78 Dodge Diplomat vs Ford Granada Ghia & Olds CutlassTom Kite featured
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- Опубликовано: 20 ноя 2010
- 78 model year. This basic car stayed in production until 1989. Diplomats were used extensively as Police Cars and Taxi Cabs after 1981 when the Aspen and St Regis were removed from the Dodge Line Up. It proved to be a very successful car for Dodge. Diplomats were based off the Dodge Aspen. They share much in styling. Even the doors of the car were the same. Diplomats phased out the stylish two door and wagon in the early eighties. Wink Martindale is the voice over for this video.
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Wink has so much class, i did not know how my life would be less luxurious with out a padded vinyl roof when he says so!
Yeah I'm a kid from that era too. We always had the big ol boat cars but when we went camping, we always had the pickup truck to tow with. My parent's last huge 70's car was a 77 Ford LTD II 4 door. It was baby blue with the dark blue velour interior. Now that was 70's fab! lol
I don't get why people are hating on vehicles built during the late 70's, I remember seeing cars like this around all the time back when I was little (I'm born in 1980) and always liked the looks of these cars, at least they have style and personality unlike today's cars.
I don't get it either. What particularly bothers me is when they say the cars looked ugly. Ugly is a matter of personal tastes and at the time, people liked these cars and drove these cars by the 10's of millions. Styles change, I wouldn't wear clothing from the 80's now.....but at the time, people like it.
Well, many cars of the 70s are fairly ugly but the fact of the matter is one would nearly have to buy a Rolls Royce today to find a car actually built out of metal like the ones featured here. The Diplomat Would be a decent car today in a coupe with the 360 if it had perhaps the 4 speed manual or could be retrofired with at least a 4 speed overdrive automatic transmission. Heck, I'd consider trading my '94 Mark VIII for one.
Doobie1975 The huge dashboards is a big waste of space
OsbornTramain but with my 81 Lebaron, so much time has passed. Its quite a cool site on the road these days and many people enjoy seeing it driving around. I love it because its what I call an " anti aspirational" car. Basically a big middle finger to badge fetishes and "look at me" chrome wheels.
Agreed 100%! I love 70's and 80's cars and I was born in the 90's. Cars of today suck! They all look like angry jelly beans!
All midsize GM 4-doors of this era had fixed rear door windows. I have heard two reasons for the major design flaw. One was that without window mechanisms the interior door panels didn't need to be as thick which would allow for additional rear seat space and the other it was done as a cost saving measure. Either way it was a very unpopular move by GM and corrected in the next generation mid size cars.
no padding in the vinyl roof!!!! That's it I'm buying the Dodge!
padded vinyl roof luxury, in other words, whoa this roof has all kinds of dimples in it and its wavy, lets put a vinyl top on it to hide defects and produce rust later
The 1976 Seville had a standard vinyl roof to hide the splice between the Nova roof and the Cadillac extension. When they finally had a real roof for the car in 1978, they proudly made it part of the $2,600 "Eleganti" package, including real spoked wheels. I have to say that while they seemed useless, vinyl roofs cut down a lot on rain noise and the padding quieted it more while extending the life of the shrink-prone vinyl.
@@pcno2832 The 79 Lincoln Versailles was the same way with their padded vinyl tops. They hid the splice between the Granada roof and the fiberglass insert.
I actually had a 1978 Ford Granada Ghia in light green jade, dark green green w/ dark green velour interior. It had the 302 V-8 under the hood. It was a very sharp looking car, and a very smooth ride. My dad had an after market cruise control installed, and it got about 22-23 mpg on the highway. The trunk was a bit small though. We bought it from my great-aunt about a week before she died in 1989 for about $500. It had 10,002 original miles on it when purchased by us. Wish I had still had it.
Leaning Tower of Power. The slant 6 engine was indistrucable!
