Worst cars of the '80s from Chrysler!

[@leonaelliott5425]

The 2.2 liter was not a VW supplied engine it was home built by Chrysler

[@ThreeWheelFlyer]

Yep, the 1.6L four was the Volkswagen engine.

[@snakehandler87]

Young people like you paying homage and respect to cars of the past is much appreciated

[@TheCarnivalguy]

Thankfully, Chrysler turned things around with that rich Corinthian leather. lol

[@dmandman9]

Interesting note.Chrysler made a similar mistake with their imperial and the 318 that Cadillac made with the 368 by taking a relatively bulletproof engine and making it totally unreliable with faulty electronics. I think the biggest problem with the Chrysler is that there was not a sufficient “limp home” mode that allowed the engine to run (albeit poorly) when a sensor malfunctioned. Instead, they stalled. People will somewhat tolerate a car with sensor problems as long as it doesn’t stall or leave them stranded.

[@gordocarbo]

Was that when Caddys had that 864 type thing? Solenoid controled cyl deactivation. Lots of hate for those back in the day The Cimmaron was a complete flop, too. When the northstar line came out people started buying caddys again.

[@RichardinNC1]

And to think the electronics and engineers came from the space program. Imagine a rocket stalling…. Fail safe limp modes should have been a design requirement

[@dmandman9]

@@RichardinNC1 They either had too much confidence in those sensors. Or (more likely) the Bean counters tightened the purse strings. Ironically, it cost them a lot more money in the long run.

[@dmandman9]

@@gordocarbo yes, it was the V8,6,4. The good part was that it was fairly easy to simply force the engine to stay in v8 mode. That’s what a lot of people did. Cadillac went from bad to worse with the HT4100. That basic engine was problematic and underpowered. The 4.5 and 4.9 L versions were significantly better in comparison. (Still not great, but acceptable) . The Northstar offered great performance and would outperform the Lincoln Town car. BUT, as time wore on, they proved problematic too. ( oil leaks and overheating that often resulted in high oil consumption and blown head gaskets). The most dependable Cadillacs were those that had had non Cadillac engines. The Brougham ended up using the Oldsmobile 5.0 liter. And later on they used Chevy engines. Both much more dependable than the Cadillac engines of the era.

[@billyjoejimbob56]

@@dmandman9 Remember that the car and Lean Burn were both developed when Chrysler was about two pay periods away from bankruptcy, and needed US Government loan guarentees to finish and launch the K-cars. In hindsight, they weren't ready for primetime, but they had little choice at the time.

[@ronaldarchibald2506]

Friend had a rampage. Painted it black and put some keystone classics on it. Was actually a neat little vehicle. Fit a quad in the back and got decent gas mileage.

[@matrox]

Yeh...great little car as I also was driving one as my daily driver in the 80s. 82 model. Ran it up to 170 or 80k miles

[@palaver40]

Me too. Drove it for years and loved the leg room. Wish I'd kept it.@@matrox

[@scarborosasquatchstation1403]

Yes... Friend was driving the super fast off the line with the amazing 2.2 Direct Connection Dodge Rampage.. The suspension gave a fantastic ride while one sat in the contoured bucket seats, this was indeed just incredible for the first 3 - 6 months these trucks were being driven....slowly things went downhill after all the recklessness of taking care of business doomed this 2.2 Direct Connection Rampage !!! 🧐😵📉

[@RobCamp-rmc_0]

My grandpa had a pepto pink Rampage. It was hilarious. At least until we had to borrow it when our ‘81 Escort wagon broke down, then I wasn’t laughing.

[@RichardinNC1]

I agree they shouldn’t have reused the Charger or Challenger names, but the cars weren’t that bad for the time. Chrysler had no money at the time and needed the captive imports to compete and the Challenger competed with the Celica and had its pluses such as more equipment and bigger 2.6L motor. FYI I believe the 2.2 in the Charger was fully in-house developed, the earlier 1.7 came from VW and the 1.6 from Peugeot. The Shelby Charger was relatively quick & cheap fun for the mid 80s, and the Shelby GLHS a screamer. Most guys I knew owning an L body Charger loved them. I myself had an 85 Daytona Turbo and 87 Daytona Shelby Z. I agree the Imperial EFI was a disaster.

[@juansaladzar]

If that 2.6L Hemi had hemispherical heads than it’s a Hemi. That’s what Hemi stands for it has nothing to do with being big or a V8 brah 🤨

[@juansaladzar]

@@GreenHawkDrive 😐

[@billyjoejimbob56]

That 2.6L four was a Mitsubishi engine, and I believe the first to feature balance shafts. It was smooth and very reliable... not a powerhouse but nothing was those days.

[@juansaladzar]

@@billyjoejimbob56 if it doesn’t have hemispherical heads than it’s a fake Hemi brah

[@billyjoejimbob56]

@ladzarIt DID have hemispherical combustion chambers. It also had a very small 3rd valve that added a short burst of intake air only just before top dead center creating swirl, thus better air/fuel mixing and lower emissions. brah

[@rolandthethompsongunner64]

@@billyjoejimbob56Not the 2.2 😂

[@magnus466]

I had a 1985 cranberry/maroon Dodge Shelby Charger. That was such an awesome car. It gave me no trouble and it was supremely fun to drive…

[@paulmayerpiano]

"Worst cars of the '80s from Chrysler!" could have been a 10-part miniseries lol

[@louyork8379]

My best friend growing up had a Plymouth Turd-ismo and it was so slow but it was a stick and we were kids so it seemed like we were going fast but we really weren’t lol. Good times. Miss the late 90s so very much

[@GreenHawkDrive]

Turd-ismo that’s hilarious😂

[@louyork8379]

@@GreenHawkDrive hey thanks!! I was pretty proud of that moniker back as a teen lol.

