<![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth! - Jalopnik Comments]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth! - Jalopnik Comments]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> "The Omni/Horizon were basically the Talbot Sunbeam (cause Chryco bought the company)" The Horizon and Omni were the American versions of a jointly engineered successor the revolutionary Simca which was copied quite well by Volkswagen. Sunbeam was one of the many marques of Rootes Group and it also sold the car, though if Talbot was in the name, it was after the acquisition of Chrysler Europe by Peugeot. Omnis and Horizons used Simca engines for a while - that is, Chrysler Europe engines - but since the company had been purchased by Peugeot, the press said (and still say) they were Peugeot engines. Oddly, European versions never got those "big" 1.6 liter engines but maxed out at, as I recall, 1.4 liters. Here are two useful URLs: Development of the Horizon Chrysler Sunbeam development story

KaliaAlpaca

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> @prndl: I should add that the Shelbyfied Rampage I first bought was accepted back by the dealer because of said "Known" problems and the GTX I really wanted, I purchased in '95.

pryndyl has gone Welsh

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> Alas my '46 Willy's CJ2A would not make it to college so I purchased a '76 Rustang II which after the summer working on it, did not make it either. After a transplant from a Bobcat and another failed trip home. I purchased a brand spanken used '80 Horizon, its saggy butt was given the gift of coils from a rabbit. Instant 4 inch lift and a set of snow tires all around and I going places my Willy's dreamed of. In '87 I traded for a GLHS.

pryndyl has gone Welsh

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> My first car was a used 79 Horizon. Great in the snow and best skitching car ever.

I got a speeding ticket for supposedly doing 55 in a 30. I pointed out to the judge that I was traveling UP a steep hill at the time and my car would have had a hard time doing 55 DOWN the hill. He laughed and asked the cop to confirm the road and direction I was traveling. Once he was satisfied I was traveling uphill, he tossed the ticket.

felixgolden

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> @hootjigga: Wow, you're the target market, thirty years too late.

Number_Six

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> A Granada? Well, I thought it was a Mercedes of the same vintage! They almost look the same!

hootjigga

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> No, no, no.

The Omni/Horizon and French Talbot Horizon were built off the FWD Simca 1100 platform.

The British Talbot Sunbeam was built off the RWD Hillman Avenger platform.

Entirely different cars that just looked similar.

earlofhalflight

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> past Girlfriend had a Horizon she nicknamed Gidget. What a piece of crap the car was. Having said that, the car took all sorts of abuse and had zero maintenance and never died. Car happened to smell/look like an ashtray on the inside because said girlfriend smoked like a chimney but never used the ashtray because she never cleaned it out. ahh the memories...

monsterajr

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> My mother had an '85-ish Charger Shelby.

It sucked ass in the snow. Living on a dirt road in East Bumfuck at the time, This Mattered.

She traded it in on a Bronco II. Damn shame.

FuzzyPlushroom

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> My very first car was a 1982 Plymouth TC3. i think I paid $200 for it. It was a sort of cream color with a burgundy mouse fur interior.

You could drive alone at 14 where I grew up, and I realize now that the car was really in appalling shape for being only about 10 years old at that time. It had negative braking performance and rode on 4 mismatched, totally bald tires. It had an e-brake mounted on the floor, though, and I have to believe that my experiences inducing 4-wheel drift on the snow-covered streets of my hometown have a lot to do with who I am today.

I didn't have it long, though, maybe 8 months. A fuel line broke as I was driving to school one day and it burned to the ground. I lost a lot of good tapes in that fire...

pharmer

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> I remember going with my dad to buy one of these for my aunt after her car got repo'd. It won out over a Vega wagon and a Monza. $300, twenty years ago. I think the aftermarket stereo was probably 1/3 of that. Sadly, it was twice as nice as the repo'd car.

Save me a seat in hell for pulling the "Flip a Bitch" into my parking spot for morning scripture study at the church. Constant Seattle dampness and 4/$100 tires offered endless opportunities to perfect that maneuver.

