1984 Dodge 600 ES | Retro Review

This sleek sports sedan is ultra rare these days, if not extinct. The 600 ES would make a great resto-mod sleeper to showcase all the 2.2 Liter's potential.
Show 319 | Original Airdate 03-20-1984
Want to help keep our weekly Retro Reviews alive? DONATE NOW: mptevents.regfox.com/motorweek
Find airdates on your local PBS station HERE: motorweek.org/watch/
Want to watch full episodes of MotorWeek? Download the PBS video app for FREE or watch here: www.pbs.org/show/motor-week/
Stay connected with MotorWeek on social media!
Twitter (X): / motorweek
Facebook: / motorweektv
Instagram: / motorweek
MotorWeek, PBS' award-winning weekly automotive magazine provides unbiased, consumer-oriented car news with feature stories on related topics.
To license this video or any content from MotorWeek, please visit:
www.parsintl.com/publications...

[@tkewrestler2662]

It is yet another way to use the K car chassis. One has to admit that they did get their monies worth.

[@themoviebay]

Absolutely the tooling for K cars was a money printing machine.

[@fp5495]

That literally was the whole point of the K-car. American's tax dollars being put to work since it was the US government's first time helping out Chrysler on the brink.

[@tkewrestler2662]

@@fp5495, I recognize that, but I believe Chrysler was able to do more with that modular chassis than many could have imagined.

[@OldFordTaurus]

They used the k car platform until the mid 90s.

[@markh.1487]

Yup, K-cars and minivans.

[@markw208]

I appreciate MotorWeek posting these classic videos. It’s easy to forget all of the interesting models there were back then. Some of these cars would be decent now.

[@Motorweek]

Thanks for watching!!

[@markw208]

@@Motorweek , 👍 😀 You’re welcome. I’ve watched Motorweek from the beginning (I’m an old fart)

[@arlo0011]

A manual transmission on an American sedan.....ah, those were the days.

[@darnellrobeson4761]

Tru. Whats really crazy is Cadillac makes two currently🤣

[@tonychavez2083]

i drove one of these in 87 and I still remember how strong the boost came on, very impressive at the time.

[@bluerazor7049]

Call me crazy but I love the oddball GM and Ford/Mercury cars that were made in the 80's such as the K-cars Chrysler put out alongside Ford with it's Escort/Mercury Lynx. Not to mention the Cimarron too. The Buick Skyhawk however does look alright, especially with the concealed headlamps.

[@themaritimegirl]

The K-cars were a Chrysler product, not GM. This car is technically one!

[@dashriprock3468]

"A true sportscar-like 0 to 60 time of 10.2 seconds." 39 years later, that's about equal to a UPS truck.

[@80s_Boombox_Collector]

Today's kids think nothing can be a sportscar unless it's as quick as a Tesla 🙄

[@briteidea08]

Where they tested this car isn’t flat. Their 0-60 was going uphill lol

[@jeffrobodine8579]

UPS trucks with the GM 6.0 gas V-8 motor are no slouch.

[@philojudaeusofalexandria9556]

@@80s_Boombox_Collector Yeah, you can have something like the BRZ (an absolutely terrific sports car) that isn't particularly fast 0-60 (6 second range). But the review specifically called the 0-60 of 10.2s 'sports-car like'. And OP specifically said 39 years later that's slow. No doubt about it - 100% correct. The new base 2024 Civic, for example, is laughed at for having a 9.2s 0-60 [Honda stands for Hold On, Not Done Accelerating]. Even the plug-in Prius (Prius Prime) clocks in at a 6.6s 0-60. Nothing over 7s 0-60 could be considered at all 'fast' these days. While a sub 7s 0-60 in 1984 was getting into supercar territory.

[@mr.boostang2064]

My mom had this car when she was a young adult. She would tell me about how cool the computer like dash was and she told me hers had a button that would engage the Turbo to come to life (I assume either OD off or a old version sport mode). She traded it in for a 5.7 I-roz afterwards

[@marshalmagooo3899]

She was looking for action with the IROC

[@mr.boostang2064]

@@marshalmagooo3899 she met my father with that car 🤣

[@marshalmagooo3899]

@@mr.boostang2064 nice.... strong woman

[@georgesnyder5337]

what is an I-roz?

