Dodge Omni
Encyclopedia
The Dodge Omni and the similar Plymouth Horizon were front wheel drive cars introduced by the Dodge
and Plymouth divisions of the Chrysler Corporation
in North America
in 1978, and were based on a European Simca
-based design of the same name. While they are generally not credited, they were the first of many successful front-wheel drive models, such as the Dodge Aries
/Plymouth Reliant
and the Dodge Caravan
/Plymouth Voyager
which helped return Chrysler to profitability.
cars introduced by the Dodge
and Plymouth divisions of the Chrysler Corporation
in North America
in 1978. The car came off the line priced at $2,500. It was a three or five-door hatchback. Although the car had substantial Europe
an origins (the car was actually developed by Simca
, the French
division of Chrysler Europe, before that company was sold to Peugeot
, which released the car as the Talbot Horizon), it was presented as a very significant domestic development, since it was assembled by Chrysler, who retained North American rights to the car. Both the Omni and the Horizon were based on Chrysler's then-new L platform
. The company had avoided building a car for the subcompact market up until that time, preferring to use captive import
s like the Dodge Colt
instead. The Omni and Horizon were the first front-wheel drive cars in the Dodge and Plymouth lineup, the first front-wheel drive transverse engine
production car in the North American market, and among the first American built front-wheel drive cars to sell in large numbers. Previous front-wheel drive American cars such as the Cord 810, Cadillac Eldorado
and Oldsmobile Toronado
were low volume luxury cars.
The Horizon and its corporate twin the Omni appeared at a critical time, when Chrysler was desperately looking for government support to survive. In 1978, Chrysler had beaten both Ford and GM to the market with a domestically-produced front-wheel drive car to challenge the VW Rabbit
. News reports indicated that these fresh small cars, which did indeed begin to sell well, helped persuade Congress and the White House that Chrysler had a future worth saving. The Omni was Motor Trend
magazine's Car of the Year
for 1978.
Despite looking almost identical, the Omni and Horizon had few interchangeable parts with their European siblings. Aside from the heavier-looking American body panels and bumpers, the OHV
Simca engines were replaced with a 1.7 L OHC engine sourced from Volkswagen
, while MacPherson strut
front suspension took the place of the torsion bar arrangement found in the European Horizon. The small Volkswagen engine used an enlarged Chrysler-designed cylinder head
and intake manifold and produced 75 hp and 90 lbft.
Early on, the cars had a shaky period after Consumer Reports
magazine tested one and reported that it easily went out of control in hard maneuvering. This allegation received extensive mainstream coverage, including a heading in Time Magazine: over the Horizon. Other auto magazines reported no problems and opined that the test did not approximate real-world driving conditions. The car was modified to include a steering damper and lighter weight steering wheel, and went on to success.
The HVAC controls were mounted to the left of the steering wheel rather than in the center stack like in most vehicles. This meant that only the driver could adjust the interior temperature. It was a quirk not only found in the Omni and Horizon, though; many other Chrysler Corporation products (including the Dodge Charger
and Chrysler Cordoba
) and vehicles from other manufacturers (including Ford) came with instrument panels that placed the HVAC controls in this general location during the 1970s.
Chrysler's 2.2 L K-car engine
appeared in 1981 as an upmarket option to the small Volkswagen engine. It produced 84 hp at first, rising to 93 hp and finally 96 hp by the end of production. The Volkswagen 1.7 was replaced by a Simca/Peugeot-produced 1.6 L I4
unit in 1983. This engine produced 62 hp and 86 lbft, and was only available with a manual transmission
. The 2.2 L Chrysler was the only engine from 1987 onwards.
The Omni and the Horizon finally ended production in 1990, and were replaced by the Dodge Shadow
/Plymouth Sundance
, which had both been introduced in 1987. It outlived the European
version by three years; Peugeot
had bought Chrysler's European division
in 1978 and re-badged the Horizon (along with the rest of the British Chrysler and French Simca
range) as a Talbot
, with production lasting until 1987.
