QOTD: What's Your Favorite Diamond-Star Motors Crapwagon?
Earlier this week in TTAC’s always entertaining Slack chat, Adam Tonge suggested (without sarcasm) how the B&B might enjoy discussing the market entrants of the Diamond-Star Motors company and picking favorites. Shortly after this discussion, the very DSM Plymouth Laser we saw in yesterday’s Rare Rides fell right in my lap, and this all seemed like destiny.
Of the varied selection, which Diamond-Star Motors vehicle is your favorite?
How about some history? It all started back in 1970, when Chrysler first invested in a 15-percent stake in Mitsubishi. At the time, Mitsubishi was looking to expand its offerings worldwide through cooperative alliances, primarily via captive imports (like the Dodge Colt).
Cut to the early ’80s, and Chrysler is shifting all sorts of Mitsubishis through its dealerships — 110,000 in circa 1982. Mitsubishi sees an opportunity, and begins opening more Mitsubishi-branded stores to move product themselves.
However, at this time (voluntary) importation quotas were in place that restricted the number of Japanese cars each manufacturer could import. For every Mitsubishi sold, a vehicle was deducted from the importation allowance of Chrysler. This wouldn’t do.
In 1985, the two companies formed Diamond-Star Motors. After the state of Illinois threw some benefits their way, the alliance decided to install a new manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois. Annual capacity was 240,000 vehicles, and the plant was up and running in 1989.
Other milestones in the history of the cooperation are worth mentioning. Mitsubishi purchased Chrysler’s interest in 1991, and Chrysler sold its remaining equity to Mitsubishi in 1992. In 1995, the enterprise was renamed Mitsubishi Motors Manufacturing America (MMMA).
After Chrysler no longer had any jointly-produced models in the factory, Mitsubishi’s independent offerings gradually faded away. In 2012 the plant would start production of the Outlander Sport — its final model. In 2014, the plant produced just 69,000 vehicles from its 240,000-unit capacity, and 2015 saw the announcement that Mitsubishi would end all remaining vehicle production in North America. The final 300 workers who’d stayed behind to shut down the plant had their last day in May of 2016.
The Illinois plant produced many models over all those years, and we’re counting anything produced there as a DSM even if it was made after 1995. Here’s your list:
Mitsubishi Galant (1994-1996)
Mitsubishi Galant (1996-2003)
Mitsubishi Mirage sedan (1990-1993)
Eagle Summit sedan (1990-1993)
Mitsubishi Mirage (1994-1996)
Mitsubishi Mirage (1997-2002)
Chrysler BD
Mitsubishi Eclipse (1990-1994)
Eagle Talon (1990-1994)
Plymouth Laser (1990-1994)
Chrysler PJ
Mitsubish Eclipse (1995-1999)
Eagle Talon (1995-1998)
Chrysler FJ
Chrysler Sebring (1995-2000)
Dodge Avenger (1995-2000)
Chrysler ST-22
Chrysler Sebring (2001-2005)
Dodge Stratus (2001-2005)
Mitsubishi Eclipse (2000-2005)
Mitsubishi PS
Mitsubishi Eclipse (2005-2011)
Mitsubishi Galant (2004-2012)
Mitsubishi Endeavor (2004-2011)
Mitsubishi GS
Mitsubishi Outlander Sport (2012-2015)
There it is — over two decades of American-made Japanese goodness. What’s your favorite?
[Images: Chrysler, Mitsubishi]
Interested in lots of cars and their various historical contexts. Started writing articles for TTAC in late 2016, when my first posts were QOTDs. From there I started a few new series like Rare Rides, Buy/Drive/Burn, Abandoned History, and most recently Rare Rides Icons. Operating from a home base in Cincinnati, Ohio, a relative auto journalist dead zone. Many of my articles are prompted by something I'll see on social media that sparks my interest and causes me to research. Finding articles and information from the early days of the internet and beyond that covers the little details lost to time: trim packages, color and wheel choices, interior fabrics. Beyond those, I'm fascinated by automotive industry experiments, both failures and successes. Lately I've taken an interest in AI, and generating "what if" type images for car models long dead. Reincarnating a modern Toyota Paseo, Lincoln Mark IX, or Isuzu Trooper through a text prompt is fun. Fun to post them on Twitter too, and watch people overreact. To that end, the social media I use most is Twitter, @CoreyLewis86. I also contribute pieces for Forbes Wheels and Forbes Home.
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Had a Eagle summit sedan. Literally the most reliable car I have ever owned. Not much else good but damn that thing never broke. PLus $100 for a set of tires was nice. For pure visual appeal a 2nd gen Talon would be my choice. I had two friends with first gen Eclipse GSX. Great cars. Still have part of the one I was riding in when it flipped into a ditch (side trim piece)
Um, the Avenger pictured is the one based on the JS platform.