MotorWeek Review | 1984 Dodge 600ES

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[@tonychavez2083]

2.2 turbo motor was very reliable and durable. I remember thinking it was so futuristic and high tech at the time.

[@jaka286]

I owned a 1985 white Dodge 600 SE in my sophomore year 1996-1997 in high school. My neighbor and I rebuilt the entire engine in 1996 and when we were done he gifted me this vehicle. It was my first car and I loved it. Unfortunately p, it was totaled by a snow plow in early 1998 and I could never find another one. Later on in 1999 I found a 1985 Chrysler New Yorker. Exterior was nice but the dealership was trying to over charge me because of my age at the time. I was 19.. I remember this dealership on Chicago’s northwest side was trying to charge me like $15k…. 😂

[@mexicanspec]

They were trying to charge you $15K for a 14 year old K car?

[@georgewilson1184]

Chicago car dealers are notorious for being the most corrupt underhanded in the 🇺🇸

[@ErikDB6]

Decent car. Tons of room in a small and economical package. Definitely more fun then any comparable mid size sedan you can buy today.

[@fernandorocha-dx1wv]

Great and excellent car

[@ChevyCitation]

When those K-Cars went "Fuel Infection" 80% of the Driveability Problems went away

[@kcarman88]

Pretty much, i dont mind the carbed 2.2 though, i got rid of the feedback holley on my 400 in favor of the non feedback 5220 found on early omnis with the vw engine.

[@g-mang-man7924]

They ran much better, but the turbo cars had WAY more oil leaks!

[@mexicanspec]

I had the same car with no turbo but with the 5 speed in dark red. I found it to be a capable highway car for very little money.

[@landyachtfan79]

The first American car that talked to you!!!!

[@ChevyCitation]

Beep Beep Beep "Don't Forget Your Keys" Beep Beep Beep "Please Fasten Your Seat Belt" Beep Beep Beep "Your Fuel Level Is Low" Beep Beep Beep "Your Parking Brake Is On"

[@ront769]

'Your door is ajar'

[@boggy7665]

@@ront769 Your Door Is A Jar'

[@ront769]

@@boggy7665 I think it was A Jar!

[@4HBirtcher]

Chrysler E class is basically a fancier version of the K car!

[@fernandorocha8459]

Dodge 600 ES is version of K car

[@us1fedvet]

Nothing wrong with that. Every manufacturer leverages other chassis into various uses.

[@bevorules77]

The 600 was basically a K Car that was stretched a few inches for more back seat room. The width was the same so that Chrysler could recycle the dashboard and other components from the K Cars.

[@MrPFFlyer]

One day back in the late 80s, I went nuts. I bought an 84 600ES convertible, then I had Dan Dvorak whack out the bores and a bunch of other stuff. Some super exhaust pipe bender guy fit the car with 2 1/4 pipes nicely tucked underneath. I put head studs in, modified the intake and the turbo, called a buddy from Allied Signal (suppliers for the Mexican police LeBarons)...got a one of none stall converter into the trans that I modified to hold up to all this madness. Put some 88 or later CV axles and hub bearings into it. Blah blah blah....then I went out an kicked ass on Ford Mustangs...with the top down. Yeah, let the haters start hating and crying BS...I lived it, it happened, and it was fun, fun fun. Have a nice life.

[@Sheepleton]

So what if a Mustang had the same amount of time and money put into it?

[@MrPFFlyer]

@@Sheepleton And in a short time, that's exactly what started turning up on the streets..Mustangs that would blow my doors off everywhere. That ES was just an exercise in fun and I knew it wouldn't last long as real powerful street cars where just coming into dominance. And now, the fast/quick cars of those days are absolutely nothing compared to what people have created for the streets. Have a great 2023.

[@dmiller1000]

I had an '83 600ES with the stick, from 1987-1996, but without the turbo of course. It was not a bad car to drive - I thought it handled rather well - I had come off a Volare, and traded the ES in for a new Camry. The Camry was a far superior car in many ways, but I still liked the 600ES. The 2010 Mazda3 I own now is slightly reminiscent of the ES, but of course better again in many ways, not the least of which is having 27 years of more advanced tech.