[@johnharris3362]

I had a 84 Turismo, for what it was I found it a reliable car and that 2.2 worked a lot better in these smaller cars than they did in k cars and minivans however that little engine helped save Chrysler when they were in financial trouble.

[@yabbadabba2887]

I test drove an 80s 2.2 liter Turismo while being the owner of a 78 Challenger with the 2.6. I thought the Challenger was way more peppy. I think the RWD made it more fun also

[@Steve.Cutler]

Turd-ismo!! 😂😂😂😂😂 perfect name for this pos

[@cujoedaman]

I like how, to this day, Chrysler still cannot get us a good looking Charger (I mean beyond the ones we think of). I mean, they nailed it with the Challenger, but the Charger always just seems to mystify their designers.

[@michaelmacpherson-wm6mh]

my friends father was a die hard Mopar guy, had a '57 Chrysler 300, '67 Barracuda Formula S, '70 Charger and 392 Hemi powered 1932 ford coupe. his daily commuter was a Rampage. he said it was a "future collectible". we all thought that was pretty funny

[@seed_drill7135]

The Challenger had a hemi, in that it had hemispherical combustion. Also, 105 h.p. for a 4 cylinder was a lot for that time.

[@ljmorris6496]

The K-Aires had that option too, Yes you could have an Hemi K car with more hp than the 6-cylinder Fairmont and almost as much as the v6 X-cars from GM..

[@autochatter]

Wasn't the early CVCC Civics also technically Hemis?

[@gordocarbo]

Dont remember any Hemi Challenger in th e80s? Think Colt Arrow? Had a true Hemi 4 cyl....todays Hemis arent

[@gordocarbo]

@@autochatter Dont think so. My sister had a small 70s cvcc dont remember plugs in the valve cover. could be wrong that was lonnng ago. Good little cars though

[@ljmorris6496]

@@gordocarbo The "Colt Arrow" and '80s Challenger was the same car. Yes there was an 80's Challenger as seen in the video and I've personally seen them on the streets when I was a kid..

[@OLDS98]

You keep doing your videos and working on your channel. You are putting in the work and it shows. You put together good information and footage and graphics. Thank you.

[@GreenHawkDrive]

Thank you man, you’ve been super supportive since the beginning🍻

[@OLDS98]

@@GreenHawkDrive You are welcome. I will be watching. Just know I like GM and I will look forward to see what videos you come up with and you sharing what you learn with many on your channel. I would like to see things about: Oldsmobile, Pontiac, Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac, GMC, Holden and Saturn former GM companies Opel and Vauxhall It would nice to see things about Lincoln and Mercury. You should touch more on Chrysler Imperial and New Yorker too. Thank you again.

[@JimFlanagan4206]

My senior year of high school I had an '84 Plymouth Turismo. It was a 2.2 high output with a 5 speed. It had the aluminum wheels and was red with burgundy cloth interior. I really liked it but was horribly unreliable.

[@TexTom1981]

"but was horribly unreliable." which is said of any Mopar from the era.

[@dmandman9]

Good video. However I do have one quibble. The 2.2 was always a Chrysler if I’m not mistaken. The smaller engine in the early years was a VW.

[@GreenHawkDrive]

Yeah man you are correct. I must have mixed them up somewhere when taking notes😅

[@dmandman9]

@@GreenHawkDrive To be honest, I think you do a great job especially when considering the fact that nearly all of your information has to be researched. Side note. I feel really old when I consider the fact that I worked on these 1980s cars as a young adult who turned 20 in 1984.

[@drippinglass]

@@GreenHawkDriveIt’s OK. It’s a crap engine anyway. 😀

The 2.2 Tii version made 175 BHP.

[@gordocarbo]

@@dmandman9 Same...was a trainee in a repair shop..boss told me to pull a rod bearing in a fwd Kcar. Think he was punshing me....still knocked when I finished it. lol. Still remember the whine those 4 cyls had

[@cericj99]

I first learned how to drive Manuel transmission in my friends 84' Shelby Charger in highschool, later that year we went on a 2 week road trip in the summer. Woodstock 94' or Bust... was a bust lol

[@autochatter]

Friend of mine went to that concert! I heard so many stories!!!

[@1524mike]

I would drive an Imperial. I agree with you, it’s gorgeous. Also a friend of mine has a Plymouth Sapporo, he must have had the more powerful engine because I remember it being fairly quick.

[@sableminer8133]

Dude, no way i would've speculated you weren't old enuf 2b from the 80s. I was among the few, as a 16 y.o. at the time, who loved that Imperial. So thanks for being cool about. Sad Iacocca skimped on so much quality & over use of the K platform! Luv how this channel uses ads from the era instill remember ! Also, the generic background muzak with author's voice is oddly soothing! Cheers!🎉

[@GreenHawkDrive]

Thanks for the kind words man. I’m glad I’m able to bring back some memories😄

[@tonyInPA]

Many of these were from Chrysler’s darkest times, but even when down they were swinging for the fences. Would be tough to imagine a manufacturer doing that today. Never had one of the Horizon derived trucks, but have owned two VW Rabbit (US market) diesel pickups. Never got below 38 mpg…and that was loaded with about 1100 pounds of stuff, and about 18 inches above the cab height. Fun little beast if you’re not worried about 0-60 times or are about 6 feet tall!

