I've always loved the way they named these cars. When you start at the bottom level car, you arrive at the Breeze. When you go a little higher, you arrive at the Stratus. When you go to the highest level model, you arrive at the Cirrus. If you know about cloud patterns and elevations, it was a clever naming ideology. ☁️
man finding this YT channel has been a bliss for me. I used to think I was weird for geeking over '90s GM and other quirky cars so glad to see I'm not the only one.
I had a 97 Stratus with 2.0 and a 5-spd manual, bought used with about 30k on it. These cars had excellent ergonomics, great rear seat legroom, frosty A/C, and big trunk (even had a full-size spare). I got 43 MPG on several highway trips. It also handled very very well, probably equivalent to an Accord, and as noted, the suspension design was basically copied from Honda. I called these a "plus-size compact." Not quite a mid-size, but bigger than a Civic, Corolla, etc. For 20-something me, it felt like a grown-up's car. I liked it a lot, but traded it for a brand-new Mazda Protege5, and I did have suspicions that it probably wasn't going to age well and live a long life. Also, I recall a review at the time, C&D maybe, that found the 5-spd with the 2.0 was faster than the V-6 with an auto. The 2.0 was a bit rough, but it had great power for the time, and I was always impressed by the fuel economy- coming from an 83', then a '91 Civic. MPG was nearly as good, in a bigger, safer, and more powerful car.
All my family had Plymouth cars in the 90's into the early 2000s. My mother had the 98 Plymouth Breeze, one of my sisters had a 94 Plymouth Colt, my other sister had a 93 Plymouth Acclaim, & I had a 94 Plymouth Laser Rs Turbo with all-wheel drive. I loved that little car. It was the 1st car I ever bought back in 1997. I kept it until 2005 when I crossed the 330,000 mark. The motor was easy to work on and it was strong. The only things that I had problems with were the air conditioning when around 2003 with almost 250k on the odometer. I also changed out the fuel pump and alternator. Plus I had my turbocharger rebuilt and that was about it. My mom had that car the rest of her life and kept it in great condition. I took possession of the car in 2009 with only 33k miles on that motor. That car runs to this day. Plymouth made good cars as long as they were properly maintained
I thought the PT Cruiser would have had a better chance on the Breeze platform rather than the Neon platform. A handsome styled retro sedan added to the hatchback line could have really taken off for Chrysler.
After my first two cars being clapped out beaters, my parents gave me two options as my first “good” car. They helped me by “buying” my old junker from me at a higher than reasonable price and helping me finance the remaining balance. Dad limited me to two choices of used cars at the local Chrysler dealer: a ’96 Plymouth Breeze and a ’96 Pontiac Sunfire. Being a GM fan from birth, I chose the Sunfire and kept it for the next 9 years and 90K. Did I make the right decision? It’s hard to say: the 2.2 liter Sunfire went through two head gaskets (the second requiring head replacement due to cracks), three repairs to the windshield wiper motor and a engine control computer among other wear and tear items. It was far from perfect, but I loved that car. I don’t think the Breeze would have been worse. Both were likely on par for quality and reliability, but I had to stay in the GM camp that time. Moving a couple decades from then, I now have three modern “Chrysler” vehicles and the only “GM” I have is the ’71 GMC pickup I grew up with.
I owned a metallic red 1997 Plymouth Breeze and while to this day I think it and its JA siblings were good looking, quiet, comfortable driving cars mine was at the local Chrysler-Plymouth dealer where I bought it a total of eighteen times in only three years of ownership for unscheduled warranty repairs. It was i swore and still is the last American made car I will ever own. I traded it in in 2000 for a new Volkswagen Jetta GL sedan which surprisingly turned out to be considerably more reliable.
I owned a 97 Plymouth Breeze. It had the 2.0 L 4-cylinder coupled with the 5-speed manual. It made for a peppy combination with great gas mileage. The cab-forward design made it one spacious car. I was single with no kids and the Breeze was just a little too big for me. I liked the engine and the cab-forward design, so I traded it in on a 98 Dodge Neon. Same engine and transmission in just a smaller, more nimble package. It turned out the 2.0 engine had head gasket issues, which soured me on Mopar products. It is a shame because otherwise, these were good cars.
