Two L And Hatch Back

Steve uses a 1985 Dodge Charger and 1986 Plymouth Turismo as proof Chrysler was building front wheel drive cars long before the 1981 Omni / Horizon K-Cars arrived. But did you know these cars had different names before 1982? You will after watching this video.

[@morganmeehan5199]

Canceled?! Whaddya mean we're cancelled?!

[@michaelatkins9780]

I blame Frieberger.

[@kencraig7308]

Should have been frieburger 🤬

[@SteveMagnante]

@@michaelatkins9780 Actually David Freiburger was IN FAVOR of more Roadkill's Junkyard Gold. It was the arrival of Decision Makers from the merger with Velocity Channel that snuffed my little junkyard show in favor of "scripted reality" stuff. Long Live KZbin!!!! Thanks for watching and writing. -Steve Magnante

[@johnboydTx]

​@@SteveMagnante Bean Counter's 😡 Some people spend 40 thousand dollars on a newer truck?? Some spend 40 thousand on a 1970s and early truck ..... One's transportation to a point on a map ??? One's an adventure to a destination ☺️ you have to decide what you want??? Happy motoring 🤠✌️ Keep up the great episodes 👌👏👏👏

[@MechaFenris]

​@SteveMagnante I still loved the show.. even though I wanted more episodes 😊

[@GLHS592]

I still have my 1985 Shelby Charger and 1987 Charger GLHS. Both cars have been very dependable. If you keep up with maintenance, they will last forever.

[@mattskustomkreations]

I tried looking for these and the Omni counterparts in the early 90s. All were ragged out and the owners/abusers were asking way too much for the condition.

[@samholdsworth420]

Good man 👍

[@raymondellis5720]

I worked for a Chrysler/Plymouth dealership in 1979. The Horizons and TC-3s would literally sell right off the truck! They weren't bad little cars. Fairly peppy, tight and handled pretty well. Also the four door Horizon was very roomy on the inside. Front wheel drive meant they handled snow real well here in New Hampshire. ( back in the day when the only people driving SUVs were farmers! ) The only engine available in '79 was the VW 1.7. My parents bought a base model to replace their "65 Belvedere (that I still own) that they drove for many years. As a matter of fact my wife and I would borrow the Horizon whenever we went to Boston and wanted a car that was good on gas to putter around in traffic. It got around 38 miles to the gallon; again it was a stripper model. Great video as always Steve and keep referencing scale model cars. As a young boy in the sixties, I learned all about cars by building models. Thanks!

[@josephnash3015]

I was 16-17 when I got hired to move these cars to the mall for a weekend sale. I grew up in SW Michigan, and they were the turbo version with 5 speeds. As kids, we drove them like they were stolen. We thought they were pretty bad ass. I do remember the manager tell us to watch our speed because the speedo/odometers weren’t hooked up! Which years later I learned a lot of dealers got in trouble for. Thanks for the memory jogger Steve!

[@05milmachine90]

My family in the 80s was riddled with these. Our family reunion looked like a Dodge/plymouth/chrysler dealership. I do remember turning off the AC so we could pass a car on the highway.

[@01trsmar]

Must have had a VW or Mitsubishi engine,the 2.2 versions of these were quick! 5 seconds to 50 mph not bad for the 80's..

[@84GordonShumway]

"Bad Memories" sums it up! My first car in college, a Plymouth TC3. It wasn't college that put me in debt, it was trying to keep the TC3 running that did! Aluminum head, underpowered, weak overall, doors that would and would not open when they wanted to....but a good looking body for what was out there. Thanks for the "Bad Memories" Steve and Shane, Glad to see you made it up the hill to these building blocks in Chrysler's story!

[@Daniel-fd3wp]

Ah man funny comment yah those were not reliable vehicles. 👍

[@unitedcity_mc4421]

@@Daniel-fd3wpI hope you’re not making fun of those cars.

[@rixkafer56]

Well said as always Steve ! The kids today dont know the pain we suffered watching cars like these roll off the assembly lines ha !HA!! Thanks again

[@davidpawson7393]

Having a mini truck engine in my Celica GT-S sucked but did teach me to drive at the limit carrying momentum and handling was what I focused on as a teenager with limited funds. Then came the 4th gen Supra....I cried but got to drive them almost daily.

[@lookingupwards8652]

Steve, thank you for the contact on your channel. It’s very educational and I get a lot out of every episode.

[@davidp2888]

These segments are always fun and informative. Thanks for all you do, Steve.

[@charlesdalton985]

The Shelby cars from this era were really impressive. It’s hard to believe but a GLH beat a GT 350 around the track, handily. Thank you as always for these videos - Chuck

[@corvairjim1]

Because Ford...