I had a 76 Volare with one in it. Was 17 at the time and wanted to throw in a 360. The ol man said not as long as this motor was working so I thrashed it for over 3 months with no sign of oil on the stick or coolant visible from the cap. Only used brakes when I had to stay stopped, otherwise it was to the floor and rammed between reverse and low to start and stop. Poor thing finally got to thrashing one night and a typical 10 minute drive turned into 1/2 hour with it only topping at 20mph right to the floor. Next couple of weeks went out every day and held it down til my leg got tired then switched legs and held it some more. Finally figured it was beyond screwed and my buddy got in to crawl it to the shop. Threw a rod by the end of the driveway but kept thrashing along lol. Crazy tough, no power and tempermental engines they were
The only police car that scared the crap out of me was the Diplomat. There was just something very mean and businesslike about a Diplomat/ Gran Fury with the light bar whirling and the wigwag headlights. That was scary back then.
I remember being able to spot a Diplomat cop car in my rear view mirror at night, by the big yellow turn signals and quad beam headlights. Always let me know to back off the gas a bit. It did put fear in your heart when you saw them coming.
@Curtis ZZZChicagoHouseNation lol. I miss the old days. Not today. Cops are so humorless. Ah well.
TRUE!!
I miss these Volare/Aspens, er Diplomat, Gran Furys, and later 5th Aves.
Love the rounded 2 doors.
Those were UGLIEST Cutlasses Oldsmobile ever made.
You're sadly right. RIP.
And to think they made a 442 with this horrendous styling.
You can say that agan
They even made a turbo coupe version lol very rare. & collectible now
It’s like the Olds stylists got Seville envy.
The Diplomat happened to be Dodge's step-up series from the Aspen that year.
You had me sold on the map reading light!
I worked for Chrysler couple of times it was a great company to work for
i used to own an 81 lebaron had the 5.2 ltr 2 barrel carbureted 318 v8 automatic 4 door 2 toned light brown and dark brown light brown interior and carpet i could never forget how easy the power steering was on that car you could turn the steering wheel with 1 finger either sitting still or moveing i got the car from my uncle who got it from his uncle who baught the car from my dad who purchased it from a local junk yard . when my dad owned it he once drove it from where we live 90miles 1 way to cleveland ohio on a friday to visit family in cleveland for a weekend and drove around cleveland when we left cleveland we had a lil less than 3/4 tank of gas when we got back home had 1/2 tank of gas left . i say not bad for a carbureted 318
@landyachtfan79 I loved these cars so much, I convinced my parents to trade their 75 AMC Hornet in for a Brown and Cooper Diplomat. It made me feel like we came from a wealthy family. We grew up in an exclusive town and riding around in the Hornet made me feel a bit ashamed. This car was a real step up and I loved going to church in it every Sunday with the family. No offense to Hornet fans, I do love them too. :O)
Wink "Mr. Game Show" Martindale!
Hey that's Wink Martindale narrating.
Working for a Dodge Dealer at the time, I would say about 85% of these cars were Medallions and I don't ever recall seeing a stick shift Diplomat go thru the dealer. I do remember lots of Stick Shift Aspens though.
Electronically tuned radio? I did not realized you could get something like that in a car back in 78 (lol)
Think the showrooms have any leftovers? This man got me sold
Quelle. Belle. Voiture
They had alot of leftovers. The Granada outsold the Diplomat's by millions. These cars went primarily to rental car and corporate fleets.
@@dannyjaythompson1243 and ironically enough, the M. Body Chryslers were absolutely tough as nails. Hell, NYC used the M bodies for like you said, fleet use. (Police and taxi, and undercover police) These cars stood up to the worse roads in the United States, NYC. And held up just fine until the Ford Crown Vic came in.
What also hurt sales is that the Grenada was marketed to appeal to Mercedes Benz 200 series buyers because they looked similar. (W123 perspectively) Many women ages 24-48 Wanted the Mercedes Benz 240D but at a 10k plus price tag it was out of reach for this market especially when they can buy a well equipped Ghia for under 3k.