[@comgeek24]

4:28 Electronic Voice Alert! My grandfather had an ‘84 600 with almost every option but the EVA, digital dash and rear subwoofer. He babied that thing until my grandmother died, then gave it to my mom.

[@Stressless2023]

Had a great uncle that was in his 80's already who had one of these Dodge 600's. Visited him fairly often with my mom in the early 90's when I was 7 or 8 maybe. Remember it being a tan 4-door like this one.

[@matthewbowen5841]

That's a 50% improvement in power year to year!

[@kyllmann]

I’ve never seen so much beige in a single video 😁

[@mattc9875]

The color of vintage, along with lots of leather, old fashioned concepts & accessories and a touch of nostalgia

[@Sellout1]

I love this vintage car footage

[@ProjectFairmont]

This car always struck me as a transparent K car stretch. The GM A cars were much more resolved X car based autos, and even FoMoCo downsized LTD/Marquis Fairmont based cars were more thoroughly executed….

[@rabit818]

This was pretty rare even at the time. The ‘600:ES’ logo is similar to Mercedes Benz.

[@RoadCone411]

I don't know, I used to see these cars quite a lot when I was a kid. Then again, I guess most K-car variants kind of blended into one homogenized mass of bland styling stretched one way or another with squared off edges traded for more rounded edges as the cars matured. Key exceptions to this were the minivans and LeBaron GTS/Lancer, which had their own non K-car look.

[@JazzzRockFuzion]

A true sports car-like 0-60 time of 10.2 seconds!!

[@ljmorris6496]

Many V8s sedans were getting 11sec to 60 when this car was new..

[@kcarman88]

My turbo new yorker with light mods sprints to 60 in 7.5 seconds

[@BlackPill-pu4vi]

Considering what American car buyers had become accustomed to in the 1970's, those 0-60 times were very good.

[@owlnswan4016]

I'm surprised the 1/4 mile performance is that good. For a car like this from 1984, that's pretty impressive.

[@ErikDB6]

@@BlackPill-pu4vi They we’re better then most mid sized 60s cars too.

[@peters8758]

My second cheap used K-car died just after my daughter said she wanted to learn to drive a stick shift, so I scooped a low mileage 5-speed 1984 Dodge 600ES Eurosport with 2.2 turbo and digital dash for $900 (I felt the power curve would help give her an instinct not to upshift early). The Eurosport trim involved more black, way less chrome, and looked very nice on gun-metal grey. Daughter soon decided automatic involved less thinking and so I got to do my daily work runs on the 600ES. When it ran it was superlative, but Chryco was trying to avoid using a mass airflow system by matching manifold pressure, rpm, air temp, vehicle speed etc with a huge lookup table programmed into the all-new MPFI ECU to guess density and calculate fuel squirt and ignition timing (with barely enough CPU for the job so early versions used a mechanical wastegate to reduce thinking delay). Every so often it would get screwy data that was not anticipated by the lookup table and would just stop, and stay dead for an hour or maybe a day. Error codes would show by counting engine light blink patterns, but usually NONE or improbable ones popped up (eg. A/C error on a car without A/C). Or during winter, the long snaky hose bringing barometric pressure to the sensor (unwisely placed on an ECU located in the passenger footwell) would clog with icy condensate, so idle speed would jump to over 2000 rpm -- a bit high as you try to decelerate towards a red light while the turbo is getting what it needs to spool up. Local Dodge dealer was stumped -- maybe ECU (nope), Power Module (more money), a full set of fuel injectors, bad module ground (still no), etc etc. Another Chrysler fan wanted it, and begged to swap my ES for his 600SE (non-turbo TBI) with a leaky ragtop. I warned him, and during his test ride it acted up big-time. He still wanted it and I wanted it gone. Hope he's still happy...

[@dgw4049]

I had the black convertible version in high school. I could visit my gf on the other side of town and make it home on $1 of gas. The car was good on gas, but was very unreliable. At 100k it needed starter, top, alternator, radiator, turbo, ac compressor, window regulators, power locks, door handles, etc. I was always fixing that car. It caught on fire once too. Flames right thru those hood vents.

[@us1fedvet]

They were a good car.