Chrysler invested in a number of significant changes that ended up being used for only one year; the cars gained larger exterior rear-view mirrors (borrowed from the departed M-body
sedans), a driver's side air bag and a mildly redesigned instrument panel, complete with HVAC controls finally moved to the center. As production was being wound up all tooling needed to produce the vehicle was sold to the Tata Group
in India, and the car was produced there for several more years.
PRODUCTION NUMBERS
Year Omni
1978 81,611>
1979 141,477>
1980 138,155>
1981 77,039
1982 71,864
1983 42,554
1984 71,355
1985 74,127
1986 73,580
1987 66,907
1988 59,867
1989 46,239
1990 16,733
/Plymouth Scamp
name.
The 024 and TC3 were marketed as sporty cars, although a modest 94 hp four-cylinder engine, decent aerodynamics and light weight didn't make them very formidable. The TC3 was renamed the Plymouth Turismo, and the 024 the Dodge Charger
in 1983. The last 1,000 Dodge Chargers were modified by Carroll Shelby
into Shelby GLHS
s.
-modified Omni GLH. The original name, "Coyote", was rejected, and Shelby's choice, the initials GLH, which stood for "Goes Like Hell", were taken instead. 1984 was the first year of the GLH, which carried over most of the modifications that had been made the previous year to the Shelby Charger
. 1985 was the debut of the real GLH model with the turbocharged engine option. This engine, at low boost (10 psi) coupled with the car's very low weight (as low as 2200 lb (997.9 kg)), earned this car its name. The car carried over into 1986 unchanged aside from the addition of a hatch-mounted third tail light, and production was stopped. The final 500 GLH cars were sold to Shelby, who used them as the basis for the 1986 Shelby GLHS
("Goes Like Hell Sm'more"). These cars were modified by Carroll and sold as Shelbys.
Dodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
and Plymouth divisions of the Chrysler Corporation
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
in 1978, and were based on a European Simca
Simca
Simca was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat. It was directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by the Italian Henri Théodore Pigozzi...
-based design of the same name. While they are generally not credited, they were the first of many successful front-wheel drive models, such as the Dodge Aries
Dodge Aries
The Dodge Aries is an automobile sold by the Chrysler Corporation from 1981-1989. It replaced the Dodge Aspen as Dodge's family car with "mid-size room" in a size and front-wheel drive format commonly associated with compact cars...
/Plymouth Reliant
Plymouth Reliant
The Plymouth Reliant was one of the first two so-called "K-cars" manufactured by the Chrysler Corporation, introduced for the 1981 model year. The Reliant replaced the Plymouth Volaré/Road Runner, which was the short-lived successor automobile to the highly regarded Plymouth Valiant...
and the Dodge Caravan
Dodge Caravan
The Dodge Caravan is a family minivan manufactured by Chrysler Group LLC and sold under its Dodge brand. Along with its nameplate variant, the Plymouth Voyager, the Caravan was introduced for the 1984 model year. In 1987, the Dodge Grand Caravan long-wheelbase model was introduced and sold...
/Plymouth Voyager
Plymouth Voyager
In 1984, the Voyager name was applied to Plymouth's variant of Chrysler's all new minivan. This Voyager used the Chrysler S platform, which was derived from the K-platform . In addition to using a derived platform, the Voyager shared many components with the K-cars, most notably the interior...
which helped return Chrysler to profitability.
History
The Dodge Omni and the similar Plymouth Horizon were front-wheel driveFront-wheel drive
Front-wheel drive is a form of engine/transmission layout used in motor vehicles, where the engine drives the front wheels only. Most modern front-wheel drive vehicles feature a transverse engine, rather than the conventional longitudinal engine arrangement generally found in rear-wheel drive and...
cars introduced by the Dodge
Dodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
and Plymouth divisions of the Chrysler Corporation
Chrysler
Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....
in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
in 1978. The car came off the line priced at $2,500. It was a three or five-door hatchback. Although the car had substantial Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an origins (the car was actually developed by Simca
Simca
Simca was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat. It was directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by the Italian Henri Théodore Pigozzi...
