1976 Plymouth Volare vs. Chevy Nova Promo Commercial

[jaecht83]

I saw a Dodge or Plymouth product yesterday--a green 2-door. It had the back end of an Aspen, the taillights mainly...but it wasn't an Aspen or a Volare. It also wasn't a Dart/Valiant. Did any other Mopar product share the same tails as an F-Body? (Aspen/Volare/LeBaron). The car looked to be 1960-1970 or so. It had historical plates as well. It was not an Aspen coupe--I could tell by the roofline.

[themoparguy]

@jaecht83 Might have been a Plymouth Scamp. Those cars were pretty much half Dodge and half Plymouth. At first look, you would think it was a Canadian car. But it is indeed an American production car at the time.

[jaecht83]

@themoparguy It was light green. It had the trim panel of an Aspen with weird curlicue designs as did the original aspens. It was a coupe. Had a rounded B-pillar unlike the scamp, which was more angular. the scamp you told me about looked like a dart/valiant. A rounded butt, like a Olds Jetfire--I thought it might be a GM car or even a Ford Falcon or Merc. Comet

It looked to be no newer than a '67 and was roundy.

[themoparguy]

@jaecht83 Hmmm, rounded B-Pillars ay? Sounds like you saw a 1971 or 1972 Plymouth Duster. It had a split tail light design similar to the Aspen but larger. It wouldn't be a Dodge Dart Demon for those years because the dividers on the tail lights are vertical.

[jaecht83]

@themoparguy It looked older than a duster. I meant C-pillars were rounded. The B-pillar was thinner--I'm thinking early '60s. The tails looked similar to a duster/aspen though. I wish I had a photo because it's hard to describe.

[themoparguy]

@jaecht83 Yeah it's really throwing me a curve... Can't think of anything from the early 60's with a tail light design similar to the 76/77 Aspen. Was the car as small as the early Valiant (1960) or bigger?

[jaecht83]

@themoparguy IF I see a photo of it I will send it to you. It was about as small as the early Valiant. It was a light green color. The most common equivalent was a ford falcon or mercury comet--I'd say it was a model from say '60 to '66 or so. Rounded back end. Maybe an Olds Jetfire or something--61 or 62--?

[themoparguy]

@jaecht83 Or a 1962 Buick Special. Those got pretty tiny by 1961. I don't know... It's really throwing me off.

[jaecht83]

@themoparguy I'm going to Cuy Falls soon. If I see it again I'll get more info. The special is the closest guess yet, IMO. Sorry to keep bothering you about it :( Should have pulled in and at least gotten a make, if not a model (i.e. early '60s Buick for sure, but not sure of specific model--Special, 225, etc.)

[jaecht83]

@themoparguy I couldn't find you on the other thread, themoparguy, but I'm the one who talked to you about that weird green car with the aspen taillights. It was the dodge equivalent to a car that looked like a 65 Plymouth Belvedere 2-door sedan (with B-pillar)...NOT the pillarless hardtop with the sharp cut on the side. It had what may have appeared to be an aspen/volare trim panel in the back. the best most equivalent thing I found was a 65 belvedere. It was not a valiant..

[jaecht83]

@themoparguy Although I mentioned that it was a 65 Belvedere I did some more digging and it looks like a Plymouth FURY I, II or III...NOT the Belvedere. I can't post a link, but it was a 2-dr pillared hardtop. After looking at the trim panel it looks like the guy put an F-body trim panel back there as a replacement. It was like seafoam green.

[themoparguy]

@jaecht83 A Fury huh? 1965? Well that is a much bigger car. It had over and under headlights? Because 1965 was the first year Plymouth did that and the Fury got much bigger than the previous year (1964). Although I personally like the 1964 Plymouth better.

[landyachtfan79]

I JUST LOVE the music in these old promo films!!!!!

[Bastige56]

I have a plain jane 71. But I love that car. Im in the process of smoothing all the steel.

[Machinimator]

This is so cool.