[@patricksaint-pierre7768]

Apart from an engine replacement (2.6) and a transmission, the car was stellar. At least the voice worked until the end.

[@Kgio-2112]

John so calm and relaxed in the early-mid 80s. Later on, his voice got all silly and hyper.

[@DroneAndBimmerGyal]

I think he was still in his younger years, and stopped smoking weed as time went on. Unsuppressed by weed - incrementally we saw the hyper chipmunk John eventually became. Alongside becoming more anxious, not smoking herb gave him another side effect which was a painful aversion to cars without at least six auxillary gauges.

[@DroneAndBimmerGyal]

I also forgot to say something hellishly important. What a fucking diabolical excuse of a car.

[@Kgio-2112]

@@DroneAndBimmerGyal maybe it was coke. And he hates the digital dash!

[@Kgio-2112]

@@DroneAndBimmerGyal it's the way it was back then. But in many ways, it was a better world.

[@stevethemechanic8099]

He spoke with increased energy and enthusiasm to make the show more interesting to viewers

[@jeffdalrymple1634]

This must have aired before the Bhopal incident, since Union Carbide sold their Prestone brand afterwards.

[@matthewcaughey8898]

Oh yeah they gassed all those folks to death

[@payamyazdi7672]

In 1989 my uncle bought a very clean 1967 mercury cougar with V8&manual gearbox for 800$.

[@Stressless2023]

That was probably alot of money for what was just an old car back then lol. Different story today.

[@joeseeking3572]

Having been cursed with an 83 E Class, 2.2 auto, I'd have liked to have experienced what the ES Turbo stick was capable of. Might have transformed the car into something not only liveable, but enjoyable. The E Class was neither, and no one in the family was sad to see it go after I think only one year. Yeah, it was that bad.

[@vanargrand3199]

@@karlwithak1835 Nah. I love the horrible American cars of the 1980's. We gave the world the greatest car designs in the 1950's. This may be bad, but don't forget Britain had Leyland.

[@kcarman88]

A 2.2 turbo behind a 5 speed makes for a fun ride.

[@Stressless2023]

@@karlwithak1835 Say you're just a Toyota fanboy without saying it.

[@Brickman1000]

I wonder if any of these still exist today? I’m a little bit of a fanboy of Chrysler cars from that era, not the best ever but they are pretty damn cool in a weird way

[@danielpassigmailcom]

I saw a K-car driving around a couple of weeks ago

[@ClassicTVMan1981X]

Probably not as many with the turbo since 1984 was the only year the 600 ES had that particular engine. You are more likely to find the K-body-based 600 ES convertible, which ran through 1986 (that last model year had the same "gunsight" grille first used on the 1985 Aries).

[@darylkik6204]

Had one in the service in California in 1992. Had to drive up to a city Victorville for a weekend job. Air conditioning off, get into the slowest lane and get ready for the truckers upset thinking I could go faster. I have never been so embarrassed in my life. And the 600 on the back is meant to confuse the car with a Mercedes. They didnt fool anyone. And do not forget who helped bail them out. On the base they were our patrol cars, staff cars, and it was sad.

[@peters8758]

In a previous comment here I highlighted some driveability problems with my 1984 600ES turbo, but I should point out its ability to bring a huge grin to the driver (when the ECU is behaving). I had heard the 5-speed was balky but as the review here describes, this was improved by 1984. Coupled with the new turbo, the 600ES could stay unnoticed on the highway till some Type-R Boi looms closer in the passing lane. Slip down into third, and with turbo now spooled, nail it as he pulls even. It's soon time to hit 4th, which is a huge kick forward when done with the revs up. Boi can catch up but his Acura's out of torque when he shifts into top gear, and the Dodge has huge reserves of it left when it's time to show him you have your own 5th gear. Type-R's doors blown off by the disappearing taillights of a K-car (E-body really, but he never noticed one before). How humiliating!

[@gbNelson79]

"...electronic wiz-bang unit." LOL

[@ClassicTVMan1981X]

1984 was the second and final year for the 600 ES sedan, and the first and only year this trim package had the turbo option; for 1985, the 600 ES sedan was replaced by the Lancer ES Turbo hatchback, but the K-body 600 ES convertible would remain through 1986.