[@JerroldSullivan-nt7qj]

@@corvairjim1 yea ok, the dodge Shelby’s are in the junkyard the ford Shelby’s are worth millions. Because Ford

[@M21-w1y]

Sounds like someone is having another dodge wet dream😂😂😂😂😂

[@vrm86gt]

My mom had one of those little turbo chrysler, I remember it was pretty quick (once the turbo kicked in) and handled pretty well back in the day!

[@1987glhs]

The most fun I've had behind the wheel of a car has been in my '87 GLHS. I will own it until the day I die.

[@Sonoma_Coast]

Hey Steve. In High School 1978 we had our version of a Scatpack on the El Camino Real in Santa Clara Cal. We had a pack of Dodge Darts. All 340's cruzin in a pack of 5 or 6 on Friday Nights. Our parking lot where we staged was a Flower shop, so we would say "meet you at the Flower shop"

[@joe6096]

My Dad had a '79 Horizon. It was dark blue with light blue interior. 4 speed. No radio. No A/C. I still have nightmares about going on long rides in the summer heat in that thing. It was a complete death trap too when I realized how thin and chintzy all the sheet metal was.

[@joeatunderground8714]

I bought a 82 Rampage new. 2.2L, 4 speed. Black with little red pin stripe. 65-75 mph in second gear of the light. Very quick off the light. Sports car dudes had to pass me balls out so a pick-up wouldn’t beat them. Fun stuff.

[@timothyhays1817]

Chrysler's first all metric car. I had alot of fun stomping on GM F bodys back in the day with my GLH Turbo.

[@lb9gta307]

Sure could if you picked the right one. Pick the wrong one and you wouldn't be telling your buddies about it.

[@M21-w1y]

More wet dreams from our pathetic Chrysler bois😂😂😂😂😂

[@musclecarmitch908]

I bought a new 85 charger 2.2 5speed manual, white, red interior and had the black stripes and decal on the hood and factory spoilers, it came new with goodyear gt tires too! It was a awesome little car! Great gas mileage and I put over 300,000 miles on it only had to replace the timing belt once and put new CV joints in it, couldn't ask for a better car!

[@1958johndeere620]

My sister had a Turismo. She wrecked it, dad and I fixed it. Then Mom drove it for years. She knew she had to check the gas, but fill the antifreeze. LOL. Head gasket was bad for a decade.

[@DeadInsideButStillSmiling]

Had a Horizon and an Omni when I was a teen. The Horizon was great little car. Always reliable, never let us down. The Omni was a total pos that would break down the moment someone sneezed. Funny in that they were the same damn car except for the name tag. Weird. Had a K to. It was an ok car. Still wouldn't mind a closer look at that Freight Shaker looming the background there Steve. Looks to be a beauty.

[@DanEBoyd]

And that red cabover Peterbilt with the air intake plumbed through the cab!! There's still the GM Astro cab semi there too.

[@SteveMagnante]

@@DanEBoyd Hi Dan E. Boyd. Thanks for watching and writing. Fear not, the Big Rigs will have their day on Junkyard Crawl. I did see your earlier notice about the air intake passing through the cabin / sleeper but didn't see plumbing like that. If I recall correctly, the vertical duct fits closely to the back of the cabin but doesn't enter it. I'll check again. Thanks again for watching and writing. -Steve Magnante

[@DanEBoyd]

@@SteveMagnante Thanks Steve! Pausing at 8:32, I can see the red with gold stripes Peterbilt cab, and the engine air intake is visible, appearing to be sticking out of the center of the roof. Going off memories of youtube videos, the 'in cab plumbing' runs against the wall, up the passenger side 'b pillar' area between the passenger seat and the sleeper area. I think the air filter and housing are under the cab at the passenger side rear, and that they somehow connect to the pipe leading up through the cab floor. (I suspect that it's a slip-fit connection, so it can separate when the cab tilts.) The pipe/passage goes up through the cab and then at some point turns the corner and runs inward, along the ceiling/roof, for several inches. The interior padding might hide the air passage, which I believe is square or rectangular as it runs through the cab. So when you look at the cab from the side, the air intake looks to be close to being centered between the front and rear of the cab. But if you look at it from the front or rear of the cab, the air intake will be toward the passenger side, but several inches inboard from the passenger side wall. Ol2Stroker here on youtube has one. Some of those later Petes had three windshield wipers! And please don't forget the Astro cab. Adam Wade said that he thought that Larry Shinoda played a big part in the Astro 95's and Chevy Titan 90's cab design - a box with some of the best curves you ever saw.

[@Richard4point6]

I always loved Mopars of the 60s. Although contemporary Mopars are great performers, I cannot stomach a four door sedan with a Charger badge on it. Sadly, Mopar has been owned by the Europeans for decades. Steve, as always, your presentations are terrific!