[@gordocarbo]

0-60 eventually. Remember the hate for them back then....friend still has his today now its "cool". Go figure

[@townhall05446]

'83 VW Diesel pickup averaged 38 mpg, based on large number of real world reports. And that was without 1100 lbs and a wind-resisting load. You probably didn't get quite that much.

[@tylermathis-kx7pu]

In regards to the rampage, I see them coming out of the woodwork now. People oddly saved these, I guess they knew how weird they were back in the day.

[@matrox]

I had one. An 82' model. Great car 2.2 Dodge eng. not VW like this guy said. Mine was a 4 speed. Ran it up to about 170k miles. Mine was black with a racing stripe package, racing striped bucket seats. Mine had a flat bed cover with a duck tail spoiler on it and sport rims. Before that I had a 69' Plymouth Roadrunner.

[@gordocarbo]

Yes weird from new. My machinist bought one new it was his shop truck . Had a neat oddball factor to it but wouldnt wanna own one. Real bad era for Chrysler for sure Only decent engine they had was the 318 back then

[@matrox]

@@gordocarbo The 2.2 Dodge was actually a good eng. The VW engines sucked in those cars and gave the whole series of cars a bad rap.

[@jonmurraymurray5512]

​@matrox the 2.2 was a bullet proof engine if you maintained them. I've owned cars with both the NA and turbocharged.

[@Atomwaffen-y3s]

Never once has a vehicle come out of wood.

[@Atomwaffen-y3s]

“ The design doesn’t hold up in todays time.” You just nailed why the majority of vehicles made after 1972 have zero collectibility. They are not “classics”- they are “curiosities”. Nothing more than disposable appliance. With that being said, I really liked that 1981-83 Imperial.

[@ront769]

Even an ancient beer fridge is more celebrated than one of these wagons would be in typical barely running condition.

[@gordocarbo]

Agree...I see so many CL ads that boast cause its over 20yrs old its classic and therefore rare $$$$ Lots of cars are rare cause they were so chitty they were crushed asap. 71-2 was about the last yr for anything exciting.

[@gordocarbo]

@@ront769 Laughing...but that is so true . Love older American appliances...period in time when we took pride and made stuff to last forever. Myfancy 2400 "stainless" (Not!) fridge broke 3 times in the first 2 yrs of its life..dont trust it Only use older Kenmore washers/dryers

[@louismoench3554]

you are completely wrong. everyone my age loves the design of the dodge rampage and charger. my girlfriend pressured me into buying a rampage because of how cool it is. no lie

[@louismoench3554]

@@ront769 they run great actually. i picked one out of a field in the oregon desert, it started right up after sitting for 8 years. all it needed was a spark plug and its still running great 4k miles later. theres a reason they put the 2.2 in the dakota, charger, omni, caravan, and lebaron!

[@AdamaSanguine]

Wow! I'm old enough to have seen The Rampage or Scamp, but I've never actually seen or heard of them before.. I learned something new today, thank you! Great Video! 🤩😃👍

[@GreenHawkDrive]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@Louis-kk3to]

Good to have someone who cares about car history ,,,, no matter how recent ,, I've been working on automatic transmissions 44 years and all kinds of different types of every car doo - dads --- all my life keep up the good work 👍

[@GreenHawkDrive]

Thank you man, I appreciate this a lot!

[@andrewaep]

I started watching your videos a couple months ago, and I must say I truly have noticed an increase in overall video quality. These are information, interesting, and enjoyable! Keep it up

[@GreenHawkDrive]

Wow, thank you man! That’s really nice of you to say

[@andrewaep]

@@GreenHawkDrive Of course. Nothing I love more than having a lazy weekend & watching the new upload

[@c.g.joseph2388]

Good video. Great seeing Ocean City MD event - 13:20

[@kevinbuja8105]

I have watched a lot of channels about cars from 60's-90's and I really enjoy yours.

[@GreenHawkDrive]

I really appreciate that man. Thank you

[@kepofshangri-la8942]

Grateful my favorite Chrysler didn't make it onto the list. The captive import Chrysler Conquest TSI.

[@paulbensen9369]

The "hoodscoup"was just decorative. It was a solid hunk of plastic . It was very heavy and made the hood difficult to open due to the weight. The 1.6 liter engine with the 4 speed manual was a VW unit from the rabbit.

[@stangreen4134]

3rd like but had the first car mentioned. Twice actually… The second time I was hustling $5 bags of weed just up the block from all those Philadelphia zombie land videos in Kensington. Late at night 2 kids pulled up to the weed block looking to sell an old Dodge Daytona. I’m no fool and know a good deal when I see it so i gladly paid these fine young men $140 cash AND $60 in $5 bags of weed. Late 1990’s was peak America.

[@GreenHawkDrive]

Thanks for the story man!😂

[@stangreen4134]

No doubt. That was 1998, the car was the Charger 2.2 1987 I believe. Great videos too.

[@GreenHawkDrive]

@@stangreen4134 Thank you man, that means a lot!

[@BatCaveOz]

That might have been the first time I have heard the 318ci described as "reliable".

[@TheCrazyMoparDude68]

You must not know much about them if that is true. The 318 was nearly bulletproof and with proper maintenance could easily go over 200,000 miles. I had a 1977 D150 with a 318 that went over 220,000 miles with only a timing chain replaced.

