I can just see someone finding the styling appealing, going for a test drive, and then writing the car off the minute he sat inside — thinking “Oh, this is a K car.” Some extra attention to these types of details would have gone a long way.Copyright 2011 - 2020 Curbside Classics. All Rights Reserved. This was all problematic for a car doing battle against the bastions of smoothness – Honda, Toyota and Mazda.Generally speaking, the GTS and Lancer were competitive cars when introduced in 1985. cylinders.

More towards what competitors like the Civic were offering. It was later purchased by the major manufacturer of bodies for Ford, Chrysler, Hudson, Packard and others Briggs Manufacturing Company of Detroit in 1926 and operated as a Briggs specialist subsidiary. have put on 90K miles. And by the time you got to a decently equipped turbo model these were getting a mite pricey too. 20% VAT, The sedan and wagon continued with minor change until 1988. By using our website you agree to the use of cookies. It is no different from the $1000 1984 Aires I saw yesterday in a Grocery Outlet parking lot. Both the 2.2 and 2.5 liter engines were loud and relatively course feeling, the cable-shifted manual transmission was stiff and notchy, and the automatic was rough and inflexible. So I would have never considered such a car, nor even noticed one. Chrysler planned on calling this car the Commander, but ultimately chose LeBaron instead, matched to the sportier-sounding GTS suffix. And then the ’87 Camry was a huge jump forward, along with Accord. While the Plymouth Sundance/Dodge Shadow would have been more timely in 1985. In 1986 my parents were shopping for a new car as my sister and I were simply too tall to continue sitting in the rear of a Reliant. The interior also featured novelties like console storage bins and a cup holder that folded out from the dash. By the time these cars emerged the public was not so easily fooled. Iacocca scoffed at this notion by recalling his greatest hit at Ford – the Mustang, which he reminded people was “a Falcon in a new dress.”  If the Falcon could transform into an industry-changing Pony Car, then the K-car could just as easily transform into America’s premier sport sedan.The resulting car, code-named the H-body, reflected the preferences of young professional consumers in the early 1980s. The bargain Shadow America being offered nearer the end of the model’s run.It was another example of Iacocca doing at Chrysler what he had done at Ford. I also remember seeing a brand new 1986 Dodge Lancer Pacifica that sat on a local Dodge dealer’s lot for three years!I had an 86 Lancer, bought after my first new car (84 Turismo) was rear-ended and totaled (taillights in the back seat). that car buying is the way to go. A fully-loaded turbo would check in near $13,500. you.Is it better to lease or buy a car?
There’s always been a Civic. It just appears to have a lot of greenhouse.I don’t see any of these around anymore. The turbo versions had contextually respectable acceleration, there were a couple of heavily-turbocharged small-volume Dodge versions that were extra-quick, and and after that the list of things to recommend the H-body runs out in a big hurry. Or the black/white reproduction version. The LeBaron hatchback is dropped, moving the Chrysler coupe and convertible closer to enthusiast respectability. It looks brand new!Excellent analysis Eric.

Also that year, a limited edition "Fifth Avenue" package was available with an altered roofline and additional content; only 654 LeBarons were produced with this package, all converted by the American Sunroof Corporation. The package also included 14-inch "lace" style wheelcovers and a black strip below the taillights in place of chrome, with special blacked-out window moldings on coupe models.In 1992 for the 1993 model year, the LeBaron received a slight facelift.

It was barely-to-not competitive; it just seemed a bit better than it was in comparison to the abjectly dreadful dreck GM and Ford were foisting off on the North American public at the time. The 2-door coupe received new smooth rear sheetmetal, that replaced the old curved rear panels, and was moved to the 108.7 inch wheelbase.


While this is all based on memories and opinions now, my Lancer was pretty good competition for the times.

Glad its owner seems to be taking good care of it, and the antique plates are a good sign of that!I (don’t much) have to wonder how many people who might conceivably have eyed an ostensible import-fighter from Chrysler, wound up laughing instead on account of the risible engineers-agree-600ES-is-bestest-car-in-whole-wide-world ad in the 2nd pic of this article.Detroit never learns: think of Cadillac’s recent efforts to “prove” that their cars are “better” than BMWs because of arcane test track statistics. Shop Edmunds' car, SUV, and truck listings of over 6 million vehicles to find a cheap The truck size is great too.I have owned my lebaron for just under of oil burning being a common problem But this…must have sentimental value.What happened to the LeBaron/Lancer? Cadillac has engineered some very good cars, not just “rebodied” inferior cars like the GTS. These dredge up some memories for me. I sought one out in my great new car test-drive-a-thon in 1985. The quality of the air conditioning

Chrysler needed a true new mid size car, to follow the K’s in mid 80’s, instead of stretching the compacts. For now, I think of my ’13 200 Limited as a spiritual successor to the LeBaron/LeBaron GTS. One was the 3 speed automatic transmission.

Second most popular engine was the 3.0 (fine except for dropped valve guides—a nuisance, but a fixable one, and blue smoke out the exhaust The R/T’s powertrain was a hell of a lot more than just “breathed on”.

The AA-Body LeBaron introduced for 1990 was such a horrific throwback–talk about a car that should have been offered in the early 1980s (if at all).In retrospect, it isn’t that clean a break – they could *almost* have stuck this front clip on a K-car wagon.


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