@@dannyjaythompson1243 I watched those comparative commercials with the Mercedes-Benz and Ford Granada, and I couldn't, to save my life see any similarities between the two. I never understood that. To me, the Granada took over for Falcon. Not making fun, but if it didn't have the pretty sharp Ghia upgrade, it was just an entry level, slightly above entry level 4/D sedan.
Damn good car, that Diplomat. Blows the Granada and Cutlass out of the water.
In 1990 my dad bought a '76 Granada Ghia. It must have spent most of it's life up north. Was rusted so bad my little cousin used to call it "rustoleum".
Instead of "Rustada"? Lol.
There was a very specific reason those rear door windows did not roll down. GM was in the middle of downsizing its entire line of cars, first with their full size car for the 1977 model year, then their mid size cars for 1978, including the Cutless. In order to preserve rear seat passenger space lost due to downsizing, the engineers carved a deep depression in the door making more room. No space left for a roll down window. Not a good idea, many customers complained and eventually abandoned.
My mother bought our brand new Dodge Diplomat in February of 78. 2 weeks after she bought it the tail lights fell off because of the cold. There were only glued on.
I think you're memory is a bit fuzzy....My family owned a new Diplomat in 1978 too. The tail lamps were modular units, they bolted into the body. there was a housing with three bulbls. The lens had a gasket between the housing and outside lense. Not sure how you're remembering something glued together, it wasn't. you can see photos here of how it's assembled. Not trying to argue, just fighting myths being created on my channel. www.ebay.com/itm/1978-Dodge-Diplomat-LEFT-Side-Tail-Light-Lamp-OE-JK/322875234083?epid=2075720548&hash=item4b2cdd1723:g:L9YAAOSwI8laBjWk&vxp=mtr
I still remember a Consumer Reports story about a '69 Newport with the wrong panel behind the lights and it had been hacked with a vise grip to accommodate the Newport wiring, so nothing would surprise me. But I've always had the impression that the Diplomat had better build quality than many of the "bad old days" Chrysler cars. I can picture a light assembly splitting from the strain and getting glued before the car was delivered, or maybe just splitting in a way that made the first person to see it assume that it was glued. If my memory serves me correctly, the winter of '78 was snowy but not really cold while '77 was a deep freeze, so maybe it was a '77.
@@OsbornTramain I remember a lot of Cordobas and Fairmonts with missing tail lenses in the late 80s. A friend of mine drilled holes and screwed his Fairmont lenses on to prevent detachment. Silly stuff like that gave away the lead to Japanese auto makers, though they too turned out some real lemons sometimes.
My neighbors had a 1985 Pontiac Bonneville wagon that they had bought brand new (similar to the Olds Cutlass in this video). The thing was so old fashioned even by 1985 standards (it was really 1970's technology). And the rear windows only went down half way, but it was still a cool car. And it was 2 tone blue and silver. The guages were all round, and a lot of fake wood trim. Vinyl bench seats. It probably had the 3.8 V6 in it. I miss those classics.
surfing the web is the way I find great cars. I just bought two days ago, a 1977 Dodge Royal Monaco with the rare Diplomat luxury package......I'd been looking for one since I saw one for the first time in 1977. You can find Lebarons and Diplomats on Ebay all the time.....I would try to find a 1977 or 1978, they are the best years. in my opinion. Sevilles and Monarchs and Granadas are on ebay often as well. Craigs list is another option. Good Luck with your search!
I'm still driving my Dodge Mirada, which is the same underneath as Diplomat/Aspen. The Torsion Bar suspension rides smoothly and doesn't bounce. I also have an '81 Imperial but that car is way heaver in the nose. Neither car has ANY wind noise.
I worked for a Dodge dealer in the '70s and sold lots of Diplomats. Customers would ooh and aah when they saw the leather interiors o the Diplomat. I was vat dyed imported Corinthian leather and smelled as good as it looked.
