Plymouth Horizon
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Make: |
Plymouth |
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Production period: |
1978 to 1990 |
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Class : |
Motor car |
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Body versions : |
hatchback |
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Engines: |
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Plymouth Horizon sister sister Plymouth initially sold as a Dodge Omni 024 , the names changed several times.The North American versions of the Horizon were known as the Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon.
History
In January 1978, Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon were presented as the first front-wheel drive vehicles of the Chrysler Corporation. It was based on the Horizon model developed by Simca in France , which was launched as Talbot Horizon. Simca had been in Chrysler possession until 1978, and Chrysler secured the rights to build Horizon in the United States when selling Simca to Peugeot . Engine and suspension have been changed, the torsion-sprung double wishbone front and rocker arm rear were replaced with a torsion beam axle with coil springs back and front of a MacPherson axle.
The Omni was powered by a 1.7-liter inline 56 kW (76 hp) four-cylinder engine from Volkswagen , which delivered power to the front wheels via a four-speed gearbox or Chrysler's TorqueFlite three-speed automatic transmission. There was only one equipment level, which could be upgraded by various packages outside as in the interior, up to the Premium Wood Grained package, in which wood foil decorated the flanks.
In the model year 1979, the performance of the four-cylinder sank due to stricter emission standards to 52, 1980 to 49, 1981 to 47 kW (64 hp).
In 1981, the Omni received a modified radiator grille. New in the program were the rarely ordered Omni Euro-Sedan , a sporty made-up variant with aluminum wheels, wide tires and tachometer, as well as the Omni Miser ("miser"). The latter was a trimmed to minimum fuel consumption model with leaner equipment and longer axle ratio, which reached a standard consumption of 5.5 liters / 100 km. For all models except the Miser was now available on request, the in-house 2.2-liter four-cylinder (63 kW) in conjunction with four-speed overdrive manual or automatic.
In 1983, the equipment of the Omni was enriched by halogen headlights, adjustable seat backrests, quartz clock, brake booster and trip odometer. From early 1983, the VW four-cylinder was replaced by a 46 kW (63 hp) performing 1.6-liter four-cylinder Peugeot, the 2.2-liter strengthened to 69 kW (94 hp). Miser and Euro-Sedan fell out of the program, and on request there was now a five-speed gearbox.
From model year 1984, there was the Omni in basic and SE equipment, as well as Omni GLH ; The abbreviation was according to the work for "goes like hell" , so about "goes like the devil" '. The Peugeot engine gained two kW (48 kW / 65 hp) and was no longer available with automatic transmission; the 2.2-liter engine produced 71 kW or 82 kW (112 hp) in the new high-performance version, which was available for all variants and was standard in the GLH. The GLH did not have a Plymouth Horizon parallel model.
From 1985, the turbocharged version of the 2.2-liter with 109 kW (148 hp) was available in the GLH at extra cost .
For model year 1987, the Omni- / Horizon program was heavily 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 have been canceled. There were only three additional extras to order and three extra packages. 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 made 94 hp. 1990 renamed the name America again.
In the summer of 1990, the production of sedans after about 720,000 copies (including 13,400 GLH and 1196 Euro-Sedan) was set. From Plymouth Horizon created in the same period about 880,000 pieces.
Although they appeared to share the same external bodywork as the European Horizon (the panels were in fact not interchangeable), they were vastly different mechanically — using a larger engine (of VW, then PSA origins on the early versions, replaced by Chrysler's own 2.2L OHC "Trenton" I-4 later) and MacPherson strut suspension at the front instead of the more complex torsion bar arrangement.
They also featured larger reinforced aluminum bumpers to comply with stricter US safety legislation. Despite the car's European origins, then Chrysler chairman Lee Iacocca played this down, emphasizing that features such as the trip computer and electronic ignition were of American design.
In the US, many variants were eventually produced, including three-door coupé versions ("Charger" and "TC-3 / Turismo"), econo versions ("America", "Miser"), and powered-up versions such as the GLH, GLH Turbo, and Shelby GLH-S (turbocharged, intercooled, 174 bhp).
Even a small pickup truck was based on the Horizon ("Scamp" and "Rampage"). Some of these cars had successful careers in racing venues such as Auto-X, road and endurance racing, and pro rallying.
- Engines: Gasoline 1.6-2.2 liter (46-109 kW)
- Length:4186 mm
- Width:1681 mm
- Height:1364 mm
- Wheelbase :2520 mm
- Curb weight :949-1051 kg
