What exactly is a "K" car?

[s2man]

Booya!

[H4MM3R]

Funny video thanks for making me laugh. I drove an '81 K-Car.

[Big Dave]

The K-Cars outlasted the contemporaneous X-Cars of GM (Citation, etc). Both were the corporations' first tries at front wheel drive.

My niece still drives a K-Car. A 1983 Dodge 600.

[RH77]

Ben -- that was freakin' hilarious! Red Green is such an inspiration Fixes anything with duct tape.

That "Aries Driver" vid -- also funny. I remember seeing it too, a while back. At the time I had to watch it 10 times it was so funny (way before YouTube).

The K-Car -- what a ride. A German exchange teacher/student friend at college bought one that was well taken care-of. In the course of the year, it blew a head gasket and was later worth considerably less at the wrecking yard. 'Reliant' my arse. Back when 100,000 miles was the give-up point.

It's rumored for having saved Chrysler from Bankruptcy -- and the Government bought a load of them to help bail them out. I recall one reminiscing of one, "We bailed Chrysler out, and this is the thanks we get?"

I guess some of them worked out for buyers. Definitely smaller and more efficient than predecessors.

RH77

[zjrog]

So very much more than just K, though a lot of interchangability.

Original K Reliant and Aries and the Lebaron K. Engines were 2.2 Chrysler built motor and 2.6 Mitsubishi motor. Produced through 90.
84 brought turbocharging to the 2.2.
84 also brought the S bodied minivans with 2.2 and 2.6, but no turbo.
Also, a stretched K or "E" Class was added and an even more stretched K base Limo...
Daytonas were added in 84 or 85 as a G body. A very refined version of the K car.
85 introduced the 4 door H body Lancer/Lebaron GTS, basically a stretched G body. Ended in 89.
87 brought the extended length minivan, as well as the 3.0 V6 Mitsu motor.
87 brought the Shadow/Sundance as a P body. Depending on year, 2.2, 2.2 turbo, 2.5, 2.5 turbo, 3.0 V6. Last year was 94
87 also brought the J body Lebaron Coupe and ragtop. Add the 2.5 turbo and 3.0 V6 too.
88 saw the A body Spirit and Acclaim, with 2.5, 2.5 turbo and 3.0 V6.
89 and 90, the short wheelbase minivans got the 2.5 turbo as an option. (Ever see a minivan dragrace?)
91 saw the minivans get a facelift, through 95. 96 saw them turn into to overweight jellybeans...
93 saw the end of the Daytona and the A bodied cars. Also, 93 saw the last of the turbo cars.
I won't even discuss the Shelby cars of the era... Yes, Shelby worked with Dodges too.

Does this help?
94 saw the end of the P bodies.
Some 95 Lebarons were produced, all were convertibles.

[RH77]

Originally Posted by zjrog

87 brought the extended length minivan, as well as the 3.0 V6 Mitsu motor.

Around '93 we inherited a company van with 200K miles:

'88 Plymouth Voyager SE, V-6. First vehicle I drove regularly and yes, I was in high school. (way cool). But it was a car and I was allowed to drive it!

The odo/speedo quit at 260K (had to remember RPM to speed ), so my guess is 280K when it was sold.

It was a great driving vehicle -- VERY durable, smooth, powerful -- and it handled well. It was OK on gas, but back then, I didn't do a whole lot of driving.

I guess a distant relative of the K, good stuff...

RH77

[bertb]

It's a Japanese class of car, the name is shortened from "keijidosha," which translates to "light car."

@Elhigh. Thanks so much for that. I heard someone (A japanese speaker), who should know better, call a car a "k" car when referring to something other than a Chrysler and it blew my mind. I could not figure out what he meant. Now I know and am back to a zen state. W00t!

[oil pan 4]

The biggest POS that has ever been mounted on 4 tires.

[Cobb]

Well, as a former Chrysler mechanic the K to us ment a K front cross member that held the lower control arms. It looked like a giant K from down below.

As for the Omni and Horizen, those were copys of the 80s type 17 Rabbit by VW. The main different was the fact the block was upright where as the VW had it lean back towards the firewall a few degrees, like the Chrysler slant 6.

[elhigh]

Originally Posted by oil pan 4

The biggest POS that has ever been mounted on 4 tires.

They, like everything else ever made by the hand of Man, have had their share of problems.

In spite of its many foibles, I liked our 1980 Chevy Citation.

Our 1978 Ford Courier - the little one built by Mazda - could juuust maintain cruising speed on the flat in top gear. Maybe.

The 1970 SAAB 96 had a freewheeling clutch that, I discovered, was nearly irreparable when it went bad. I've seen more than one that had a length of rope holding the freewheeler knob out.

My '98 Forester smokes like a California forest fire.

...and the list goes on.