With Chrysler riding high on the Hellcat, Charger, Challenger, and 300C, it might be easy to lose sight of just how many times over the last forty years they have approached dying off. Bad designs, poorly-timed model releases and one very noticeable money grab by Mercedes-Benz have brought the storied car company to the edge of oblivion, yet somehow they endure.
The late Seventies was a dark time for Chrysler. Reading model names for all of the brands showed how much internal strife seemed to be going on: there was a mid-size and full-size Fury, Plymouth was getting shafted out of a Cordoba-bodied car, Imperial was axed after turning into a gigantic brick, and with the gas crisis still fresh in everyone’s minds, something had to be done. Chrysler got Lee Iacocca away from Ford, who got right to work putting ideas that Ford had refused to build into project status immediately. In the short term a deal had been struck with Chrysler Europe to import a worked version of the Chrysler Sunbeam that became the Chrysler L-body (Omni and TC3 body style). But Iacocca had been pushing for a small FWD car for years at Ford and was not about to let his chance to build one slip at Chrysler. His gamble in investing the time and money into the K-platform was more successful that anyone could have guessed, morphing into minivans, sports coupes, a limo, and of course, the stodgy, basic, but simple K-series Reliant and Aries.
In this video made by Chrysler, you will see the work that was put into the development and testing of the little box cars. Engine design, frame studies, wind tunnel testing…it’s all here.
If the K car was so precisely made how come they were such piles of crap? It’s surprising that Chrysler didn’t go completely under with that nut Iaccoca ruining it. I reckon it can thank the all government agencies and all the police departments for keeping it afloat. The Imacoocoo years were the only years I bought new Fords.
Amen !
” The development of the Chrysler K Car ”
The automotive oxymoron of the century 😉
Development . Hah ! More like slap a bunch of disparate bits and bobs together in a desperate attempt to remain viable and relevant after coming to the brink of oblivion : then leaving behind the legacy of what has to be amongst the worst piles of s**t any US automaker has ever devised [ and even worse in various guises ] All while giving the pretentious Cretin that instigated the whole mess a Hero’s accolades rather than the wrath of the damned the SOB so well deserves .
Honestly … if this country still had so much as a modicum of common sense left in it we’d of left Chrysler to die on the vine decades ago . But no ..like the manipulated little lemmings we’ve all become we keep saving – bailing out – subsidizing – and now even worse giving Chrysler away to keep the dying beast alive for one more year .
Chrysler … soon to be FCA …. maybe …
” Dead Man Walking ” sums them up quite nicely I’m afraid .
Wow, after watching the video I almost want to go out and buy a K car! Not! “Six passenger” capacity! “Galvanized panels for rust resistance” – funny how they didn’t seem to work though!
My father purchased a new 1985 Dodge Aries wagon.
He had nothing but problems with the vehicle.
One-barrel carb problems, transmission problems,strut problems,and on.
My father missed work a few times because of the car not going into or going out of gear.
The Chrysler mechanics were making a lot of money from this one vehicle.
For those who have enjoyed these vehicles and have had/are having good experiences with this platform,more power to you.
( I had a very good time high-speeding a company car 1988 turbo Town and Country K-wagon on a few occasions on a certain interstate).
This car basically saved Chrysler.
CALL YOUR FATHER AND SAY HELLO.
I had a orange 82 Dodge Rampage. It was a piece of crap but I loved that little El Camino wanna be. I even had a kid tell me “That’s a cool car mister!” while his mom looked at me like I was Joe Dirt.
Our drivers ed car was one of these. It had a remote brake pedal on the passenger side (connected via cable to the driver’s side pedal). Our teacher would whip his head back and knock his hat to the back seat if he thought we accelerated too quickly.
It felt like it was going to fall apart every time we drove it, but it never actually broke down on us.
Seriously, have you all forgot. Domestic cars all sucked back in the early to mid 80’s. Chevy Citation, The Chevette, Ford EXP……oh please. It was normal to stale, windows went of their tracks, and we had to pump the gas….but not to much. The 2.2 managed about a 100,000 miles before you blew a head gasket. The K car was above average for the times. It led the way to what we have know- smaller, FWD, reliable cars that even have cup holders.