[@lilmike2710]

Those grocery store hot rods don't do much for me either. And if I'm being honest, although I'm all about Mopar, there's just too damn many of those new gen Chargers, and sister models. Everyone and their brother owns one and you can't throw a frisbee in a parking lot without hitting one with it.

[@LongIslandMopars]

I'm with you. As much as I appreciate the modern car, it's not a Charger like I remember. I've owned my 74 for the last 25 years and for me, that was the last of the Chargers to be remembered. The Cordoba version looked like a Cordoba, and the front-drivers with the Charger name made me cringe. When it came back as a crew cab in 2005 via the "merger of equals" (I still cringe when I think of the Dr Z commercials), that was it. I still think the modern versions are nice driving cars with great attributes but they don't recapture yesteryear except in name only.

[@garyszewc3339]

And GM is owned 50% by China.

[@lb9gta307]

I've always thought the modern Charger was more of a Coronet. But I also recognize that the marketing value of that name is no where close to the same.

[@LongIslandMopars]

@@lb9gta307 I agree 100%. In the same context, they could have called it a Monaco.

[@michaelnazaruk4100]

I was in the Service Management team at a large Chrysler, Plymouth,Dodge, and Jeep dealership in the mid to late 80's. I saw a continual abundance of these cars coming through the doors during this time. Lots of complaints were about those meager powered 4 cyl engines and ignition issues, but by far the biggest problems had to do with the junk A/C system and that notorious, trouble prone compressor. When they went out, they locked up, and shut the car down. Every day I had at least 2 come in on a hook for this problem.

[@01trsmar]

VW and Mitsubishi engines were junk they used...The Chrysler 2.2 were reliable!

[@aaron71]

I daily my 84 Turismo in the nice weather. Love it!! Great on gas and gets tons of looks. The nose on that 85 was correct btw!

[@steveanderson6353]

When I was 16, I traded a set of chrome wheels to a friend of my brother for a 1984 Omni that had a broken crankshaft gear. After I replaced the gear and fired it up, I soon found out that the 2.2 with the 4-speed would perform incredible burnouts. The car was gold, and my high school colors were purple and gold so I painted the grille purple an tried to convince the school counselor that the burnouts were enticing school spirit. After about 6 months the crank gear fell off again and it was parked. That car is long gone but I still have an '87 Turismo in my collection.

[@jeffsmith846]

Must have been a tough little car if it lasted six months with a 16 year old. And you made some good memories

[@larryfromwisconsin9970]

I had an Omni O24 in the mid 1980s. It was an efficient commuter and fun with the stick shift. I had a welder put tabs on the front to attach a tow bar and towed it behind my Class C camper. Unfortunately I rolled them in a blizzard in Utah. The camper was destroyed but the Omni looked pretty good when I inspected it sitting on its side in the soft snow. But when we pushed it over onto it's wheels it was so bent that one rear tire was up off the ground. That car went straight to the junk yard.

[@DANDY1]

Oh! Yep remember these! But those dodge omini's glh sticks in mind//// impressive( goes like hell) In shelbys hands of course( a little sleeper of a car! - Thanks Steve!

[@richardthompson6366]

Bought a used O24 as my first car, black with gold wheels, sunroof and the rear spoiler, not a bad looking little car but it was a real lemon. The future is all the past.

[@colinschmitz8297]

Thank you for giving them credit for getting us back to the era of muscle cars.

[@myadventures6253]

my friend had the black\silver charger with the turbo. it would get up and go prity good. he had it for about 30 yrs. and another friend had the dodge daytona . bright orange ish red. lee did a good job reviving this company.

[@guyforlogos]

I love that you cover all these oddball cars and trucks, these cars, the toro flow, etc. etc. keep up the great work Steve!

[@gillgetter3004]

When first married I had a Ram charger 4X4, I was driving work truck and wife was driving Ram to university. She loathed driving that big thing! Traded it on Plymouth horizon, decent car the only real problem was it went through two sets of CV axles in five or six years. After that it was Dodge caravans, two of them hauling kids and stuff !!!!!

[@saturnfivehynrgrc581]

I've got an 86 GLHS #329 and enjoy it much. Always enjoy when you cover the L-Body line. Thanks!!!

[@frankez99]

I have a 93 New Yorker, 86 LeBaron Town and Country, and 87 Horizon all in my driveway 😂. BTW Steve, that cabover next to that long nose Freightliner is begging for junkyard crawl attention!!!!