, the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
division of Chrysler Europe, before that company was sold to Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
, which released the car as the Talbot Horizon), it was presented as a very significant domestic development, since it was assembled by Chrysler, who retained North American rights to the car. Both the Omni and the Horizon were based on Chrysler's then-new L platform
Chrysler L platform
Chrysler's L platform was used in a family of compact automobiles produced from 1978 to 1990. It was created in response to the energy crisis of the 1970s and was a line of similar Dodge and Plymouth vehicles...
. The company had avoided building a car for the subcompact market up until that time, preferring to use captive import
Captive import
Captive import is a marketing term and a strategy for an automobile part or entire vehicle that is foreign-built and sold under the name of an importer or by a domestic automaker through its own dealer distribution system....
s like the Dodge Colt
Dodge Colt
The Dodge Colt and the similar Plymouth Champ and Plymouth Colt, were subcompact cars sold by Dodge and Plymouth from 1970 to 1994. They were captive imports from Mitsubishi Motors, initially twins of the rear-wheel drive Galant and Lancer families before shifting to the smaller front-wheel drive...
instead. The Omni and Horizon were the first front-wheel drive cars in the Dodge and Plymouth lineup, the first front-wheel drive transverse engine
Transverse engine
A transverse engine is an engine mounted in a vehicle so that the engine's crankshaft axis is perpendicular to the long axis of the vehicle. Many modern front wheel drive vehicles use this engine mounting configuration...
production car in the North American market, and among the first American built front-wheel drive cars to sell in large numbers. Previous front-wheel drive American cars such as the Cord 810, Cadillac Eldorado
Cadillac Eldorado
The 1953 Eldorado was a special-bodied, low-production convertible . It was the production version of the 1952 El Dorado "Golden Anniversary" concept car, and borrowed bumper bullets from the 1951 GM Le Sabre show car...
and Oldsmobile Toronado
Oldsmobile Toronado
The original Toronado began as a design painting by Oldsmobile stylist David North in 1962. His design, dubbed the "Flame Red Car," was for a compact sports/personal car never intended for production...
were low volume luxury cars.
Volkswagen Golf Mk1
In May 1974, Volkswagen presented the first-generation Golf as a modern front-wheel-drive, hatchback replacement for the Volkswagen Beetle.-History:...
. News reports indicated that these fresh small cars, which did indeed begin to sell well, helped persuade Congress and the White House that Chrysler had a future worth saving. The Omni was Motor Trend
Motor Trend
Motor Trend is an American automobile magazine. It first appeared in September 1949, issued by Petersen Publishing Company in Los Angeles, and bearing the tag line "The Magazine for a Motoring World". Petersen Publishing was sold to British publisher EMAP in 1998, who sold the former Petersen...
magazine's Car of the Year
Car of the Year
Car of the Year is a phrase usually considered to have been invented by Motor Trend magazine in the 1950s for their annual award for best American automobile...
for 1978.
Despite looking almost identical, the Omni and Horizon had few interchangeable parts with their European siblings. Aside from the heavier-looking American body panels and bumpers, the OHV
Overhead valve
An overhead valve engine, also informally called pushrod engine or I-head engine, is a type of piston engine that places the camshaft within the cylinder block , and uses pushrods or rods to actuate rocker arms above the cylinder...
Simca engines were replaced with a 1.7 L OHC engine sourced from Volkswagen
Volkswagen
Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...
, while MacPherson strut
MacPherson strut
The MacPherson strut is a type of car suspension system which uses the axis of a telescopic damper as the upper steering pivot. It is widely used in modern vehicles and named after Earle S. MacPherson, who developed the design.-History:...
front suspension took the place of the torsion bar arrangement found in the European Horizon. The small Volkswagen engine used an enlarged Chrysler-designed cylinder head
Cylinder head
In an internal combustion engine, the cylinder head sits above the cylinders on top of the cylinder block. It closes in the top of the cylinder, forming the combustion chamber. This joint is sealed by a head gasket...
and intake manifold and produced 75 hp and 90 lbft.
Early on, the cars had a shaky period after Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports
Consumer Reports is an American magazine published monthly by Consumers Union since 1936. It publishes reviews and comparisons of consumer products and services based on reporting and results from its in-house testing laboratory. It also publishes cleaning and general buying guides...
magazine tested one and reported that it easily went out of control in hard maneuvering. This allegation received extensive mainstream coverage, including a heading in Time Magazine: over the Horizon. Other auto magazines reported no problems and opined that the test did not approximate real-world driving conditions. The car was modified to include a steering damper and lighter weight steering wheel, and went on to success.
