Junkyard Find: 1993 Dodge Shadow ES

Murilee Martin
by Murilee Martin

We often forget about the P-body version of Chrysler’s mainstay-for-15-years K platform, though Shadows and Sundances once roamed North American highways in huge numbers. I still see plenty of completely trashed Ps in self-service wrecking yards— for example, this ’91 Shadow, this ’92 Sundance, and this super-rare Sundance America— but it takes something special to make me willing to do a Junkyard Find on a P. Early-90s factory tape graphics on a crypto-sporty Shadow sold just before the advent of the Neon? Yes, there’s some historical significance here.

The El Cheapo Plymouth Sundance America was Chrysler’s attempt to follow up the even more El Cheapo Horizon America (Jack Baruth explores the fate of the Horizon America and similar attempts at the creation of super-affordable compacts in this piece), but meanwhile the slightly more upscale Dodge Division was aiming for a few more bucks with cars like this optioned-up Shadow ES.

I believe ES is supposed to stand for “Executive Sedan.”

222,592 miles on the clock, which is quite respectable.

That mileage figure is even more impressive when you consider that this car has a Mitsubishi heart: the 3-liter 6G72 V6 engine, the naturally-aspirated version of the engine that powered the 3000GT/Stealth and countless minivans.

With 142 horsepower hauling just 2,690 pounds, this ’93 Shadow ES was quick enough to deserve its decklid wing.








Murilee Martin
Murilee Martin

Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.

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  • MRF 95 T-Bird MRF 95 T-Bird on Dec 18, 2012

    Back over the summer I saw a Shadow convertible. Basically a shorter LeBaron convertible. I think they were done by ASC. Nice shape but you could see the door fit at the latch area was a bit off. Maybe it was old age. Future collectable? Who knows? Maybe there is a market out there for AMC Alliance convertibles as well.

    • Blppt Blppt on Dec 18, 2012

      I have an old C&D issue with the Shadow Convertible tested. 0-60 in 7.7 with the 2.5 turbo (152hp) and 3 speed auto. Not bad at all if you ask me. And yes, it was ASC that did the conversion.

  • Chicagoland Chicagoland on Dec 18, 2012

    Chicago dealers had alot of Sundance Dusters and Shadow ES's in green with gold trim. They called them 'Dusters' for short. Were a popular buy for entry level customers, until the Neon came. But, as with most cheap 'cool' cars, they disappear as fast as they flood the market.

  • ToolGuy This might be a good option for my spouse when it becomes available -- thought about reserving one but the $500 deposit is a little too serious. Oh sorry, that was the Volvo EX30, not the Mustang. Is Volvo part of Ford? Is the Mustang an EV? I'm so confused.
  • Mikey My late wife loved Mustangs ..We alway rented one while travelling . GM blood vetoed me purchasing one . 3 years after retirement bought an 08 rag top, followed by a 15 EB Hard top, In 18 i bought a low low mileage 05 GT rag with a stick.. The car had not been properly stored. That led to rodent issues !! Electrical nightmare. Lots of bucks !! The stick wasn't kind to my aging knees.. The 05 went to a long term dedicated Mustang guy. He loves it .. Today my garage tenant is a sweet 19 Camaro RS rag 6yl Auto. I just might take it out of hibernation this weekend. The Mustang will always hold a place in my heart.. Kudos to Ford for keeping it alive . I refuse to refer to the fake one by that storied name .
  • Ajla On the Mach-E, I still don't like it but my understanding is that it helps allow Ford to continue offering a V8 in the Mustang and F-150. Considering Dodge and Ram jumped off a cliff into 6-cylinder land there's probably some credibility to that story.
  • Ajla If I was Ford I would just troll Stellantis at all times.
  • Ronin It's one thing to stay tried and true to loyal past customers; you'll ensure a stream of revenue from your installed base- maybe every several years or so.It's another to attract net-new customers, who are dazzled by so many other attractive offerings that have more cargo capacity than that high-floored 4-Runner bed, and are not so scrunched in scrunchy front seats.Like with the FJ Cruiser: don't bother to update it, thereby saving money while explaining customers like it that way, all the way into oblivion. Not recognizing some customers like to actually have right rear visibility in their SUVs.
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