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]