I had a Plymouth Breeze and really thought it was a great car. Perfect for a family car and cheap to run/maintain. Due to our growing family, we shuffled the cars and the Breeze was traded in to make way for an SUV. I still miss it and wish I'd never let it go.
I feel like Toyota left a gap in its lineup. The Cloud cars, Contour, 626, Altima, Galant, and Accord were all similarly sized. Corolla was obviously smaller than those cars while Camry was larger, though not as large as the Taurus or LH cars. However, Avalon was a bit closer to the Taurus and LH. I dunno... In the end, Camry took over the segment, so they had the right formula. Accord, Galant & Altima followed suit. Contour died in favor of the Fusion, which was Camry sized. Mazda's renamed Mazda6 was related to Fusion, so also Camry sized. I'm rambling. 😂 Good video (again.)
@@MotorMaster_Stunticon I actually liked the JA cars and wanted a Stratus ES. Chrysler did a great job on exterior design. 🤌 Shame they dulled the cars when restyling them in 2001, then added that dreaded 2.7L V6 to further ruin the reliability record. R.I.P. Stratus.
Another great one! They had a known front suspension problem that Chrysler ignored. A good friend had one until it was totaled when the front suspension gave away and they went tumbling down the highway.
@MotorMaster_Stunticon yeah fam. They were super lucky. Wound up in an intersection where the 4 way lights happened to all had been on that momentary red. Spent a few days in the hospital but no serious injuries. Airbag, seatbelt burns and cuts from shattered glass.
Thank you for the video. Thank you for ther effort in this video and information. No comments on this car. It is interersting how Plymouth was once above Dodge in the lineup at Chrysler,. but that changed. Today it is Dodge and Chrysler and soon Chrysler will not have as sdean.
Although I've never owed one of the vehicles, I've always enjoyed the body styling. This vehicle was built on the Mitsubishi Galant platform so incessance, it added up to a total 5 vehicles, to include the (2 door) Dodge Avenger. For some reason or another, the Galant was a better built vehicle and overall best value for what was available in it (probably because it was their car from the beginning). Overall, the vehicles had something that I liked the best, and to my knowledge contained a suspension that no other automotive manufacture, (with the exception of Honda) of front wheel drive motorcars offered was that of a 4 wheel double A-Arm (Double Wishbone) independent suspension. Honda had been using it for years before the introduction of it on the Galant. When the Chrysler variants were introduced, they of course inherited Mitsubishi's underpinnings. Also, I believe Chrysler never allowed these vehicles to ascend to the level they could have made it to..
The original 2-door Avenger and Sebring coupe was built by a joint venture between Chrysler and Mitsubishi, on a version of the Mitsubishi Galant platform. The ‘Cloud Cars’ used the JA platform. Completely different.
@@MotorMaster_Stunticon and the Sebring convertible was a derivative of the JA, so while they had the same name, the Sebring convertible and coupe were completely different platforms.
Great vid Rob! What was that you were saying earlier about ...Great video even if you don't care about the car? I recall those aerodynamic mirrors. Unfortunately they were not breakaway type...well..they would brakeaway once!
IDK if if it happened anywhere else in the country but down here in Miami these clown clown I mean cloud cars were susceptible to leaking I mean pouring oil out from under the engines and also by blowing head gaskets. I definitely think the spirit/ A claim we're bettengineered cars maybe not in the way they drove but in overall durability. If you didn't overheat your Dodge Spirit and you didn't live live in a place where they salted the roads you could get a decent 10 yes of pretty trouble-free ownership chip but with the cloud cars you were lucky to get 2 years before you had your own parking spand see and seat at your local Chrysler Plymouth dealer service center. Perhaps the spirit/a claim we're more reliable because they were the result of the key a platform plus many Tweaks over the years.
Had a 96 & 98 Stratus..They were pleasant enough: reasonable acceleration,good ergonomics , lots of interior room. But Chrysler quality control was abyssmal. Head gasket failures, transmission issues and RUST!!!!
Another wonderful video again. Like I've said I subscribed early before you blow up. Because you will, just wait and watch. Maybe just a little tad bit longer videos would be nice tho 🤏🤏👍🏾👍🏾
