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Junkyard Gem of the Week: 1979 Plymouth Horizon (with the Woodgrain Package!)

While Ford and GM proved to have sufficiently deep pockets to design their own US-market subcompacts for the fuel-starved 1970s, Chrysler had to look to its overseas outposts to create such a car. Turning to Simca, which had become part of Chrysler Europe after Chrysler's absorption of the Rootes Group, a promising hatchback concept was developed into both a European-market version and a significantly different American-market version. Today's Junkyard Gem is an example of the latter type, found in a Denver-area self-service boneyard last summer. The first of these cars came off the Belvidere Assembly line in Illinois as 1978 models (sadly, Stellantis just shuttered Belvidere in February). The Dodge-badged version was the Omni, while the Plymouth version was the Horizon; the generic term for this car is thus Omnirizon. The Omnirizon was a great success for Chrysler, and many other vehicles were based on its platform. To name a few members of the extended Omnirizon family: the 1982-1987 Dodge Charger, the Dodge Rampage/Plymouth Scamp minitrucks, and even the Plymouth Turismo of Cocaine Factory fame. Astoundingly, production continued all the way through 1990, which meant that these thoroughly 1970s cars stuck around long enough to get airbags as standard equipment. Just as was the case with the Mitsubishi-built Dodge and Plymouth Colts, there never were any significant differences—pricing or otherwise—between the Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon. The Omnirizon got a fascinating assortment of engines during its first half-decade or so. For 1978 through 1980, it received the same 1.7-liter Volkswagen straight-four that went into US-market Rabbits, Sciroccos, Jettas and Audi 4000s. This one was rated at 77 horsepower and 90 pound-feet. Chrysler began bolting in its homegrown 2.2-liter four-banger starting with the 1981 Omnirizons, with the hilariously quick Omni GLH and GLHS getting turbocharged versions a few years later. From the 1983 through 1986 model years, penny-pinching Americans could buy their base-model Omnirizons with 1.6-liter Peugeot-built Simca engines delivering 62 French horses to the front wheels. This Horizon is absolutely loaded by the standards of late-1970s economy cars. The MSRP was just $4,278 (about $18,843 in 2023 dollars), but this automatic transmission would have added another $319 to the cost ($1,405 today). The base transmission for 1979 was a four-on-the-floor manual.

Chrysler 300 performance model teased for Detroit Auto Show reveal

The Chrysler 300 will not go out quietly, both literally and figuratively. A new teaser from Chrysler blasted across the company website’s homepage tells the story of whatÂ’s going on here. ItÂ’s a photo of what we have to assume is the wheel and brake caliper of what Chrysler plans on revealing September 13. The car this wheel and caliper are attached to? A Chrysler 300. Yes, it appears as though Chrysler is going to reveal a performance model of the 300 next week, and weÂ’re excited about it. Chrysler doesnÂ’t divulge much about the car, but the description attached to the photo tells us a few things. WeÂ’ll re-paste the text from the teaser below for easy reading. “Tune in September 13th at 6:00 p.m. ET to get a front-row seat for the reveal of one of the most powerful and luxurious special edition vehicles in Chrysler Brand history. WeÂ’ll also share details on how you can reserve a vehicle of your own from this limited production run. Limited Quantities available. Vehicle availability in Spring 2023. Visit your dealer for vehicle availability.” What could this be? For starters, thereÂ’s precedent for a Chrysler 300 SRT8 re-creation. Chrysler discontinued this muscle sedan after the 2014 model year, and in the end it had a 6.4-liter V8 under its hood that made 470 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque. Today, that 6.4-liter V8 can be found under the hood of the 300Â’s sibling car, the Dodge Charger R/T Scat Pack where it makes 485 horsepower and 470 pound-feet of torque. It seems reasonable that Chrysler could bring the big 6.4-liter back to the 300 as a sendoff — after all, the Charger and Challenger in their current forms are being discontinued after the 2023 model year. The caliper design looks like that found on the current Scat Pack cars, but itÂ’s only a glimpse of the wheel and brakes, so we canÂ’t be 100% sure about anything. As much as weÂ’d love to see Chrysler stick a Hellcat engine inside the 300 as its final hurrah, that theory is definitely the longshot at this point. Chrysler says this model will be “one of the most powerful” special edition vehicles in its history, but it didnÂ’t explicitly call it the most powerful car its ever made. If that was ChryslerÂ’s wording, weÂ’d have to assume it would be a Hellcat, but thatÂ’s not the case here. Regardless of what performance level 300 comes at us on Tuesday next week, weÂ’re hyped. Make sure to tune back in here to see what Chrysler has in store for us.

As it did with Ferrari, Fiat Chrysler spinning off Magneti Marelli

MILAN — Fiat Chrysler said on Thursday its board had tasked management to proceed with spinning off Magneti Marelli and distributing shares in a new holding for the 99-year old parts business to FCA investors. The spinoff is part of a plan by FCA Chief Executive Sergio Marchionne to "purify" the Italian-American carmaker's portfolio and to unlock value at Magneti Marelli, which sits within FCA's components unit alongside robotics specialist Comau and castings firm Teksid, and which analysts say could be worth between 3.6 and 5 billion euros ($4.4-6.1 billion). "The separation will deliver value to FCA shareholders, while providing the operational flexibility necessary for Magneti Marelli's strategic growth in the coming years," Marchionne said in a statement. Magneti Marelli, which employs around 43,000 people and operates in 19 countries, is a diversified components supplier specialized in lighting, powertrain and electronics, and its spinoff is part of a five-year business plan FCA is due to present on June 1. "The spinoff will also allow FCA to further focus on its core portfolio while at the same time improving its capital position," Marchionne added. Marchionne has a long history of such moves. The 65-year-old was behind the spinoff and listing of trucks and tractor maker CNH Industrial and supercar brand Ferrari. The Magneti Marelli separation is expected to be completed by the end of this year or early 2019, with shares in the company expected to be listed on the Milan stock exchange. FCA's advisers initially looked at a possible initial public offering for the business to raise cash to cut FCA's debt, but the Agnelli family - FCA's main shareholder - were put off by low industry valuations and did not want their stake in Magneti Marelli to be diluted, three sources close to the matter told Reuters last month. Magneti Marelli has often been touted as a takeover target and FCA has fielded interest from various rivals and private equity firms over the years. South Korea's Samsung Electronics made a bid approach in 2016 but negotiations fell through as it was only interested in parts of the business, other sources have said. The spinoff is subject to regulatory approvals, tax and legal considerations and a final approval by the FCA board. The carmaker may modify or call off the transaction at any time and for any reason, it added.