Here's how the Chrysler "Cloud" Cars had more spirit and acclaim

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In this episode I provide the history of the Chrysler "cloud" cars - the Dodge Stratus, Chrysler Cirrus, and Plymouth Breeze that launched between 1995 and 1996. These cars followed Chrysler's new "cab-forward" design that started with the LH cars (Dodge Intrepid / Chrysler Concorde / Eagle Vision) and replaced the more boxy (and more K-car-like) Dodge Spirit, Plymouth Acclaim, and the sedan version of the Chrysler LeBaron. The Stratus would be the only one of the three to continue with a second generation, as the Cirrus would be renamed the Sebring (to join the coupe and convertible that already had that name) and the Breeze would be cancelled along with the entire Plymouth brand in 2001.

[@rtwice93555]

Ah yes. Stratus, Cirrus, and Breeze; hard to believe that is now in the distant past. During my lengthy tenure as a mechanic at the Ford dealer, I had a friend working at the local Dodge dealership. Back in 1998 he was working on a new Stratus that had torn off the oil pan after running over a shredded truck tire. The 2.5 liter engine was destroyed and insurance agreed to replace it. However, a new replacement was not available which meant he had to build one from scratch. Starting with a bare block, he painstakingly ordered every piece to build one over the Thanksgiving holiday. I couldn't stand to think of him working alone in the shop over Thanksgiving, so I went and gave him a hand. His wife and mine made a nice Thanksgiving dinner and brought it to the shop for us. That is a fun memory spending Thanksgiving 1998 at the local Dodge dealer helping Alvin build an engine for a Stratus.

[@brando3098]

Very nostalgic

[@quad5186]

Worked many a holiday, friends that went out of their way made them memorable for all good things. 👍

[@paulhoffman778]

That was cool story just helping a buddy out .

[@kamX-rz4uy]

@Johnson Long Cost analysis showed that was cheaper.

[@scottgfx]

That's an amazing story.

[@jasonjakubowski8507]

When the Dodge intrepid came out I thought that was the most futuristic looking car on the road I thought that car looked so beautiful as a kid I wanted to get a Dodge intrepid ES. Over 25 years later I still think they look nice.

[@chrispratt7561]

I thought the same. You could even see a few eagle versions of the intrepid. That must have been towards the end of the eagle run.

[@Mark-zu6oz]

I had a '97 Stratus with a V-6. No major repairs in 240k. Ran great, good acceleration, decent milage. The few times it was in the shop, when I called for an update, they would always say "let me check the status of your Stratus."

[@jonathankleinow2073]

Something that might be worth mentioning for the eventual Sebring episode: The tooling for the second-gen Sebring and Stratus was sold to GAZ in Russia, which then tweaked things a bit for Russian roads and winters before selling it as the Volga Siber starting in 2007.

[@retrocompaq5212]

thank you for the info!!

[@dabnisbrickey6527]

They quit making them in 2010 in Russia

[@nickgee7291]

interesting !

[@bjthedjdutchdude1992]

The 2nd gen Sebring was a redesigned VW Eos

[@toddbonin6926]

I worked as a salesman at a Chrysler-Plymouth dealership in the mid 1990s. During slow times (usually weekday mornings) the sales team would gather in one of the cars on the showroom floor and talk. We usually chose a Plymouth Breeze. It was remarkably comfortable and had great legroom.

[@zackc.8015]

Lol I take it you've seen the movie "bros"?.

[@toddbonin6926]

@@zackc.8015 I have never heard of it. Should I watch it?

[@zackc.8015]

@@toddbonin6926 lol no. 🤢

[@toddbonin6926]

@@zackc.8015 🤣

[@TheHuskyGT]

This era of Dodge was so great. I remember looking at magazines for hours, reading about their whole lineup. The Intrepid, Avanger, Stratus, Caravan, Ram, Viper, Chrysler Cirrus, Concord, 300M. Such a great time. It's so sad they have either all disappeared, or the ones that remain are just forgettable.

[@jermainec2462]

The lineup you just named from the 90s is forgetable too LOL

[@luisinhoens90]

This was a great era for the Chrysler corporation, the company was swimming in cash from all the success driven by sales of the minivans, K-Car variants, Grand Cherokee and the 2nd generation Ram trucks. This cashflow allowed for many developments like the LH platform, the cloud cars, the Neon, 3rd gen minivans and halo cars like the Viper, as well as a full line of brand new powertrains. If you think about it, the mid 90s could be described, financially, as some of the best years in Chrysler's history and the last era as an independent company, before Bob Eaton sold it to Daimler which eventually took them on a downward spiral that stands to this day.