A Mirada with white bucket seats, console shift, mag wheels, and landau top is a very sharp car.
Leather is fairly common now, but it was something special in the plastic-fantastic 1960s and '70s. I don't think anything short of Cadillacs, Lincolns and Imperials (and similar imports) offered it before the Cordoba came out.
Tom looks like he is boasting an Impressive Package of his Own.
That was one of the optional packages they mentioned.
I love the velour interior, I wish they bring it back along with the full size sedan. .. they keep making more suv's, y not expand the sedan market!
Gotta love how they pick and choose, going after the Cutlass for not having roll-down windows in back, but then going after the Granada for not being as roomy. On the flip side, the Cutlass was a bit roomier, based on published EPA volumes, while the rear windows on the Granada actually went ALL the way down. Still, considering how bad some cars were by that time, the fact that the M-body went down all but maybe an inch and a half, was pretty impressive. It was a fairly large piece of glass, too.
They will if powered windows were ordered.
@@jimthegatormantwopoint0 No, even the power window A/G bodies still had stationary rear door windows. If you got a power window 4-door, you had two choices. Power for just the front windows, or power for the front windows and the rear vents. On the wagons, and the later 4-door models that had the more formal roof, you can spot the ones with power vents, because they don't have the little knob attached to the window to flip it out.
Oh my goodness I had a Diplomat, totally forgot about that car. Lots of fun gremlins. And it must have been a premonition, I'm now a diplomat.
I like the Hammond B3 organ in the backing music.
In 1977 automatic transmission was standard on Diplomat. Then Sales Manager at the dealer I worked at ordered the 1978's he didn't realize it. The Chrysler rep called and told us. I don't believe any were made with the 4 speed overdrive for the US but many were made for Mexico where the car was called the Dart.
the 318 was a proven power plant .
I built the Dodge Diplomats! Chrysler..St. Louis Assembly Plant #1 South Fenton,Missouri "The Good Ole Days"
Dodge Diplomat is my favorite. Here in Brasil, Diplomat was a name of one Chevrolet model.
Yes, that was the badge engineered Opel Diplomat. GM stole the name from Chrysler in Europe after Chrysler stopped selling the Desoto Diplomat in about 1963. AMC use to sell the Ambassador DPL which was an abbreviation of the word Diplomat.
And also in Argentina; IKA (Industria Kaiser Argentina/ Argentinan Kaiser Industries) have selled the Ambassador and the Rambler (But called "Torino" cooperating alongside with Renault) under the AMC Liscense.
I love these videos because they take me back way back. Back in time. Sort of like a time warp. They transport me back to the 70's with the narration and especially the background music.
Yep, for people that lived then, it's very sentimental...for folks that think they know the 70's, this is what it really was like....for the younger folks who have no clue, it's educational.
OsbornTramain Yes indeed my friend. And besides being educational I personally see these videos as relaxing and even therapeutic as well as very nostalgic. Thanks to this channel.
I had a diplomat and a lebaron, old ones like these, second hand. LOVED those cars.
The reason for solid windows on the Malibu class (including Cutlass) is because EPA mpg tests at the time were based on broad weight classes. One of the car magazines in the 1980's did a piece on odd things that were done to 'make weight' which had no basis in real world mileage - only helped the car companies game the tests at the time. One reason EPA estimates for all cars were impossible until testing protocols we're reformed.
Actually,, that literally makes no sense. the only weight reduction would have been the metal gears and roller to raise and lower the window. The real reason it was fixed was because GM wanted the smaller new midsize car to have the same interior width or as close as possible to the previous A body midsize cars. The only way to do this was to put the arm rest for the passenger inside the door, rather than hanging it from the door. This changed meant there couldn't be any internal mechanism to raise and lower the window. That's why the window fixed. Additionally, the previous years GM full sized cars windows could only go down about 2 inches, this was also the case with the Malibu because it had a curved door so that in combination of the armrest made the end result have a fixed window
OsbornTramain Who said anything about it making sense? We are talking about a government test here. It also made no sense to advertise 26 mpg on these boat anchors but they did (I found a Volare wagon ad suggesting an EPA 30 mpg!!!).