[@RepairMan2x]

The 2.2L that Chrysler had was not a Volkswagen engine. It was a Chrysler engine. The 1.7L and the 4 speed manual used in this year range were from Volkswagen. The Imperial wasn't a Chrysler. It was its own brand from 1955 to 1983.

[@seed_drill7135]

I think you should have included some of those Eagle models inherited from Renault when they bought AMC. Specifically The Eagle Medallion.

[@autochatter]

Good point! The Dodge Monaco and Eagle version were Terrible.

[@McElroysMotors]

I happen to disagree with you on this. I had three of the Premiers and they are great if PROPERLY maintained. Many people assume because it was a Chrysler branded car, that it was a Chrysler. Not so. Pure Renault. I had one from 1989, started up every time.

[@autochatter]

​@nicktrabiusa1984 I'm glad you had a good experience with them, but alot of people didn't. We had warranty companies that black listed these vehicles among other then like the 93-95 RX7

[@eightymopar]

Those eagle wagons were great

[@seed_drill7135]

The four cylinders were underpowered but ok, the ones with the Peugeot V6 were problematic. Which is a shame, as they were highly advanced cars that became the basis for the LH platform.@@autochatter

[@weegeemike]

Love the '81 Imperial. Aside from the archaic EFI they were good cars with solid powertrains (reliable 318 V8 with a bulletproof 727 TorqueFlight). If it werent for tge EFI issues i feel like it would have sold a lot better and helped Chrysler out of the hole earlier than what occurred, and would be remembered more fondly as a classic car. A guy that lives in my town has one. It puts a smile on my face whenever i see it, and im the only person that i know personally that can accurately identify what it is 😅

[@RoadRunnergarage8570]

I had an 84 Turismo 2.2 when I was in college..

[@xltoffroadbear]

I have to say, for a younger person you seem to have a good understanding of these cars. These were the cars of my youth so I really appreciate them. New subscriber here!

[@GreenHawkDrive]

Right on man, thank you!

[@danbratten3103]

You're killing me. I was born in 81. As a kid I loved those 80s Chargers. Lol Great video 👍🏻

[@JC-tf9wo]

We were a Chrysler family growing up in the 80s. Everyone in our family had Chrysler except my brother he hated them. My first car was a Plymouth Turismo Duster. And my final was a 06 Stratus. We had many in between but I can say they were all junk. Especially after the warranty ran out. They either broke down and required a lot of maintenance or the paint came off. The dusters/chargers were everywhere and the people I knew either had the same problems or were about to get the same problem. Bad muffler, no start in cold weather, timing belt, if it rained it would die and my favorite it would not always turn left. Only good thing I could fill it up for $10. My 06 stratus while comfortable to drive had electrical problems, problem with tie rods, and the oil light came on for no reason I gave it to a friend and 5 months later it had major mechanical issue and we junked it at 112000 miles. I bought a Honda and did nothing but regular maintenance in 12 years. Now I got a Hyundai. No more Chrysler

[@christopherarmstrong2095]

Oh Buddy, you just got another new follower! Excellent content.

[@GreenHawkDrive]

Awesome, thank you!

[@__J_O__]

I owned three 2.2Chargers and they were reliable and somewhat peppy. The aspirator tube was the Achilles heel and they were a pain to replace. I can't complain about the service they gave me. Wish I acquired a Rampage back the and kept it.

[@arnesahlen2704]

Chrysler's "Old Blue Eyes" Sinatra Imperial variant damaged the Iacocca-Sinatra friendship. Beyond internals, it was built on the mid-range Chrysler chassis and *did not* have a luxo-boat ride.

[@tlamar27]

As a teen I had a 85 Charger. Favorite and most fun vehiche I have ever owned. The 2.2 was snappy and it was reliable.

[@paultomaszewski1964]

The second gen Challenger wasn't a bad car over all, but it did have one big issue. They turned to rust very quickly. My brother had one and my Dad was an Auto body guy and they repaired all the rusted out panels on a maybe 6 year old Challenger. A few years later other parts started to just rust through.(the under carridge and subframes) Became unsafe to fix or drive. Granted it lived in Wisconsin so that may have speed up the process.

[@colinschmitz8297]

Great video! I I think the reason why Dodge chose to use the charger name on the Omni based coupe instead of a M platform based vehicle was the failure of the Mirada and the last generation Cordoba. While I know performance enthusiasts don't like the front wheel drive Chryslers, The difference is they sold better than Chrysler's RWD offerings in the coupe categories.

[@Ang3lUki]

I don't get why, considering the number of beloved FWD performance cars that came later, like the S2000, Civic Type R/Integra Type R, Veloster N, Neon SRT-4. The K platform performance cars really get a bad rap and I don't know why, they were leagues ahead of other FWD performance cars at the time, and even running into the 90s.

[@colinschmitz8297]

@@Ang3lUki I think in general there's a bias against FWD due to torque steer. Some of the problem is that so many people are not understanding that these models were successful vs. the RWD models Chrysler attempted to sell weren't selling at all. Another problem that I think people forget about depending on where they live is if you're on a normal budget and you can afford one vehicle, you need a vehicle that works in all conditions. The k-based sporty coupes and omni-based sporty coupes are all seasoned vehicles versus many of the rear wheel drive variants are problematic in really heavy snow and ice. Having grown up with an 82 Cutlass Supreme That had the worst time getting around in the winter taking an hour on average to get out of the driveway compared to a couple minutes with the K based vehicles who replaced it, front wheel drive has a natural advantage in snow performance. I know people are going to try to contradict this that the bottom line is front-wheel drive does better in winter conditions by its nature.

