Dodge diplomat

Dodge
	Dodge Diplomat 1977
diplomat
Production period:	1977-1989
Class :	Middle class
Body versions :	Sedan , station wagon , coupé
Engines:	; Petrol engines : 3.7-5.9 liters ; (63-146 kW)
Length:	5123-5225 mm
Width:	1885 mm
Height:	1354-1410 mm
Wheelbase :	2865 mm
Empty weight :	1454-1691 kg
successor	Dodge Monaco (1990) , Dodge Dynasty

The Dodge Diplomat was a 1977 to 1989 by the US automakers Dodge offered model of the middle class with rear drive on the M platform of the Chrysler -based -Konzerns. The Diplomat was produced in three series. It is the longest-produced Dodge passenger car.

background

The Dodge Diplomat was originally designed as a parallel model to the Chrysler LeBaron presented in 1977 .

In view of the oil crisis that broke out in 1973, the demand for smaller vehicles arose on the American automobile market in the mid-1970s. This also applied to the area of high-quality, expensive models. General Motors was the first American manufacturer to successfully position its own vehicle in this market segment, which was initially only served by importers such as Mercedes-Benz and BMW , in 1975 with the Cadillac Seville ; the Ford Motor Company followed a little later with the Lincoln Versailles . The Chrysler Group responded to this in the summer of 1976 with the LeBaron, which in its dimensions roughly corresponded to the Seville and Versailles, but was offered at a lower price than the competing models. The technical basis of the LeBaron was called the M platform. This new name suggested an independence of the series, which actually did not exist. The M platform was largely identical to the F platform presented a year earlier , on which Chrysler's low-priced volume models Dodge Aspen and Plymouth Volaré were based. Most of the technical components of the LeBaron corresponded to the Aspen and the Volaré; numerous body parts of the series were interchangeable.

The LeBaron was sold through the Chrysler-Plymouth dealers from the 1977 model year. Chrysler developed the Diplomat for the separately appearing dealers of the Dodge brand, which stylistically resembled the LeBaron, but was less elaborately equipped and offered at a lower price. For the 1982 model year, the Plymouth Gran Fury was added to the series; at the same time the Chrysler LeBaron became the New Yorker and a year later Fifth Avenue .

Market positioning

Within the three Chrysler brands, the Dodge variant of the M-Body occupied a middle position: The identical, but very lavishly equipped Chrysler LeBaron and its successors New Yorker and Fifth Avenue were significantly more expensive than the Diplomat during the Plymouth Gran Fury represented the basic version and was even cheaper than its Dodge counterpart.

In relation to the model range of the Dodge brand, the positioning of the Diplomat was not clear; he took on various roles over the course of its thirteen years of production. In 1977 and 1978 the Diplomat was offered in parallel to the larger mid-range models Dodge Coronet and Monaco , so it did not immediately replace this outdated design. The full-size model Royal Monaco also ranked above the middle-class duo Diplomat / Monaco . Regardless of the proportions, the Diplomat was more expensive than the two larger models. When the Monaco was discontinued in the summer of 1978, the diplomat assumed its role as the second largest Dodge model, above which only the significantly larger St. Regis was positioned from 1979 . After this full-size model was also discontinued in the late summer of 1981, the Diplomat became the largest Dodge brand passenger car, and after the Chrysler Group replaced all smaller vehicle classes with front-wheel drive cars from the K-Car family , the Diplomat and were its sister models the last Chrysler rear-wheel drive vehicles.

Model history

First generation: 1977–1979

Curved rear fenders: first generation coupe

The first series of the Dodge Diplomat was offered as a four-door sedan, a two-door coupe and a five-door station wagon. The coupé had curved rear fenders with rounded lines. All body versions had the same wheelbase. Stylistically, the Diplomat was almost identical to the Chrysler LeBaron; only the shape of the radiator grille and the arrangement of the front light units were independent. While the indicators on the LeBaron were arranged above the square headlights, on the Diplomat they were below the headlights.

In the first model year, the Diplomat was powered exclusively by a 5.2 liter eight-cylinder engine, and from 1978 the Slant Six in-line six- cylinder engine with 3.7 liters displacement was also available. In 1978 and 1979, a 5.9-liter version of the V8 engine could also be ordered. The eight-cylinder engines were coupled with a three-speed automatic transmission as standard. A manual four-speed gearbox was only available as an alternative in model year 1979.

Second generation: 1980–1984

Second generation station wagon. The front design was taken over from 1982 by the Plymouth Gran Fury.

In 1980 the diplomat experienced extensive stylistic modifications. The four-door sedan, like the Chrysler LeBaron, was given a steeper C-pillar that increased headroom in the rear of the car. This body shape remained essentially unchanged until the model was discontinued in 1989.