[@fernandorocha8459]

@@mr.boostang2064 I love this Dodge 600 ES, beautiful and confortable car

[@landyachtfan79]

An already fine American family sports sedan gets turbocharged, & a host of other improvements in its second year of production. Could you please upload the first 600 ES, as well? I REALLY want to hear John's reaction to the EVA!!!!!

[@fernandorocha-dx1wv]

Dodge 600 ES is confortable ans dolid car

[@massey4business]

3:58 Ned Flanders checking out the interior.

[@senseicorey9979]

That's Criag Singhaus, show some damn respect

[@massey4business]

​@@senseicorey9979🌭 🌭

[@TVHouseHistorian]

True! 🤣

[@attackb5349]

I love the use of flashing turn signals by Motorweek during this time. So corny 😂 I love it and Motorweek though. Always watched it on PBS as a kid with my dad and still watch it today! Also, this jumbo K car looks good! And a sub 17 second 1/4 mile for this generation is not bad at all.

[@therealjayseh]

They wanted people to see it on the show how they would usually see it in real life. Which is parked on the side of the road with the hazards on lol 🤣

[@timdalewag]

My first car was a Plymouth Caravelle. It had the 2.5 4-cylinder that rattled like a diesel but was fairly indestructible. Good car!

[@palebeachbum]

My mother had a 1992 Plymouth Acclaim with the same 2.5L and it knocked like a diesel at idle. It was strange, but a great engine overall.

[@SkaBob]

In the late 90s to early 2000s we got those 2.5's at auction all the time for almost nothing. The pistons were a short skirt energy saving design that didn't last so they developed bad piston slap. Set of pistons, rings and a gasket set made them good as new (maybe better). $250 car, $250 parts and sell it for $2499 to $2999.

[@Marshal_Dunnik]

Chrysler also used the K-Car platform for an 18-wheeler, a golf cart, a luxury cruise liner and an orbital space station

[@jeremyb4493]

😂

[@Welcometofacsistube]

Way better car than its ill deserved reputation

[@massey4business]

4:34 Ned Flanders pulling a Homer: D'oh!

[@TelexToTexel]

Super opening line: "Back in the here and now"

[@gordonmills2748]

I'm pretty sure my dad had the Chrysler version (with the automatic) as a "company car." But I'm not 100 percent sure...because that's how memorable it was. I remember that it was grey, and my dad (a dedicated V8 Oldsmobile man) absolutely hated the thing.

[@hellhound47bravo3]

My family had three of these cars, two 600s and a Caravelle. They were decent, though not particularly exciting cars. But finding one with a turbo and a five speed? That would be interesting.

[@grabasandwich]

I remember seeing a bunch of Chrysler's as a kid that would be pumping out blue smoke. Later as a teen, I was a lube tech and figured out it was the 2.6 Mitsubishi 😂

[@RageousMode]

4:34 Excellent acting Craig, you make late night infomercials from the same era jealous.

[@4HBirtcher]

Give him some aspirin!

[@fp5495]

0:51 JeeZUS! The fender and driver's door are literally two different shades of gold compared to the rest of the car.

[@ohguy1991]

I noticed that too!

[@douglasb.1203]

Bumper cover too. Serious quality.

[@TalismanPHX]

Typical 80s domestic quality

[@manthony225]

John excited about 142 hp. I miss those days. The paint on the fenders doesn't match the doors- really accents that it's an Aries with longer hood and trunk grafted on

[@cabaneencac5168]

This happens frequently for metallic gold and silver colors.

[@Michael-he2js]

Thank you! I'm glad I'm not the only one that noticed the paint difference

[@Doc1855]

I had one. It was a turbo. It ran perfectly until it hit 60K miles. Then every 10K miles it blew head gaskets at the tune of $2K to fix. So after blowing 2 head gaskets, I sold that POS and have never bought, nor will I Ever buy another Chrysler / FIAT vehicle again

[@clevelandcarlson5743]

That 2.2 turbo 4cyl would really pull hard around 10 mph when the turbo kicks in!!!!

[@Chuffmaster654]

Lol at the suspension bounce on the 1/4mi

[@senseicorey9979]

Send it!