[@FabienTeulieres93]

@@jermainec2462 I beg to disagree. Chrysler/Dodge/Plymouth made very stylish cars during that time, packed with daring but elegant design cues inside and out, in my opinion. I'd add the Prowler roadster to the list written above, too. I cannot think of a more unique design, mass-produced by a mainstream car company, no less. Chrysler quality and durability, on the other hand, were (and still are) hit or miss, LOL. But I think it's unfair to call their designs 'forgettable'. I still admire their current lineup (300, Pacifica, Challenger, Charger).

[@jermainec2462]

@@FabienTeulieres93 if somebody that grew up in the 90s I promise you you don't remember those cars till you see them randomly throughout the day like the other day I saw a neon on the interstate I hadn't even thought about one in years I see more old camrys and old accords where I live than I do old stratuses and neons...

[@Wasabi9111]

I grew up in the 90s and we had a 2nd and 3rd gen dodge minivan. I thought the 3rd gen was amazing looking when it first came out. I still think they look great nowadays. I love the big side windows of these cloud cars. Modern cars are so claustrophobic.

[@Oonagh72]

I don’t see them as dated looking. They feel very “futuristic”, like in all the movies.

[@jimmbobb]

I think they've aged quite well.

[@bjthedjdutchdude1992]

The style aged better than bmws

[@lambrinos]

This is quickly becoming my favorite KZbin car history channel. Great work!

[@GaemerJosh]

I was the same way. Watched a video one day and every week since, I watch. Always a great video.

[@Eblak]

Cool story.

[@robm9587]

Agreed!

[@GaemerJosh]

@@Eblak 🤣🤣

[@brando3098]

@@GaemerJosh The old commercial clips is what pulls me In. Where does one find old commercials?

[@FlameG102]

unpopular opinion: I liked Chrysler's cab forward look. Looked sleek. similar reason I liked the 90's B bodies from GM

[@DRTY3RD]

I think Pontiac (okay, GM) took a page from Chrysler's playbook on that one--except they stretched the cab horizontally, with the "wide track" Grand Prix and Bonneville. Kinda wish they had kept that up. But yes, the cab forward thing was definitely a nice innovation. Which leads me to a thought: is a dedicated Dodge Intrepid/Eagle Vision (not to mention Eagle as a brand period) video on the "horizon" for this channel? (I know they were touched on in this video) This is great stuff!

[@marcusdamberger]

@@DRTY3RD Yes, the Eagles, a left over vestige of AMC. I loved the Eagle Premier, my friends dad had one from new. The Premier's layout and technology behind it, along with the newly built factory (by American Motors right before Chrysler) where it was built, led to the LH platform with the cab-forward designs. Chrysler got huge benefits from the AMC merger having the LH platform based on the American Motors-developed and Renault-derived Eagle Premier. Of course they were really after Jeep, but the cloud cars came out of that into the mid 2000's from a late 80's merger. Not bad.

[@Ben-jq5oo]

Me too. It was the Chrysler Neon here in Australia 🇦🇺🌈

[@Newday-crmy]

I like it too. You could see out of them. Kept our 04 Seabring for 18 years.

[@GaemerJosh]

As a child of the 90s I thought the cloud cars were an upgrade to the neon. Similar yet very different. My recommendation for the worst list is the Sephia (especially for it's crash test ratings)

[@averyalexander2303]

I have a 2000 Dodge Stratus 2.4 that I bought for $400 in 2015. Love that car. Drove well, took a lot of abuse and neglect from the previous owners, and very comfortable to drive. Never gave me much trouble other than typical maintenance items and fixing what the idiot previous owners messed up trying to "fix". Unfortunately my grandma ran over a curb, destroyed the radiator, and kept driving it until it overheated to the point of self destructing. One of these days I will get it going again and restore it, hopefully before parts in junkyards get even harder to find. Definitely a nice car that's worth saving IMO, I can't even remember the last time I saw one especially in decent condition.

[@doubleaaaron]

Good luck. I hope you get her going again.

[@averyalexander2303]

@@doubleaaaron Thank you! I will definitely get it going again eventually, it's just a matter of finding the time and money to fix it.

[@rolux4853]

@@averyalexander2303 why do you have to get the money to get it going again? The idiot that borrowed it from you has to pay for that! He or she destroyed it, so it’s not your fault man. How can a person be so dumb to drive with a destroyed radiator and just ignore the temperature gauge rising and rising..

[@jeremystout412]

I have a ‘97 Stratus with the 2.4L, and I love it! They’re great cars. The handling is quite nice especially for a plain Jane family sedan. Hopefully you get your Cloud back on the road!

[@Chitwn81]

I bought a red '98 Plymouth Breeze in 2002 while in college had 79k miles on it for $5995. I was financed by Chrysler Financial. It was pretty reliable and the 4 cylinder was pretty peppy. Very roomy for a midsized car.