[@googleusergp]

Correct, the "L" body actually saved Chrysler by giving them a small car offering through the 1979 gas crisis and keeping them "solvent" (albeit with taxpayer help) until the K car could make them profitable. Not entirely correct on the Rabbit and L body cars---they both used the VW designed and built 1.7L engine for a time. Correct, wrong car at the wrong time and the wrong distribution system. Chrysler used a "push" distribution system which as noted previously led to weird combinations of trim, engine, and body color being pushed out to dealers to sell, rather than a "pull" system of "you spec it, we build it". This led to Chrysler having months of unsold inventory which sapped cash flow. One of the first things Mr. Iacocca did was get rid of that system. That's correct, they are both "Sperlich Specials" in that Hal Sperlich who came from Ford with Mr. Iacocca used the K car platform to spin off many variants. While boring as you state, this was what was needed at Chrysler at the time. Correct on the VIN for the win: 1B3 for US made Dodge, B for manual seat belts, 74 for Dodge Charger, C for 2.2L four cylinder with two barrel, 0 is a check digit, F for the 1985 model year, D for Belvidere, IL assembly and the rest is the production sequence. The Belvidere plant operated from 1965 until February 2023 and is on indefinite shutdown as of this writing. The used car dealer that sold it at one time, Leon L. Sirum still operates at 295 Deerfield Street in Greenfield, MA. Correct, the "CHMSL" as it's called in the industry (Center High Mount Stop Light) was a requirement for all cars from 1986 onward (although some 1985 cars had them).

[@kennethsouthard6042]

I've also heard the CHMSL unofficially referred to as the "Liddy Light" as Elizabeth Dole was in charge of DOT at the time.

[@googleusergp]

@@kennethsouthard6042 Sure thing.

[@kevinwong6588]

@@googleusergp Not required on light trucks, SUVs and vans until 1994 model years. AMC Eagles were classified by EPA as "multipurpose vehicles" and not passenger cars and did not have stop lamps, per the U.S. DOT FMVSS.

[@googleusergp]

@@kevinwong6588 Which is why I said "cars".

[@lilmike2710]

I hope you do a video on that cabover semi that's sitting in the background. It most assuredly has a story to tell. 🚛 📯

[@DanEBoyd]

It's a Peterbilt. 379 Model?

[@christopherprince3250]

I had a black and silver '85 Dodge Shelby Charger 5 speed. Fun car, wish I still had it.

[@fixinitwithchris1985]

In the early 90's my Mother had a Turismo, but it looked like the Charger, it had the four headlights, was gold with a black hood. I think it was in a fender-bender before my mom had it, looking back on it knowing what I know now and somebody might have just put a Charger nose on it. It would be cool to have that car today, lol even the Relient K and the Plymouth Voyager. Even to this day she drives the Dodge Carvan I think my mom made our family a Mopar family because I by Plymouths and Dodges now and just about every car when I was kid was a Plymouth, Dodge or Chrysler.

[@CarCrazy12804]

I remember a family in my neighborhood who had 3 of the plymouth turismos. I like these a lot

[@corvairjim1]

You mentioned "badge engineering". I have an example of what can happen when the two vehicles are too similar for that: In about 1980, a co-worker bought a brand new Plymouth Omni, or was it a Dodge Horizon? It all depended on which direction you looked at it from. One end said Dodge, the other, Plymouth. One side said Horizon, the other, Omni. I guess they weren't quite awake at the factory that day! Another example: I worked in new and used car prep at a Chevy dealer shortly out of high school back in the early 80's. One day, while prepping a new pickup for delivery, I noticed that every badge inside the truck said "GMC".

[@googleusergp]

Yes that did indeed happen. The L body cars were assembled in Belvedere,IL among other places. That plant is on indefinite shut down.

[@lynnmccurdythehdmmrc2561]

working at a C/P dealer at the time, saw a lot of that.

[@DanEBoyd]

They did avoid that hassle with the Neon though...

[@davidpawson7393]

I worked for a Chrysler Plymouth Dodge dealership for a while and a customer needed a belt idler pulley but none were in stock for their New Yorker. I asked the parts guy to see if there were any for a Plymouth Acclaim and got it fixed that day. Same exact pulley but they were two different prices as well. That taught me something I hadn't known that has solved many problems and saved me money over the years like parts for my father's Lexus.

[@googleusergp]

@@davidpawson7393 That had to be some sort of supersession or error in the parts book since they would be in the same parts book and page together. I do remember going to a Chrysler dealer for brake parts for a Mitsubishi Starion, knowing it was the same vehicle as a Chrysler/Dodge Conquest. My neighbor had a shop at the time and wanted to send me 25 miles to go get them. I said why don't we try the local Chrysler dealer first? Sure enough, they had them and of course they were the same parts. LOL.

