The Chrysler Laser Was The Forgotten Twin Of The '80s | Know This Car 

I owned one. A 1986 Chrysler Laser Turbo. It had voice notifications and everything which seemed pretty fancy back then. But once we got in the car and it said, "Your right rear door is ajar." It was a two door. But both of us still turned around and looked. :P

When I was 17 one of my teachers told me about the chrysler laser she had in '86. It was one of her favorite cars ever. She ended up selling it because she was getting too many tickets. I now own an 87 Dodge Daytona. They really aren't that bad of cars.

But I drive an 86' Daytona Turbo Z daily still. And many people still get excited at shows for it

I worked in a Chrysler dealer in 84/85, these cars were quite good and strong when compared to the Camaros and Mustangs .

My first car was a low mileage 1990 Daytona I got in 2010 and I still have it!

The Late Carroll Shelby would totally disagree with you, the much older and less fancy platform Charger and Omni impressed performance enthusiast of the day, including this model. It was one of the best performance handing cars of the 1980's and by the time this platform reached 10 years old it was producing over 224hp and was very competitive. Compare the 80's with the 80's This was the right car for the times and Chrysler is still around today because of it.

I had an 85 Laser 5 speed turbo (bought it 90 to 92 or so) and it was a lot of fun for a single driver, sporty, very well priced (I got it used), not bad on gas, and it moved along quite nice. The seats were very sporty and held you in place very securely.

But the Plymouth Laser soldiered on to a new model Eclipse later on.

I absolutely LOVED mine! There were SO MANY THINGS that were unique in the day. Driver lumbar support adjustable pneumatically, Electric defrost side mirrors. Of course the digital dash & voice. A 4 seat vehicle that the rear could fold down and you could carry a dresser inside. I'm sure that I'd still have it today if it wasn't stolen from the mechanic's that left it outside.

You could say the same about a ton of cars of the era. These cars sold fairly well, and were not at all abnormal for the 1970's/1980's. The economy was crawling out of the trash and people just wanted some cheap transport that looked snappy.

I remember kids around the neighborhood running up to us asking if this is the car that talks and showing off by letting it cycle through the audible check list ,,, whew we were so easily impressed in those days😂

You proved that you don't even "Know This Car"! The incredible number of errors and personal opinions that crept into this video have proven that you either didn't live through the 80's, or that your head was in a hole in the ground during that era.

I had an 86 laser. It was and still is the car of my dreams. It was the car I met my wife in. It was the car I brought my son home in. It was the car I traded for my first truck. I loved that car. It is the car of my youth. It was the car of my innocence.

Watching this video while replacing belts on my 86 Chrysler Laser ❤

The video had a tone like this was a bad car, but I don't see anything wrong with the car. It looks kind of cool to me.

Ya know, for a Jalopnik video, this felt very low budget. Audio quality, same few seconds of video, and next to no actual research.

I had a 5 speed laser it would beat stock 5.0 camaros and mustangs Facts.

Had an 85 with the 2.2 non turbo mated to the 5 speed. Was the first brand new car I owned.

1. Chrysler had 2 efficient small cars at the time - the L-body Omni/Horizon/Charger/Turismo/Rampage/Scamp whose architecture debuted in 1978, and the K-car. 2. The Laser replaced the Cordoba in Chrysler’s lineup. The car that replaced the Laser was the 1987 LeBaron coupe. 3. The Conquest already existed alongside the Laser in Chrysler-Plymouth dealerships from 1984-86, but wore Plymouth badges. Chrysler simply swapped them for Chrysler badges for 1987-89. 4. Certain versions of the Daytona were actually faster than the Camaro Z-28 and Mustang 5.0.

Unfortunately this commentary is completely inaccurate and clueless. No attention to the market at the time, no actual performance statistics, no experience with what was contemporary. Wow how does this guy actually get anybody watching his videos?

140hp doesn’t sound like much now, but in 1984, the stock 5.0L Mustangs only made 140-150hp. Even the Camaro was only that, and no ones laughing at them.