[@jlcii]

Actually like this cars. Growing up, my mom almost bought a first generation Dodge Stratus. I thought that car was badass looking compared to it's competitors.

[@franzvanjulio5523]

I think of Will Farrell yelling out, “I drive a Dodge Stratus!” on SNL in the 90s. What a treat! You included a clip of that in your video! Thank you!

[@evanmiller5620]

He waited 9:00 to drop it in there. Which was long enough that I started to consider the highly unlikely and deeply disappointing possibility that it was left out. Well played.

[@kilohotel6750]

These used to be all over where I lived but I haven't seen one on the road in years. I think they were all traded in during cash for clunkers and destroyed. Worst subcompact is a toss up between a Daewoo Lanos or a Ford Aspire.

[@texan903]

Since they were mass produced, quality wasn't much of a theme with this line. Resale values being in the gutter, once these cars needed major repairs, junking them was more cost effective.

[@PaulTC777]

My aunty had a chrysler stratus (EU version of Dodge Stratus). I was born in 1997 and that was the car that took me from hospital to home as a newborn. Such a random car in Spain. It had a Mitsubishi engine and it started leaking oil after 100k miles. Sadly she had to scrap it cause it didn't make sense to spend so much money getting it fixed. Most people in my area (non car people) thought it was a Mercedes or a Jaguar.

[@4BillC]

My grandmother had one, can't remember which. I loved that thing! It was a dark Maroon trimmed in gold! It looked a lot better twit sounds. When she passed away it was sold to a guy not too far from me and I still see him driving it from time to time.

[@shaunrutherford7764]

When I was a kid, I went to summer day camp at the army Depot my parents worked at. The parking lot was in view and always had government vehicles for getting around. Most of these were '04-05 Stratus sedans. Whenever I see them, it reminds me of those happy times, regardless of how bad they were. One thing that always bothered me was that the Sebring got a clock between the air vents, but the stratus had to do with a hole.

[@digitalrailroader]

actually, what you're thinking of in the Sebring as a "Clock" was actually an optional Compass/Trip Computer (CMTC). the one in the First Generation Sebring Convertible is a highly sought after upgrade because it was never offered in any of the sedan models. I actually found one in a junkyard and installed it into my 1998 Breeze (and it actually worked too once I figured out which instrument cluster wires i had to tap into!)

[@shaunrutherford7764]

@@digitalrailroader I had to look that up, how about that. Never thought it would be that. I think I was misremembering the white face analog clock between the vents in the '07-'10 Sebring.

[@doug6191]

The original Cloud Cars were nice with the V6, especially the Cirrus.

[@jamesmcintire3800]

I thought these were generally pretty good cars. My mother had a Breeze that she loved! It had the larger 2.4 engine if I remember correctly and was very reliable for her and comfortable too. At the time I also worked for a Chrysler/Plymouth dealership and these were some of the most reliable vehicles that Chrysler built at the time. This was 99-2001 era when Neon’s were popping head gaskets, minivans were blowing transmissions, and the Grand Cherokee had so many problems it was ridiculous.

[@maxusgintus8160]

I remember my mom's cirrus. Black with a v6. Very nice car.

[@matthewbowen5841]

I always thought the Breeze was limited to the 2.0 engine since it was positioned as the cheap model. But apparently they added the 2.4 to the option list after a few years of production.

[@damontroch4765]

Breeze only came with Neon 2.0 132 HP engine

[@matthewbowen5841]

@@damontroch4765 I checked that, too. Looks like they added the 2.4 as an option 2 years in.

[@DJR5280]

My Mom had a 97 Stratus. Was such an upgrade for us growing up. Before that she had an early 90s Carolla SR5. 2 doors with 3 kids was not fun. Her 97 was very reliable and such a looker in 97.

[@titusl2025]

Cab forward styling was my most favorite and memorable past time from 90's era car designs. I think that in the current electric vehicle transition we are seeing a resurgence of the cab forward design direction in the form of the Mercedes EQS, EQE and Kia EV6.

[@Father_of_Death]

The cloud cars may have won MotorTrend but unfortunately they failed the IIHS frontal offset crash test.

[@texan903]

These cars were the rave at the time they were introduced, quite revolutionary in comparison to the downright ugly boxes Chrysler was making for at least the prior decade. I was in the third grade when these came on the market. By the way, both the Cirrus and Stratus saw second generations, with the Cirrus being renamed Sebring.

[@patrickmichael3384]

I’ve always liked these cars too, especially the first generation Stratus and Cirrus. My dad had a ‘95 and a ‘98 V6 Stratus as company cars and they were good to us.