The Diplomat Coupé has been extensively modified. Unlike in previous years, it now had the 10 cm shorter wheelbase of the coupé versions of the Dodge Aspen / Plymouth Volaré and was given smooth rear fenders with angular lines. The station wagon remained unchanged. The second-generation station wagon and coupe were only produced in model years 1980 and 1981; From 1982 the Diplomat was only available as a four-door sedan.

The 5.2 liter eight-cylinder engine, which could be equipped with different carburetor systems, continued to serve as the drive. From 1980 to 1983, the 3.7 liter Slant Six six-cylinder engine was available as an alternative .

Third generation: 1985–1989

With the Chrysler Fifth Avenue headlight arrangement: Dodge Diplomat, third generation

In 1985 the Diplomat, which was only available as a sedan, received another facelift. With the otherwise unchanged body, he took over the front design of the Chrysler Fifth Avenue, in which the indicators were still arranged above the headlights. The Diplomat thus stood out clearly from the cheaper Plymouth Gran Fury, which from 1982 to 1984 was outwardly identical to the Diplomat and retained its previous front design in the years that followed.

production

The Dodge Diplomat was initially manufactured in Chrysler's own factories. From 1981, on the other hand, production was carried out on behalf of the competing company AMC . Its factory in Kenosha , Wisconsin , could produce the M-Bodies cheaper than Chrysler's own plants.

Since the early 1980s, the diplomat has only been developed marginally. The car became increasingly obsolete, but remained successful on the market for a long time. In recent years, the vehicles have mainly been sold to fleet buyers such as authorities and car rental companies.

The Chrysler versions of the M-Body were regularly the most successful offshoots of the M-Platform, followed by the Dodge models. Plymouth's version was consistently the least popular.

Dodge built a total of around 363,000 copies of the Diplomat. In no single model year did the Diplomat achieve six-digit production figures. It achieved the highest output in its first full year of production. In the 1980s, production almost always fluctuated between 20,000 and 25,000 vehicles a year. Production was distributed over the individual model years as follows: 37,552 (1977), 78,552 (1978), 53,879 (1979), 35,200 (1980), 24,170 (1981), 23,146 (1982), 24,444 (1983), 22,169 (1984) , 39.165 (1985), 26.953 (1986), 20.627 (1987), 19.173 (1988), 6.329 (1989).

Technical specifications

Dodge diplomat
	3.7 liter R6	5.2 liter V8	5.9 liter V8
Construction time:	1978-1983	1977-1989	1978-1979
Engine:	Six-cylinder in-line four-stroke engine	Eight-cylinder V-engine (four-stroke)
Displacement:	3678 cc	5210 cc	5898 cc
Bore × stroke:	86.4 x 104 mm	99.3 x 84.1 mm	101.6 x 90.9 mm
Performance at 1 / min:	85 hp 90 hp	120 hp 160 hp	170 hp
Compression:	8.4: 1	8.5: 1	8.4: 1
Mixture preparation:	Single carburetor optionally double carburetor	Double carburetor optionally quadruple carburetor	Quadruple carburetor
Valve control:	underlying camshaft
Cooling:	Water cooling
Transmission:	Three-speed automatic 1979 optional three-speed manual gearbox with overdrive		Three-speed automatic
Front suspension:	Wishbone torsion bar springs
Rear suspension:	Rigid axle leaf springs
Brakes:	Front disc brakes, rear drum brakes
Body:	Steel self-supporting
Wheelbase:	2863 mm Coupé (1980–1981): 2761 mm
Dimensions (length × width × height):	5235 × 1849 × 1405 Coupé (1980–1981): 5110 × 1885 × 1405
Empty weight:	1454-1691
Top speed:	155-160 km / h	165-170 km / h	185 km / h

literature

Albert R. Bochroch: American Cars of the Seventies . Warne's Transport Library, London 1982. ISBN 0-7232-2870-1 .
Richard M. Langworth: Encyclopedia of American Cars 1930-1980 . New York (Beekman House) 1984. ISBN 0-517-42462-2 .

Web links

Commons : Dodge Diplomat - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ Overview of the interchangeability of parts of the F and M platforms on the website www.dippy.org (accessed on July 6, 2012).

↑ Oldest Auto Plant Make Newest V-6: Note on the website http://wardsauto.com/ ( Memento of the original from September 1, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the history of the Kenosha plant (accessed July 5, 2012). @1@ 2

↑ Production figures quoted from www.dippy.org ( Memento of the original from March 4, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. , there citing American Car Encyclopedia. @1@ 2

↑ The technical data was taken from the website www.dippy.org ; In addition, the car catalog numbers 21 (1977/78) to 32 (1988/89) were used.

↑ The performance of the engines varied in the different model years; it was dependent on the type of carburettor used, but also on settings in the engine management system, which were repeatedly changed with regard to consumption and emissions.

[1] Overview of the interchangeability of parts of the F and M platforms on the website www.dippy.org (accessed on July 6, 2012).