Oh, I so loved my '86 Laser XT, Red, T-top. To this day I remember the first time I felt the turbo spool up and push me back in the seat. The seat had the air bulb you could pump up the lumbar and thigh support. The trip computer was a fun toy. I regret selling it. The only option it didn't have was the louvered rear window.

I worked for Chrysler back then, and they sold like hotcakes in their day (the design you so easily dismissed was truely "cutting edge" for their time -- I do remember when we got the first ones in the dealership -- and, I was simply stunned as they were just so amazing). Yes, they are silly looking today, but then they were the cars just about everyone wanted, and to compare them to semi autonomous cars of today is simply ridiculous. From the technology of the 1980's to today? Hhmm, do you still use a Commodore Vic-20 computer, too?

The Dodge Daytona/Chrysler Laser was never meant to be a competitor to the Nissan 300ZX nor the Toyota Supra. The MSRP was several thousand less than the imports and for the money, it was a sporty alternative. While the Chrysler Laser (in it's original iteration) may have only existed for three model years, the Dodge Daytona existed for a decade. The late 1980s and early 1990s brought about the return to American horsepower, i.e., Mustangs and Camaros. Chrysler and Mitsubishi answered the call with Diamond Star Motors. I recall the Chrysler Laser RS Turbo as a badass little car for the time. Less Gawlopnik, more Jalopnik, please.

It's amazing how many people thought these were Camaros...

Shame cuz I think it looks pretty cool

Yeah... missing some facts and clearly biased (for...reasons?). These were not marvels of their time but they were much more competent than the video lets on and as the series developed they produced some of the better numbers in the late 80's and early 90's. Also, the PLYMOUTH Laser is plenty well known

1986 Laser Turbo, but analog gauges and no talking computer, garnet red, black interior, 146 hp / 170 torque. Drove it to 153,000+ miles on original everything, including turbo, but I had 3 kids and no place to put it, so it sat at my mom's house outside in the northeast and rusted. Got rid of it finally in 2003 after failed inspection on rusted brake lines. Great car.

I bought a 1984 Laser in 1986. Absolutely loved it!

Holy shit, when I saw this video I thought- "Hey, I remember one of these parking across the street from my middle school." Only to see that exact car later in the video

Back up a minute. My 86 laser XE had a vacuum controlled cowl inducted 2.5 4 cyl. It definitely was not a standard rebadged Daytona. My uncle ran a performance shop at the time and it dynoed at 235 hp. With a new Lawrence performance cpu and about 1200 dollars in performance parts it pushed 300 horses at 4500 rpm. The 2.5 Chrysler had a twin screw counterbalanced system and my gears were completely different than a Dodge Daytona. I’ll give you the talking dash was a pain but it could be silenced with a switch in the glove box. I used to eat Chevy camaros and Ford Mustangs lunches and diners in the 1/8 th mule heads up drag racing. I could hold my own in the 1/4. My 2.5 had larger intake valves and a higher duration twin overhead cam system. Plus lotus helped design the suspension. So new it cost about 3000 dollars over a turbo Daytona. However it was very well worth it. Considering at the time the 2.8 v6 cavalier z24 was Chevys best selling budget sports car and fords was the graphics only gt escort kit. Now in the end I had a fully blown 2.5 with about 7 pounds of pressure going through it. But it started its life a lot more powerful than a 2.2 Daytona/Duster.

I am a senior in high school and most the cars in our auto shop are from the 1980s and we have a Dodge Daytona. If someone comes in the shop for the first time, they usually check it out first because it looks like a "muscle car..." Also an 1987 S10 with 180 miles on it and no rust. Even has the sticker in the window for the dealership. Chrysler fifth avenue from the 1980s which still has the sticker on it too. mid 80s toyota corolla. S10 and Corolla are both manual. I kind of like the Daytona tbh

Thank you for the nice videos. My first new car was a turbo Laser with leather seats and a sun roof. The seats were the most comfortable I ever have owned. The turbo was fun for the weak powered era of the early 1980's. The stereo system was excellent. Handling was good, but braking was undersized and tended to warp the rotors. Racing around with a Toyota Supra was no problem. It had electrical glitches that were annoying. The engine and manual transmission were strong, and I sold it with 165,000 miles. Not bad for a first car. I have fond memories of burning rubber in three gears.

