Dodge Diplomat
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Dodge Diplomat | |
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| Manufacturer | Chrysler Corporation |
| Also called | Plymouth Caravelle (Canada) Dodge Dart (Mexico) Dodge Coronet (Colombia) |
| Production | 1977–1989 |
| Assembly | St. Louis, Missouri Kenosha, Wisconsin Windsor, Ontario, Canada |
| Predecessor | Dodge Coronet |
| Successor | Dodge Monaco |
| Class | Mid-size |
| Body style(s) | 2-door coupe 4-door sedan 4-door station wagon |
| Layout | FR layout |
| Platform | M-body |
| Engine(s) | 225 CID (3.7 L) Slant 6 I6 318 CID (5.2 L) LA V8 360 CID (5.9 L) LA V8 |
| Transmission(s) | 4-speed A833 manual 3-speed A727 automatic 3-speed A904 automatic 3-speed A999 automatic |
| Wheelbase | 112.6 in (2860 mm) |
| Length | 204.6 in (5197 mm) |
| Width | 72.4 in (1839 mm) |
| Height | 55.1 in (1400 mm) |
| Related | Chrysler Fifth Avenue Chrysler LeBaron Chrysler New Yorker Chrysler Town and Country Plymouth Gran Fury |
The Dodge Diplomat was a mid-size car and it was manufactured from 1977 to 1989 by the Chrysler Corporation's Dodge brand and practically identical to the Chrysler LeBaron of 1977, the Plymouth Caravelle sold in Canada, and the Plymouth Gran Fury from 1982. It was also sold in Mexico between 1980 and 1981 as the Dodge Dart, and in Colombia as the Dodge Coronet.
[edit] Background
The Diplomat name was originally used from 1950 to 1954, to designate the 2-door hardtop body style in Dodge's line. It was also used on the export version of the DeSoto from 1946 through 1961. Later between 1975 and 1977, The Diplomat name was also used on a trim package available on the Royal Monaco two-door hardtop.
[edit] History
1977 saw the return of the Diplomat as a full model line rather than as the name of a particular body style. It replaced the Coronet in Dodge's new downsized mid-size lineup. The new Diplomat was based on the Dodge Aspen, designated the M-body. While the Aspen had the F-body, the M-bodies were related to it: the wheelbase was often identical and doors and body panels often interchangeable. Hence, another M-body sedan, such as the 1989 Chrysler Fifth Avenue, had interchangeable doors with the 1976 Aspen. Like the Aspen, the Diplomat had coupe and station wagon variants.
The Diplomat was offered with a base 225 CID (3.7 L) six-cylinder engine. In 318 CID (5.2 L) V8 form (and an optional 360 CID (5.9 L)) it, and its Plymouth Gran Fury twin, were widely favored as a police car in the US. After 1984, the only engine offered was the 318 CID (5.2 L) V8.
Following the demise of the Dodge St. Regis R-body in 1981, the Diplomat remained, becoming the largest sedan in the Dodge lineup, despite being a mid-size. Dodge would not market another full-size car until the Monaco debuted as a 1990 model.
In 1982, the coupe and station wagon were discontinued and Canada's Plymouth version of the Diplomat came south of the border. The Plymouth Caravelle was offered in the US as the Plymouth Gran Fury.
As the 1980s progressed, fewer private customers purchased the Diplomat (in part because of a lack of advertising and also because people favored more modern models), and the Diplomat (along with the Plymouth Gran Fury and Chrysler Fifth Avenue) was dropped in 1989. Despite fewer consumers, the Diplomat (and Gran Fury) had another market niche - as fleet vehicles for taxicab and law enforcement use (this was the last RWD Mopar (minus the Dodge Viper) until the 2005 Charger used as a police vehicle).
Diplomats built from mid-1988 until the end of production were among the first Chrysler-built products to have a driver's side airbag as standard equipment, some two model years before the remainder of Chrysler's lineup (They were also among the only cars at the time to offer a tilt steering column with an airbag).
The Diplomat was discontinued in 1989, with the Dodge Monaco replacing it as Dodge's top-of-the-line sedan for 1990.
[edit] External links
- Farley's Dodge Diplomat Page (Chrysler "M" Body resources and information)
- The Dodge Diplomat / Plymouth Gran Fury
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| Mid-size | Magnum | Mirada | 600 | Spirit | Stratus | Avenger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Challenger | Challenger | Conquest | Stealth | Challenger | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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