13 Vintage Plymouths Even Grandma Wouldn’t Even Drive
Plymouth was once a force in the American automotive industry. The company produced famous cars such as the Superbird and the Barracuda, but its owner, Chrysler, withdrew the brand from the marketplace in 2001.
Since then, Plymouths have become some of the most popular classic cars on the market. However, not all of them are remembered fondly. In its 94-year history, Plymouth produced its fair share of duds.
Our list contains 13 of the worst vintage Plymouths that even your grandma wouldn’t drive. We chose these based on their poor performance, their reliability record, and the reception the models received from the American public.
Plymouth Breeze
Plymouth produced the Breeze from 1995 to 2000. Because the company fell under the Chrysler umbrella, it shared many parts with the Chrysler Cirrus and the Dodge Stratus. Some said that the Breeze marked the beginning of Plymouth’s downfall, as it came just a few years before the company ceased trading.
Issues with the brakes and shock absorbers are commonly noted with the Breeze, while others state there was excessive wind noise. Ironic for a car named Breeze. While it had a modern exterior design, the interior felt quite drab and outdated. However, in fairness to the Breeze, it was pretty spacious inside.
Plymouth Prowler
Including the 1997 Plymouth Prowler on this list might be controversial because its hot-rod styling set it apart from so many sports cars. Legendary designer Chip Foose drew up the Prowler as a tribute to the classic hot-rods of the 1930s, but the car fell short of even his expectations.
Foose had hoped Chrysler would give the Prowler a big V8 engine and a manual transmission. However, Chrysler opted for an automatic and a 3.5-liter V6 engine producing just 250-hp. This put people off buying the Prowler, as its looks were way more outrageous than the performance on offer. The Prowler was an excellent idea, but Plymouth poorly executed it.
Plymouth Neon
Plymouth introduced the Neon in 1995. It was a compact car that showed promise for Plymouth in the early years thanks to its solid sales figures. However, sales fell quickly, with the nadir coming in 1997, with just 120 Neons sold. A lack of refinement within the Neon and poor build quality began to turn buyers away from a quickly outdated design.
Plymouth only stopped selling the Neon when the company went under in 2001. However, Chrysler kept selling Neon under its name for several years, which didn’t help the compact sedan’s sales. By 2005, Chrysler had given up, and Neon had been withdrawn from sales.
Plymouth Laser
The Plymouth Laser can trace its roots back to the Mitsubishi Eclipse, which was itself based on the Galant sedan. So, initially, there was promise for this sports car that also looked the part with its sleek coupe shape. However, things soon took a turn as Plymouth had somehow taken all the good from the Galant and Sedan and removed it from the Laser.
Sadly, the Laser couldn’t replicate the success of its Mitsubishi siblings, and sales began to drop rapidly. In 1990, Plymouth was able to sell 42,105 units of the Laser. But by 1993, that had fallen to 14,300, and in 1994, with production halted mid-year, Plymouth sold just 5,284 Lasers. The closeness to the Mitsubishis confused consumers about why they should buy the Laser.
Plymouth Turismo
Plymouth introduced the Turismo in 1985 as a two-door hatchback and sold the model until 1989. Part of its downfall was that it showed so much with the Dodge Daytona of the time, so it was effectively just a rebadged Dodge. Performance wasn’t much better either, as even the Turbo Z, with its 2.2-liter turbocharged inline-four, could only reach 137 mph.
Further hindering the Turismo was that it was also a continuation of the Plymouth Horizon TC3, which had been sold since the early 1980s. Sales for the Turismo peaked in 1985 at 52,817 but dropped to an all-time low of 16,991 before Chrysler decided it was time to pull the plug.
Plymouth Volare
Plymouth’s Volare is one of the most famous cars it ever produced, yet despite its fame, it wasn’t without its problems. Plymouth introduced the Volare in mid-1976 to replace the Valiant and Dart, along with the Dodge Aspen, based on the same F-body architecture. Both the Valiant and Dart were famed for their quality and durability, but sadly, the same wasn’t true of the Volare.
This was because Volare’s production shifted from the Saint Louis Assembly Line to the Hamtramck Assembly Line, almost bankrupting Chrysler. Build quality dropped, and the Volare suffered many recalls, much to Chrysler’s embarrassment. Thankfully, Chrysler recovered, although many Volares rusted away, such was the issue with their production.
