Ugh. This “Captive import” Challenger was a low light of Detroit’s malaise era. Along with its counterpart the Plymouth Sapporo, this began a long slide into mediocrity at Chrysler that lasted until Bob Lutz came on board in 1986.
The Challenger from “Dodge, by Mitsubishi,” began life as the RWD Galant Lambda Coupe and was equipped with the G54B 2.6 liter 4 banger with balance shaft technology. Backed up by a five speed stick, the car had decent performance but withered in comparison to its famous namesake.
The goal was for Chrysler to field a competitor into the Toyota Celica/Nissan 200 SX class of mini pony cars, with no R&D required. Production of the badge engineered Challenger ran from 1978 to 1983 with sales of 12,000 to 14,000 units per year.
This lovely example you see here is a last year 1983 model complete with alloy wheels, 5 speed tranny and a Nu-wave, two tone black and white interior. It can be yours for $800! With the latest Challenger appearing in 2008, it boggles the mind it took Chrysler 34 years to simply reissue the original car. Yeesh.
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