[@nilesmarsteller4590]

I love these cars, I have a 2000 Dodge Stratus with the 2.5l V6, runs perfectly for having 261,000 miles on it, I plan on doing a full refresh on it soon and making it as good as new

[@dariencollins9668]

My aunt had a first generation 2000 Dodge Stratus for 12 years. It never had any issues. She’d probably still be driving the car if it hadn’t been totaled in it’s later years. My mom had a 1996 Plymouth Breeze that was a good car also. I was always fascinated by the “cloud cars.” Personally loved the look of the Chrysler Cirrus. I never see them around anymore. They were everywhere! Can you do a video on the original Dodge Avenger coupe/Chrysler Sebring coupe/Eagle Talon (anything Eagle)?

[@butterflylovenj7300]

The eagle talon was a beauty!!!

[@DavidLLambertmobile]

I did a brief VA-veterans affairs 🏥 job, 1990s. Many VA staff motor pool cars were either Breezes, Dodge Stratus sedans or Chrysler Concordes. A few Dodge mini vans too.

[@arevee9429]

The mid-90's styling for Chrysler was, IMO, a high water mark. Even the Neon looked good and it can be tough to pull off a small sedan that is well proportioned. Two ill proportioned sub-compact sedans that come to mind from the recent past are the Sonic and Fiesta - good as hatchbacks, but in sedan form? Not so much.

[@rjlopez9358]

5 decades of civic hatch sans a decade in US= best daily driver hatch

[@jimmygee3219]

They looked awful

[@black4vcobra]

They did look better than most compact and mid-size cars of the day. Engineering was terrible though, probably on par with Kia at the time.

[@Trance88]

Ever since I was a kid, I've always thought the "Cloud" cars were always nice looking. The first generation is starting to get pretty rare. A friend of mine had a violet 1997 Plymouth Breeze from 2015 to about 2018. I always found it so weird how Chrysler had some of the best looking vehicles on the road in the 90's yet they had the shortest average life span of an any American brand.

[@davemarshall9665]

My old car? Nah, my current car! I deliver pizzas in a 98 Cirrus. Bought it off an elderly missionary lady, it had only 60k miles on it... in 2021!! Great deal, great car, great 90s nostalgia. Love this channel.

[@michaelnobles2643]

The Chrysler cirrus ruled! My mom had one of these. I loved driving it because it handled so well and it seemed very well put together. It was reliable at first, but after a few years, it did start to give her some issue. It did seem for a minute that Chrysler had built some very class competitive cars in the late nineties.

[@jayt1077]

I had an 04 Dodge Stratus back in the day. It thought it was a nice and sporty looking car that didn't give me too many issues.

[@citibear57]

While my Chevy Beretta was once again in the repair shop, I rented a Plymouth Breeze. This was shortly after they had come out. This Breeze got a lot of admiring looks, but I could see that a lot of people were puzzled as to what it was. It had Plymouth's final logo (the stylized sailing ship) and it was in white (not sure if it was called spinnaker white), but it looked great. I enjoyed driving it for a few days. Such a shame that Plymouth disappeared, let a lone the Chrysler Corporation as we knew it.

[@kifhurlbut]

Great job! I was hoping you would throw in the SNL clip. I remember when these cars first came out I was most impressed by the suspension design. It seems like whenever U.S. car makers make real improvements they are invariably rewarded with lower sales. It reminds me of when the Contour replaced the Tempo.

[@DavidLLambertmobile]

Classic Will Ferrall SNL line. It was in a lame "family dinner scene" skit. He 🗣 shouts it for no clear reason! Lol...

[@TheDunenutt]

I still own a 2000 Cirrus, with 42,000 miles on it! Great little car.

[@stephen3164]

I can’t believe these were made past the mid 90’s! I recall access to the battery was through the inner fender of the driver’s side front wheel? Something weird - had to change a battery once and thought my buddy was messing with me, though I couldn’t find it under the hood or in the trunk. Thanks for putting in that SNL clip - a classic!

[@winterburden]

Lol. I had a Dodge Spirit that had an Acclaim badge on the dash.

[@ThePlayerToBeNamedLater]

I had a 96 Breeze. Had to have the head replaced @ 10k miles because of coolant leak. The head they took off was pitted and flawed from the factory. Headlights sucked. Tranny was very laggy. That was my first and last Chrysler product.

[@sirot5561]

Lol yup similar story for me here about my Stratus. First and last Dodge for me 😂💀

[@aaronrocca6276]

Same here but after about 50k miles.