The HVAC controls were mounted to the left of the steering wheel rather than in the center stack like in most vehicles. This meant that only the driver could adjust the interior temperature. It was a quirk not only found in the Omni and Horizon, though; many other Chrysler Corporation products (including the Dodge Charger
Dodge Charger (B-body)
The Dodge Charger was a mid-size automobile produced by Dodge. The 1966-1974 Chargers were based on the Chrysler B platform. The 1975-1978 Chargers were based on the Chrysler Cordoba.-Origin of the Charger:...
and Chrysler Cordoba
Chrysler Cordoba
The Chrysler Cordoba was an intermediate personal luxury coupe sold by Chrysler Corporation in North America from 1975-1983. It was the company's first model produced specifically for the personal luxury market and the first Chrysler-branded vehicle that was less than full-size.-History:In the...
) and vehicles from other manufacturers (including Ford) came with instrument panels that placed the HVAC controls in this general location during the 1970s.
Chrysler's 2.2 L K-car engine
Chrysler K engine
The 2.2 and 2.5 are a family of inline-4 engines developed by Chrysler Corporation originally for the Chrysler K- and L-platforms cars and subsequently used in many other Chrysler vehicles...
appeared in 1981 as an upmarket option to the small Volkswagen engine. It produced 84 hp at first, rising to 93 hp and finally 96 hp by the end of production. The Volkswagen 1.7 was replaced by a Simca/Peugeot-produced 1.6 L I4
Straight-4
The inline-four engine or straight-four engine is an internal combustion engine with all four cylinders mounted in a straight line, or plane along the crankcase. The single bank of cylinders may be oriented in either a vertical or an inclined plane with all the pistons driving a common crankshaft....
unit in 1983. This engine produced 62 hp and 86 lbft, and was only available with a manual transmission
Manual transmission
A manual transmission, also known as a manual gearbox or standard transmission is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications...
. The 2.2 L Chrysler was the only engine from 1987 onwards.
The Omni and the Horizon finally ended production in 1990, and were replaced by the Dodge Shadow
Dodge Shadow
For 1987, Chrysler Corporation introduced two new compact cars, the Dodge Shadow and the Plymouth Sundance , intended to replace the Dodge Charger - Dodge Omni and Plymouth Turismo - Plymouth Horizon, respectively...
/Plymouth Sundance
Plymouth Sundance
The Plymouth Sundance is a compact car model that was produced for model years 1987 to 1994. It was designed to compete with upmarket compacts such as the Geo Prizm, Ford Escort and the Honda Civic after the production of the Horizon was to be extended...
, which had both been introduced in 1987. It outlived the European
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
version by three years; Peugeot
Peugeot
Peugeot is a major French car brand, part of PSA Peugeot Citroën, the second largest carmaker based in Europe.The family business that precedes the current Peugeot company was founded in 1810, and manufactured coffee mills and bicycles. On 20 November 1858, Emile Peugeot applied for the lion...
had bought Chrysler's European division
Chrysler Europe
Chrysler Europe was a division of the Chrysler Corporation that operated between 1967 and 1979.-Formation:In the 1960s, Chrysler sought to become a world producer of automobiles. The company had never had much success outside North America, contrasting with Ford's worldwide reach and General...
in 1978 and re-badged the Horizon (along with the rest of the British Chrysler and French Simca
Simca
Simca was a French automaker, founded in November 1934 by Fiat. It was directed from July 1935 to May 1963 by the Italian Henri Théodore Pigozzi...
range) as a Talbot
Talbot
Talbot was an automobile marque that existed from 1903 to 1986, with a hiatus from 1960 to 1978, under a number of different owners, latterly under Peugeot...
, with production lasting until 1987.
