The Archive: K-Car!

[MEIN_VW]

[DesertJets]

I am basking in the K-ness of it all.

It is hard to remember how influential these cars were and how they essentially brought Chrysler back to life. This is made even more difficult with 25 years of automotive evolution in between. But the basicness of even the nicely optioned up wagon is quite astonishing now.

And having grown up in a family that generally bought Chrysler products I have first hand knowledge of the goodness/badness of the Ks. My family's 1984 Dodge 600ES and 1990 Plymouth Acclaim provided me with enough exposure to the evolution of the K platform. Decent but under developed, certainly Chrysler took the cheap route in product development until the release of the LH cars.

However OTOH I do toy with the idea of finding a nice old K or super K to have as a toy. A mint Plymouth Reliant would be my choice, just as long as I live in state where NCC-1864 is available as a vanity plate.

[Bixmen]

I can't tell which I love more. the $75 for sound insulation, or the 668 dollars for misc options!

but I love the days when you could get the exact option you wanted, no stupid packages.

[turbo_nine]

My father had the Plymouth version of that same K-wagon. Vinyl bench seats and an automatic transmission. I recall liking it a whole lot more than my mother's miniscule green Tercel, but my mother refused to drive the Plymouth. I guess it used to break down once in a while.

[Method819]

classic video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I8R5BwUVYqc

[two.twoliter]

When I was 3 years old my parents drove a 3 speed auto, faux wood paneled version of this, which we drove to both coasts. Interior was burgundy with bench seats front and rear. It did have the mitsubishi 2.6 which my dad figured would be more reliable than the 2.2, being of japanese design. IIRC, the 2.6 was much less reliable but ended up being fine for the short time we had it.

[NationYell]

That was the last American car our family owned!

It was going to be my car, but by the time I learned how to drive I was driving a 1990 Honda Accord.

Ours was blue, we called it the Blue Max, the guy who sold it to my parents said that power front seat windows would be a great thing when it came to selling it to someone else

Yeah right! It died, and Japanese cars became a staple in my family.

[MXTHOR3]

I wonder what kind of 'Heavy Duty Suspension' you got for $23

[ModelCitizen]

25 years later and we are still playing catch-up to the japanese/europeans. I found it really telling in the second paragraph that the logbook read something like [paraphrasing] "detroit was late to the party with small cars, but had lots of good examples to learn from. But they didn't learn!!!!."

[DeeJoker]

Quote, originally posted by MXTHOR3 »

I wonder what kind of 'Heavy Duty Suspension' you got for $23

NHL-approved hockey pucks for bumpstops is my guess.

[54-46]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...24327

Makes me want an Aries for all the cool stuff.

[MylesPH1]

The heavy duty suspension is a good option, but the am/fm radio with integrated CB is pimp status.

[VegasJetta]

Quote, originally posted by 54-46 »

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...24327 Makes me want an Aries for all the cool stuff.

First thing I thought of when I saw the thread title!
There are a TON of these in the yards here, and every time I go yarding, I always think of that video. One time I said 'map light - standard' out loud and my wife looked at me crazy.

[genjy]

My family had an automatic Dodge Aries with the 2.2L.

That thing was indestructible. The paint was peeling, the headliner was stapled on, and none of the tires matched one another, but it ran like a champ.

That Aries lasted almost reliable 20 years until it wouldn't idle anymore... then we let it have its long-deserved rest.

[Suture]

Always loved that mock video.

lol -- fixed address!

[classicjetta]

Ah it takes me back to drivers ed

And I love that "commercial"

[MEIN_VW]

Despite it's faults, the K-Car was exactly the car that Chrysler needed in 1981. With oil prices through the roof, a crushing recession, hyper-inflation and high unemployment, Chrysler needed a line of cheap, fuel efficient cars to stay afloat. They really offered the right car at the right time.

And the K-Car's success is the reason that Chrysler was able to pay back it's US Government-guaranteed loans ahead of schedule.

[Vdub BELLA]

Sport steering wheel - $63
Individual seats - $51
Heavy duty suspension - $23

I love these options

[Doedrums]

Quote, originally posted by DesertJets »

where NCC-1864 is available as a vanity plate.

USS Reliant, awesome!!

[Montillius]

My first car was an bronze colored '86 Aries 2-Door with AM radio and a single dash speaker. It only had 16,000 miles on it when I got it, but having sat through the salt and snow of many Michigan winters it was not in excellent condition. The floor boards were rusted through pretty bad, I could see through to the wheel by my left foot and when I drove through large puddles the carpet on the passenger side would be forced up from the tire wash. It was fun. If turning left, it was neccessary to hold on the the window sill to keep from sliding across the seat. Only pros were that it was easy to work on and it could take a beating.

[chuckDD]

The last American car I owned was an '86 Aries sedan, baby blue over baby blue, 2.2 with auto. Worst. Car. Ever. I owned it for 14 months and averaged over $300/month in repairs and maintenance. Anything that could go wrong, did. When I sold it in late 1994, almost the entire trunk floor had rusted away, as had the rocker panels and the bottoms of all four doors.