[@JJB0144]

Keep those retro road tests coming Motorweek, they are great to watch. It's even better to watch you test some of the cars I had in the past.

[@carterbishop2935]

I used to sell these cars in the form of Chrysler E-Class, Plymouth Caravelle and Dodge 600 ES. Once they added the 2.2 turbo it became a pretty decent mid size car.

[@Welcometofacsistube]

Had a friend who ripped the turbo badges off one back in the early 90's and would go out and terrorize 5.slooooows

[@johnnymason2460]

There was a time when I saw lots of Dodge 600 sedans, Plymouth Caravelle sedans, and Chrysler New Yorker sedans(all E-body cars). I would love to have one of these cars. Particularly with the 2.2 liter turbo 4 and an automatic.

[@4HBirtcher]

For the record! The E-class is a larger size K car!

[@johnnymason2460]

@@4HBirtcher That car only lasted one year before it was turned into the Plymouth Caravelle.

[@davemiller4721]

I owned the maligned '83 400ES 5-spd manual from 1987-1996. It gave me minimal problems, was pretty fun to drive. While the front seat upholstery held up through the life of the car, the headliner sagged down, which was an annoyance. I also hated the lack of battery and temperature gauges, which I had had in every other Chrysler car I'd owned. Hard to understand that they felt the no-gauge look was some sort of luxury touch. And of course for the entire time I owned, it, I received the message 'your fuel is low' on startup, regardless of the gas level in my tank.

[@jeremyb4493]

Sagging headliners rippling with the windows down was pretty much standard with any 10 year old 80s domestic lol. We had an 84 delta 88 like that. Mom always fussing at us, stop touching it, you'll make it worse! 😄

[@weegeemike]

These were cool. Showed how the "K" platform could be evolved into a higher-level car than its econobox roots. They were really going after Mercedes with that 600ES badge on the trunk 😂

[@nb7466]

My mom had a blue New Yorker when I was a kid. I thought that car was so fancy. Then I got in one when I was older. Wow. Little different.

[@ENDTIMEsVideoLibrary]

The Dodge Intrepid and other cars made off of that chassis were great cars! Everything they made after the 80s seemed to get better and better.. Those K Cars themselves had absolutely NO legroom for rear passengers and were just way too small.

[@norcal715]

OK, I'm headed the the Dodge dealer tomorrow to custom order one. Sounds like a very cutting edge car for its time.

[@jeremyb4493]

Gotta love any car that chirps second, at least it makes you feel like it's quick.

[@KDoyle4]

A nice little car, but the 2.2 engine tended to eat head gaskets, and they're no fun to replace. Having driven regular 600s in a taxi fleet, I can tell you that they're a very differnt animal with 4 passengers weighing them down.

[@80s_Boombox_Collector]

Especially with a 3-speed auto, lol

[@mbox314]

It is interesting that MW complains about wizbang electromic dashes in the 80's and claims,to be old fashioned but has nothing bad to say about the huge, busy looking and cheap junk screens that have replaced traditional instrument panels in modern cars.

[@zzoinks]

Don't the new instrument clusters have less lag than old digital ones?

[@palebeachbum]

@@zzoinks Not necessarily. Some are very laggy.

[@victorjohnson7512]

John Davis looks so young back then.

[@shawncollins9938]

I dont know how he maintained a on air job for so long,never seen a gym in his life

[@mrj-charles6383]

I bought an 1986 silver 600 with 21k miles in 1988 for $250 with a bent rear axle. Bought a parts car for $25 and had a good solid reliable for the next 5 years. Mine was silver with blue interior and automatic. My ex when she met me thought I had money since I was driving a nice car as she said. 🤣 The local Dodge dealer I used to buy all the worn out trade in cars is how I got all these cars cheap.

[@zzoinks]

That seems exceeding cheap for a car that just needed a repair!

[@FH99]

This car would be a bit of a sleeper by 1984 standards. Looking at it, you wouldn't expect the car to put up the performance numbers it did.

[@pmafterdark]

Same year as my Daytona turbo z. Remember 84' really well.

[@jeffrobodine8579]

I remember Dee Dee McCall's Dodge Daytona Turbo Z from the TV show Hunter.