Your answer does make sense, and I trust is part of the reason.
A 1980's article from Motor Trend, C-and-D, or R&T was the source of my useless trivia - I remembered the Malibu because it was eapecially nonsensical. I used to memorize those mags. Modern Google couldn't find the article - too many ad buys to sell new Malibu's. I'll post a link if I find it.
I experienced the Malibu window because my school had a blue one. A chess club trip with the teacher and 4 students ended badly on an Arizona canyon road when a kid got carsick. Neither the teacher or kid inspected the lack of a window crank before it was too late...
jalapenochomper - I remember a relative's neighbor had the Malibu wagon with the fixed windows. They said it was "for safety, so a kid couldn't climb out." Even THEN, I thought that was stupid... Good thing I wasn't of age when they came out, 'cause that woulda been a lost sale for GM.
if I am not mistaken I think some of the later models(same body) did roll down just a few inches , door was too small for it roll down all the way
jalapenochomper: I remember hearing about those weigh brackets, and they didn't make sense. That was one of the reasons my '05 Accord hybrid has only a bottle of slime (and some aluminum body parts), while the standard models had a compact spare. But GM sold the window thing as a space advantage, and it kind of was.
Good old VHS tape.
Not a VHS tape, this was a Super8 film cartridge run on a Projection System Called "Dodge Demo Screen" produced by Kodak. The video here is an electronic version made from the original negative film. The redness is due to the age of the film. The Projection system were in Dealers and could be viewed by customers and also Salesmen for Training. VHS wasn't introduced to the USA until late 1977, about the same time this film was created. VHS didn't become widespread until the early 1980's
I owned a 76 granada and a 78 mercury monarch ghia and both were great cars, very reliable.
An interesting comparision here - the Diplomat's design was cunning, being based heavily on the Aspen/Volare, complete with identical suspension, wheelbase and interchangable doors, yet having a larger look about it...
As for Granada, I recall its basic underbody design could trace its roots back to the1960 Ford Falcon. In Europe a "Ford Granada Ghia" was sold, however it was a different animal altogether. For this reason, the US Granada was exported to Europe in Mercury Monarch form only.
@caholla yep, i have it in the tag line in case anyone searches for Wink on youtube. He also is the voice of a couple other video's from Dodge that I have here.
Been daily driving that diplomat coupe it's more reliable than you think you just gotta know how to drive em
None of the cars offers the stereo sounds of an 8 Track?
These are all great cars, even today. Weren’t Wink Martindale and Tom Kite such cool dudes?
Wink is still cool, i'm friends with him on Facebook! he's still alive!
gm added the dreaded giant hatchback to these cars, so they would better compete in racing. the granada and mercury monarch were actually more in competition with the volare and aspen than the diplomat. i always liked the notchback sedans from gm, like the cutlass, malibu and le mans. all were good cars in their own right, and were what was in vogue at the time, just fun to look back, and think wow, this was what our dads had to drive, how lucky are we!
It is also equally amazing the 1987 Buick Grand National platform is based on the 78 Olds Cutlass platform
That Diplomat Medallion at the start has me craving a glass of red wine! And I'm a beer guy! 😆😆 I think I'll head to my Dodge dealer now, and see if they have a 4 speed manual overdrive version! That will be fun to drive. 😄
Good ole Wink Martindale.
LOVE that Diplomat station wagon!!!
Ford would compare itself to Rolls because apparently the Fords of that era (60's/70's) had a really nice and luxurious ride. I grew up in a Dodge and Plymouth family. My dad always bought and drove Dodge pickups, and mom got a '72 Plymouth Fury wagon brand new and drove it until she bought a Plymouth 1984 Voyager minivan.