I really want one still The turbo was optional. The digidash was phased out after a while, and the EVA system was only available on Laser Turbo XE models between 1985 and 1987 when the module was discontinued. Lasers with this option are incredibly rare because seatbelts were not compulsory and the voice message got annoying to people who wanted to go through windshields. You could get these with a V6, if you wanted. It was of foreign design if I recall, though. I wouldn't call a 1981 Honda Accord "more advanced" than a 1981 Buick Regal. AC was barely an option and fuel injection wasn't even an option until 1988, and wasn't standard until 1990 on the Accord. On many domestic cars, computer controlled feedback carburators had become common and were soon replaced with TBI and MPI injection systems. By 1985, the Chrysler Laser was fully port fuel injected versus the two barrel carburator of a top trim Honda Accord LX. The 140HP the base model NA I4 was pushing out for the 1984 Chrysler Laser was more than the top model NA I4 of a 1989 Honda Accord LXi, which only made 120HP and weighed roughly the same. It was also front wheel drive and cost about $2000 more.

I owned its twin, the daytona when i got my licence in 97. had a Pacifica turbo too, not the failed crossover or the minivan

i remember one of dads friends owned one and everytime it came here for repairs i was fascinated with the seats....it had a bulb you pumped up like a blood pressure monitor to inflate airbags in the seat...and they were very comfortable....the dash made me think that whoever designed it was probably a fan of the knight rider tv show

i used to have the 86 laser xt turbo..mine ran really good..it would haul ass for what it was.lol people used to trip out when i would put it in reverse.you had to pull up on a lever kinda thing under the shifter handle and put the shifter up where first would go to put it in reverse..some crackhead stole my car and junked it and the sheriff did nothing about it and this was 20 years ago. i wish i still had this car. mine was blue and had a sunroof.

I used to have a blue 86 laser. I wish I would've kept it. It was ahead of its time as no other car in its class had the digital display and the electronics like it did. I drove for four and a half days when I moved to B.C. back in 94. Five tanks of gas and 450 dollars later I arrived at my destination. I don't remember the mileage though. The car ran beautifully the whole way. The problems with the car started after they stopped manufacturing them and parts were literally non-existent and extremely expensive.

This video is wrong on every level. Dodge was ALWAYS targeted at the performance and economy market, and Chrysler was ALWAYS the "prestige" nameplate. Just because you never noticed it doesn't mean it wasn't always so. Lasers were targeted for the Country Club market, Daytonas were targeted at the Country Bar market. Were you even alive in the 80s???

It wasn't bad for the time, the 1980's didn't offer much anyway! Some assholes love shitting on something they don't like!

I always wanted a Dodge Daytona growing up.. I grew up around turbo Mopars. Love them.

I think this car looks so much nicer than the stuff today.

I have an 84 turbo with the 5 speed. Like you a neighbor had one when I was a kid and I thought then it was the fastest coolest car I had ever seen

I had a 86 2.2 turbo, I loved my car, and I replaced the timing chain. this car was actually a fast little buggy. And it was great in the snow.

Funny the more known Plymouth Laser was not mentioned. It DOES have a wiki page.

If it was rear wheel drive it would have been a cult classic. This car just oozes 80s charm.

Yes this was Chrysler's version of the Dodge Daytona (K-car) Only made from 1984-1986 and it was the luxury version for the older person geared toward the older crowd.

I have an old toy laser from 1984. I never could figure out what it was until a few years ago when I learned of the laser

I liked these cars. I had an 85 Turbo Laaer. And a few yrs later i had a 93 Daytona.

