Plymouth Volare

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Plymouth
Plymouth Volare Coupe 1976-77
Plymouth Volare Coupe 1976-77
Volare
Production period: 1976-1980
Class : Compact class
Body versions : Sedan , station wagon , coupé
Engines:
Gasoline engines : 3.7-5.9 liters
(67-146 kW)
Length: 5017-5118 mm
Width: 1849 mm
Height: 1349-1392 mm
Wheelbase : 2761-2863 mm
Empty weight : 1382-1674 kg
Previous model Plymouth Valiant
successor Plymouth Reliant
Plymouth Volare
Plymouth Volare Coupe 1978
Plymouth Volare Duster 1980

The Plymouth Volare (also written Volaré ) was a rear-wheel drive model produced by the US car manufacturer Chrysler from 1976 to 1980, marketed under the Plymouth brand. In the USA, the Volare is considered a compact car , although it is considerably larger than a car in the European compact class .

Model history

In spring 1976, the Volare appeared as the successor to the Plymouth Valiant . The Volare was based on the F platform of the Chrysler group and was thus the identical sister model of the Dodge Aspen except for the emblems and grille ; Close relatives also included the Chrysler LeBaron and Dodge Diplomat, who were slightly higher up the hierarchy, and later, in the 1980s, Chrysler Fifth Avenue and Plymouth Gran Fury .

In the 1976 model year, Plymouth launched the Volare as a four-door sedan, five-door station wagon and two-door coupé, the latter on a wheelbase shortened by 10 to 275.5 cm. The equipment levels Basic, Custom and Premier were available. The Volare was powered either by the 3.7-liter Slant-Six in-line six -cylinder or by V8 engines with a displacement of 5.2 and 5.9 liters; three- or four-speed transmissions and Chrysler's TorqueFlite three-speed automatic transmission were available. Based on the basic Volare Coupé, the sporty version Volare Road Runner was offered with a matt black radiator grille and trim, trim, sports rims and modified rear lights; this model was only available with the V8 engines and sold about 7,000 times.

In 1977 the station wagon was given a twin carburettor version of the six-cylinder engine with 82 kW (112 hp) as the base engine. The Road Runner was joined by the other coupé variants Sun Runner and Front Runner with large spoilers at the front and rear, flared fenders and lamellar plastic covers over the rear side windows. New extras for the coupés were a folding rear seat back and a T-bar roof with removable glass roof parts.

For the 1978 model year, the Volare underwent its first facelift with a narrower radiator grille and parking lights placed between the grille and headlights as well as modified rear lights.

In 1979 a sporty variant of the station wagon came into the range, the Volare Sport Wagon. In addition to the Road Runner (1122 pieces), another sports model with the traditional Plymouth name Duster was added to the range.

In 1980 the Volare received a major facelift. However, the model series was deleted from the range in the summer of 1981. The new front featured square headlights and a wider grille. The model series now consisted of the basic model, which can be supplemented with various equipment packages, and the Volare Special. 496 of the Road Runner were built, the cheaper Duster 5586. The engine output continued to drop, with the six-cylinder to 67 kW (91 hp), with the 5.2-liter V8 to 90 kW (122 hp), the 5.9-liter omitted.

The Volare was replaced in the 1981 model year by the smaller, front-wheel drive Plymouth Reliant with four-cylinder engines. The Plymouth Volare produced a total of 1,070,000 copies.

Engine range
  • 225 CID ( cubic inches ) (3682 cm³) Slant-Six (1976-1980)
  • 225 CID (3682 cm³) Slant-Six with double carburetor (1977–1979)
  • 318 CID (5210 cm³) LA series V8 (1976–1980)
  • 360 CID (5898 cm³) LA series V8 (1976–1979)

reception

The Volare and its sister model were well received by the market and the press. Among other things, the clear dashboard and the good driving behavior were praised. Motor Trend even named it "Motor Trend Car of the Year", the car of the year.

But the initially good reputation of the Volare was soon undermined in 1976/77 by numerous recalls and a high susceptibility to rust. The car was brought onto the market too early, and customers suffered from immature vehicles. The Volare was the most frequently recalled car at the time, with eight recalls by the end of 1977. The Volare carried this dubious title until the appearance of GM's X models . Quality improvement measures on the part of Chrysler ensured that later models were better in this regard, but the reputation of the Volare was already ruined.

“The Dart and Valiant ran forever, and they should never have been dropped. Instead they were replaced by cars that often started to come apart after only one year or two. When these cars first came out, they were still in the development phase. Looking back over the past twenty years or so, I can't think of any cars that caused more disappointment among customers than the Aspen and the Volare ”

“The dart and the Valiant ran forever and should never have been stopped. Instead, they were replaced by cars that often began to fall apart after a year or two. When these cars hit the market, they were still in the development phase. In retrospect, I can't think of a car in the past twenty years that caused more customer dissatisfaction than the Aspen and the Volare. "

- Lee Iacocca

swell

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

Web links

Commons : Plymouth Volare  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ allpar.com Volare.Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  2. ↑ thethruthaboutcars. Retrieved March 5, 2017.