Dodge Aries

History

The following section is an excerpt from Wikipedia's Plymouth Reliant page on 28 April 2016, text available via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

The Plymouth Reliant and Dodge Aries were introduced for model year 1981 as the first "K-cars" manufactured and marketed by the Chrysler Corporation. As rebadged variants, the Reliant and Aries were manufactured in Newark, Delaware, Detroit, Michigan, and Toluca, Mexico — in a single generation.

The Reliant replaced the Plymouth Volaré/Road Runner. The Aries replaced the Dodge Aspen. Though similar in exterior size to a compact car, the Reliant's interior volume and six-passenger seating gave it a mid-size designation from the EPA. The Aries was sold as the Dart in Mexico.

The Reliant and Aries were selected together as Motor Trend magazine's Car of the Year for 1981 — and sold almost a million Aries and 1.1 million Reliant units over the nine year run.

The Aries and Reliant debuted in 1981, with Chrysler adding a "K" emblem to the rear of each shortly after their introduction. The Reliant was available as a 2-door coupe, 4-door sedan, or as a 4-door station wagon, in three different trim lines: base, Custom and SE ("Special Edition"). Station wagons came only in Custom or SE trim. Unlike many small cars, the K-cars retained the traditional 6 passenger 2 bench seat with column shifter seating arrangement favored by many Americans. The Reliant was powered by a then-new 2.2 L I4 SOHC engine, with a Mitsubishi "Silent Shaft" 2.6 L as an option (curiously this engine also featured hemispherical combustion chambers, and all 1981 models equipped with it featured "HEMI" badges on the front fenders). Initial sales were brisk, with the both Reliant and Aries each selling over 150,000 units in 1981.

Changes for 1982 included a new hood ornament (changed from either a Plymouth "frog legs" hood ornament or a Dodge badge mounted flat on the hood to an upright Chrysler Pentastar), roll-down rear door windows vs. the former stationary glass with rear quarter pop-outs, a counterbalanced hood, and black painted valve cover on the 2.2L engine (vs. the former blue). In 1984, the hood ornament was removed and the Chrysler Pentastar moved to the grille. Also, the tail lights received chrome trim, and the interior received a padded dash and new black instrument cluster with round gauges. The first major changes occurred in 1985, when the Ks received a new front fascia, featuring either a new egg-crate or crosshair grille (for the Plymouth and Dodge, respectively) and a new rear fascia featuring five-section taillights. A new trim line, the top-tier LE ("Luxury Edition"), was added (it also replaced the Custom trim level on the wagon).

Powertrain changes for 1986 included replacement of the 2.2 L engine's carburetor by a new throttle-body electronic fuel injection system, while a new 2.5 L four-cylinder engine, also fuel-injected, was added to the option list, replacing the Mitsubishi 2.6 L. The four-speed manual transmission – previously offered as standard equipment – was dropped.

The Reliant underwent only minor changes throughout the rest of its production run. The SE trim line was dropped after 1986, while the LE and base trim remained the only trims until the end of production. The base trim line was renamed America in 1988, offered as relatively inexpensive, basic transportation. 1988 was the last year for station wagons. The Aries and Reliant were replaced by the Dodge Spirit/Plymouth Acclaim, with the sedan and two-door only being sold for 1989.

Reference Desk

The Crittenden Automotive Library's "Reference Desk" is a collection of materials that cannot be shared due to copyright restrictions. Information from these resources, however, can be shared. Go to the Reference Desk page for more information.

Type	Title
1981 Book	1981 Chassis Body Electrical Service Manual; Chrysler Corporation
1981 Book	1981 Engine Performance Manual; Chrysler Corporation

1981 Specifications

Documents

Date	Document Name & Details	Documents
8 April 2008	Federal-Mogul Corporation: Part 573.6 Notitication From: Glen Parker, Federal Mogul Corporation To: Recall Management Division, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration NHTSA Recall 08E033000	PDF - 323KB - 3 pages
8 April 2008	NHTSA Recall 08E033000 Carquest K7147, Carquest K7329, MasterPro K8683, Moog K7147, Moog K7329, One Source K8683, Parts Depot K8683, Parts Master K8683, Treadsaver K8683, TRW 104353, 1984 Chrysler E Class, 1984-1986 Chrysler Laser, 1984-1990 Chrysler LeBaron, 1984-1988 Chrysler New Yorker, 2001-2005 Chrysler PT Cruiser, 1989-1990 Chrysler TC, 1990 Chrysler Town and Country, 1984-1988 Dodge 600, 1984-1989 Dodge Aries, 1984-1990 Dodge Caravan, 1984-1987 Dodge Charger, 1984-1990 Dodge Daytona, 1988-1990 Dodge Grand Caravan, 1985-1989 Dodge Lancer, 1984-1988 Dodge Mini Ram Van, 2000-2005 Dodge Neon, 1984-1990 Dodge Omni, 1984 Dodge Rampage, 1987-1990 Dodge Shadow, 1989-1990 Dodge Spirit, 1995-2000 Ford Contour, 1999-2002 Mercury Cougar, 1995-2000 Mercury Mystique, 1989-1990 Plymouth Acclaim, 1985-1988 Plymouth Caravelle, 1988-1990 Plymouth Grand Voyager, 1984-1990 Plymouth Horizon, 2000-2001 Plymouth Neon, 1984-1989 Plymouth Reliant, 1987-1990 Plymouth Sundance, 1985 Plymouth Turismo, 1984-1990 Plymouth Voyager SuspensionNational Highway Traffic Safety Administration	Recall Page - 1 page
24 April 2008	Ball Joint Recall Attachment A Ball Joint Affected Date Codes and Applications Federal Mogul NHTSA Recall 08E033000	PDF - 57KB - 1 page
2 May 2008	Campaign #08E-033 From: Joe Stephan, Federal-Mogul Corporation To: Distributors NHTSA Recall 08E033000	PDF - 70KB - 2 pages
5 May 2008	Aftermarket Ball Joint Assemblies From: George H. Person, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration To: Glen Parker, Federal Mogul Corporation NHTSA Recall 08E033000	PDF - 121KB - 3 pages
21 July 2008	Equipment Safety Recall Quarterly Report Information Federal Mogul Corporation NHTSA Recall 08E033000	PDF - 51KB - 1 page
October 2008	Equipment Safety Recall Quarterly Report Information Federal Mogul Corporation NHTSA Recall 08E033000	PDF - 14KB - 1 page
January 2009	Equipment Safety Recall Quarterly Report Information Federal Mogul Corporation NHTSA Recall 08E033000	PDF - 28KB - 1 page
4 February 2009	From: George H. Person, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration To: Glen Parker, Federal Mogul Corporation NHTSA Recall 08E033000	PDF - 43KB - 1 page
April 2009	Equipment Safety Recall Quarterly Report Information Federal Mogul Corporation NHTSA Recall 08E033000	PDF - 25KB - 1 page
July 2009	Equipment Safety Recall Quarterly Report Information Federal Mogul Corporation NHTSA Recall 08E033000	PDF - 36KB - 1 page
October 2009	Equipment Safety Recall Quarterly Report Information Federal Mogul Corporation NHTSA Recall 08E033000	PDF - 43KB - 1 page