I got a 1976 Plymouth Volare as part of a trade in a deal, and then found out later it was Motor Trend's car of the year for 1976. (so I then bought a copy of that issue of Motor Trend on eBay)

I put a Master Cylinder on for the brakes just this morning, and was admiring the handling on the way back from the test run. Then, I saw this video that mentions the front suspension being innovative. I had no idea about any of that so I will research it further. Thanks for this Video!

[StoneCold75]

Wow great find and thanks for sharing!

Ahh the 1976 Volare, I remember her well. I was 12 in 1987 and my dad gave me the old Plymouth Volare to learn how to drive around our farm. I punished that poor car for hundreds of miles a day doing a NASCAR style road course...The power steering on these cars was VERY powerful..almost too much assistance actually..you could drive it with one pinky on the wheel.

[JoshuaTaylor]

Cars get "report cards" ? ;-)

[Silvertrine]

This announcer sounds like he drinks a bottle of scotch and smokes 4 cigars a day. Either that or he is the host to something unholy.

[Che762x39]

Thanks this is so cool.

[hearsedriver1968]

Thanks for posting this old history. I had a 1976 Ply Volare Road Runner with a 318. Great car, say for the severe rust that ate the body away in short order. I have always been partial to Ford prod. but have always loved the old mopar cars, and owned several. The Hearsedriver

[Msskywatcher8]

dont know where you live,there are tons of old plymouths running and driving around western washing.

[woogie88888]

Gee i still see old novas of this year driving around unrestored. they are rough but keep going Plymouth of this era is a rarity. Face it the G.M. stuff almost always outlasted the other 2. give me the nova although I prefer my 68 I would take a 78 nova over anything dodge.

[OsbornTramain]

You only think you see more. The nova was built with this style for 5 model years where the Volare only looked like this for 2 model years. So if you see twice as many Nova's of this era than Volares, it's because more Nova's were built with this style.......That's my theory and I'm sticking to it! lol

[woogie88888]

Hey if you like it then the hell with what anyone else thinks.I have a butt ugly rusty smokey 1974 Chevy pickup that i just love and my favorite car ever was a 1970 Buick GSX neither is pretty but I love them both (of course they both came with a 454 and 455 stock but oh well) lol

[Thetruejarodavick]

@OsbornTramain i agree

[caholla]

The announcer is kinda creepy sounding LOL

[ottvalley]

The slant 6 was a great motor.This model had a lot of wiring problems tho.Also had carborator problems,especially on rainy days,choke would stick shut.I knew a lot of Volares with this problem

[OsbornTramain]

In the next few weeks, I'm going to post a film comparing the 77 Dodge Aspen against the 77 Nova. Much better quality film. Also coming soon, Diplomat vs. Granada and Cutlass. They did have carb issues. particularly with the lean burn system. But back then. Most cars had issues day to day that we take for granted now.

[landyachtfan79]

I can't wait to see these vids as all of these are my all-time favorite cars! I would especially love to see the Aspen vs. Nova movie as my family owned a '77 Concours up until I was 5 years old

[OsbornTramain]

I promise, I will load a few more up. I've been busy and have just gotten translated a film on the 77 Monaco and another film on the 78 colt and Challengers. I will get to the Aspen films next, in a week or two :O)

[jakesaintsrow123]

77 Concours? NICE! Top of the Line Nova! i still see a little Old Man driving around a Mint condition 1977 Concours! it even has the Original Hubcaps! Its pretty impressive!

[Machinimator]

@ottvalley

My Volare wasn't running when I got it, but my Dad knew about the choke sticking being a problem on this model. He told me to try it a couple times while he tapped in the side of the carb with a wrench. I was like, what the....so I tried it and he tapped and she fired right up and started purring. I love those slant sixes, and those starters are awesome.  :)

[mascot09s]

@ottvalley I drive a 1975 nova, kinda been the car everyone learns to drive in. The corroborator dose flak on me every once in a while.

[masterlee123]

stupid teacher. see the kids playing ball and park her new car right in the action.

[DamnStraightM35A2]

wow piss poor MPG but who the hell cares?

[landyachtfan79]

Hey, for a compact car , that was great mileage in 1976! Of course you could buy a Honda, Toyota, or Datsun that could average about 30, but when you consider that the average got about 10 MPG at best, I would consider 18 combined to be nt that bad.