[WhistlerYOW]

Quote, originally posted by DesertJets »

However OTOH I do toy with the idea of finding a nice old K or super K to have as a toy. A mint Plymouth Reliant would be my choice, just as long as I live in state where NCC-1864 is available as a vanity plate.

LOL... I wanna kill myself for understanding that reference and laughing .

[UPs_n_DoWNz]

"..fuel requirements: 91 Octane.."

really? single overhead cam, carbed i-4 requires 91?

explanation?

[Wes@motivemag]

Quote, originally posted by UPs_n_DoWNz »

"..fuel requirements: 91 Octane.." really? single overhead cam, carbed i-4 requires 91? explanation?

Crappy control of ignition timing. There's not a whole lot else that can cause detonation in an 8.5:1 engine.

Speaking from experience, you will get horrible detonation (the actual, loud, rattling kind that you got with carburetors, not the kind that sets off some fancy "knock sensor" which causes a "computer" to change when it fires the "coil pack" based on input from the "crankshaft position sensor" ) running a low-output carbed 2.2 on 87.

[AKADriver]

12,000 mile warranty and a 5.1-digit odometer - they weren't really confident in the longevity, eh.

[turbo_nine]

Quote, originally posted by AKADriver »

12,000 mile warranty and a 5.1-digit odometer - they weren't really confident in the longevity, eh.

All de rigeur at the time, I suspect.

Check out the handling and braking results compared to the domestic competition.

[93JC]

Quote, originally posted by WhistlerYOW »

LOL... I wanna kill myself for understanding that reference and laughing .

I ain't holding on to your katra for you you green-blooded SOB.

[DeeJoker]

Quote, originally posted by AKADriver »

12,000 mile warranty and a 5.1-digit odometer - they weren't really confident in the longevity, eh.

I don't think any of the domestics were at that time. My 86 Cutlass Supreme had a 5.1 digit odometer, and most 70's and 80's Detroit iron did as well IIRC.

You may not remember it, but when Ford came out with the Duratec motor and touted its "100,000 mile tuneup" intervals, it was kind of a big deal. Meanwhile the Japanese were laughing and the Germans plotting another invasion of Poland, but thats for another thread.

[Air and water do mix]

Quote, originally posted by DesertJets »

A mint Plymouth Reliant would be my choice, just as long as I live in state where NCC-1864 is available as a vanity plate.

It took me a second... but only one!

[randyvr6]

A friend of mine still drives one daily, but listen to this!

He bought it for $50 (yes I said fifty!)approx. 5 years ago with 180K miles and drives it a 100 round trip to work every day and it now has over 340K miles.

It has only had a couple mechanical problems in all that time and I think he has probably only put a few hundred into it since. I think he replaced the radiator ,water pump, and fuel pump along with tires and brakes and that was about it.

He is actually pretty bad at maintaining it; for example he hardly ever does an oil change. He waits until he hears the lifters ticking and adds a couple quarts and figures it always gets fresh oil that way.

He told me last week that he thought it was finally done since it has a big oil leak and is not worth fixing, but he is still driving it for now. He calls it "Blue Thunder"

Modified by randyvr6 at 8:47 AM 9-30-2008

[DesertJets]

Quote, originally posted by WhistlerYOW »

LOL... I wanna kill myself for understanding that reference and laughing .

It doesn't help that I just watched "The Wrath of Khan" over the weekend.

Browsing Youtube there a ton of great old K-car commercials out there.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpJv02Z3SQc

this one is a little cocky if you ask me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMxvC1WA4ZY

And the best:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtJfnu5sKMo


Modified by DesertJets at 11:55 AM 9-30-2008

[tehAndy]

Ah...the K-car wagon. Lots of memories there...

...and most of them not very good. That car was just an unrelenting pile of crap. I don't think it ever made a single major trip without breaking down at least once.

There's a very young tehAndy somewhere in the back of that wagon. Also, feel free to laugh at my dad's hot pants.


Modified by tehAndy at 11:00 AM 9-30-2008

[WhiteRat]

Every so often I'll see an old "Dart" (Mexican-market K car) with Mexican tags running around the El Paso/Juarez area.

[Swallow Doretti]

Quote, originally posted by Bixmen »

but I love the days when you could get the exact option you wanted, no stupid packages.

But that's part of the reason the K-Car was so expensive. Think about it--this manual-transmissioned wagon stickered for just over $9K--back in 1981. Today, for about a grand more, you could drive a basic Kio Rio off the lot with A/C and a CD radio--not to mention an extra cog in the gear shift, six airbags, and cloth seats. The Rio would smoke the K-Car to 60, it would stop in shorter distances, and it would get better fuel economy while doing it. It would also be significantly more reliable, too.

It's easy to see how cars like the K-Car drove Americans to Honda Accords and Toyota Camries.

[geofftii2002]

The funny thing is, if someone in The Car Lounge found a 4 speed manual Aries wagon with the rare and costly optional heated rear window- we'd all go green with envy! Admit it!