Plymouth Reliant
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The Plymouth Reliant was one of the first two so-called "K-cars" (the other being the Dodge Aries) the Chrysler Corporation introduced for the 1981 model year. The Reliant replaced the Plymouth Volare, which was the short-lived successor automobile to the highly regarded Plymouth Valiant. The Reliant and Aries are largely credited for helping Chrysler recover from bankruptcy. They also raised the standard for quality for American automakers in general. The Reliant was Motor Trend magazine's Car of the Year for 1981.
The base engine was a Chrysler designed 2.2 L in-line four-cylinder with an electronic carburetor (later replaced by a fuel injection system in 1986), rated at 82 hp. With this engine, the car did 0-60 mph in 13 seconds. The Mitsubishi 2.6 L G54B engine was an option, but troubles led the Mitsubishi engine to be replaced by a fuel-injected Chrysler 2.5 L for 1986.
The Reliant was built in Newark, Delaware, Toluca, Mexico and Detroit, Michigan. The last Reliant rolled off the assembly line on December 9, 1988. The 1989 Reliant was a carryover from 1988.
In pop culture
- In the Disney/Pixar movie Cars, "Harv", the agent appears in the telephone monitor, is a Plymouth Reliant, a symbol of low economic status and sophistication.
- The Christian rock band, Relient K, is named after guitarist Matt Hoopes' car, which was a Plymouth Reliant. The spelling was changed in order to avoid trademark infringement.
- Canadian band Barenaked Ladies' If I Had $1000000 mentions the Reliant as the car they would buy if they had a million dollars: I would buy you a K-Car/A nice Reliant automobile
- It should also be noted that the name "Reliant" has been applied to cars that saved their company from bankrupcy. (Example, the Ford Taurus is often known as "Ford's Reliant")
External Links
- [Gary S. Donovan] modified a 1985 Plymouth Reliant to run the quarter mile in 10.41 seconds at 132 mph using surprisingly stock components.
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