[@classicmusclecarexhaust1988]

Catchy title Steve. Never wanted to be caught dead driving one of these except the Shelby and Rampage versions. I always thought the baby Ranchero/ElCamino was pretty cool.

[@SteveMagnante]

Hello Classic Muscle Car Exhaust, Thanks for catching the not-so-subtle title. I figured "here are two L's" and with their weak-kneed vibe, they are a huge contrast to the mighty Hemi cars we have today. So we sort of went to hell and back from the 1960's to the 1980's to the 21st century. For that turn around, I happily put the Scat Pack Bee on my arm forevermore. Thanks for watching! -Steve Magnante

[@ddellwo]

Hard to believe the Turismo / O24’s were SHORTER than the Horizon / Omni’s……..????? In my wife’s family, all of the “princesses” got new cars when they turned 16 - which in this case turned out to be a Plymouth Horizon, a Hyundai Excel, and a Ford Escort. Depressing I know, but all the girls cared about was that the color was pretty and George Michael sounded good on the radio…….😂 Taking Friday and Monday off to make an impromptu long weekend before heading back out on the road for work next week - hope to get some good “garage time” in and maybe even get one of my baby’s out for a little backroad cruise if the weather cooperates…….☀

[@marioncobaretti2280]

Back in 77 and 78 on my way to work at a chevy dealer , I would be in traffic with a short bus in front of me every morning. I couldn't escape this thing. In the right rear window I had to watch this wacko pulling his lips apart. Big huge tongue slapping around and givin me the bird too. The funny thing is he looked like steve. For 2 years this happened. Anytime I see steve I remember this sad souls face

[@Offthbadan]

😂😂😂

[@SteveMagnante]

It wasn't me...I swear!!! -Steve Magnante

[@chrisscearce]

Hi Steve great video of these forgotten bricks in automotive history. My cousin had one of those black and silver challenger identical to the one in your brochure. My uncle bought it new for him as a graduation gift. He later on traded for a Harley-Davidson motorcycle that he still owns today. Nice tattoo Steve 😎. Why didn't you mention the Rampage and Scamp? Speaking of the Rampage there's talk of a new Ram Rampage that may make its way to the North American markets to compete with the Ford Maverick pickup. I think Ford is 2nd to Tesla in the EV market 🙃 (have stock in both companies 💰💰). I forgot to mention I'm here at the Cherokee Bluegrass Festival this weekend in the beautiful Smokey Mts here in Cherokee, NC. There's plenty of music with lots and lots of beautiful women, to match. Come join us.🎉😂 Have a blessed day everyone 🤙🏼 Namaste 🙏🏼

[@sombra6153]

My home town police department acquired a handful of the L-bodies circa 1980-81 for use as unmarked traffic law enforcement. Not sure if the acquisition had anything to do with an attempt by other city departments to force the police to replace their aging fleet of six cylinder Volaris with K-cars because folks in the water and other municipal agencies liked them better. Anyway, obviously not pursuit material like the big block powered Satellites they’d had in the fleet only a few short years before. A friend in high school made the mistake of passing one on a four lane thoroughfare in his jacked up, glass packed, Dodge Demon one day (broad daylight) and was extremely surprised at the red light that lit up on the dash of the little Plymouth. I don’t remember how long that program lasted as the L-bodies were popular and the “police” versions were so “off the dealer lot” that they were undistinguished from the civilian owned cars. I just know that I was fortunate not to get pulled over. I doubt that they even had any special police upgrades. They would have only been pulling a Motorola radio, maybe a handheld radio and flashlight charger, and a bubble dash light - no big alternator burdening light bars. The older radios did pull a lot of juice so maybe there was an alternator upgrade. Who knows. A footnote in the history of the L-body.

[@googleusergp]

"Rollin' in my 2.2". Errrr...no. LOL.

[@gatesj777]

The omnis and horizons were like the rabbits but the chargers and turismos were similarly like the scirocco. Same platform from both manufacturers, just a different unibody. And both the sciroccos and the turismo/charger got a hotter engine toward the end of their runs (turbo and the 16v)

[@albertgaspar627]

that's a good comparison, hadn't thought of it in those terms

[@SteveMagnante]

Great observation! I once looked at a pre-owned Scirocco 16-valve but eventually put the money into a 1964 Dodge Max Wedge clone project and bought a 1982 Datsun 210 2-door for $500 that burned a quart of oil a week but got me around. Thanks for watching and writing. -Steve Magnante

[@markchiz64]

Steve, how about a couple of videos on those class 8 trucks?

[@stephenhenderson9871]

I had a Dodge Rampage and I loved it, it drove nice and you could haul a nice size sack of potatoes in it. Very good gas mileage as well. Oh and now I have ( Canceled, what do you mean we’re canceled) on my mind now and you didn’t even have to play it. Thank you.