[culp7]

So this car is the same as a Dodge Aspen??

[tokyofreaky]

yes it is with some diffrences. but the same car built in the same plant. still just as good!!

[rocketfish58]

in cunclusion... VOLARE RULES!!!!!!!!

[KeVoRkIaN7]

The differences between this Car and Nova is that the Nova was superior!

[OsbornTramain]

Nope, the Volare was the car of the year in 76. The Nova would be gone by 1978. The Nova was an very old drive train and dated design technically. The Volare Plateform ended up lasting until 1989 as the Plymouth Fury and Chrysler New Yorker and Dodge Diplomat. The 318 and 225 engines were indestructable.

[themoparguy]

I don't know why you mention about the Volare platform lasting till 1989. After all, the name Volare lasted till 1980.

[OsbornTramain]

The Volare, Aspen, Diplomat and Lebaron/New Yorker and post 81 Plymouth Fury are all based on the exact same drive platform. Nova, Omega, Ventura platform was only used between 75 and 79. The Volare Platform Lasted from 76 till 79. In essence, the 89 Plymouth Fury is the Volare with a different badge. My comments are related to people posting that the Nova of 76 was a better car, it wasn't. Volare/Aspen/Diplomat etc were far superior and the proof is the long life of the "platform"

[themoparguy]

I agree that Chrysler is far more superior. The problem was that people didn't really give Chrysler much of a chance. One thing on people's minds always seemed to be Chevy just because of the name.  But there indeed was a 1980 Volare. It was an oddball design. The back looked the same but the front was completely redesigned. Look it up, it exists.

[landyachtfan79]

Don't these people know ANYTHING about cars?!!

[gearheadmatt]

I have a 1980 Volare with a slant 6 and a 904 just like my 80 Cordoba great car i wish they made cars like them today

[tokyofreaky]

the teacher in the video looks like kotter's wife.

[tokyofreaky]

still a good car despite its faults. Had 4 of them in the family when I was a kid. They should have used the amc hornet in the comparison especally with the wagon. also compare against the ford maverick and granada would have been good too. and last but not least had a comparison against the outgoing valiant too.

[deohgesdad]

i had a 76 2 dr volare and put a glass pack on it in 1990 and everyone asked if i had a big block. loved that car

[joh2]

While a US domestic model, Chrysler did have plans for the Aspen/Volare internationally - While it never came to fruition, there was serious consideration of it being a potential replacement model (another was the Talbot Tagora) for the Australian Chrysler Valiant range.

[JarrodES13]

Aspens and Volares are really quite wonderful cars. I mean, sure they had their issues in the beginning... but I can drive my 1980 Dodge Aspen all day and not have any issues. After that, I could drive my sisters 1993 Lexus LS400 for ten minutes and be left with back pain for hours.

I just wish they kept making them. I believe they would have sold many more. They would have been good competition for the GM G-body.

[joh2]

They kind of did - the 1980s Dodge Diplomat (M-body) was heavily based off the Aspen/Volare...

[Seadweller262]

The 1981 Dodge Diplomat wagon was basically a 1980 Dodge Aspen wagon with a new engine.

[tastyorange]

QA didn't get much better for a long time.

I remember seeing a Plymouth Sundance at a dealer with the "turbo" sticker upside down. Yes, I'm serious.

[OsbornTramain]

Yes, you are indeed correct. I worked for a Dodge Dealer as a Teen from 1977 till 1980. In 77, we were still recieving off the truck, brand new Dodge Volares and Plymouth Aspens. There would be mix up with badges and labels and interior components. Nothing major but it was always funny and the employees use to always laugh when one came thru.

[Lumotaku]

thank you for posting this! these were nice looking cars and very effeciently designed but like the chevy citation they were rushed out to stay ahead of the competition. Quality control suffered as a result I have hear stories of these cars coming down the line on one half plymouth the other half dodge. Don't know if that is urban myth or not. The underpinnings to this car were more succesful and were part of the diplomat and fifth avenue up until they were discontinued in 1989.