last Mopar A-body in this series? Like air-cooled VWs, Chrysler A-bodies are so plentiful in Alameda that I tend to lose track of when the last time I DOTS-ized one (also like air-cooled VWs, I've owned a few Slant Six A-bodies and feel much affection for them). So here comes a nice solid 4-door Dart, which lives on the same block as the Mercedes-Benz 280SEL that came in second in yesterdays DOTS Benz poll.
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down on the street

1965 Plymouth Barracuda

It's about damn time that I found an A-body Barracuda for this series, since some of the baddest cars on the island back when I was in high school were '64-66 Barracudas. The Valiant-based early Barracuda didn't weigh much, so droppping a crazy 340 or 360 in one resulted in something that would hold its own against the Mustangs, Camaros, and Novas (not to mention the big-block GM A-bodies). This example is a little bit rough- well, actually, it's a total beater- but it's still good to see it parked on the street.
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found on ebay

Chrysler A-Body With Truck Bed Poll: Valiantpage or Demonpage?

We've seen all manner of Ford and GM cars with truck beds added, but it's not so easy to find Chrysler cars that have been so equipped. In fact, the last one we saw here was the Chargepage. But now our eagle-eyed readers have spotted not one but two truck-bed-havin' Chrysler A-bodies for sale on eBay, and we need to know which one you'd rather have! First up is this '71 Dodge Dart Demon, which the seller calls a Demonino. Sure, it has no tailgate, but it does keep the Dart taillights. The other choice is this genuine factory '69 Dodge Valiant Ute, direct from Australia. Make the jump to have your say! Thanks to Yuri and LTDScott for the tips.

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down on the street

1969 Dodge Dart GT Convertible, With Bonus DOTS Of The Week Poll

I've been guilty of Chrysler A-Body neglect once again, despite having quite the backlog of Dart and Valiant photos in my DOTS collection. This isn't because they weren't great cars for their time- cheap, reliable transportation, and pretty quick when equipped with V8 power- but, because I see so many of them in Alameda, I tend to forget that they're quite rare once you leave the island. Today we're going to look at an A-Body you don't see every day, even in Alameda: a Dart GT convertible. After you look at the photos, be sure to vote on your favorite DOTS car this week- Friday is DOTS Poll Day!
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down on the street

1971 Plymouth Valiant

A while back, I promised we'd see more Chrysler A-bodies... but it's been over a month since we saw our last one. Poor Darts and Valiants, the wallflowers of their era, slogging along tirelessly for decades with their super-indestructo slant sixes and 318s, yet constantly overlooked in favor of flashier iron. So today we're all going to admire one of Alameda's numerous surviving Valiants. More »

down on the street

1973 Plymouth Scamp

Looking at the Alameda cars I've already photographed, I realize that I have shots of six Chrysler A-bodies stored up. This wouldn't be a big deal, but I've only shown a single A-body so far in the series (no, the '77 Volaré was not an A-body). I feel ashamed that I've neglected our Dart, Valiant, and early Barracuda friends, since they show us how Detroit used to get it right: simple and reliable, yet with enough style to keep you from blacking out from boredom. So, get ready for more Mopar A-bodies!
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the leaning tower of power

Jalopnik Poll: Which Dodge Dart Should Nardelli Build?

Of all the facts in a New York Times article focusing on incoming Chrysler fearless leader Robert Nardelli, there was one that caught our eye. Mr. Nardelli's first car out of high school was a 1966 Dodge Dart. As Mr. Nardelli's love for the company dates back to this car, it seems only fitting that he spearhead the campaign to resurrect the mighty Dodge Dart. Whether the new Dodge Dart will feature a hybrid fusion slant six drive that runs on orange peels and coffee grinds will only be told by the future. Vote on which Dart Dodge should build after the jump. More »

down on the street

1962 Plymouth Valiant V-200

I keep my eyes open for DOTS cars when I'm out and about on the streets of Alameda, and often I get a flash of something old-looking out of the corner of my eye as I pass a side street. Was that worth going back for? I ask myself; sometimes retro-styled late-models can fool me. In the case of this Valiant, however, I was several blocks away when it caught- and held- my eye with its unmistakable vintage A-body-ness... More »

retro

Duel: The Greatest Plymouth Valiant Movie Of All Time

Before Steven Spielberg went on to make a schmaltzified film version of a pretty good JG Ballard novel, plus some other movies that made a few bucks, he made Duel, a 1971 made-for-TV movie starring Dennis Weaver and a '68 Plymouth Valiant 4-door. Yeah, it's pure cheese, but it's Valiant cheese! Here's the incredibly early-70s-flavored trailer for yez. More »

eight bucks

We'll Give You Eight Bucks: 18K Dodge Dart


Leaving the New York Auto Show last week, several of the Jalops were approached by a enterprising Town Car driver. The gypsy-cabbie offered to bring us downtown for the princely sum of $45. Spinelli bid this soon-to-be-hapless hack to look for another sucker a guy with a carnation in his lapel to cough up the 45 bucks. Wrapping up the interaction was a final, unaccepted offer. Thus the name of this post. In this and future Eight Bucks posts, we'll find folks with cars for sale, who like the cabbie, may have become victims of their own overly enthusiastic enterprise. More »

ad watch

Classic Ad Watch: Hey Charger!

No, not that Charger- this is an ad for the Australian-built Chrysler Valiant Charger. Loosely based on the same A-body platform as the American Darts, Valiants, and early Barracudas, the early-to-mid-70s Valiant Charger could be purchased with the 318, 360, or the Hemi Slant Six. More »

auctions

More Wayfarer Goodness!


Thanks to reader David, we now know that the Camino was truly invented in Australia as a way for farmers' wives to have a ride they could feel good about when Aussie bankers weren't handing out two-car loans. And it was invented by Ford. But we're not gonna start appending 'Chero to anything that doesn't feature a Blue Oval. Sorry, Bill. We came up on the ElCo and that's where our allegiances lie. But if we had the cash, we would sell out and drive this all day, every day. It's a '71 Valiant Wayfarer from Oz (appropriately enough painted the shade of at least one of the Emerald City's facets) and it's got a 245-inch hemi six. We covet, covet, covet this car, er, truckcar. [Thanks to Bumbeck for the heads-up.] More »