[@colinschmitz8297]

@@Ang3lUki The other part of why people dump on them compared to others is the media dumps on Chrysler harder than anyone else especially in those days. Chrysler has had their share of mistakes and their share of reliability issues, but if you take a look at everyone else you'll realize they're not that much worse than anyone else. For all the talk about the Ultra drive being bad and it was bad, the Ford AXOD itself was pretty terrible and GM had issues with some of their transmissions as well as has Honda. I think people also get into a mindset that because they find a couple examples of people who get to 400,000 miles out of a Toyota that that means that every single Toyota is automatically guaranteed to last that long. What I've seen is some last amazing length and some don't make it to 100,000 even in the hands of competent owners. Every manufacturer has duds and sometimes the owner is the source of the problem and sometimes manufacturer is the source of the problem

[@Ang3lUki]

@@colinschmitz8297 People race FWD cars today with hundreds, even over 1000 horsepower, and you don't hear them whining about torque steer. Chrysler, ever the engineers, knew about torque steer, and even designed the K platform to reduce torque steer with equal length halfshafts. But no, all you hear is folks whining about them "not being real Mopars." The problem with an M-Charger, is that it simply would have been too heavy to bring any real performance to the table while staying within regulations with the technology available at the time. It would've been a big slow personal luxury car like the sluggish barges GM was pushing out at the time. It would not have been a performance car.

[@townhall05446]

I owned a 1980 Dodge Mirada - it was a rolling pile of JUNK from bumper to bumper. To think that the flagship 'Imperial' was based on this platform is just crazy. This was the kind of car that just about put Chrysler out of business. Back bumper chrome peeled off, bumper rusted. Mylar coated chrome 'trim' - some yellowed, some didn't, some wouldn't stay attached to the car. Differential made huge CLANK when going into reverse the first time of the day. Every piece of interior plastic trim cracked up like Turkish Taffy; Chrysler claimed to have found the problem and replaced it all, and it cracked again the same way. Interior trim faded into three different colors. "Corintian leather" seats were paper thin and poorly stitched. Carpeting didn't reach far enough under the door sill plates and repeated popped out of place. Dashboard warped. Rear window leaked and put 3" of water in the recesses on the sides of the trunk. Fender caps were not molded so that the creases matched the fenders. Paint was dull, quickly lost its shine and flaked off the car. Power window motor failed. Exterior door handles broke repeatedly. (So often, they were sold on the HELP! rack at auto parts stores.) Taillight on one side installed crookedly, could not be straightened. Transmission failed in all forward gears at 37,000 miles. I bought it as a dealer 'executive car'. Total pile of JUNK! And yet I had a 1979 Chrysler LeBaron, much the same car mechanically, and it was a great car. But not that Mirada; I should have bought the Magnum XE the year before on the bigger old Cordoba platform.

[@robk9685]

That Mirada just LOOKED cheap.

[@townhall05446]

@@robk9685 And built cheap. Evidence of that all over the place. Plastic everywhere, shoddy workmanship, poor quality. It was junk when new. To think I traded in an 18,000 mile, mint condition Plymouth Trail Duster on that steaming pile. WTH was I thinking. The Trail Duster had a few problems of its own but it was 10x the vehicle that Mirada ever was or could be.

[@robk9685]

@@townhall05446 Was just thinking, my aunt and uncle had a LOT of Chrysler cars, his cousin would get him the employee discount I believe. They had a Mirada, Magnum, Pacifica, and about 3 other similar Chrysler cars in a period of about 10 years. I think they got a different new one every 24 months. I wonder why.

[@davealmer3803]

Gr8 video Dodge/Stellantis have been in trouble since the 50's and have been building cars that reflect it ever since.

[@GreenHawkDrive]

Thank you man, I appreciate that!

[@tylerwork3582]

Your videos are unique, interesting, and nostalgic. Love it.

[@GreenHawkDrive]

I appreciate that!

[@ph1sts]

I skipped buying vehicles mfg in the 80s, save one, which was a used '87 Escort GT. Most were vastly underpowered, cheaply built, and butt ugly. Putting ground-effects, spoilers, huge pinstripes, window/fender louvers, and loud graphics on them, was like putting lipstick on pigs. Had the GT for only about a year and a half, so I could save up enough $$ for a decent down payment to buy a new 4x4 pickup truck in early '92. About 2 years after buying my truck, the market for pickups (and SUVs) in the US just EXPLODED, like to think that I was a bit ahead of the wave.

[@Magnum062]

My father loved the Magnum. At one point owning five (three showroom quality) with two of which being GT models and one T-top at one time in the early nineties. One of which was given to me for high school graduation. I sold it a couple years later so I could put money toward a "Kool" Mustang. They were boats but if taken care of they rarely had problems. I know he sold and shipped his last one to a fan in Australia in 2004. Thank you for the fun video.

[@GreenHawkDrive]

Thank you for the story!

[@pcno2832]

5:06 I'd say the Imperial was the only really bad car in this bunch. It was said that Sinatra abandoned his stalled-out Imperial on the side of the road and demanded Chrysler stop using his name to promote it. It seemed like a desperate attempt to turn the Volare into a luxury car by putting a comically big nose on it.

[@georgeharleydavidsonrider156]

I bought a 1987 Dodge Shadow 2.2, turbo four. Transmission went up at 3000 miles. Lifter collapsed at 18,000 miles. First day I got the car home the heater control valve cracked. When you opened up the back hatch when it was raining, water would go into the speakers transmission was geared wrong. . It’s a shame because it was a beautiful car, but what a piece of junk. Maybe I should’ve bought a Dodge Daytona ?

