Dodge · 1980–1988

Dodge Aries

The Plymouth Reliant and Dodge Aries are mid-size cars introduced for model year 1981 as the first "K-cars" manufactured and marketed by the Chrysler Corporation. The Reliant and Aries were the smallest cars to have the traditional 6 passenger 2 bench seat with column shifter seating arrangement favored by customers in the United States (Chrysler marketed the car as being able to seat "six Americans"), similar to larger rear-wheel drive cars such as the Dodge Dart and other front-wheel drive cars such as the Chevrolet Celebrity. 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 (this engine also featured hemispherical combustion chambers, and all 1981 models equipped with it featured "HEMI" badges on the front fenders). 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. As rebadged variants, the Reliant and Aries were manufactured in Newark, Delaware, Detroit, Michigan, and Toluca, Mexico — in a single generation. After their introduction, the Reliant and Aries were marketed as the "Reliant K" and "Aries K". The Aries was sold as the Dart K in Mexico, and as the Michigan in Japan. The Reliant replaced the Plymouth Volaré/Road Runner, while the Aries replaced the Dodge Aspen. The Reliant and Aries were selected together as Motor Trend magazine's Car of the Year for 1981. Initial sales were brisk, with both Reliant and Aries each selling over 150,000 units in 1981, with cumulative sales of million Aries and 1.1 million Reliant units over the nine-year run.

Text from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).

Predecessor: Dodge Aspen · Successor: Dodge Spirit

All Dodge Aries data: UK builds, safety, recalls, model years →

History

Chrysler was facing a grave financial crisis due to poor business decisions, lack of investment in new products during previous years, and external factors outside of their control as the 1970s ended. Lynn A. Townsend, chairman from 1967 to 1975, had pursued a hands-off policy of running the company, refusing to spend more than the minimum on new drivetrains or platforms as long as the existing ones continued to sell. Sales of the company's larger cars started dropping after the 1973 OPEC Embargo and an increased amount of company volume consisted of lower profit compact models. Chrysler also had a policy of producing cars regardless of whether a customer ordered them, which was in contrast to AMC, Ford, and GM who only produced vehicles for which they received orders. Soon, they were left with a backlog of unsold inventory which cost money to store and had to resort to the money-losing tactic of rebates to get rid of these excess cars. Compounding these difficulties were new Federal emissions and safety regulations during the 1970s which added more to the production costs of each car. Townsend retired in 1975 and left the reins to John J. Riccardo, who presided over a slowly-sinking company. The following year, the compact Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Volare debuted as replacements for the dated Dodge Dart/Plymouth Valiant, but were rushed into production and ended up with a major string of quality control problems that led to them being one of the most recalled cars in US history. In 1977, Riccardo petitioned newly elected US president Jimmy Carter for a Federal bailout, but Carter would not consider the idea as long as Chrysler's present management was in charge. In January 1978, Chrysler released the Dodge Omni/Plymouth Horizon, a US adaption of the European Simca Horizon a

Changes through the years

1982: 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), a counterbalanced hood, and black painted valve cover on the 2.2L engine (vs. the former blue). 1981 and 1982 were the only two years when a factory installed sunroof on coupes and sedans could be ordered. Actual production numbers are not known. 1983: A blacked out grille is made standard on the Aries. Also, the four-door sedan and station wagon models finally received roll-down rear door windows versus the former stationary glass with rear quarter pop-out panes. 1984: The hood ornament was removed and the Chrysler Pentastar moved to the grille; the Mercedes-Benz-styled grille used on the Reliant was modified. Also, the tail lights received chrome trim, and the interior received a padded dash and new black instrument cluster with round gauges that were functionally improved with the addition of a trip meter and replacing the engine and generator signals with temperature and voltage gauges and a distinct oil signal. 1985: The first major changes occurred when the Ks received a new, rounder front fascia, featuring either a new egg-crate or crosshair grille for the Plymouth and Dodge that was the same height as the headlights (rather than going all the way up to the hood as with previous model years). 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). The base engine was a transverse mounted, Chrysler-designed, 2.2-litre (134 cu in) inline-four engine with an electronic two-barrel carburetor (replaced by a fuel injection system in 1986), rated at 82 hp (61 kW). Transaxles were a four-speed floor

Sections adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0); text is shortened. Read the full article for the complete history and citations.

Specifications

name: Dodge Aries, Plymouth Reliant
Manufacturer: Chrysler Corporation
Production: October 1980 – December 1988
Model years: 1981–1989
Assembly: United States: Newark, Delaware (Newark Assembly: sedans and wagons), United States: Detroit, Michigan (Jefferson Avenue Assembly), United States: Fenton, Missouri (Saint Louis Assembly: 2-door sedans only), Mexico: Toluca (Toluca Car Assembly)
Class: Mid-size car
Layout: Transverse front-engine, front-wheel drive
Platform: K-body
Body style: 2-door coupe (1981–1989), 4-door sedan (1981–1989), 4-door wagon (1981–1988)
Engine: 2.2 L K I4, 2.5 L K I4, 2.6 L Mitsubishi G54B I4
Transmission: 4-speed A460 manual, 5-speed A465 manual, 5-speed A520 manual, 5-speed A525 manual, 3-speed A413 automatic, 3-speed A470 automatic
Wheelbase: 100.3 in, Wagon: 100.4 in
Length: 178.6 in, Wagon: 178.5 in
Width: 68.0 in
Height: Sedan: 52.9 in, Coupe: 52.5 in, Wagon: 53.2 in
Kerb weight: 2300 lb
Predecessor: Dodge Aspen / Plymouth Volaré
Successor: Dodge Spirit / Plymouth Acclaim
Related: Chrysler LeBaron, Chrysler Town & Country, Dodge 400
aka: Dodge Dart K/Plymouth Valiant Volare K (Mexico), Dodge Michigan (Japan)

Specification summary from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Measured facts from Wikidata (CC0). Check the linked sources for citations.

More photos

Sources

Wikidata — https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q1234136CC0 1.0 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikipedia — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plymouth_ReliantCC BY-SA 4.0 · Text © Wikipedia contributors; revision 1352372401 · retrieved 2026-10-01
Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dodge-Aries-sedan.jpgPublic domain · Photo: IFCAR · retrieved 2026-10-01
Car Model Index — https://models.autoculturesociety.com/Compiled record. Sources that do not permit reuse are not copied; this index is credited instead.