Your dislike of this car is showing a little bit.

My 4 yo found out I had a car that talked and he didn't believe me, so I found the RU-vid video of it talking. He was not impressed but I then stumbled across this video too. Right in the nostalgias. Why am I looking up to see if there are any 84 Chrysler lasers for sale? My 84 (bought in 91) was my first car. It was unreliable, had many gremlins, the turbo didn't work and would belch black smoke and lurch if you hammered down from a light. The paint was peeling and I only had it for about 12 months when I got a high school dream car Camaro my senior year (that I kept for 8 years)

I really like the desing of this car. 20 years ago there was one in my city, which is "nowhere" in Europe. Car was a piece of architecture, never have seen it driving on the road.

my mom had one and it was actually pretty cool, if i could have it today in the exact same condition i would love it!

My dad bought one of these cars when he was younger and we still have it today. We barely drive it though

My sister had one in the 90's. It went like a bat outa hell, from what I remember.

The all leather interior with the t-tops. You could lay the back seat flat and lean the seats forward and be able to sleep in it. It was an interesting design.

I had an '85 Laser in College. Paid $3500 for it and drove it almost 200,000 miles. I loved that car.

Had a 1984 Chrysler Laser XE, turbo, 5 speed in turd brown metallic and I loved it.

You're just inviting someone to target that guy's beloved car for theft and providing explicit directions to find it.

I never forgot it. Preferred it over the Dodge version, really. Cleaner styling, and more "upscale" than its Mopar sibling. I lusted for one so bad, probably due to clever marketing more than anything else. They were pretty solid cars performance wise for the day, but reliability...not so much.

Loved mine

It makes all the sense in the world... A FWD sports car is the norm of today, yet, Mopar had one back in 84

The only thing that I found that was bad was in the winter if you didn't start it every day (or other day at least) and let it run for a couple minutes, the electronics screwed up.

I owned one when I lived in LA, but didn’t keep it under cover. It was a nice looking car for its time. The seats were excellent for comfort and support. The stereo system was top in the class in power and clarity. Power and handling were good enough to keep up with the Supras. I could squeak the tires in three gears. Unfortunately, it had electrical issues, undersized rotors, and other QC issues below the quality of the Japanese sporty coups and probably on par with the Camaro and Mustang.

I had an 84 Laser. Everything on it! I loved it. Kept it for 5 years and got too many speeding tickets out running Camaros...

I got a 90 Daytona I love it!

Finally, I'm on a RU-vid channel

Could have been worse. They could have made a 4-door Charger.

I sure do miss mine. Metallic silver. Bought it for 450.00 in 1996 from an old lady. Her husband put less than 1000 miles on it before he passed. It sat covered in her garage until i found it.

In a time when America was losing sales to the imports, these turbo Chrysler/Dodges saved Chrysler

The Chrysler Laser was a pretty cool car!

There is one listed on fb marketplace i have never new they existed til today

Hay could you do a mother 80s car for me? It is called the Pontiac Tojan and it is the forgotten superstar of the 80s.

My little brother had a Plymouth Laser in 1990 and it kicked ass. Totally tubular

I drove an '85 Laser for most of 1997. I named it the Eightiesmobile. I don't remember mine having digital displays; I remember backlit dash instruments that were supposed to appear digital.

My first car was a 10 year old, 1986 Laser. 2.5 Auto with full digital dash and yes, it would speak to me if my washer fluid was low or if my hatch was left open. It had a blood pressure cuff type bulb to inflate the lumbar. It was comfy, slow (but faster than a 4-cyl Mustang...I raced one a few times, my best friend's car) and the heater was great (the a/c was broken). I kinda liked it. Iyt was a nice $1k first car. It was an ugly gold kinda color but for some reason, the paint was like new. I think that color was applied much thicker than the others. I loved the look of the car. Then I saved my money and bought an 86 Trans-Am, my fave car of all time. I still dream about that car, 25 years later.