[@GreenHawkDrive]

That’s awful man

[@jamesgudgeon4868]

In Australia we call Them Utes 13:25

[@joemazzola7387]

Back in the 80s my next door neighbor had 2 second gen Challengers a white one his wifey and a black one he loved them He was also a Chrysler Plymouth tech

[@GreenHawkDrive]

Good stuff!

[@michaelkrumm1198]

I purchased an 82 Rampage and I loved it if it was still produced I'd buy another one.

[@PocketChangeInspector]

I liked this video. I knew people that had the smaller vehicles back then due to being affordable. Can't say I remember any issues except with the late '80's Daytona. Remember they had issues with a leaky valve cover and believe that became a recall.

[@rocketsurgeon11]

The 2.2 was NEVER EVER EVER a VW engine. It was 100% Chrysler designed by the same team as the 225 slant 6. The 2.2/2.5 shares architectural similarities with the VW 1.7 that it was replacing for serviceability (that was straight from one of the engineers). As for the Rampage/Scamp...pretty much anyone that has had one loved or loves it. Rust is their biggest enemy. The REASON Chrysler was still producing RWD M-body cars, but all the new cars were FWD was the deal Iacocca made to get the loan from the government to bail the company out (which was repaid in full and sooner than it was due!). The deal was that the company HAD to produce fuel efficient cars, so V8's were out for the new design cars, but they could keep making the "legacy" older cars (which we all know saw extensive use in government and taxi arenas). The times demanded the products that they produced. Because of this, Chrysler beat both GM and Ford in the smaller car segment out of the 3 domestic companies (though the foreign cars were womping them all). And then came the T115 minivan...and the world was never the same.

[@haggis525]

Enjoying the video.... for me it's nostalgia. I've owned many of these cars through the years. For example, I owned a 1974 Challenger and one of those Mitsubishi 2.6 Hemi Challenger. Several other of the K platform cars too. Even the personal luxury segment of the market in the mid 70's.... I remember shopping in '75 (for a '76) and that Chyrsler (Magnum/Charger) was in the running. A 1976 Pontiac Grand Prix won.... but Monte Carlo and Charger were not far behind.

[@stephcrane]

The 1981 Imperial was the first *Chrysler* to have an electronic gauge cluster - the Lincoln Continental Mark VI (and Ford Thunderbird) had one available starting in 1980, GM offered electronic instruments in the 1978 Seville, and Aston Martin pioneered the concept in the 1976 Lagonda.

[@sneakerfreak2002]

The Imperial had the first fully electronic digital instruments, including the odo & PRNDL display

[@MB-jt9mo]

Awesome video. I love watching with my son and showing him the (many garbage) cars I grew up with

[@samiam5557]

GMs 80s cars are just as reprehensible.

[@Hillbilly_Bob.J]

Hell yea brother!! That's awesome!! I ride a 97 suzuki intruder 1400 that had been sitting under a carport when I picked it up.

[@RadioSaladStudios]

My first car was a Plymouth TC3. Loved it. It's a shame that most never survived and they're hard to find in any condition. My idea of a classic right now would be a car I grew up with being new. Anything from Chrysler from the 80s would be fun to rebuild. Course, there'd be some fabrication...

[@rick0e295]

The 82 through 88 RWD Fifth Avenues were the last Chryslers that had any interest for me. Traditional American luxury styling with formal roof and plush velvet interior made my 83 and 85 comparable to subsequent Fleetwoods and Town Cars. Unfortunately storied Imperial name was a disappointment in this incarnation. Sad ending for Chrysler.

[@claybowler751]

My first car was a 76 Charger. Chrysler built it so poorly, they secured the taillights with putty. When the putty would get hot on a summer day, the taillights would fall out as you were going down the road. They were just over $100 to replace in the early 80s, so you would walk out to a parking lot to find someone stole one of yours.

[@RafaelPernia]

These videos are great. Keep em coming. I would just add as a constructive comment to try to make the voice less monotonous and emphasize some portions. I watch these at night amd sometimes is hard not to fall sleep but the content is great

[@GreenHawkDrive]

I appreciate that! You’re absolutely right, I’m getting better at it:)

[@Heavygravy447]

Even though your age doesn't give you first hand experience with these cars I'm glad your making the effort to do these videos . A new thing you could do is try to seek out some of these in person and ask the owners if you could review them in person as a added feature of your channel

[@GreenHawkDrive]

What’s up man, I just want to say thank you for seeing that. That’s definitely a possibility in the future. I would be so thrilled to be able to drive these cars!

[@Heavygravy447]

@@GreenHawkDrive I'm looking forward to the videos and you growing your channel.not many people find the forgotten cars good or bad that are still out there

[@russelldesabre9530]

Good video…..just one comment the 2.2 engine was an American made power plant not Volkswagen (the standard 1.6 and 1.7 were made by Volkswagen though)

[@GreenHawkDrive]

Yeah I must of got them mixed up with my notes😅

[@snicketysnickerdoodle8484]

The 1.7 was VW. The 1.6 was Peugeot.