[@tholmes2169]

I love these videos. I grew up seeing these cars but we were a GM family. In high school a guy a couple years older than me had a 600 convertible. Were there any major detail changes between the 600 and the Caravelle? I don’t remember the Plymouth version much.

[@tedschmitt178]

And to think that John Davis is still on Motorweek 40 years later.

[@fernandorocha901]

Very nice and solid this Dodge 600ES

[@buddyphillips9790]

"Should ensure long, trouble free boost" It wasn't meant to be, though. Those cars blew head gaskets at an alarming rate, the 5sp 525 transmission was made of glass, and since Chrysler was using the cheapest, lowest quality steel known to man to maximize profits, these cars rusted out faster than you can say expired warranty. You'd be hard pressed to find one that's in operational condition today

[@plymouthdie-castreplicas]

Very nice video. Plymouth Caravelle or Dodge are pleasent cars but from the 80s I would prefer Reliant K-Car or Acclaim from the early 90s.

[@palebeachbum]

I miss the Acclaim. Nice car and affordable to run.

[@plymouthdie-castreplicas]

@@palebeachbum I guess it was more popular overall than its successors like the Breeze and others.

[@itsnotme07]

My brother bought a 1983 Dodge 600 with the Mitsubishi 2.6L 4 cyl. I actually got to drive it a lot the summer of 1984. Great little car!! Much better than my 1981 Dodge Omni 024 that I bought in early 1985.

[@mattt198654321]

Sometimes I imagine in my head what cars from the late 70s/early 80s would have looked like if composite headlamps were legalized before 1984. These quad headlights just make the design look a little...dated.

[@islanddon865]

When your aerodynamics are blown away by a 1948 Tucker...

[@rogergoodman8665]

How times have changed! I kinda liked the digital gauges of the 80's cars no matter who made the car.. Some were cooler looking than others but back then I thought they were sweeeet!!!

[@superjesus4307]

I too remember the 6000 SUX

[@albear972]

4:15 It has oil pressure and voltmeter gauges! John is a demanding guy. Now he was whining about no turbo boost gauge. You really can't please him.

[@fardali6654]

With the exception of the A604 transmission, I liked the fwd Chrysler from that era.

[@jag9671]

Didn't they test brand new cars? Why is the driver's door a different color?!?

[@williamegler8771]

I wonder how many of these were actually sold with the 5spd manual?

[@user-cj4sm8hv9y]

My Old Car

[@davidgarris2513]

Lee Iacocca was a genius. The K Car platform was well used 🐾🐕🐶

[@Moistnmeaty90]

I think every K car had a factory squat.

[@ChiefRickyRC]

Imagine in 1984 some guy in a camaro got passed by this on a corner and left cdfu

[@order9066]

Junk yard is full of these.

[@redneon06]

My grandmother drove a white 88 Aries K with red interior in 1996. It was a comfy car. It was just too outdated to survive the 90’s.

[@TurboMan942]

So Craig, the car you're testing tomorrow is beige and brown. Please make sure your clothes will match.

[@ChiefRickyRC]

What a sleeper man Chrysler needs to use these 40 year old MW videos for their new turbo engines like the return of the hemi nostalgia but now turbos? Hmu Dodge 👋

[@kimani34]

In my 49 years on earth I think I have seen this car 2 times

[@ryanhowell4492]

Cool Car

[@LongIslandMopars]

From new they always looked like they had saggy rear springs and were nose-high in the front. Weird. They'd have a better stance with a little rake from the rear. Would also help when loading the chassis on launch. They just want to burn the front tires and lose traction.

[@cabaneencac5168]

I also always found the raised front stance strange but as Chrysler boasted that their design was the result of a computer design I could just think that their computer did not have a big algorithm to generate a perfect posture.

[@tmolne117]

0-60 in 10 seconds. Those were dark days for America

[@rabit818]

The 600 typeface is similar to Mercedes Benz. Dodge future owner predicted.

[@vwestlife]

A nice Reliant automobile.

[@HenrySchecker]

How is it that efficient!? Its loaded turbo and getting as good gas milage as modern sedans and it has the aero of a brick

[@joserobinson8419]

1980s style big head people with mullets driving 😆

[@kd4pba]

That girl in the jean out fit is something else.

[@saabstory69420]

I'd best a large amount of money that there are maybe 8 of these still on the road.