[@garycorbin2789]

The Mitsubishi charger was known as the Sigma Scorpion, very rare here in Australia .I found out that the SJ Avenger has the same basic engine with hemisphere head , with twin variable cams a variable runner cold air intake, super reliable and responsive . I own a 2007 SJ SXT fully loaded from the factory .

[@ldnwholesale8552]

Errrr, a Mitsi Scorpion was a rear drive car from Japan. Were they great?? No,, but a lot better than this front drive crap. All front drive cars are inherently dangerous plus ofcourse the appetite for CVs and engine mounts. And with the engine sideways a LOT harder to work on as well

[@lb9gta307]

You're confusing this Charger, which was a Chrysler, with the Mitsubishi built Challenger. Very different cars.

[@lb9gta307]

​@@ldnwholesale8552 everything you wrote, with the exception of the Scorpion being RWD, is wrong. FWD cars aren't inherently dangerous, don't inherently eat CV joints or engine mounts, and aren't inherently difficult to work on.

[@motov8-garage832]

​@lb9 GTA I think everything you wrote was true, with the exception that fwd's aren't inherently bad at eating engine mounts.. they do chew on them pretty good

[@lb9gta307]

@@motov8-garage832 that's really car dependant. For example, my current front driver is 20 years old and the original mounts are still fine but my first car needed mounts after 10 years.

[@joeparson9967]

Great video Steve, informative as always. I had a Grand Prix with an aftermarket sunroof that would piss on your head when I hit the brakes when it was raining. 🙄

[@2264ish]

I seen a lot of drag racers turn these into really nice cars, something you may want to do with your model Steve.

[@mikebrown8065]

Yupper!! What a blast of a car when I was a kid, 1979 Plymouth Horizon TC-3!!! HUT WAIT ✋️!!! A VOLKSWAGEN RABBIT ENGINE FROM THE FACTORY 😮. yes sir!! With a 5-speed stick transmission. And when my father finally sold it, it had over 500k miles on it!!! Then came the Dodge Omni GLH. Another great handling car, and fun to drive!!! Thanks Steve for another great video!!

[@anibalbabilonia1867]

Like you said Steve those where the dark times of the automotive industry, specially for the American car companies. But the Shelby edition cars where pretty peppy and quick! I remember getting smoked by one of those back in 1989! I had a New Cavalier z24 at the time, and thought I could take you!! The guy a Dodge Omni Shelby GLH-S! And he smoked me!! I couldn’t even catch him! He was gone! 👋😂👍

[@pmafterdark]

I'm a Mopar guy and had a 69' Charger R/T in years past. I remember also in the 80's when these came out I thought it was a sin to put the Charger name on these FWD cars but I've softened some with age and I actually quite like them now, especially the Shelby versions.

[@emeyer6963]

4 Headlights came starting with the 1984 facelift.Except for the Shelby Charger which ran the 2 light style until the end.Also the sport model Charger 2.2 came out in mid 1981 model year..4 speed stick only.

[@sadwingsraging3044]

The little Shelby Daytona turbo could plant you in a seat pretty satisfactorily in a rolling punch.😁

[@haljohnson5729]

I really look forward to your video each day.Thanks as always.

[@jjcastaldo4125]

Great Video. Very informative. My first brand new car was a 1985 Turismo. Got the Duster Package with the 2.2, 5-speed stick and upgraded stereo. After it died, I put the center console in my 1987 Horizon. Fit perfectly and I needed the cup holders. Thanks for the trip down memory lane.

[@defer96]

my first car was a 1987 dodge charger, AKA the black Porsha, it was good in the snow did awesome reverse donuts and gas millage wasn't bad either. lost of fun times in that car

[@bertgrau3934]

I bought a new Omni in 1990, the last year for the Omni. 2.2, automatic it had a/c, was a good car, got great fuel mileage around 28 MPG . 😊

[@corvairjim1]

How times have changed: today, I get 40 mpg +/- from my '06, 5-speed Cobalt SS. I just drive it conservatively when I'm not in a hurry, no jackrabbit acceleration, and I plan my stops in advance. I coast downhill with the clutch on the floor. The EPA said that it should get 34 mpg highway and 32 mpg combined city/highway. I enjoy beating Washington!

[@BigMikesHooptyBarn]

Oh the days! I had a '84 Charger and remember well my quickly squashed excitement upon driving it for a short time.

[@CLP2102]

loved my omni glh, great car!

[@davidgilbert7789]

Looked at these back in '85. Test drove and scrutinized a lot of cars. Checked out the fit and finish, and it was a no-brainer. Bought a new Toyota Celica. Glad I did.