[@catjudo1]

1. I would love to have one of the Mitsubishi-built Challengers. It was a stout rear drive platform that was quietly attractive then and still looks good today. It was light and nimble, and with some minor tweaks it could be made into a real handler. As for the engine, put a lightweight Mazda rotary in, or maybe a Subaru turbo flat four, something that would work with a rear drive platform. It would be a pint-sized GT for me, though less deserving types would put a wing on it and make a drift car out of it. 2. I knew a Mopar nut when I was in grad school who took a wrecked Omni GLH-S engine, took it apart and rebuilt it for more power, and put it in a Scamp. With fat little sport tires on it, that thing was quick yet no one paid any attention. It was named El Scampino and it was cool. I always liked car-based pickups. Part car, part truck, they are the hermaphrodites of the automotive world. I miss them, along with little bitty trucks. Stupid chicken tax...

[@GoonSquadLifeMember]

The Colt/Scamp deserved its own segment. An old high school friend had a '79 Scamp (10 y.o. then). Get this: it had the 4-spd "Twin Stick"; one was for changing gears, the other was "shifting" between Economy and Performance. I drove it - there was no difference.

[@ckelly5141]

The Dodge Rampage looks so cool 😎👍!

[@timheersma4708]

Chrysler...what can I say ? Ballast resisters that would fail randomly requiring the owner to keep a spare in the glove box just in case. The lean burn system...the power sucking useless system that I helped a friend rip out for convention electronic ignition almost doubling the power of the engine and then there's the Omni/Horizon computer that would quit whenever it felt like. If you were lucky, you could find one from the scrap yard for $25 to $50 and up to $400 new (no guarantees either)🙄

[@jameswalsh6131]

Great video! I had not thought about many of those cars in so long. I always liked the wasy the Scamp and Rampage looked. I think Chrysler was doing so poorly and that's why they used the Charger name on some really junky cars. Thanks for all you do and the memories!

[@mudman6156]

The Imperial was an absolutely gorgeous car, even by today’s standards. There really wasn’t anything major wrong with it. And besides the big Lincoln’s, it was one of the best looking cars to ever come from an American manufacturer. It doesn’t belong on this list.

[@GreenHawkDrive]

What are you talking about man… Did you not watch the video because the EFI systems were horrific. People HATED these cars for it. I agree that it looks amazing for then and now, but it definitely deserves a spot on this list

[@theromulanwarhawk]

These cars could have been great, except they weren't very good. The biggest problem was inconsistent build quality, as I see it. There were probably other factors. But I think branding an Omni as a "Charger," and a Mitsubishi as a "Challenger," didn't help them either.

[@williamschaefer4462]

One overlooked detail about the Imperial, was the fact that it was a luxury car competing (in price) with Cadillac and Lincoln, was that it had hard riding leaf springs in the rear. That thing took bumps like a Dodge Aspen. (Not a compliment!)

[@GreenHawkDrive]

Good point!

[@michaelchan8915]

Did the Imperial utilize the same rear leaf spring front torsion bar setup as all their other rear wheel drive cars? If so, that was completely unacceptable for the price point.

[@williamschaefer4462]

@@michaelchan8915 Yes it did, untouched.

[@michaelchan8915]

@@williamschaefer4462 no wonder those cars didn't sell.

[@rowmacg]

Actually the Imperial had the same leaf spring rear and front torsion bar suspension set up as all the other rear wheel drive Chryslers of that era. I owned two Imperials, my mom had a Lincoln Mark VI, many friends owned Eldorados. All three luxury coupes ride and drive very similar. The Imperial was quieter than the other two, it rode better than the Eldorado, and it handled better than the MarkVI. The Mark VI was the most reliable, being based on Ford’s Panther platform says it all.

[@marcopolo-xj4yw]

My parents had 2 Chrysler Imperials of this generation. Big, heavy, spaceship type car. You’d step on the gas pedal and there was like a 5 second miserable delay before it responded. But the car looked so cool driving around with my HS friends. My best totaled my mom’s baby blue one, but that’s another story. 😃

[@jamessellards7157]

I had an 85 Dodge Dayton turbo Z and loved it, it went like hell. Lol

[@yabbadabba2887]

Had an 86 turbo. Loved it except for the 5 speed transmission. Very clunky and not geared correctly

[@frankschloss2355]

I have an 83 dodge rampage 2.2. I really like it I’ve done the clutch plate clutch disc throw out bearing rear main seal cv boot power steering pump and lines oil pan gasket

[@CollideFan1]

Charger and Challenger were an embarrassment. They must have been competing with the Chevy Nova

[@paulsheehan5010]

I drove my 1989 Plymouth Horizon America over 184,000 miles, the 2.2 with a five speed flew.

[@x5HYx9UYx]

My 84 Mitsubishi starion/Chrysler conquest is a pain in the ass, the g54b engine is garbage and the car has common electrical issues and it keeps burning the ignitor out and will leave you stranded lol, I actually had a glove box full of ignitor boxes😂. I just can't wait for my 4g63 swap over the winter.👍✨

[@deandupont5503]

I'mma tell a story about the K-Cars... In the late 80s I worked for a car rental agency which specialized in insurance replacement vehicles. You know, if you had full comprehensive insurance, we'd provide something to drive until yours was fixed. About 1/4 of our local fleet were K-Cars. We *hated* them. We spent a lot of time driving them, since we provided delivery (think Enterprise). They were slow - freeway merges were terrifying - and they drove sloppy. They weren't cars, they were appliances. The crowning turd in the punchbowl came when we took delivery of eight new Reliants, straight off the truck. Of the eight, three didn't make it out of the mall parking lot we were using. Why? Chrysler shipped them *with no f--king oil.* None of them had a single drop of motor oil in the engines. The five that ran were all immediately filled with 10/30, and prayed over. Eight cars, straight from Chrysler. Three seized engines. Six frustrated rental agents, stuck in a mall parking lot. Zero fun for all involved. K-Cars were dull, boring, and untrustworthy, and should be on this list. When was the last time you saw one on the road? Yeah, exactly.