[@geolehman]

I think 10 sec 0-60 is faster than a 77 Vette, but less than a 23 Fiat 500.

[@moejr1974]

An L48 Vette from 74-79 does 0-60 in the 7's. Road test of a 1975 showed 7.7 0-60.

[@clemsonbloke]

@@moejr1974 Yeah but those vettes from 1972 and earlier were vastly more powerful. 1973+ had too much smog shit on them and those detuned engines.

[@doug6191]

0:12 - "...we have the Dodge 600ES sports sedan" Sports sedan. 😂😂😂😂 I definitely used to cross-shop these with BMW 3-series. Totally. It was a tough decision. 😂

[@ljmorris6496]

The turbo was actually on par with the BMW at that time, BMWs in America wasn't really all that in performance until the '90s

[@doug6191]

@@ljmorris6496 There's a key difference. The BMW was RWD, and perhaps more importantly, not a K-car chassis.

[@ljmorris6496]

@@doug6191 And your point?, the '84 Ford LTD was also rwd and Mustang based, did that make it a performer outside the V8 LX?.

[@Humandriver5280]

M bodies w 318 were much less troublesome.

[@oldieznut1]

My MIL’s caught fire and burned the ground at 20k miles, she was lucky given some of the other testimonies

[@ConfidentBald-sx9nx]

4:00…Jeffery Dahmer ladies and gentlemen….

[@2steaksandwiches665]

The Taco Bell of cars according to mr regular car reviews.

[@Skyhawk1987Turbo]

I have yet to see a turbo Buick skyhawk review, oh wait that never happened

[@arthurhu2290]

didn't consider it when I bought 1984 Honda Accord LX 4 dr, Honda didn't even offer electronic dash or turbo

[@ThunderAppeal]

If there was ever a car that perfectly demonstrated and defined the automotive example of the phrase 'putting pig on a lipstick' this would be it.

[@walterarroyo5220]

Last time I saw one of these was more than 15 years ago and it wasn’t running.

[@herbiehusker1889]

Whenever they name a car some numbers and letters, you know its gonna be a winner.

[@Greatdome99]

1:12: You can tell from the water vapor coming from the exhaust that the engine was cold/just started. Not good for a speed test.

[@4HBirtcher]

E-class is basically a larger size K-car.

[@67marlins]

A very competent, easy to live with & afford little car whose only flaw was oversimplified stying.

[@JasonBoydston]

Adjusted for inflation, the loaded car would cost $38,763.88!

[@clevelandcarlson5743]

It had electrical issues also

[@SolamenteVees]

5MT turbo? What a wacky powertrain combination.

[@shawncollins9938]

Big 3 produced some junkers in 80s n 90s

[@TheCarCrazyGuy]

They should replace the current Charger with this car 😜

[@dmack7265]

This 600 ES looks similar to the 85 Ford LTD.

[@ljmorris6496]

1984 Hellcat.....😉

[@pxn748]

99 Horsepower!!!!

[@joemiddleton9873]

That car could have been stretched more the chassis to full size car K car platform in the 90s as it was being faced out give tooing to other world markets

[@PhillyDee215]

Throwback.....

[@pl5624]

Dropped in 85 for the dodge lancer

[@pl5624]

@@Brian_Eugene_Lee nissan and renault would have to let that happen.

[@allentoyokawa9068]

@@Brian_Eugene_Lee lmao they are no where NEAR falling apart lmao good one though troll

[@allentoyokawa9068]

@@pl5624 renault has nothing to do with it, Mitsubishi is a huge major company all on their own

[@pl5624]

@@allentoyokawa9068 Nissan has major part of Mitsubishi and renault owns nissan.dont confuse Mitsubishi heating..banking...etc with Mitsubishi Motors as they are not the same company.

[@moejr1974]

@@pl5624 allen doesn't know a thing about cars. He just comes on here to say everything not japanese is junk and Japan is the best.

[@mitch4527]

I liked that car when it came out. But they didn’t last long on the streets.

[@brandondavis7695]

It needs an intercooler

[@spg5658]

"sports car like" 0-60 of 10 seconds! 😋

[@datsun210]

In the 80s, 'true sports car like performance' was dismal. 1:47 o_0