Dodge Omni

Dodge
Omni
Production period:	1978-1990
Class :	Compact class
Body versions :	Station wagon
Engines:	Petrol engines : 1.6–2.2 liters (46–109 kW)
Length:	4186 mm
Width:	1681 mm
Height:	1364 mm
Wheelbase :	2520 mm
Empty weight :	949-1051 kg

The Dodge Omni is a front-wheel drive compact car produced by the US automobile manufacturer Dodge from 1978 to 1990 . The vehicle was ranked in the Dodge model range under the Dodge Colt as the smallest model. The sister model of the Dodge Omni was the identical except for the emblems Plymouth Horizon of the sister brand Plymouth . A coupé based on this was initially sold as the Dodge Omni 024 , although its designation changed several times.

history

In January 1978, the Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon were introduced as the Chrysler Group's first front-wheel drive vehicles . It was based on the Horizon model developed by Simca in France , which came onto the market as the Talbot Horizon. Simca was owned by Chrysler until 1978, and Chrysler secured the rights to build the Horizon in the United States when it sold Simca to Peugeot . The engine and chassis were changed, the torsion bar sprung double wishbones at the front and crank arms at the rear were replaced with a twist beam axle with coil springs at the rear and a MacPherson axle at the front .

The Omni was powered by a 1.7-liter in-line four-cylinder with 56 kW (76 hp), which came from Volkswagen and delivered its power to the front wheels via a four-speed transmission or Chrysler's TorqueFlite three- speed automatic . There was only one level of equipment, which could be upgraded with different packages outside and inside, up to the Premium Wood Grained package, in which wood foil adorned the sides.

In the 1979 model year, the output of the four-cylinder fell to 52, in 1980 to 49, and in 1981 to 47 kW (64 hp) as a result of stricter emissions standards.

In 1981 the Omni received a modified grille. New to the range were the rarely ordered Omni Euro Sedan , a sporty version with aluminum wheels, wide tires and a rev counter, as well as the Omni Miser (“Geizhals”). The latter was a model trimmed to minimal fuel consumption with lean equipment and a longer axle ratio, which achieved a standard consumption of 5.5 liters / 100 km. For all models except the Miser, there was now an in-house 2.2-liter four-cylinder (63 kW) with a four-speed overdrive manual or automatic transmission.

In 1983 the equipment of the Omni was enriched with halogen headlights, adjustable seat backrests, quartz clock, brake booster and trip meter. From the beginning of 1983 the VW four-cylinder was replaced by a 46 kW (63 hp) 1.6-liter four-cylinder from Peugeot, the 2.2-liter was boosted to 69 kW (94 hp). Miser and Euro Sedan fell out of the program, and there was now a five-speed gearbox on request.

From model year 1984 the Omni was available in basic and SE equipment, as well as Omni GLH ; According to the work, the abbreviation stood for “goes like hell” , or “goes like the devil”. The Peugeot engine gained two kW (48 kW / 65 PS) and was no longer available with an automatic; the 2.2-liter developed 71 kW or 82 kW (112 hp) in the new high-performance version, which can be ordered for all variants and which was standard in the GLH. There was no Plymouth Horizon parallel model of the GLH.

From 1985 the turbocharged version of the 2.2-liter with 109 kW (148 hp) was available in the GLH at an extra charge.

For the 1987 model year, the Omni / Horizon program was greatly streamlined. There was only one version called Omni America or Horizon America, which was basically equipped with the 2.2-liter with 97 hp. All other engines were canceled. There were only three extras and three extra packages that had to be ordered individually. This was accompanied by a significant price reduction, which greatly boosted sales of the models. In 1988 the 2.2-liter was converted to gasoline injection and thus developed 94 hp. In 1990 the name America was dropped again.

In the summer of 1990, the production of the sedans was stopped after around 720,000 copies (including 13,400 GLH and 1196 Euro Sedan). Around 880,000 of the Plymouth Horizon were produced in the same period.

Web links

Commons : Dodge Omni  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Commons : Plymouth Horizon  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

swell

• Flammang, James M./Kowalke, Ron: Standard Catalog of American Cars 1976-1999. Krause Publications, Iola 1999. ISBN 0-87341-755-0