[@GreenHawkDrive]

Holy f&@$😂… I appreciate you sending this man, that was a good read!

[@cld2930]

I actually owned a 1982 Dodge Rampage. I bought it used in 1994. It was the exact model at 11 minutes and 29 seconds. Same red color with that orange striping and that stupid Rim package The truck was actually fun to drive I had a lot of fun with it when it ran. I could do about 100 miles on 2 dollars of gas LOL it was great on gas. But I was under the hood of that stupid thing more than I was behind the wheel. Every other day it was something else the carburetor, electrical issues, etc. I bought it for 700 dollars. Had it for about a year put tons of time into the dang thing trying to keep it running did all the work myself for about $300. Finally after being towed and pushed about a thousand times I sold it for $300. The guy sold it to had the same issues under the hood with problems every other day. He ended up selling it to a place for a penny a pound and they crushed it into a cube LOL

[@GreenHawkDrive]

Holy S$@&😂, thanks for the read man!

[@tylermathis-kx7pu]

6:17 the problem was that they didn’t have computers powerful enough, nor did they have experience yet to have an electronically control system work correctly. All of the fuel injection systems at that time were mechanical, at least on American cars.

[@hotpuppy1]

I disagree. When you take into account the EPA requirements and the lack of technology, they were OK. Quality was so-so as were almost all cars from the era. Drove a Dodge Omni once. It was OK for what it was>>>cheap little car that held 4 and got decent mileage. My wife had a 84 Challenger. The biggest problem was rust as most Japanese cars from the 70's and 80's had thin and poorly protected steel.

[@scoot4348]

A Dodge 024 got me home after an ice storm from Ft Campbell KY to, near Chicago. Had a Charger 2.2 and although it never should have been called a Charger I really liked that car. My section Sargent had a Rampage. I joked it should have been named the Tantrum, my Sargeant thought that was funny. The worst Mopar was an 80/81 Dodge Diplomat. It had dangerously sluggish acceleration. I don't remember what engine it had but a Chevette completely outclassed it in performance. Lol

[@twisted2291]

I had a few of the Omni's, Chargers, and a Couple Rampage's. I fell in love with them. They where cheap and easy to work on. 99% of the parts would interchange with other K-car stuff. The last Rampage I had. It was an '84. I swapped in a hopped up 2.5 Turbo from a 1990. I had the boost turned up to 15 psi, and that thing would scream.And it really pissed off a lot of Mustang and Camaro owners as well.

[@davinp]

The reason Chrysler went bankrupt in 1978 is because they made their car poor quality and unreliable

[@ProudDad1976]

My first car was a 1985 Chrysler Fifth Avenue 318 v8 I want to find a nice one and put a 5,7 Hemi in it Change out the rear differential with a junkyard rear disk 5.7 Hemi I would be willing to do this with the Imperial too. The interior of a Chryler of that time was first in class.

[@GreenHawkDrive]

That would be awesome if you did that man!

[@gochuckyourself-yf2rz]

I had a version of all the cars you profiled in this video except the imperial and now I want one .

[@kurtmundt2736]

I drove an 024 back in the day; it was painfully slow to accelerate, but once it got up to speed, it was kinda fun to drive. Cars are MUCH better now.

[@HeinousinAppearance]

My mom had a "Charger" when I was growing up, I remember she dropped me off at the baby sitter and was talking to her when the neighbor burst in yelling my moms car was on fire. Sure enough, it burned to the ground. She had just bought it.

[@lamplighter5545]

I owned an 84 Charger for 11 years. It have over 120,000 miles when I sold it. It wasn't luxurious. It was misnamed. But, it was a solid car. The only significant repairs it needed were an exhaust system at about 60,000 miles and a timing belt at about 85,000 miles.

[@lonewanderer3603]

You might not be wrong objectively, but I would absolutely love to get my hands on a Rampage.

[@Docs__Garage]

As a current owner of an 81 imperial i can honestly say you could have mentioned the absoltely garbage interior. While the seats were decent leather, the headliner, pillar covers, etc were falling apart almost immediately. The fuel injection system can be made reliable these says.

[@razvandobos9759]

They actually brought back the Rampage in Brazil! Called the Ram Rampage. It needs to be sold here in the US.

[@autochatter]

First! Extended cab mini trucks helped kill off the Rabbit pickup and Rampage.

[@GreenHawkDrive]

Right on man!💪 My cousin has a rabbit, such an awesome truck😁

[@autochatter]

@@GreenHawkDrive I think they were all built in PA to avoid the chicken tax.

[@JayBee-cr8jm]

It's important to remember that literally everything built between 1984 and 1994 was way better than anything built between 1974 and 1984. No matter how under-powered, poorly named or poorly built, everyone of these cars were much better in every aspect.

[@andrewps84]

Lee Iacoccas forte was all about small vehicles, front wheel drive and fuel efficiency. Chrysler had issues with manufacturing larger cars and of course, prior to his arrival the lack of quality control. His predecessors were accountants who only cared about profits, not quality or investing in products people wanted to buy.

[@alkohalak8199]

All those throttle body fuel injection systems were junk back then whether they were Chrysler GM or Ford.

[@markp9474]

i had a 1984 red charger with the 4 headlights. First car i bought with my own money... i loved that car and miss it still today