[@donaldcoddington1757]

Thanks for all the details, Steve

[@christolbert4628]

A friend had a mid 80's Daytona with a turbo back in the day.

[@mattbauckman9907]

My Grandmother bought a brand new Omni in 1983. I had the “pleasure” of driving it several years later. That carbureted 2.2 could barely get out of its own way. I mean it was GUTLESS. I worked as a mechanic years ago and did many a head gasket job on these along with timing belts.

[@runner3033]

Very fond memories of these cars, had 2 of them, both '84s. Charger and Turismo. Almost nothing interchanges with the K cars (and variants) beyond the long block and transmissions, from the mounts out they are different. My personal experience with this was having parted out a Daytona Shelby and putting all the go-fast bits into the Turismo... lots of cutting, welding, improvising. The factory service manuals for any given thing had 2 sketches, one labeled "E, G, H, J, K, P body" and the other "L body". It was lightweight, fast and a death trap of a car but we survived until the tin worm got her. This segment is completely gone now unfortunately - 2 door economical runaround type car with sporting pretensions but super practical (the hatch was huge with seats folded down). That particular Turismo is a Frankenstein car. The 2-door L's went quad headlight in '84, but it has an 86+ hatch (with CHMSL). Guessing the hatch was swapped, as I did the same myself at one point so I wouldn't give myself tetanus lifting it up.

[@57WillysCJ]

Always got a kick out of the Rampage and Scamp versions. Yeah the Elcamino was around and not horrible for the time, horrible from what they were but the Rampage could slip around in Town and city traffic fairly easy.

[@jeffclark2725]

Those were difficult times back then,and we made it through

[@SevenFortyOne]

Wasn't the Rampage and Scamp L body based too? Those were cool little 'utes

[@googleusergp]

Correct, they were also L body variants.

[@Iowa599]

Woah, a racing stripe! I bet that one was fast!

[@tomwesley7884]

yeah

[@petepeeff5807]

I wish you would have linked to the front wheel drive French Chryslers you mentioned. I looked in play list but over 400 videos couldn't find a reference. I take exception to front wheel drive Chrysler not having Rabbit DNA. When I first married in the 80's due to poverty. We had several Rabbits then Omnis/ Horizons finally a 86 Charger. I wrenched on all and found the Chrysler products just 20% larger copies. Junk yard crawl always brings a memory and a smile as we are the same age and saw the same cars

[@davem8790]

Omni and Horizon were Americanized versions of the Chrysler/Simca/Talbot Horizon designed by Chrysler Europe. Same body, different engine, headlights and bumpers. Once in a while you will see a survivor in the UK or France.

[@mrsteve4313]

I was born in 1972 so I grew up with these cars, so i didn't hate them like you do. Plus with little weight the small engines beat any old charger with a slant 6 in a straight line and theough the twisties, now would i have loved a v8...of course but these little things could move decently for the slow 80's times!

[@davessmallenginerevival2847]

I loved junkyard gold and I liked your model car show to. I recently found you here and love it steve. My brother had one of those challengers with the Mitsubishi engine, totol pile, always had issues. I like when you bring out the model kits , Im assuming they're all yours. Ive been building model car kits since the mid 70s

[@MrGreyZ]

Hated these back in the day, now I want one. I have one of those 86MPC Charger models.

[@DK-sw6xx]

Hello Steve ! Beings you an I are of the same model year I always thought we where ripped off by Detroit. I agree, cars in the our youth where depressing! I guess that’s why I went to the pickup truck side. I do appreciate the conversation that these cars are what I call a crap sandwich.... the crap from the middle. To bring us back to some factory performance cars we enjoy now. ( Loved my 1985 Fox body Mustang 5.0 liter 5 speed convertible) , BUT at least a 20 something young person could actually afford a new car and a new car often back then, these days, buying a performance car now is like buying a house ! Your excellent show makes me realize I owned way to many cars in my life !

[@thomasknox2325]

Again very interesting and informative thanks

[@Offthbadan]

I remember that Challenger. Wasn’t a bad looking car. Like the Mustang ll, right car at the right time.

[@Richie_the_Fixer]

My roommate had one . 2.6 liter HEMI 5 speed manual . He liked telling chicks about his "Hemi Challenger" at parties . . . But when they saw it , it didn't live up to the hype ! Btw , that's front engine/rear wheel drive !

[@RonnN-gf8tm]

These videos are Awesome... keep it up!!

[@NightMoves1969]

My parents brought an omni 024 and a d250 in 81. That omni went through hell and kept getting it. My mother was sold on dodges after that. In 87 she got an Aries k wagon and that was the end of that. Nothing but problems for a year or so and it was traded for a Honda civic. It went almost 300k on the original clutch and both my sister and I used it learning to drive.

