Here's how the Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon helped save Chrysler 

A few of my relatives had these fantastic little cars but my most favorite memory was the day that I raced our office secretary at stop light after work one day. She had a 1985 Omni and I had a 1984 Pontiac Sunbird. She blew my doors off.

I loved this. My first car was an 89 Dodge Omni Base. We put over 250,000km on that little car. It hauled everything and anything we threw at it, including a utility trailer, canoes. And lots of teenagers. It was simple, easy to maintain (But 3 starters over its life as we bough it new. I was heartbroken in 1999 when the mechanic gave it last rights. Its unbody had rotted under it and it was no longer safe or economical to repair. But all, it was a damn good car.

My Mother had one when I was born. It was the first car she bought all on her own. A green 1980 4 speed with camel interior. I still remember sitting in it pretending to drive and learning to love the smell of gasoline, which it leaked profusely.

I owned an 87 Omni. Hands down the funnest car o ever drove. 2.2lt with 5speed stick. Didn't turn any heads, but i loved the way it drove n cornered. It was just fun to drive. Never had a prob until over 100k n the timing belt snapped.

I had a '90 Ford Probe. I had no idea it was actually a Mazda for the first 2 years I owned it. I'd like to see an episode on that car.

I'm digging your channel. My parents got a silver '78 Horizon in '83. I remember liking that it kind of looked like a Rabbit. After that they had a Cavalier. Then they got a Rabbit. I had my eye on that one because I was going into High School and would drive soon, But it got wrecked by a drunk driver while parked in our driveway and I never got to drive it. It was replaced with a Renault Alliance which was garbage. It was broken more than it ran. Then it was a Plymouth Reliant. Wow! I haven't thought about all this in ages!

The Omni/Horizon were the right car at the right time. They were economical to buy, to drive, insure, and repair. Easy to work on, I didn't have to do much work at all, the little buggers were rugged. With winter grade tires they could claw through snow really well, mine surprised a bunch of people. I bought Winterforce tires from tire rack. They were a bit noisy on bare pavement but man the sure dug through ice and snow. I put those tires on my cars in the winter.

The first car my wife and I bought as a couple was a slightly used 1990 Omni. It was our first car with an automatic and air conditioning. The 2.2 never really gave us any problems and we put over 100,000 miles over the next several years. With the back seat folded down, it actually had a fairly decent cargo capacity. We even added a car-top-carrier for road trips. On our first trip on the New Jersey turnpike, we accidentally got in the "Truck Lanes" with the Omni. It was close to oil refineries belching out fire and Newark airport. I got out of those as soon as I could because the whole thing was like a Mad Max experience.

I LOVE my '82 Omni with the 1.9...HATED the '87 Horizon with 2.2!

I had the first generation GLH and would paste many unsuspecting manufacturers such as BMW, Saab, Mazda and VW GTI and Scirocco among others.

I had an 83 Charger 2.2 with the 5-speed. It was reasonably quick in 1st and 2nd gears. I got as high as 43MPG going 55-60MPH. The worst part of the car was that it had a very notchy shifter.

I love these videos....my old car was a 2000 Dodge Neon...just wondering if you have ever owned one...loved that car!

My first car was a 1989 Subaru XT6

I just discovered your channel and I LOVE IT !!!! I grew up in the 80's and American cars were an embarrassment and JUNK ! I can't believe people were trading in their muscle cars for this crap.

Please do a shelby csx vid

I have always been a Ford Pinto fan, and have owned several. I currently own a 1972 woodgrain wagon 2.0L/4 speed. The original Omin/Horizon was the only 4 door front wheel drive car I ever cared for. To me it was pretty much an American version of the VW Rabbit. I actually liked the square body style on that particular car. I thought it looked a lot more substantial than the Chevette and Escort, which had a somewhat flimsy look. Strangely enough, as a huge fan of 2 door cars, I never like any of the 2 door variants of the Omni/Horizon. I saw them as fake performance cars. Putting the Charger name on such a car was blasphemy in my eyes. I never cared for the blacked out models either, I just don't like the look. But I did see the original models as transportation cars I wouldn't mind driving, especially with a manual transmission. And they sure look a lot better to me than ANY 4 door car made today.