Bo Darville

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> The 2.2 was nifty in the L-bodies, but not available before the K-cars.

thatguy01

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> The US cars used engines from Volkswagen, and didn't use the Simca suspension.

thatguy01

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> The VW Golf was a copy of the Simca 1100. The Omnirizon platform was Chrysler and Simca's update to the 1100. And while the Golf was shackled with a tired and cranky K-Jet FI, the L-Jet system used by Chryco's 2.2 and 2.5 engine families was superior by a wide margin, as anyone who has tried to adjust either knows.

felis_concolor

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> I can remember enjoying a new L-body Duster. It was a tinny piece of shit, but not much worse than an Escort or a Cavalier, and more useful, IMO. Only flaw, if you can call it that, is that the rear seat was less useful because it was an actual low coupe instead of a two-door sedan. But the hatchback bay could hold anything you could lift into it.

Stylin'.

thatguy01

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> @layabout: The Talbot Sunbeam was a Chevette, basically, based on the Avenger. Which is why it was a hoonarific rally car, like an Escort.

The European Horizon and the US Horizon/Omni was a close copy of the Golf. At least Chrysler copied the smartest kid in the class.

thatguy01

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> GF had a '79 TC3. It was a great little car. 5 speed, zippy, rattly. Got me to and from several bike races. It finally died a grizzly death while parked at the side of the road when a drunk hit it.

Just before above mentioned death, we (now married) picked up an '88 Omni. (Hey, her dad worked for Cryco, had to fit in.) Other than the lack of A/C, it was a great little car, too. Never had a lick of trouble with it. Finally sold it when the offspring started passing out in the back seat due to the heat and humidity of an Indiana summer.

FЯeeMan

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> I also loved my $250 '89 Horizon. My $150 '85 Omni, not so much. They both absolutely kicked ass in the snow, however.. I also had a similiar experience to Teargas re: the low-slung oilpan, except I knew damn well it'd happened (KRUNK!), and I was 20 miles from home. JB Weld + 4 qts. oil= another year of driving "pleasure" before I junked it.

And reserve me a cell in the shadowy netherworld for pulling donuts in the local church parking lot at least once every winter since I was 17...

slantsick- Original Miles Survivor, Ran When Parked, Best Offer

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> @crustyjoe: An Oldsmobile killing a Plymouth? I'm pretty sure there's irony, or a metaphor, or something else from English class I ignored in there.

@smalleyxb122: I would hope not. A couple of very religous friends (one wanted to become a pastor) from high school talked about doing donuts in their church parking lot. We also did e-brake turns in the Catholic high school parking lot. I don't think there are any verses against hoonage.

Still, as much as I'd love a GLHS, the Horizion is the car with a magnetic attraction to small statues (the pizza delivery car in Home Alone).

Maymar - now with 37% less anonymity

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> Woohoo! I loved my Horizon... It's too bad it met it's demise due to an Oldsmobile. I loved it in the winter... one of the best winter cars I ever had!

crustyjoe

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> @graverobber- Same great taste, new low price!: I think the SE was "Sucker's Edition".

DannyBN

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> Gomes = Goes

:duncecap:

DannyBN

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> @jasonaskelton: GLH-S = Gomes Like Hell Some More

DannyBN

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> There was a Shelby "K" The Shelby CSX, CSX-T and CSX-VNT as well as the Shelby Lancer.

The Omni/Horizon were basically the Talbot Sunbeam (cause Chryco bought the company) Some of the Omni folks tried to get some of the nicer parts from the Sunbeams over there, namely the 3-point belts for the rear, the bumpers, etc.

My grandparents had a 79 Horizon. Base model blue interior (to match the blue exterior) and automatic driven by the 1.7L VW engine (which BTW made more power than the CIS injected version, at least until the Holley carb ate itself)

fiat22turbo

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> @DannyBN: Didn't they offer a special "Buyers Remorse" edition of the Aspen?

graverobber- Two BEER minimum

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]>

[www.sunbeamlotus.com]

layabout

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> Definitely a Granada. When I was a kid, we had a sweet 4 door jobbie with vinyl interior.

GLHS stands for Goes Like Hell Shelby I am pretty sure.