[@justsumguy2u]

My dad had an '01 Stratus---it has some issues. Before 80K, one of the front tie rods broke (thankfully as he was pulling into the driveway at walking speed), and the rear strut mounts broke as well. I will admit though that it was pretty reliable---he never had any major issues with the engine or trans, just a couple of sensors that failed. Rust consumed the lower part of that car before it hit 100K. I remember jacking up the car to fix the tie rods. I put the jack in the jack point on the rocker rail....the car didn't rise, but the jack kept going. Had to use a floor jack under the subframe rail to get it in the air. His had the 2.4 engine, and I liked it--decent power output, and it felt smooth and refined.

[@Newday-crmy]

I sold our 04 Seabring limited three months ago. Got 3k for it. 18 years 98.000 miles. (Wife doesn't go out much) other than regular maintenance. I put a starter and alternator on it. Never had issues with it. Replaced it with the car we sold to get it. Honda Civic. But we loved that car. Lots of good memories.

[@kennethsouthard6042]

In the mid 90s, just about every time I picked a rental car, it was one of these.

[@michaelsimko7694]

I remember seeing tons of the 2 cloud cars on the roads in the 90s. Hardly see them anymore. The second gen Stratus I still occasionally see.

[@davechapinski9383]

My wife has a Plymouth Breeze,I have a Stratus,my love's Breeze is near half million miles,minimal rust,only engine issue was a coil pack,time belts.Incredible cars.On our trips we rented few times,that's how we found these gems,so reliable.

[@wescam2958]

The company I worked for in the early 2000's had a Stratus as an executive car that I often drove. I can't say it impressed me much. Nothing bad and nothing good. It felt like I was driving a big, floating car. Yes, cloud, would be a good description for how it felt. Parallel parking was difficult because I could not see the front nor rear ends. It was sort of a touch and feel exercise. i preferred the squared off designs of the earlier models; easier to drive and park.

[@dalemccartney]

I've had 3 of these Cloud cars and really liked all 3. My 95 Cirrus was the first and had the 2.5 V-6 and was one of the best cars I've owned, followed by a 2001 Stratus with the 2.4, and 02 Chrysler Sebring with the infamous 2.7, which I junked at 125,000 miles when the cooling system began to fail. Today I have a 2012 Ram and a 1988 Chrysler Fifth Avenue. I still see a few of these cars on the road in my area, but both generations of LH platforms are nearly nonexistent.

[@AaronBlair]

Thanks for including the "I DRIVE A DODGE STRATUS" joke from SNL. I reference this joke many times and rarely anyone believes me that it was an SNL skit.

[@luisinhoens90]

My parents got a brand new 2000 Stratus when I was in 4th grade. Little did I know this was going to be my 1st car during my Senior year at HS. It served us very well during the whole 10 years we had it. It survived 2 accidents, several +1000 mile road trips and halfway through college. I ended up replacing it with a 5spd Saturn Vue in 2010 but I saw the Stratus a few more times up and running until about 2017.

[@jeffreyzabawski4862]

I had a Plymouth Breeze that was reliable for me. The worst part was in order to change the Battery you had to remove the drivers side tire.

[@reallyrandomrides1296]

Another car we used to see on the road all the time, but now you hardly ever see. I see more Intrepids and Neons from this era still on the road, and even those, not too often either.

[@bradleymeyer9775]

My aunt had one of these, it was a 2000 Chrysler Cirrus, she had it for 14 years.

[@pjames8077]

It's funny I used to read about the cloud cars in Automobile magazine back in the 90s and was impressed with their styling back then. With the 2.5 in the ES, it was a great road trip car and work car for me; makes me kind of sad they've nearly disappeared from roads today (Even the Eclipse-based coupe, which my father once had). But it wasn't without problems like the Intrepid, which I almost got a few times in years past haha I thought the gauges were cool with the black on white at day, orange backlit numbers at night. I still miss my 2000 Stratus to this day (considering I lost mine in an accident years ago, the video ending is appropriate haha)

[@lathesangiriharan2295]

the title actually has a pun to it, the part that says "had more spirit and acclaim", was referring to the Dodge Spirit and Plymouth Acclaim, which he does reference in the video. Awesome video=)

[@sirot5561]

I had a 98’ Stratus that the engine caught fire when I was driving through the city when I was with my roommate and his gf 🔥🔥🔥 It was terrifying and my roommates gf jumped out and ran down the street screaming 🤣 that was my first and last experience with Dodge 💀🤷🏻‍♂️

[@bernardscheidle5679]

I had a red, two door, 94 Plymouth Sundance, new, for 6 years and 67,000 miles, with a 2.2 litre, 93 hp, 5 spd manual, and I think front and rear anti roll bars (the body stayed very flat during 90 mph sweeping curves on the highway and did not lean at all). The seating position was perfect for a six footer, stretch your legs out straight, lean the seat back, it was like sitting in a roomy space capsule, in a comfy reclined dental chair, and a perfect rest your hands at 9 and 3 steering wheel shelf, and good all day back support. I felt like I was driving a smaller version of a luxury car. I only wiped it down with a bucket of water, no soap, no wax, and a big dogbone foam sponge, and the clear coat looked brand new when I traded it in, of course it was the North where the sun doesn't fry the paint. It had good torque going up big long hills in 5th gear at 70 mph, on Virginia interstate 95. The stylists had tweaked the tailights and front end to look more fluid, and the two very long aircraft carrier sized doors made it real easy to get in and out. The ergonomics boys did good work. Later I installed an alarm system just in case, because in those days Detroit didn't give a shit if your car was stolen. It was also one of the first to have a driver airbag.

