The roster of 1970s Chrysler and Imperial vehicles reviewed by Consumer Guide was not as bad as I had expected. The takeaway after surveying the pair of books was that early C-bodies were horrible in the beginning but became better as the decade wore on, with the LeBaron actually forging an improved path for the brand.
So, what about Plymouth?
My recollection suggests that there was only one Plymouth that the testers recommended as a used car, with other models having poor body integrity over time, bad fuel economy, or too many recalls. Would that still be the case once I evaluated Plymouth’s entire lineup? I suspect my memory is a bit harsher than reality, so let the excerpts below demonstrate most of the reality versus my perception. Observe the captive imports save the Rootes-based Cricket (the latter of which had a poor record) and Mitsubishi-based Sapporo. Please note the CG rating scale of 5 being Excellent and 1 being Poor.
Plymouth
“The unitized bodies are practical for subcompacts and compacts, but they are unacceptable for the bigger, comfort-oriented models.”
- Barracuda: “Workmanship was bad. Body integrity was worse, resulting in air and water leaks, plus penetrating noise at all speeds.” CG rating: 1
- Fury/Gran Fury: “If you don’t mind sacrificing quiet [due to unitized construction], then the Fury is a good used-car buy.” CG rating: 2-3
- Satellite/Fury: “Plymouth’s intermediate … gives good gasoline mileage for its class and loses resale value quickly. That would be enough to qualify it as a best buy, if it were not for the car’s lackluster repair history.” CG rating: 2-3
- Horizon and TC3: “Overall, a fine little car, and rather underrated … [though] workmanship more lax than on German or Japanese imports.” CG rating: 5
- Valiant: “No car sold during 1969 through 1975 can compare with its all-around good sense and economy.” CG rating: 5
- Volaré: “A basically good design for its day spoiled by haphazard assembly practices.” CG rating: 5
- Champ: “Performance okay for this sort of car … fine fit and finish [make it an] excellent used-car buy.” CG rating: 4
- Arrow: “Engine and drive train durability is better than average, and body integrity superior.” CG rating: 4