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Dodge Aries - Keep it Real


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I believe the correct term is "Butt-Cookie Brown." I should know. My dad had a 1974 Impala the same color.

No no, Fly is right... as the son of a dad who owned a 1984 Plymouth Reliant (same damn car), it was commonly referred to by myself as "$h! brown".
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AH, the good old days, we used to have a sliver Reliant sedan and a white Aries wagon, hell we had a Dodge 600 at one point. Of course this was before we "upgraded" to 2 Shadows (`87 2.2 turbo, `89 2.5, my car) an a Caravan (`86 LE). Yep, my dad never bought new, and only bought Chrysler products.

Edited by Dodgefan
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Hudson will have a thing or three to say about this.

Now I have to come up with three things?

Mine didn't have a maplight...or two speakers....or FM. Mine did, however, have 84(!) hp, standard!

And it DID make me cool. It had to....no A/C.

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Now I have to come up with three things?

Mine didn't have a maplight...or two speakers....or FM. Mine did, however, have 84(!) hp, standard!

And it DID make me cool. It had to....no A/C.

Dude, why buy a BMW when you can have something that awesome! Our cars actually had FM, map light, 2 speakers, and...AND A/C (I think)

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Dude, why buy a BMW when you can have something that awesome! Our cars actually had FM, map light, 2 speakers, and...AND A/C (I think)

Yes, but did you have a vinyl bench seat? Metal dashboard? Four-speed manual? Your car wasn't cool unless you met THESE criteria!
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I've seen that video before, but it's still hilarious each time..."booyah!"

My uncle had an '83 Aries coupe that I almost got as my school car. I'M GLAD I DIDN'T. That thing was always breaking down...one time we had to coast a quarter mile down the hill to work because the engine died. The dash vibrated, the headliner drooped about 4 inches in the middle, and the radio sucked. The passenger door let out a pleasant grinding metal sound when opened, and numerous trim pieces were just hanging on for dear life.

When I was 15 my other uncle, who owns a used car dealership, tried to sell me that it was a sporty car because it was a coupe and had bucket seats. Wire wheels and an anemic 2.2L with retirement home friendly sheet metal don't make a sporty car. :P

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We can laugh at the K-car now, but in the mid-80s it was pretty remarkable car. You have to remember what it's competition was. The Escort? The original J-cars? The Datsun 210? LOL!

I remember talking to a taxi driver in 1981 about his new K-car and he loved it. A taxi!!! Can you imagine today?

I bought a '87 Reliant from a customer in 2000 for $300. The car was spotless. I safetied it for $600 and 3 months later it was rear ended by an Audi. The Audi had to be towed away and I drove the Reliant for another week before the adjustor wrote it off!

But they were gutless, that's for sure. But then under 100 hp was the norm for small cars in the early '80s.

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We can laugh at the K-car now, but in the mid-80s it was pretty remarkable car.  You have to remember what it's competition was.  The Escort?  The original J-cars?  The Datsun 210?  LOL!

  I remember talking to a taxi driver in 1981 about his new K-car and he loved it.  A taxi!!!  Can you imagine today?

  I bought a '87 Reliant from a customer in 2000 for $300.  The car was spotless.  I safetied it for $600 and 3 months later it was rear ended by an Audi.  The Audi had to be towed away and I drove the Reliant for another week before the adjustor wrote it off!

  But they were gutless, that's for sure.  But then under 100 hp was the norm for small cars in the early '80s.

K-cars were great in their day. The 84hp of the 2.2L 2bbl engine wasn't bad, in the day...especially if you were fortunate (unfortunate) enough not to have A/C or power anything. With a manual, it moved out briskly for its time. And with its mid-sized interior, it was a far better value than any other $6,000 car in 1982.

As for the safety...I can vouch for that. I hit a deer square in the front and while the plastic parts (grille, headlight benzels) had to be replaced and some metal needed to be straightened, I drove it about 100 miles to the shop that did the work. And one other accident I had would have probably ejected me through the windshield had I not been wearing my seatbelt, but the car drove away and had no significant damage to the car itself.

It was reliable as well. Nearly 100,000 miles with very few problems while I owned it. I'd buy back today if I could find MY car.

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K-cars were great in their day. The 84hp of the 2.2L 2bbl engine wasn't bad, in the day...especially if you were fortunate (unfortunate) enough not to have A/C or power anything. With a manual, it moved out briskly for its time. And with its mid-sized interior, it was a far better value than any other $6,000 car in 1982.

As for the safety...I can vouch for that. I hit a deer square in the front and while the plastic parts (grille, headlight benzels) had to be replaced and some metal needed to be straightened, I drove it about 100 miles to the shop that did the work. And one other accident I had would have probably ejected me through the windshield had I not been wearing my seatbelt, but the car drove away and had no significant damage to the car itself.

It was reliable as well. Nearly 100,000 miles with very few problems while I owned it. I'd buy back today if I could find MY car.

Try Carfax

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