[@nicholasfield6127]

I had a 96 Cirrus LXI. Absolutely loved it.

[@moeanthony9308]

Yea same i had the last year in99 . It was a Maroon colour

[@nicholasfield6127]

@@moeanthony9308 mine was gold with the tan interior

[@davidp2888]

I've been in several Chrysler vehicles and none of them appealed to me. Their quality was subpar. Great video!

[@JustJay1281]

I've like the looks and ride of a lot of the Dodge/Chryslers, but like you their quality and reliability is very much lacking. Never met a person that didn't complain about them constantly needing repairs.

[@GLHS592]

These were great cars. Every one I've ever been associated with were very reliable. My uncle is still driving a first gen. with tons of miles on it. It wasn't treated very nice when my cousin drove it. I always find it humorous when people run down older Chrysler products and say "I don't see any 80s/90s Chrysler products anymore." When was the last time you saw much of anything from that era? I rarely see 80s/90s cars, period.

[@homiecwhite1496]

90s and even 80s Hondas and Toyotas are seen all the time. And I still drive one.

[@GLHS592]

@@homiecwhite1496 I hardly see anything from that era. When I do, it's usually a Ford/Dodge/Chevy truck.

[@averyalexander2303]

@@homiecwhite1496 Here in the Memphis area I see quite a few 90s Hondas, especially the 5th and 6th gen Accords and even a few 4th gen Accords. But 80s cars of any kind aren't common around here other than with my two car enthusiast neighbors. There are still a lot of 80s trucks though.

[@konradhittner4668]

I had a ‘97 Plymouth Breeze that we bought from my wife’s grandmother @39K miles. The car was roomy and comfortable, but the 2.0liter engine didn’t make it to 50K before it blew its head gasket, a well-known fault in those engines. After the new head gasket, we drove it to 114K before my MIL offered to sell us her’02 Camry with the same mileage in 2009. Asking ourselves “which car, the Breeze or the Camry, is more likely to make it to 200K miles?”, we bought the Camry. We made the right decision-our son is still daily-driving that Camry with 316K miles.

[@grovermayersjr8025]

I had a 1998 Plymouth Breeze. Bought it on the spot at a Chevrolet dealer when my 1994 Baretta Z26, that I bought brand new, went crazy electronically. But, that's another story. The Breeze was really well built and reliable for a Chrysler product. It was roomier inside than my beloved Grand Marquis LS. And the fuel injected 2.4 engine got decent gas mileage and quite peppy, too.

[@upeedinalamb5297]

This lamb also had a Beretta with lots of electrical issues.

[@grovermayersjr8025]

@@upeedinalamb5297 Doggone, I misspelled Beretta. Sorry about that. It was such a pretty car. Should have known it was a lemon when they had to replace the entire air conditioning system two weeks after I bought it. Then after I payed it off, the electronics went nuts.

[@Jumphurd6145]

My mom had a 2000 Plymouth Breeze and my uncle had a 1997 Plymouth Breeze. We loved them!

[@TheBdavis231]

The Chrysler cloud cars were mad underrated.

[@Chrisdrd]

There was also a Stratus race car in the short lived North American Touring Car Championship. It won quit a few races, beating BMW 3s and Accords. It was available on BAT a few years ago but didn't have the race engine.

[@fanoffast2429]

Had a 97 plymouth breeze for 9 years. I absolutely loved that car. I paid 800 dollars for her and it had 180,000 miles, we finally got ride of it at 260,000. Original engine but the tranny wond up knocking a pretty big hole in the case when the differential came apart. I still drove it for a week with ot leaking a quart of atf to work and a quart back. I held on to her for a year until I found another transmission. It's been six years and the wife and I still miss her

[@rocega2005]

I had a gold Stratus from new for 10 years and enjoyed it so very much. Thanks for the memories 👍🏻

[@bgwalthney]

I had a Chrysler Cirrus LXI and to this day it has always been my favorite car I’ve ever owned.