[@arevee9429]

A friend had a new turbo LeBaron in 1986. It was quite a spiffy car for the time, though the engine might as well have been a turbocharged John Deere - it really was crude. The car was long on features and short on refinement.

[@lab1042]

3:11 Doesn't look like the badge is sitting flush on the trunk lid. So much for quality.

[@johnrose954]

It wasn't flush because it was a cover for the trunk key.

[@Stressless2023]

@@johnrose954 He's talking about the 600 ES badge. And yeah it did look like it was ready to fall off after the first car wash lol.

[@johnrose954]

​@@Stressless2023 I see what you're talking about now. Thanks

[@kcarman88]

Hot air boost..nice reference to the log T1 manifold

[@Butchcub75]

Always wanted one of these, only had two Plymouth Caravelles, one 2.2 one 2.5 neither a turbo nor a 5 speed

[@kcarman88]

I want a stick es very bad, more so an 85 as it is easy to convert to a t2

[@hellhound47bravo3]

Family had a couple of 600s back in the day. But getting one with a manual? That might have been interesting.

[@carterbishop2935]

sports car like 0-60 of 10.2 seconds! I used to sell these cars brand new back in the day. Good value for the money.

[@brandonvaughn8382]

😍

[@kcarman88]

The perfect k car

[@ebwholesaler]

Why not buy a 1984 Chevrolet Caprice or a Ford Limited ?

[@bextar6365]

I owned a 1983 D 600 with the noisy Mitsu 2.6 non turbo. Nothing special except for the super comfortable front seats ..

[@Doobie1975]

Surprised to see one with a 5 speed, most of them seem to come with an automatic

[@davidhaney9986]

Do the back seats fold down?

[@emmaatuks6809]

That was when iron bullet proof cars where made then. Now is full of plastic toys.

[@fernandorocha901]

Beautiful car. What hp and torque of 2.2 turbo charger in Dodge 600 ES

[@kcarman88]

142 for 1984 and 178 ft lbs

[@ConstanceCox]

Lololol

[@guit57strat]

ok, so at 1:14 the drivers door is a different color, going right along with 80' Dodge attention to detail.

[@JoesGoldenGarage]

is it just me or is the drivers door mismatched in paint? lol

[@DSRQ1]

By this point domestics were continuing their downward path of ceding a huge portion of marketshare to imports. Execs thought this laughably absurd Benz knockoff would fool American buyers.

[@georgewilson1184]

I doubt it could top the Plymouth Caravelle

[@mexicanspec]

VW had a Caravelle as well.

[@edgarbeat2851]

Union Carbide....Yikes

[@mattpierce1795]

Chrysler must’ve discounted these things heavily off that MSRP to move these, because why would anyone buy this thing over the other entry level luxury sedans. In 1984 you had the Toyota Cressida, Nissan maxima, Audi 4000 in this price range. Some of y’all 80s folk blow my mind

[@onekoneb]

"Sports sedan". What sad times.

[@mattg5022]

at around 1:09 you can just tell the paint is not even close to matching . . . looking at the front quarter panel compared to the rest of the car. That level of build-quality probably sums this up this piece of work from the Pentastar . . . to think that back in the day people took on debt for this thing . . .

[@mattpierce1795]

I think People just had no balls and would just tuck tail and buy vehicles like this over the better foreign competitors to avoid being shunned at church, work, by friends etc.. sad.

[@ENDTIMEsVideoLibrary]

Give a nickel for every one still on the road today!!

[@TwoDollarGararge]

I've seen 2

[@ENDTIMEsVideoLibrary]

@@TwoDollarGararge 10 Cents for you!! Check's in the Virtual Mail!!

[@kcarman88]

20 cents, as thats whats in my collection.

[@TwoDollarGararge]

@@ENDTIMEsVideoLibrary one from an old lady that lives next to my grandma and a coworker that found a Dodge 600 wagon he just decided to give it a driver restoration

[@ENDTIMEsVideoLibrary]

@@TwoDollarGararge What's goin on here!! You guys tryin to make me broke!! Lol!

[@briank.8925]

E car line up.