I had an 85 but here in Canada it was a Plymouth.

my dad has an 84 turbo. he had so many problems with it, from wheels, still attached to their hubs, snapping off the control arm, to the cats melting the rear seats

My first car, learned how to drivr standard with one of these.

Jalopnik...didn't that company file for bankruptcy 😂

I had one, terrible quality. Sensors started breaking. Turbo was fun. I traded it in for an Acura Integra.

That Laser looked and looks nice though but because it was front wheel drive and didn't catch on

I had this car. A black 1984 Laser. The non-turbo. Was it a K-Car with some sporty bits? Yes. Was it awesome? Absolutely. Don't hate.

At the end of this video, I asked myself..."why did I watch this?" At least I got a bit of a laugh.

One thing that I don't like that you DO ALOT!! Is you show real peoples houses, or talk about streets they're usually on. You should stop doing that before you get sued. They is going to be that one person. You did it in the video about the Nissan on the highway. You gave away the two streets one of the cars in usually on. It's just not safe, or smart to do that.

Don't need to make sense. I would definitely buy one If I had the chance.

I wish they had a shelby version and continued with the laser till the early 90s like the daytona. I can't when dodge and chrysler bring back the laser/daytona

I had an 86 laser. I’d still have it but it was parked in front of my house and lady in the middle of the day smashed into it drunk driving

Basically if the Tesla Roadster 2020 was an 80s car.

My High school bus driver had a 1989 Silver Plymouth Laser

It's nice.

This video is best viewed with the mute button firmly pressed. Hatchbacks in sports coupes were among features that were commonplace (Mustang/Capri, Camaro/Firebird, Daytona/Laser) at the time. Laser was deliberately lower production than Daytona and originally intended to be the upscale version of the two. this had zero to do about one being "more sedate". Performance would be identical based on from level. Again another common marketing practice that elevated Chrysler as a higher marque than Dodge. General Motors, Ford Motor Co. And Chrysler corporation did this in every decade before the Laser and every decade since. Laser was Chrysler Electronics technological showcase. To make fun of Laser's digital instrument cluster and talking alerts today is to make fun of the technology that was available at the time. Maybe the next video you narrate should actually be about something that would indicate you actually know what you are talking about.

So what was better D. Daytona or the C. Lazer?!?

LORD DARTH VADER said we should BUY ONE! IT KILLS EVERYTHING: Z28, Supra ... THE POWER OF THE DARK SIDE

Had one with the turbo at 147HP (before the intercooler versions). It was in the same category insurance-wise as the Corvette/Camaro/Firebird/Mustang V8's of the time, with roughly similar performance of 0-60 @ around 8 seconds. Not a bad car in general, but a bunch of torque-steer. However, some really crappy engineering choices in the production led to it being very unreliable for daily use - it ate head gaskets, ping-ponged off of that torque steer when the turbo kicked in, weak cable for the clutch (a 5spd, obviously) and replacing the power-steering pump required lifting the engine out. Ended up continuously taking my poor 1973 Challenger off of the blocks to use as my daily driver while I fixed this thing - my family loved that I had this "great looking" car and was never thrilled when I drove up in the Challenger in bondo and primer black! So had a love/hate relationship with it - drove it away from my wedding for the honeymoon (which was somewhat local) and then had my friend pick my wife and I up a couple of days later at the DMV where the clutch-cable had broke. We went to my house, grabbed the Challenger and some tools, and then went back to the DMV to try and fix it - which we couldn't do, and I had it towed home in the end. I think that the later Daytona V6 models would be pretty darn good, though.

I remember one of those near my high school, it sat abandoned and a homeless guy lived in it.

Dodge Daytona. the Chrysler Laser was in production from 1984 to 1986. they dropped the car being that the average buyer was over the age of fifty.

I still would like one of these... Lol

I do not recall this car at all. Dodge Daytona yes, this no. The Daytona always reminded of the illegitimate love child of an 80s Camaro and Mustang.

Not a single mention of the Plymouth laser??