[@g.c.brooks7214]

I remember when the 1st Chrysler cloud cars came out as well I thought they were pretty cool and huge improvement over the K-cars which I absolutely loathed. It's a shame their replacements were a step back. This also reminds that Daimler-Benz ruined Chrysler. You also get extra points for including the Dodge Stratus coupe video from Neutral Drop....🤣😂🤣😂

[@manthony225]

There wouldn't have been a 2000's 300, Charger or Challenger without Mercedes's rwd platform.

[@g.c.brooks7214]

@@manthony225 Chrysler really didn't need Mercedes-Benz technology to develop a rwd platform. Mercedes only gave it to them grudging. They were already planning to revive the Charger and had already shown off a prototype at auto shows. On the whole Daimler takeover caused Chrysler product development to stagnate and their quality arguably became worse.

[@jeremystout412]

I couldn’t agree with you more! Not to mention most of the “successors” didn’t last long at all. The interiors were significantly worse as well. Plastics that look almost identical to an Igloo cooler… sad. I don’t think there was really any soft touch materials on a Daimler-Chrysler vehicle compared to the mid-late 90s models prior to Daimler. Daimler even gradually plucked features away from a lot of the existing cars, so it was doomed from the get go. But remember “merger of equals.” (:

[@Stackz294]

I have a 2001 coup Sebring and I absolutely love my old car. She’s never gave me trouble and picks up nicely

[@coby3357]

I watch most of your videos because it's great content, but I watched this one just make sure you had Will Farrell screaming "I DRIVE A DODGE STRATUS" somewhere in the video. You did not disappoint.

[@CheapBastard1988]

My mom used to own a 1997 Chrysler Stratus 2.5 LE from 2005 to 2012. For me it was the first car I drove after passing my driving test and the first car I ever drove with an automatic transmission. It was a good car overall. The things I would criticise are the steering and braking which really lacked feeling (especially the ABS engaging was frightening). The car was generally very reliable, but in Europe parts were very expensive compared to European cars. Ultimately it was sadly written off, after some guy who wasn't paying attention ran into us. It had done about 200.000km (around 125.000 miles) at that point but it really had a lot more life left in it. The main weakness was the gearbox I think, which very rarely would refuse to engage drive.

[@nicholas440]

I had a 2003 300m special. Amazing car and handled so well

[@jslick7in]

Had a 1999 Camry 4cyl which I traded for a 2000 Cirrus 6cyl...the Cirrus got better gas mileage than the Camry and had a hell of a lot better get up and go! Never an issue with the car at all with about 70k miles when traded for a Sebring...which was totally trouble free as well. Chrysler used to make fantastic cars!!!!

[@dylanmooney327]

I was waiting for this video!

[@bernie8537]

The office I worked for in the mid 90’s switched from using the Ford Taurus to the Chrysler Cirrus. As a young 20 something I thought the Cirrus was a great car and a step up from the 87 Shadow I owned just a few years before. Unfortunately, the transmission issue that plagued the 90’s Chrysler minivans, were also seen in this car (my experience)

[@kirkericson2722]

These have long been extinct in my area, unlike Accords and Camrys from the same era. That Plymouth was so cheap it had unpainted black door handles. It's been a while since we've seen cost cutting like that.

[@T-41]

Over the years I bought two low mileage, well maintained used Sebring convertibles, still have the second one. The styling is attractive. They handle nicely and are very fun to drive with the top up or down. The back seat is roomy enough to make these cars real 4 passenger vehicles. The trunk. Is big enough to hold our luggage for long road trips. The convertible top is fully insulated so the car is pretty quiet and comfortable and in the winter . The 2.5 liter V6 is peppy and gets almost 30 mpg in highway driving. Not much to dislike.

[@adamzalatan1501]

Great episode! I recommend the Nissan 240SX. My older sister had one 2 decades ago. I was able to borrow it a few times and drove it VERY carefully (😉). So much fun to drive! The interior was so cool!

[@maxusgintus8160]

I remember my mom's cirrus. Nice car, black, v6, beautiful car. Still miss that thing.

[@aayonce4]

my friend's mom had one back in the day a purple one. that engine was so strong and she always was whipping that car omg even with the manual windows that car will forever be iconic !!! I can still smell the aroma of the upholstery ! it had a distinct smell lolz everytime

[@mackaybear]

I had a 99 Chrysler Cirrus and it was one of the best cars I ever owned. Chrysler for that year only sold them fully loaded with all options. It was comfortable, fast, handled very well in the wet and snow of the PNW. I quite literally ran the wheels off of it until it was totaled by a soccer mom obtusely running a stop sign with a minivan full of kids in 2008. 200,000 miles without any major repairs only standard maintenance

[@moeanthony9308]

Yea that’s right It had the six pack CD player too

[@dabnisbrickey6527]

I'm pretty sure you could get them fully loaded any year of production

[@mack.attack]

I was so hoping you'd include I DRIVE A DODGE STRATUS and you delivered 😂

[@mikegrappone9078]

Very well done!