GM could've saved even more money on those windows by fixing them in the *open* position. Glass costs money after all. Plus they could sell accessory side curtains.
The early K cars had non roll down windows too.
@MrPowertorque I can honestly say, the most frightening Time I ever had driving a car and I'm 110% serious was back in 1980 driving a Ford Fairmont with the 4 cylinder trying to pull into traffic. That car couldn't get out of it's own way. Merging or entering Traffic was and ordeal. I worked for a Car Rental Agency and had to drive them often.
What are you talking about? Sealed beam headlights were already being used in cars for thirty years at least when this commercial was made. 5mph bumpers were required front and back in the 1974 model year and emissions started around 1968. By 1975, catalysts were nearly universally used in the US market. Do some research will ya?
I really dig Mr. Kite's checkered trousers! 😂😂😂
When Ford and Mercury compared their cars to a Rolls, it was for quietness only, and that proved to be true by independent studies. I remember my aunt purchasing a Mercury Marquis, riding in it was like sitting in a vault it was so quiet. Did you know that Rolls used to buy and install Frigidaire auto air conditioners for their cars? Frigidaire was (not sure if it still is), was a subsidiary of GM. GM had the best car a/c units and Rolls knew it.
Ok I am convinced. I am going with the Diplomat. Where do I sign?
@Lumotaku What's interesting however is that the four door 1983-87 Cutlass Supreme Brougham sedan with power windows does let you open the windows in the back which was a take that to Dodge of course.
@briabba123 you mean the Oldsmobile right? The Diplomate never had a diesel engine as far as I'm aware. Those Olds Diesels were AWFUL!!!
Dad bought a 4 door diplomat bro-ham lol in 78. Good car, great date car. I was17 what did I know. Back doors did allow for more space.
No, sorry, Dad didn't buy that. You're memory is faded. The Diplomat Four door came in two Series. Standard and Medallion. The Medallion was the higher priced model with more standard equipment including the fully padded vinyl roof. They didn't offer a "Brougham" Package. Dodge had offered a "Brougham" package on the Royal Monaco.
@@OsbornTramain you're right it was a medallion but I couldn't figure out how to make medallion funny.
Look kids! it's famous golfer Tom Kite!! *kids go crazy
He later did ads for the '94 LHS when introduced in May 1993.
These cars were in fact rated to tow with the appropriate towing package. Even today, where nearly all cars are unibody, can tow.
Back when a padded vinyl roof was hawt. Keep pumping that alternator gauge too.Those leather seats look amazing though.
Chrysler products were the only ones that had alternator gauges. Most cars of the day had a speedometer and idiot lights.
It was not a hatchback, it was called a fast back. The lid opened to a conventional trunk. The back window did not lift up.
1978 Dodge was a powerhouse compared to today.
Cost. Most cars had idiot lights by the mid 1950's except for Chrysler and Pontiac. My 1997 Bonneville has a full compliment of gauges, including fuel, temperature, oil pressure and charging, plus a tachometer.
How GM got away with selling something as horrible as the Cutlass in 1978 is beyond me.
I actually don't use Craig's List but I've heard of people finding great cars there. I know there are some gems out there so it's a good place to look.
The ol Winkster strikes again
More videos of the Winkster coming up soon.....btw, I'm friends with him on FAcebook and he enjoys these videos as I find them, he's even posted them on his facebook page!
Yep I follow him on Facebook too...seems like a nice guy
Still amazed that some people choosed the Granada back in the time,héhéhé
Unibody is stronger than body on frame, it is also lighter and makes for a larger interior.
Why would the back windows in a cutlass not open??
Was a Mercury Monarch comperable to the Diplomat or is that more Lebaron?
Those old diplomats held the road very well
Did they really just say that unibody was better than a frame? Are you kidding me?!?!?!