I wonder how many people still have the runs like hell s’more versions

I'm dailying a 85 omni. I love the old bird, and keeping her as clean as I can

Great video again! I just bought my son a 1984 Chrysler LeBaron Town & Country convertible, complete with woodgrain sides! He hates it. 😂

I'd like to see something detailing the Maxima/Cressida rivalry. Or a video on each separately.

1980 Dodge Omni with the VW engine, automatic and RED VINYL interior. Got me through college and even managed to get 1 speeding ticket going downhill on the NY State Throughway.

This was my drivers ed car in 1987. Had 3 of us crammed in the back seat 1 driver one instructor 😄

Remember back in the 80s when people would ride in the bed of pickups, even on the highway!? Cant do that now

These were EVERYWHERE back in the day. As well as the Omni 024 hatchbacks. Great job on the video.

Can u do the Ford Festiva? My first car was a brand-new, blue 1990 Ford Festiva L-Plus that I adored and miss it very much.

You briefly mentioned the Suzuki Samurai. I thank that would make a great subject for a future video.

Chrysler L-bodies are my all time favorite cars. My first car was (I still own it) a 1985 Shelby Charger. What a fun car it has been. If you halfway take car of an L-body and don't drive it on salty winter roads, they will last forever.

The engine in the U.K. models sounded like a tin of nails being shaken

‘84 Horizon was my first car. I have fond memories of that thing not wanting to start in cold weather.

My wife's grandma/grandfather bought a brand new 1988 Dodge Omni 'America' with a 3spd automatic. By then the Omni/Horizon were ALL nicely equipped, mature platforms with reliable components offered in 'value' packages and were great values with low-prices to keep the somewhat "dated" vehicles moving out the showroom door. But they were all nicely equipped with the 'big' 2.2L with TBI injection... very trouble-free & reliable cars by then. All the troublesome carburetors and small 1.6L & 1.7L engines were in the past by then and that '88 Omni was passed around from one family member to another for a long time. I remember that it had really *GREAT A/C* that cooled-down the entire interior super-fast on even 100F+ Summer days.

I always thought it was sacreligous to put the charger name on a compact fwd 4 banger.

These were great little cars, and I still regret not buying an omni GLH

I saw someone swap in an AWD from the minivan to an Omni. That in a GLH would be a hell of a fun surprise for people lol

Always have loved the Omni/Horizon. Wouldn't mind having one to drive around for a bit.

Growing up in the 80's my dad had three different ones. First was a 79 TC3 four speed manual (and manual everything else) that he bought just to get to and from the train station. Second was an 84 Charger 2.2 5 speed. Third was the ultimate, an 86 Shelby Charger Turbo. I got to drive all three and have to say the Shelby was quick for it's day, would eat a lot of Mustangs and Camaro's (350 IROC's and of course the Grand National gave it trouble), but the best balanced one was the 84 2.2, decent power, speed shifting it (with a nice chirp in second), it would keep up with 2.8 EFI Camaro's and Firebird's, rode decent especially compared to the Shelby and had a much nicer interior than the 79 TC3.

I have a 1981 Dodge Omni 024 Detomaso kit for sale right now! Such an awesome car.

I still have & drive my 1990 plymouth horizon. It's been a good car. While over time needs repaired, the only complaint I have with it. Is the L body. Having a hard time finding anyone that will work on that part of the car ( under body) thank you for letting me share this.

We had a horizon when I was a kid. It replaced our chevette (in fact I commented on this in your chevette video lol). This was our first 4 door car, and I remember my two brothers and I thought we were living in luxury because we each had our own door. I also remember my mom being excited that it was her first car with delay wipers.

My mom's first car was a Plymouth Horizon. She said it was pretty much broke down just as much as it was running.

I had a 1987 Pontiac Bonneville in the early 2000s, it was a decent car. It was ate up with rust because of the salt that is on the roads all winter, but it lasted for a long time. Not sure if you've covered those before, but if not I wouldn't mind seeing that. Thanks!

