QOTD: What Was Peak K-car for You?
It was one of those make or break moments. A company teetering on the financial verge which threw a Hail Mary at the right time — and at the right target. The company in question was Chrysler, and the Hail Mary was the K-car platform.
Today we ask you: What was peak K?
I got to thinking about the K-car recently, both as financial savior and platform-sharing wonder. Among its virtues of affordability and flexibility, there was also an aspect of unfortunate longevity. One basic platform, tons of variants, and a timeline stretching between 1981 and 1995.
To put that in perspective, people drove a new K-platform car to see Raiders of the Lost Ark at the movie theater. They did the same thing in 1995 when they went to see Jumanji, a film which actually featured the final K variant sold — the Chrysler LeBaron (though an older one, which was not great for giant mosquitoes).
In between, just about every body style was covered by the K: sedan, coupe, convertible, hatchback, wagon, limousine. From base wheel covers to, well, brougham wheel covers, models ran the gamut in price. They all had a couple things in common, though: front-drive and a transverse engine. I’ll try and make a platform derivations list below.
- K came first, compacts
- E and H, larger cars in the midsize class
- AG and AJ, sporty driving cars
- S, minivans to 1990
- AS, minivans 1991-1995
- AP, later version for revised compact cars
- AC, later luxury midsize sedans
- AA, later standard midsize sedans
- Q, one-hit wonder for the TC by Maserati
- AY, longest wheelbase luxury sedans
Somewhere in that extensive list there’s undoubtedly a peak vehicle, though you may have to look up which particular version of K resides underneath. Let’s hear ’em.
[Images: IMCDB, Steph Willems/TTAC]
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. Find me on Twitter, @CoreyLewis86.
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I got to drive a Spirit when my 84 Charger was in for collision repairs (drunk individual ran a stop sign at highway speed). I enjoyed the car and thought that I would buy one when the time came. As it is I kept the Charger way longer so I never acquired a Spirit. Also liked the looks of the Daytona/Laser, but never got a chance to drive one. Those would be my picks.
I owned a 1985 LeBaron GTS Turbo. Absolutely the most comfortable bucket seats I have ever sat in. Good handling and acceleration. Goofy voice alert and fluorescent dash displays worked at the time I sold it. I upgraded the computer to a Mopar performance computer and upgraded the plug wires, distributor and air cleaner element. Turbo worked great; I always let the engine idle down after a drive. Changed oil every 1000 miles. Car required premium fuel, which was a drag, though necessary. I raced the car a few times at the track (drags). Little traction, believe it or not. The sensors (especially the coolant sensor) would fail a lot, along with the hard plastic vacuum and sensor lines. The coolant sensor was critical to the fuel/air mix calculations in the computer. All -all, decent car; but I would not buy another (used).