[@garyhoutz1540]

Kcar luxury, never was a good idea.

[@WrokBindsor]

Ahhh John Davis when his voice wasn't so sing-song sanctimonious!

[@blau325]

0 to 60 in 10.2 seconds...."Sports car like". Lol

[@aaronwilliams6989]

Long? Not exactly.

[@JohnCassis]

Im glad I was a toddler in 1984 and didnt have to drive. ROFL 10.2 seconds 0-60 "sports car like" my 6000 lb truck does 0-60 in 4 seconds. late 70s and the 80s must have been a miserable time to drive. 55 MPH speed limit and 142 HP was considered good? Jesus. 99 hp without the turbo? 99 HP isn't enough power for a golf cart never mind a car.

[@Kgio-2112]

It was a better time. Nowadays, everyone drives like jackasses riding your tail. 200+ hp was a novelty. Now, dance moms and everyone else is driving that and more . They can't drive to begin with.

[@Raptor3388]

Why is the same comment written on EVERY vintage video. If you can't understand that technology improves... And 150 years ago, going 100kph was simply unheard of, so why are you comparing a 40 years old commuter car to a brand new super powerful truck.

[@BogattheMoon]

Imagine that 0-60 time of your half ton pickup if you did grow up then, same age as you are now. This car would have smoked your shit all day long..lol

[@new2000car]

So many slow new cars in late 70s early 80s. A vastly better choice than this car would be a new 302 equipped ford fairmont. Faster, more reliable and total cost of ownership including fuel less. This k car was like made of cardboard. Go over a bad pothole and the frame would bend, and stay bent permanently.

[@Kgio-2112]

@@new2000car bent chassis? Easy fix. Just need a tow chain and an old oak tree

[@MarkGelderland]

They even tried to sell this car in Europe ; what were they thinking

[@Andyface79]

Ummm. THIS was supposed to compete with BMW? Ambitious but crack smokingly wrong.

[@ljmorris6496]

USDM BMWs were nothing to write home about in '84 other than price, this was probably was faster..

[@Andyface79]

@@ljmorris6496 The BMW E30 is one of the most revered sports sedans ever. The k-car was important, saved Chrysler and introduced American’s to front wheel drive. But that 600 is nowhere close in dynamics, fun, or interior design.

[@ljmorris6496]

@@Andyface79 kzbin.info/www/bejne/f520YYxvf7l-i80 I'll let them explain it better than blindingly ride on Bmw's coattails...

[@Andyface79]

@@ljmorris6496 Yes. The engine was underpowered. But it handled better and once it got the V6 it outperformed this car. And the interior, even with the cloth is more tasteful, and it looks better.

[@ljmorris6496]

@@Andyface79 "Once it got the v6" we're talking about the '84 year only, plus what v6 BMW made then?, you ment i6?. The intercooled turbo 2.2 equipped cars outperformed US BMWs i6 if you're going by that in the 80s, the only US 3 series worth getting back then was the M3. As said the engine performance was on par with the BMW, it cost less, easier to maintain, roomier and more practical since we're talking about a sedan.

[@Doc1855]

I had one but it was the turbo. It ran perfectly until it hit 60K miles and then it blew a head gasket every 10K miles. It turned out to be a POS. I’ll NEVER EVER own another Chrysler product Ever again

[@Stressless2023]

Because of a 1980's car? That's logical lol.

[@Doc1855]

@@Stressless2023 The engine’s (4cyl) of Chrysler corp were made by Mitsubishi.

[@Stressless2023]

@@Doc1855 No they weren't. The 2.6L that they used in some K cars was a Mitsubishi engine. The majority of their engine plants were and still are based near Detroit not far from their design studio. The 2.2L from this video was not a Mitsubishi engine.

[@Doc1855]

@@Stressless2023 The turbo engine I had was a Mitsubishi. My Dodge was an 86. I’ve also had a Dodge 2500 Diesel (Cummins) 4.9L and the transmissions failed constantly. Now Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep are owned by FIAT and everyone on the planet knows that FIAT can only build a POS vehicle

[@ErikDB6]

@@Doc1855 So you won’t buy a Chrysler 40 years later because of something that Mitsubishi built? That makes sense.