You forgot one of the most interesting points about the Omni and horizon Chrysler subcontracted AMC to build these at their Kenosha Wisconsin plant

The "handling problem" Consumer Reports accused the Omni/Horizon of was that they found on a test track that if you jerked the steering wheel at high speed and then took your hands off the wheel the car would swerve back and forth and not damp the motion out by itself. If you kept your hands on the wheel it didn't do that. Hardly a big "problem". Consumer Reports is probably the last place I would ever go for good info on cars.

My Parents bought a 1983 Omni with the 2.2 w/carb new. That car was the biggest POS ever made. The engine was so poorly designed.

My brother's girlfriend had a a later model. I figured it had to be junk. I was wrong, it just ran, and she never had any problems with it! I changed my mind about these car's.

I bought a '88 Dodge Omni model in 1987. Drove it 180,000 miles on the original clutch and exhaust. I could get 40+ MPG on the highway with the 92 hp 2.2 liter engine (it had electronic fuel injection). My only regret is that I didn't order it with air conditioning.

I had a 89 Shadow, my Sister had a Omni. Simple maintenance at it's best. I could change the oil and do a tune up in an hour. That's plug,wires,cap and rotor.

I would love to see an episode about the Suzuki Escudo / Grand Vitara / Vitara / Chevy Tracker. (All same car)

My Uncle had one for years, and I loved riding around in it. It wasn't fancy, but it had a lot of room in the cabin, and it had a great A/C as well.

I love this channel .

The first time I ever learned about the Omni was in Forza Motorsport 7 and I loved it ever since

The first car I had was an '85 Omni (hand me down from my dad when he bought an '88 Sundance) with the 2.2 liter with a 5 speed manual. It was an incredibly basic car but that engine had gobs of torque and mine was reliable as hell. I used to drive the crap out of it and I never had any problems other than the top front shock mounts breaking and the shifter linkage broke once. I used to annoy/confuse Z24/2.8 liter Camaro owners when they saw my tail lights after leaving a stop light.

I had an 87 Horizon, dollar for dollar the best car I ever owned. Gave it to my sister in law when it had 250k miles on it. She drove it for another 100k and sold it. Very easy to maintain. You could do an oil change and tune up on it in 15 minutes for under $20.

Great video. Very informative and brought back a lot of memories. My sister had a Horizon. Cute little thing, I drove it a couple times.

Had this car, only power steering leak but no other problems for years

I thought the early Omni had an actual VW engine, before Chrysler could get production up to speed- True?

My first car was an 82 Plymouth Horizon Miser 4 speed manual. The only option I got on it was an antenna because I was installing my own radio. I paid $5858 for it and got 40 mpg on the highway.

I used to have an '84 Horizon. It ran great for about the first 6 months, but some intermittent issue would pop up causing it to run on 3 cylinders and the tach needle to vibrate like hell. Let me tell ya' though, crooked manhole covers will kill a Horizon very quickly. While driving down a back alley, behind a friends house, I saw her outside and was distracted waving at her, and failed to notice that that manhole that I had driven over 100 times before, was now popped open and sitting askew with the edge of the cover aimed right at the undercarriage of my car. |I was probably going about 20 mph, when "BAM! SMASH! CRASH! CLATTER! Bleeehhhh.... Clunk." I saw the hood flex upward and pop back down just as the car came to a sudden stop. That manhole cover smashed through the oil pan, ripped the engine off of its mounts, shoved it up into the hood, busting the transmission housing wide open, before letting it just fall back down, DEAD. Oil and sissy-o-matic transmission fluid puking out. I drove home in my friends, brothers 1970 Ford Galaxie, which was so beaten and and abused that there wasn't a single exterior bit of trim, mirror or door handle left due to both sides of the car being used to mow-down road signs. (Her brother was an odd cookie that got his jollies by sideswiping road signs.) But damn, did that sombitch run! I gave him 50 bucks for it and drove home. I left home in an 84 Horizon, and 45 minutes later, I came back in a '70 Galaxie with a tow truck hauling the dead Horizon following me.

