Quick, what was the first front-wheel drive subcompact to go into mass production in the United States? No, it’s not Volkswagen Rabbit made by Pennsylvania, even though the car is mentioned did with Volkswagen engine. Early US market Ford Fiesta built in West Germany, Simca 1204 (sold at American Chrysler agency) from France, Ford Escort and Chevy Cavalier did not enter production in the United States until 1980 and 1981, and Honda’s motobike don’t start building citizenship in Ohio until 1986. Chrysler Corporation declares honor to Dodge Omni and its pair of Plymouth Horizon, debuting for the first time Belvidere fairgrounds in 1977 as the 1978 models. Although completely obsolete by the time sales in the United States ceased in 1990, the “Omnirizon” still serves as a perfectly functional transportation vehicle. and nearly 2 million sold here. Of today Junkyard Gems was one of the later cars, found in a self-service vineyard in Denver during the summer.
Omnirizon is based on a design drafted by Simca engineers working for Chrysler Europe, at the end of the The story of the Rootes Group is long and complicated. The North American version is fundamentally different from Talbot / Chrysler / Simca Horizon built by Peugeot (which took over all of Chrysler Europe’s operations in 1978) and sold in Europe, but at a glance the family resemblance is obvious.
The first Omnirizons all had a capacity of 1.7 liters Volkswagen engine, but Chrysler 2.2 (belong to Famous K-Cars) became an option in 1981 and standard equipment in 1987 (for a time in the mid-1980s, a 1.6-liter Simca mill served as the El Cheapo’s base engine). 2.2 in this car there are 93 horses when new.
New car with 4-speed manual transmission will be here in eight years after 1988, but the 1988 Omnirizon comes with five-speed manual as basic equipment. If you want a three-speed automatic in your new ’88 Omni or Horizon’, the price tag is a staggering $769 (about $1,845 in 2021).
Americans bought Omnirizons of 1988 are outdated for the same reason they bought funny old Chevrolet Chevette the last year: price. The MSRP on this car—and the identical but badged Horizon America—starts at $5,995 (about $14,401 today). Cheapest possible ’88 Chevy Cavalier is $6,995, Ford’s most affordable price To escort priced at $6,586, minimum from minimum civic for $6,095 and Toyota Tercel EZ spartan just managed to squeeze below the Omnirizon at $5,948 (the last two come with a four-speed manual transmission as standard equipment).
Friend maybe find a cheaper one new car than the Omnirizon of 1988, but each choice caused a strong sense of dread for the savvy 1988 car shopper. We don’t need to go into the details of why you can run away in horror from $4,199 Yugo GV and $5,295 Hyundai Excel that year, but still pathetic little $5,490 Ford Festiva or miserable $5,556 Subaru Justy? $5,990 Brazilian Gol? $5,899 Avoid/Plymouth Colt isn’t so bad, nor is it Its twin Mitsubishi Mirage, but you’re stuck with a four-speed manual instead of five gas mileage at that price (sorry, how to use Colt .’s amazing Twin-Stick dual band passed away after 1984). I think I pulled out four more shells to get a new $5,999 Mazda 323 or resigned to the 300,000 miles of Tercel EZ reasonably tedious, but I’m a spoiled college student driving a 15 year old MGB-GT that year and any The new car seems to me as out of reach as an intergalactic spaceship.
Anyway, the Omnirizon was a rudimentary yet functional car that was pocket-friendly, and you still see a lot of them on American roads as recently as the mid-2000s.
This thing seems to have been abused in the most brutal way for decades, then decomposed in the harsh Colorado climate for many years.
When I found it, it was parked next to a similarly rugged Horizon.
Just a few rows away from those two piles, I found this Omni. A few minutes later, I came across an extremely rare 1981 Plymouth Horizon Miser. It’s correct, four Omnirizons in the same car graveyard, and that’s not counting the ones packed with spare parts at a township yard I’d seen a few years earlier. I suspect that an Omnirizon fan in the Denver area has sifted through a lot of auto parts for a handful of beautiful remodeled ones, and that I will continue to find these cars in beam (yes, Omni GLH do show up in such dumps now and then, thanks for asking).
For the first model year, Omni’s advertisement touts its versatility.
Then Omni marketing is all about low stickers and low interest.
Chrysler gave “American” trim levels to its entry-level versions that were cheaper Dodges and Plymouths starting with the 1987 model year. You can get birch, Reliable, Sundance and Shadow with US package, but all Omnirizons became the Americas starting at that point. As far as I know, there was never an Omnirizon with the American coat of arms.
The Talbot version features ¡Fuerza Dinamica!