Just about every road test I read from this time era says the full frame cars rode, handled and steered better and were quieter and more isolated. I have driven loads of examples and owned many and for the most part GM's mid size A/G body full frame cars with a V8 and the cheap F41 suspension upgrade left the M-body Chrylser's and Granada's a bit lacking. When base suspensions were ordered the difference wasn't as great however.
@Jac2Mac but what sound do those doors make?
Feliz que você gosta!
Cool :)
This Is When GM Ford & Chrysler Cared About The Vehicles That They Made & Sold To Their Customers
Are you serious?
In less then 5 years they would sell the M body as their biggest top of the line model up against downsized Ford's panther and GM b body, the origins of this platform were in the near identical F body which was ironically their compact model
The first car I ever drove was a 1978 LeBaron Medallion 2 door. Nice car, but it had its problems.
+Donovan Savage They had lean burn? Honda used Lean burn on their Civic HX and 1st generation Honda Insight, yielded really good MPG. But eh replacement O2 sensors were expensive because they were "wide band". Otherwise reliable.
+Donovan Savage Oh I believe you. What was so bad about it that you know? Bad transitions from lean burn to regular mode, knock, low power, low reliability? Just curious
yes but ford had the venturi carb around this time era
I don't remember ever seeing a Diplomat wagon. Maybe as a kid?
I'm just curious, what was this recorded on? The audio is great, but the video looks like a reel to reel?
It's a super8 cartridge system produced by Kodak. The dealers all had a player in their showroom. The Dodge Demo Screen. You'd slip the Super8 cartridge into the machine and play. So it's film on a reel in a cartridge. The redness is due to aging obviously.
Diplomat was equipped with AT, but as far as I can catch, at 1:57 Wink says "4 speed overdrive MANUAL transmission" Why?
Might have been a zero cost or "delete for credit" option.
I forgot how red things were back then.
Great cars
Diplomat is more automobile.
I didn't know they had lock up torque converters in the 70's thats the only cool thing about this car.
I Liked the oldsmobile the most
While I find all three cars attractive to look at, I'd much prefer the Dodge Diplomat for its standard features, features that for some reason weren't available on either the Ford Granada Ghia or the Oldsmobile Cutlass Salon Brougham. Among my favourites are unibody frame construction, I like the rear door windows that roll down all the way, why they weren't available on the Oldsmobile Cutlass, which had only a fixed window that doesn't open at all is beyond me. While I'm all for bench seating, I appreciate having an armrest to relax my arm on while I drive. I also appreciate gauges, rather than warning "idiot" lights, which most Ford and GM cars still had. Warning lights are an ok supplement to the gauges, but I think they're a lousy substitute to the gauges. Why anyone would refuse to include proper gauges as standard equipment. It's pathetic. I also like the engine choices in the Diplomat vs either the Granada or the Cutlass. Whether most people admit it or not, I think they would appreciate the option of a station wagon. I've never seen either a Granada or Cutlass in station wagon form. I'm not fond of the vinyl padded roof, but that's me.
Wasn't the Dodge Diplomat a stripped down version of the more upscale Chrysler 5th Avenue? Didn't these cars ride the same platform?
+Ed Clegg No, actually, it's the opposite. the Diplomat was launched in 1977 and the Chrysler Model comparable was the LeBaron on the F body. In 1980, as a spring special, The LeBaron introduced a "Fifth Avenue" edition similar to New Yorker's "fifth Avenue" edition about 1000 to 2000 were built in 1980. When the Full Sized New Yorker left the scene in 1981 (R body), the 1980 LeBaron "fifth Ave" was re-introduced as the new top of the line Chrysler (F body) and the LeBaron name moved to the 1982 K Car Chrysler model......so the 82 on Fifth Avenue was a very very fancy Dodge Diplomat rather than the Dodge Diplomat being a stripped down Fifth Ave. The Diplomat was in production much longer, from 1977 till 1989 where the Fifth Ave on the F body really only was in full production from 1982 thru 1989. In their final 3 model years, they were actually built by AMC for Chrysler, the original plan was to kill the car in 1986 but they were so popular and profitable, Chrysler worked a Deal with AMC to build them under contract......then Chrysler bought AMC out right to get the company and the manufacturing capacity it needed and the Jeep product line..