The Horizon had a reputation in Europe of having a reliable (if unrefined) drivetrain but rust killed most of them.

The mustang II would be a interesting story

I worked in Security at Universal Studios in my early 20s in the 80s and those of us who were Mobile Guards got to drive Omni's as our daily drivers. I loved those cars! Ours were well equipped with Air, Digital Radio and Velour Covered Bucket Seats.. Just sitting in the Omni felt like you were in a Mid-sized car with a lot of room even though externally it was very small. They weren't the fastest up the steep hills of the studio but they had no problem handling the tough stuff or the inclines. They were Light Years ahead build-wise of the horrible brand new Chevy Chevette that my best friend had in High School. I would love to have one today!! Thanks for the very interesting video.

My parents had a Horizon. Learned to drive in it. Was even able to get some air in it. Just a awesome car.

The 80s dodge colt would be nice as has a very interesting story from 70s up till the 90s

Had 1979 Plymouth and again in 1985. Both good cars.

89' Dodge Omni was my fist car... I bought it used in 93' when I was in high school and drove it for 6 years until I graduated college. I believe mine was the America model, it was silver with the red and blue pin stripes, and so bare bones it didn't even have a passenger side mirror. That 2.2L was awesome! With a 5 speed manual, it was a bit of a sleeper. I had no problem roasting any of my friends with other 4 cylinder cars. Awesome video's, keep it up! A suggestion for s future video would be the rise and fall of Saturn. Thanks!!!

I has an 1982 Plymouth Horizon with the VW engine and 5-spd. It was reliable, got good mpg and a total grandma's car. It got me to work every day though.

Had an ‘80 model Horizon with the infamous VW engine. Awful. My dad bought one of the later Dodge models with a stick shift and the 2.2 liter engine - great little car!

make a episode about the yugo!

I can well imagine American buyers reaction to a crappy little shitbox like this car, it would have got a BIG THUMBS DOWN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Talbot-Lago was French manufacturer (not British); Peugeot resurrected the Talbot marque for the UK market as it came from Sunbeam-Talbot, of Rootes Group, which Peugeot acquired from Chrysler in 1978. Talbot marque also replaced Simca in France by 1982.

Had a 1985 Dodge Omni 2.2 liter in Germany 1994 when I was deployed with the US Army. Myself and friends upgraded it to GLH standards with a Supercharger from the Mopar aftermarket catalog and other choice parts on the cheap. It left many a German driver scratching their head as to how this Talbot (British version of the Omni they thought) was so fast of the line. As to the Dodge Rampage. I still have my 1984 2.2 Rampage, and it still runs like a Swiss watch.

I had a 1987 dodge omni. Loved it.

My mom had the Plymouth Horizon TC3 and my dad had the Plymouth Horizon Both were junk. When one went in to be fix, the other followed a week or so after.

I test drove a used GLHS that was for sale for 1800 bucks. It lived up to its name and went like hell. I ended up passing on it though, and getting a Mitsubishi Starion ESi, which would be a great car to feature. So underrated; RWD turbo fun with a stock front mount intercooler and pop up headlights! I still miss it.

My first new car was 90 Plymouth Horizon. I drove it for 4 years and put 120,000 miles on it. My parents need a second car and had it for 11 years and gave it to our neighbor with 325,000 miles on it who drove it 3 more years until it hit 389,000 miles on it. Still was running with original motor and transmission and just routine maintenance. Only paid $6,399I(including tax, title and options of automatic, AC, rear defrost and wiper and dealer tint) best money spent. Loved that little car. I moved most of my 3 apartments with that hatchback!

I had a 2nd hand 78 Horizon that I bought for $1100 in 1984 with 52k miles. Other than the Alpine stereo I installed that car was the most unreliable POS I have ever owned. Lots of Electrical issues, 2 timing belts in less than 18 months, on and on. Thing had about a top speed of 75 or 80 on a good day. Got $350 trade in on it, for a 86 Toyota pick up.