Plymouth Cricket
In the early 1970s, Plymouth sought to encourage more budget-conscious buyers to drive and get behind the wheel. To meet that goal, it came up with the Plymouth Cricket, a small hatchback with exciting styling, but sadly, that would never translate into results for the sales department.
Hagerty described the Cricket as an “epic failure,” and part of that is because it was simply a rebadged version of the British Hillman Avenger. The styling didn’t resonate with the American public, and it had all the poor reliability and quality associated with British cars of the decade. Owners became less than impressed by the fact that, if one broke, dealerships rarely had the parts in to fix them.
1962 Plymouth Savoy/Belvedere/Fury
A trio of closely related cars in one model year is rarely remembered in such a bad light. But that is precisely what happened with the 1962 Savoy, Belvedere, and Fury trio. With rumors of a new, small Ford coming in 1962, Chrysler knew it had to jump on the bandwagon and produce some small cars. Plymouth was working on new, full-size vehicles until Chrysler design chief Virgil M. Exner was told to drop those plans and design new, smaller cars for 1962.
With just 20 months until the 1962 model year, Exner and his team could only expand the compact Valiant into a new range of smaller, not quite full-sized cars. At the same time, Chrysler was struggling with money. What came out were three awkward-looking cars, retaining the Swept Wing styling of Plymouth’s full-size cars. The public never took to the trio, and the “small-car craze” Chrysler had feared from its rivals didn’t happen.
Chrysler PT Cruiser
Although it does not carry the Plymouth name, the Chrysler PT Cruiser was initially meant to be marketed as a Plymouth, hence its inclusion on this list. However, even though Chrysler killed off the company when the PT Cruiser launched, Plymouth dodged a bullet by not having the PT Cruiser sold under its name.
What started well with the stunning Pronto Cruizer concept was not the success Chrysler had hoped for. The production version had awkward proportions, and the more upright design ruined the sleek lines seen on the concept. Worse still, the IIHS scores the PT Cruiser poorly in its safety rankings, as it takes the worst score possible for the side impact test and head restraints and seats.
Plymouth Reliant
Introduced in 1981, the Plymouth Reliant is another company product based on one within the Chrysler stable, the Dodge Aries. Yet even with a new name, the Reliant couldn’t forge a new reputation, and a retro review by MotorWeek of the 1982 Reliant showcased how depressing things were for Plymouth’s latest model.
The Reliant’s design and large proportions didn’t appeal to the masses. But the Reliant was also let down by its underpowered inline-four engines. The base 2.2-liter inline-four produced a measly 82-hp. It is no surprise then that Plymouth dropped the Reliant before the end of the 1980s.
Plymouth Arrow
Plymouth had more than one attempt at cracking the compact car market, and one of its others saw it produce the Plymouth Arrow. The Arrow was Plymouth’s version of the current Chrysler Lancer. Yet, it is better remembered for its role in a Plymouth TV commercial featuring the 1970 hit single by Harry Nilsson, “Me and My Arrow, ” than for its actual performance and reception.
Also sold in Japan as the Mitsubishi Celeste, the Arrow is no different from the Celeste other than its new graphics and badge. In its five-year production run, Plymouth did little to improve the package, and the most power offered came from the 1979-1980 Fire Arrow, with the 2.6-liter Silent Shaft engine producing 105-hp. The Arrow is not the worst Plymouth ever made, but it’s undoubtedly among the least inspiring.
Plymouth Grand Voyager
The Plymouth Grand Voyager would never win a beauty contest, mainly because it is a large minivan. But it did have its uses, with plenty of space inside, luxury features such as rear climate control, and sliding doors to ease getting in and out of the MPV.
For the most part, the Grand Voyager was well received, but Plymouth never ironed out all of its problems. The Ultradrive four-speed transmission tended to combust after just 40,000 miles. The power lock doors could sometimes fail and trap you inside, and the power windows were also susceptible to failure. If that wasn’t enough, the speakers inside could also blow out, and the turn signals could sometimes melt themselves.
Plymouth Acclaim
Plymouth introduced the Acclaim mid-size sedan in 1989 to compete in what was becoming a highly competitive segment. Rivals from Ford and Buick would only make things challenging for Plymouth, precisely how it turned out.
The design’s lack of flair and excitement was enough to turn most people away from the Acclaim. If that didn’t, then some of its faults would. Owners have reported issues such as prematurely expiring head gaskets, problems with the six-cylinder engines due to problems with the automatic transmission, and broken camshafts.