[@adamtrombino106]

My mother bought a blk on grey 97 Stratus ES sedan with the 2.4L and 4 auto new. It was a very nice car, and certainly a step above her old 87 Lancer ES turbo. She sold the car in 2004 for a Chrysler Sebring LX sedan which was special ordered. Both cars ran for many yrs with their new owners. The 97 IMO drove and handled better than the more softly sprung Chrysler, and a timing belt failure caused its demise. The Chrysler went through 2 more owners before the transmission failed and because it had over 200k on it, was deemed too expensive to fix. These are nice bread and butter cars with good mileage, decent electronics as well as features.

[@itsnotme07]

I had the pleasure of driving many of these cloud cars in the 90's, due to my "college job" working at Avis in Boston. Mostly fun cars, but not really built for the daily grind that is Boston traffic. Cool review and video! Look forward to the Sebring video, as I've had a couple Chrysler Sebring Convertibles, a 97 JX for 4 years and 01 Limited since 2001, yep, still in the garage, runs/looks great for 21 years old.

[@BrettLeMans]

Did you have a talking bear named TED...?! JK ;)

[@TheRealSuperJ]

I love that you chose a Neutral Drop clip to show the second gen Stratus.

[@matthewbowen5841]

On a trip to Florida in 2000, we rented a loaded Stratus ES. White with a dark gray leather interior, fog lights, alloys, every option. It seemed like such a nice car. It had been a couple of years at that point since the luster had started to fade from the early production raves from the car magazines. These did have a fairly well tuned, decently sophisticated suspension, really low center of gravity, the cab forward driver position, and decent-ish power from the Mitsu V6. I wish you had ventured off into more on the first gen Sebring/Avenger DSM coupes. Those had interesting Mitsu mechanicals and, at least to me, pretty darn good styling.

[@jonathanryan2915]

That was a great Neutral Drop video!

[@johnsmith2179]

I had a stratus in high school talk about a rolling headache had it for 8 months changed radiator,head gasket,2 control arms,3 cv axles and a torque converter absolute nightmare of a car

[@JuniorExecutive1987]

The DRAMA of that voiceover for the Japanese market Stratus!

[@mickeydelplace4343]

I was hoping for the “I DRIVE A DODGE STRATUS!” Will Ferrell quote and was not disappointed, thank you

[@videogamenoob100]

Yes a top 10 list would be fun!

[@tomjanowski8584]

I had a Cirrus for a week as a rental in 1996. Loved it.

[@vincedibona4687]

@9:39 - “Now, them Duke boys always did have a knack for getting into trouble…”. 🤣

[@RVPartsGerald]

The Datsun/Nissan 720 pickup line would be a great candidate for a future episode of My Old Car. Thank you for the old car footage.

[@dennisud]

I remember seeing a whole lot of these then Poof gone! I await the next excellent video!

[@thetransplanner]

I was waiting the whole video for the SNL clip. Thank you.

[@FPH-yi8yl]

Years ago my Audi had to spend a few days in the body shop after getting creamed in the parking lot by an F350. Fortunately, the driver was retired military and his USAA insurance took care of the (expensive!) repair plus a rental car. Unfortunately, the rental car was a 99 Chevy Malibu. After driving the Malibu for two days I called the rental office and asked if I could please have something else. I felt like I was sitting on 2x4's while steering a canoe. The replacement was a Chrysler Cirrus. I was pleasantly surprised by the ride, handling, and seat comfort. The controls had a quality feel too. It was leaps and bounds better than the Malibu.

[@robertmoore2049]

You said cloud cars, I kept thinking clown car is for some reason! I’m really liking your channel to learn about the history of cars. Thanks for your hard work!

[@DJR5280]

My Mom had a 97 Stratus and 2002 Stratus R/T sedan. The 2002 was a fantastic car and got so much attention. It had a 2.7L V6 and 5 speed manual. I loved that car growing up. I still see 90s Chrysler cars on the roads. A lot of Neons. Some Stratus and Intrepid. I loved Dodge. Sad they are slowly dying.

[@crsrdash-840b5]

My first car was the 2000 Dodge Stratus SE model. I have learned that this was a unique 2.5 transition model. It was the end of the first era Cloud cars and intro to the new 2001 versions. It stand alone in engine and features than the earlier models.

[@butterflylovenj7300]

I used to see these cars all over the place in high school... Today I rarely see them on the road. A lot of military recruiters drove them too. I drove a Plymouth acclaim I'm drivers Ed back in high school.

[@beezlebub3955]

Haha I love that you used Neutral Drops Stratus beat down, that was a legendary whooping