Wow. That's some knowledge you have there. Growing up, our neighbors had a silver 5th Ave and we always felt to rich and powerful riding in it. We were just kids, but I do remember how plush the back seat was - almost like a couch. Thanks for the info!
yes, they are beautiful cars.....we had a brown 77 Diplomat just like in the video brand new....with the 2 inch white wall tires....I have to tell you, we always owned inexpensive cars.....nothing fancy, it was our first luxury car and boy, I use to feel so good riding around or driving that car....I loved the copper color padded vinyl roof on it too with the limousine style rear window.
Yes The 5th Avenue started in the 1984 model year and lasted till 1990. In 1990 the 5th Avenue continued under the C body front wheel drive sedan until 1993 when it was replaced with the LH platform
It was called the New Yorker from 1981-1982. Then became the 5Th Avenue in 1983-1984. Because the New Yorker name plate went to the front wheel drive stretched K Car platform from 1983-1988. Then in 1988 it became THE New Yorker Turbo( K Car) and then C Body New Yorker/ Dynasty platform from 1987-1993 which were all front wheel drive all away up until it's demise in 2004 with the LH platform introduced in 1993 to replace the C Body New Yorker/Dynasty/5TH Avenue/Imperial. The LH was the Chrysler Concorde/Eagle Vision/Dodge Intrepid for the 1993 model year. Then the New Yorker went to the LH platform in 1994. Here is some history on the LH platform it was derived from the 1987 Eagle/Renault Premier which then in 1990 changed to the Dodge Monaco Chrysler was hoping the nameplate change would help sales but managed to hang for another 2 years until the LH platform was introduced in 1993. The Eagle Premier is what Chrysler was trying to develop the cab forward design .
Who the hell would want a manual transmission in one of these? Lol!
@pdennis93 Even as a teen, it use to make me laugh that Ford could say that a Granada was a less expensive alternative to the Mercedes......seriously...but they were also the car company that use to compare the 65 Ford Galaxie to the Rolls Royce in their TV ads.......and 73 LTD's to Jaguars..........
When I was a kid I mowed the lawn of a lady who had a red Diplomat Medallion sedan. I always liked that Chrysler metallic red. Not sure what year it was, '77 or '78. It had a 360 and the lady said it would get up and go.
Back in the day, everyone towed boats and campers with cars. We had a brown Diplomat just like the one in the video. We would go camping and pull our 18 food Wilderness trailer........we could fit the whole family in the car unlike a pick up truck. SUV really didn't exist then as they do today. Chevy had the Suburban and Blazer, the Ramcharger was on the market and Jeep Wagoneer, but that was about it.
@MaestroTJS Actually, that is the Sedan version for Oldsmobile, they were called "Aero Sedens" Buick and Oldsmobile's mid sized cars of 78, 79 and 80 were butt ugly. They didn't get a knotch back version until 1981 when they had a mild facelift. The chevy Malabu and the Pontiac Lemans offered notch back versions only in those three years.
Love that diplomat
FYI, In less than a week, I'll be uploading some more Dodge Films and Commercials.....Another one about the Diplomat too,
I rather liked the Diplomats in the late 1970's. I can't figure out why people bought the Cutlass models where the rear windows didn't open. Imagine if it wasn't equipped with air conditioning?
Actual engine power is not mentioned, and there´s a good reason why!
These cars were so strangulated, mainly because of bad emission control systems.
The Ford "250" was 97 hp! If You bought a Volvo here in Sweden at the same time they got more power out of an engine half that size! (Minus the torque, ok...)
The Dodge (With the "super six" as in this clip) had a slightly smaller engine with 110hp. (90hp version if You wanted that.....)
Standard for the Olds was a "231" V6 with 105hp