[@MichaelandCathy1999]

Almost bought a Charger 2.2 Turbo back in the day, but I just couldn’t pull the trigger…..I still prefer 4 door Sport Sedans, currently have a Pontiac G6 GT, fully optioned and running a Stage 2 chip level and CAI. Great cruiser. 👍🇨🇦

[@albertgaspar627]

for a time, the Dodge Lancer had a turbo version, i was tempted since it was a hatch as well and i like to tote cheap/free parts home. but i knew from others the build quality of mopar, so....

[@davidpawson7393]

​@Albert Gaspar I killed my sister's 82 yellow two door Plymouth Reliant Krap Kar and did her a favor. She was mad as all but the Corolla All-Trac wagon our parents replaced it with was the greatest car she ever owned she recently said but got totaled when someone blew a light. However I've owned many front drive MOPARs I usually got free or cheap and they were easy to work on, cheap to operate and gave the people I gave them to just as happy. One transmission failed but I was beating it hard and knew better.

[@lb9gta307]

​@@albertgaspar627 the Lancer and LeBaron both had turbo versions. There was also the Shelby Lancer and Lancer Shelby.

[@albertgaspar627]

@@davidpawson7393 My worst car accident was in a girlfriend's Plymouth Sundance. A Dodge Tradesvan wrapped us around its front end in a T-bone. unfortunately up here in the snow belt, most of those FWD mopes became disposable cars.

[@user-fm3qf2zv2f]

I enjoy all your videos of all makes for the education and historical content but knew you were a mopar guy! Love the tatoo that proves it! Steve you need to sell merchandise to supplement your videos!

[@Hyrev1]

Fantastic look back Steve! 👍👍💯🇺🇸

[@bettylane1984]

Executive and bureaucratic salaries skyrocketed,while product quality headed south

[@Sonoma_Coast]

You are great Steve. I remember all those you spoke of.

[@robertbeckmann7768]

I always try to guess at the end of each video what direction Steve will walk out of camera range! He was kinda stuck in this segment. Haha It's a cool trademark. Never miss one.

[@FranklynPearson]

I've suspected for awhile Steve was partial to Dodges 🤔

[@calvinwayneweir2007]

You could get the Colt in either front wheel drive or rear wheel drive in "81 I bought a rear wheel drive 1981 Colt in 1994

[@NP-ek7dl]

Great videos Keep it up! And like you took out the old Motor Trend. I used to go to my local library to read those motor trends. Also cool dog in seat in the back ground.

[@jackpontiac9409]

I am about your age Steve. Back in the early 80's I had a black 73 340 Challenger. In the late 80's I got married and wound up with a black 85 2.2 Turismo. Oh how the times had changed 😪

[@dougeaton2446]

I never seen 1 of those 80s challengers... they probably would have been cool if they had put their 318 in it lol

[@michaelatkins9780]

Has he mentioned that, 024 is the drag coefficient and name derivation.

[@twinchantillytiffanysbenny8852]

Hey! Love this channel! My first car was a Plymouth TC-3 horizon! That giant back window. Ugh. I bought louvers for that window is was enormous! But the car was good. 5-speed and it was loaded. But traded it for a RS Camaro.👍

[@SolamenteVees]

We broke a hub on a non-turbo Shelby Charger at Mid Ohio back in the day running Showroom Stock. The 5-lug mounting was essential.

[@fishgeralding9224]

I worked at a Dodge dealer bodyshop 87-95 when these front wheel drive feces squares were in their hey day. When they came out with the Daytona vnt turbo I test drove one. Peppy little car, they got over the turbo lag, but I just couldn't get used to, and didn't care for fwd, so I stuck with trucks. I like my rwd, driving a Lexus these days.

[@markcollins457]

My first new car was a 1978 Dodge Omni, the first one at the dealership they had to take it from the show room floor when i purchased it. Years later i loved the GLH it was a hot little car.

[@Iowa599]

I looked at a Plymouth Turismo, to buy, for my first car, in 2001. Luckily I didn't buy it, and I stopped taking recommendations from my father.

[@nigelosborne7471]

Horizon's on the UK had torsion bar front suspension, I was surprised to see coil springs.

[@jlang8213]

I always thought it was "CS" on the seats stood for Carol Shelby, not "SC" for Shelby Competition... Interesting! Thanks for enlightening me!

[@advilshenk]

Great history keep the videos coming. You deserve millions of likes subs

[@larryr8492]

Had an 87 Charger like that, 5 speed 2.2. Made just a few mods with the help of the engine man in the dealership I worked at, I could outrun a turbo car with my na motor. It was a fun little car at the time, brings back memories.