The first car I purchased as an adult was an 85 Omni GLH Turbo. 23 yrs old and looking for fun! Had some good times blowing T/A's off the line, but they got me going into third at 90.. I'm still alive and I have a Corvette now.

My first car was a 1978 Plymouth Horizon. I traded it in for a 1985 Dodge Charger, traded the Charger for a 1988 Horizon, traded the 1988 Horizon for a 1992 Dodge Shadow, traded the Shadow in for a 1996 Dodge Neon, and traded the Neon for a 1999 Plymouth Grand Voyager. I was on a Mopar roll for the longest time.

Had a 1980 Horizon with the 1.7L engine. It was lively and economical, but the body and build quality was garbage.

A horrendous vehicle. My parents had a 1987 Omni, and it had so many problems. I will never buy a Chrysler because of growing up with this car. Good riddance.

Chrysler's partner, not subsidiary. Chrysler never owned Mitsubishi, they formed a partnership in 1970 to rebadge the Galant as the Dodge/Plymouth Colt in the US.

Only Non GM car I've ever owned, I was young & Broke and I bought a 81 Miser Omni for 100.00 Root beer brown,tan interior base model 4 banger. Hey it was wheels, and was in very good condition..

My mom owned a 1980 Dodge Omni. I liked the car and thought it was well designed. It was roomy and had great visibility. The engine was also easy to work on. I own a Fox-Body Ford LTD and would like to see a future episode on this car.

I had a 1980 Datson 210 with an A-14 engine, I think it was a 5 speed manual. That little car was bulletproof

I inherited my Dad's '85 Omni 2.2-liter automatic. It was not bad in terms of design, really big on the inside compared to its exterior dimensions, but the quality was really miserable. More bugs than a truckload of bat shit!

I think, for an American family in 1978, this was the best small car possible. It was a four door car, it was wider and had more room in it than the Rabbit or the Civic, and just about everything else was rear wheel drive, and so less roomy as well. And when the escort came out, the Omni/Horizon was still a better car.

I bought my 1989 Dodge Omni, brand new, out of a rental fleet, after I had rented it one time, I was so impressed by that engine. They weren't supposed to be good cars but mine lasted 13 years in stop and go traffic. It had that Chrysler 2.2-litre engine in it, like the K-Cars, and no Honda, Toyota, or any other contemporary competitors could match it's torque and speed. I loved the motor, first and foremost, and loved the bucket seats. The car was burgandy, inside and out. I kept it washed and polished, stuck mag wheels and white-letter tires on it - hot-rodded it up, appearance-wise, but it had the standard engine. It was not a GLH, but much more powerful than the other subcompacts then. And, you could make them look bad-ass.

How about a video about GM clamshell wagons 1971-76

Chrysler bought AMC, with Hornet and Gremlin. Hornets and Gremlins are what they should have built.

My friend Beth's parents had a 1985 Dodge Omni with the manual transmission. That car had almost 300,000 miles on it when it finally died

I had a 1886 GLH Turbo, bought new. Golly I loved that car, drove it until 1994 until the head gasket blew.

How about a video on the Nissan Pulsar NX? My first car was a 1987 model

I had an 85 Shelby Charger turbo 2.2, 5 speed. When the tachometer hit 2k rpm, torque steer demanded both hands on the wheel. It was huge fun to drive. I'd buy it again.

had the 1982 omni 024 hatchback with the 2.2 lasted 400,000 with very little maintenance except tires and brakes

These were actually awesome little cars and dependable

How come this car looks likes like a Volkswagen?? A like a Golf? Research about it couldn’t find anything

The GLHS was fun as Hell to drive! It was raw, unrefined, it torque-steered like a bastard, it was a total hoonigan car.

Friend of mine High School had one; class of 95' we went over the bridge and we buried the needle because the speedometer on his only went up to 85mph, it was a quick little ass car!

I had a 1982 Buick Electra. It'd be cool to see a video on the 80s c body GM cars.

Love your videos! Just one suggestion. More interior shots if possible

Bought it used in the 90s but a shit brown 82 Horizon was my first car. Smelled like a wet dog so it was affectionately known as "The Puppy". LOL