Chrysler invested in a number of significant changes that ended up being used for only one year; the cars gained larger exterior rear-view mirrors (borrowed from the departed M-body
Chrysler M platform
The M-Bodies were Chrysler Corporation's successor to the F-body Aspen/Volare. The platform, almost identical to the F, was introduced in 1977 and was the basis for some mid-sized Chrysler models until its demise in 1989. The M-body was also the successor to the short-lived R-body, as the Chrysler...
sedans), a driver's side air bag and a mildly redesigned instrument panel, complete with HVAC controls finally moved to the center. As production was being wound up all tooling needed to produce the vehicle was sold to the Tata Group
Tata Group
Tata Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate company headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Tata Group is one of the largest companies in India by market capitalization and revenue. It has interests in communications and information technology, engineering, materials, services, energy,...
in India, and the car was produced there for several more years.
PRODUCTION NUMBERS
Year Omni
1978 81,611>
1979 141,477>
1980 138,155>
1981 77,039
1982 71,864
1983 42,554
1984 71,355
1985 74,127
1986 73,580
1987 66,907
1988 59,867
1989 46,239
1990 16,733
Variants
Several variants of the platform appeared later, including a 3-door hatchback known as the Dodge 024/Plymouth TC3 and briefly a small car-like truck under the Dodge RampageDodge Rampage
The Dodge Rampage was a subcompact, unibody coupe utility based on Chrysler's L platform and manufactured from 1982-1984. First released as a 1982 model, the Rampage was later joined by its rebadged variant, the Plymouth Scamp....
/Plymouth Scamp
Plymouth Scamp
There have been two small cars from Plymouth called the Scamp:* 1971–1976 RWD 2-door coupe, based on the Plymouth Valiant* 1983 FWD pickup truck, based on the Plymouth Horizon; see Dodge Rampage...
name.
The 024 and TC3 were marketed as sporty cars, although a modest 94 hp four-cylinder engine, decent aerodynamics and light weight didn't make them very formidable. The TC3 was renamed the Plymouth Turismo, and the 024 the Dodge Charger
Dodge Charger (L-body)
The Dodge Charger was built by Dodge, a division of Chrysler Corporation. There have been a number of vehicles bearing the Charger nameplate, but the name has generally denoted a performance model in the Dodge range...
in 1983. The last 1,000 Dodge Chargers were modified by Carroll Shelby
Carroll Shelby
Carroll Hall Shelby is an American retired automotive designer and racing driver. He is most well known for making Mustangs for Ford Motor Company known as Mustang Cobras which he has done since 1965...
into Shelby GLHS
Shelby GLHS
The Shelby GLHS was a limited production sport compact automobile from the mid 1980s. The main differentiator of these cars from their regular Dodge versions was their use of what would become the intercooled Turbo II engine as well as Shelby Centurian wheels and Koni Adjustable shocks/struts, and...
s.
GLH
The ultimate Dodge Omni was the Carroll ShelbyCarroll Shelby
Carroll Hall Shelby is an American retired automotive designer and racing driver. He is most well known for making Mustangs for Ford Motor Company known as Mustang Cobras which he has done since 1965...
-modified Omni GLH. The original name, "Coyote", was rejected, and Shelby's choice, the initials GLH, which stood for "Goes Like Hell", were taken instead. 1984 was the first year of the GLH, which carried over most of the modifications that had been made the previous year to the Shelby Charger
Dodge Charger (L-body)
The Dodge Charger was built by Dodge, a division of Chrysler Corporation. There have been a number of vehicles bearing the Charger nameplate, but the name has generally denoted a performance model in the Dodge range...
. 1985 was the debut of the real GLH model with the turbocharged engine option. This engine, at low boost (10 psi) coupled with the car's very low weight (as low as 2200 lb (997.9 kg)), earned this car its name. The car carried over into 1986 unchanged aside from the addition of a hatch-mounted third tail light, and production was stopped. The final 500 GLH cars were sold to Shelby, who used them as the basis for the 1986 Shelby GLHS
Shelby GLHS
The Shelby GLHS was a limited production sport compact automobile from the mid 1980s. The main differentiator of these cars from their regular Dodge versions was their use of what would become the intercooled Turbo II engine as well as Shelby Centurian wheels and Koni Adjustable shocks/struts, and...
("Goes Like Hell Sm'more"). These cars were modified by Carroll and sold as Shelbys.