And the K's were *great* in the snow and driving up hills of all kinds. My Laser's (may she rest in peace) fondest memory is passing a sliding 5-series on a snowy hill.

jasonaskelton

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> [www.rootes-chrysler.co.uk]

layabout

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> @graverobber- Same great taste, new low price!: The Aspen was no great joy fresh off the showroom floor, either.

DannyBN

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> In England we had the Lotus Sunbeam,basically one of these with the 2.2 engine from the Esprit,it was epic,& i still lust after a mint one. Did they have them in America?

layabout

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> @Evil-Jeremy: Most small cars of that era were underpowered turds. The Omnirizion was one of the better small cars, especially when compared to the crap that the other domestics (Chevette / Pinto / Escort Mk I) offered at the time. And it was downright zippy when Chrysler shoved the 2.2 under the hood.

DannyBN

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> @Evil-Jeremy: Volare, whoa...
I'm not quite sure where you are coming from with the assertion that the '80s and '90s Chrysler vehicles were somehow denigrating to the brand. After all, that was the era that gave us the original minivan-creating a category and then dominating it. We also got the Viper out of the '90s, and the Jeep Grand Cherokee. I would say, that the mid-'70s were the darkest days (until now) for the automaker. I mean, you ever drive a 4 or 5 year old Aspen?

graverobber- Two BEER minimum

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> The Horizon was totally the poor man's Rabbit. Although, I have to admit, the Horizon I used to drive was built like a tank.

nickyboy

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> I would seriously, unironically rock that Horizon. WSW and all, it's very cool.

"Smoke on the Horizoooohn!"

badco/LoJ

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> @teargas: (Insert roughly the same thing you just said).

BlackIce_GTS

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> six passenger, 41 MPG highway K-car. Yeah, I know the trade-offs and the inaccuracies of government fuel economy ratings, but still that's pretty impressive.

graverobber- Two BEER minimum

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> What is it with all the omni love here? That car was an underpowered turd.

Those cars may have hauled Chrysler out of the abyss, but they did long term damage to the brand perception as a whole. I doubt Chrysler with ever recover from their work in the eighties and nineties.

Evil-Jeremy

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> Looks like the stuck car was a Granada.

LTDScott, Porcubimmer pilot

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> @smalleyxb122: you're there already

rognbrow

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> Ahhhhh! Reverse donuts in my mom's Reliant, in an iced over church parking lot.

Good times.

Am I going to Hell?

smalleyxb122

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> @Vipper Of Vipp: They are also apparently good in fake commercial snow.

brandegee

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> Reliant K - 6 passenger??? HA!

Mazda Plainview

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> Yeah, jumpin' L-bodies! This was a friend's '86 GLHS...


CSX321

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> I always thought the Horizon was a poor mans VW rabbit.

crazygutgut

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> My first car was an '84 Plymouth Horizon I bought from my grandmother for $300. Looking back I should have removed the "riz" from the badge and left the Hoon. I beat the trash out of that poor car and it kept going, I jumped it, e-braked it, off-roaded it, the works. I once punctured the oil pan and without realizing it drove it 2 miles home. New oil pan, and a couple quarts, and it was good to go. Two weeks after the valves stopped ticking, I totaled it. I hate my 16 year-old self for that.

teargas

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> '78 - '80 Granada / Monarch stuck in the rut, a Subaru GL of mid-70's vintage is directly behind it. There's also another Monarch coupe further down the block. I remember when those things were actually popular.

DannyBN

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> I dunno, Murilee. I'd say the K platform had much more to do with Chrysler's comeback than the L platform wonders did. Although they didn't have a "Shelby" version :)

Brian B

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> Sure looks like a Granada to me...especially from the hubcap.

maxforrest32

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> "You come in here with your skull full of mush and, if you survive, you leave here thinking like a lawyer."

Seriously, those cars were great in snow.

Vipper Of Vipp

]]> <![CDATA[Spend The Malaise Winter In An '82 Plymouth!]]> Plymouth allowed you to earn your money the old fashioned way . . . in a rebate check.

thekaiser

]]>