Dodge Colt

The Dodge Colt was produced by Mitsubishi, and was soon to be among many others to become known as a "captive import". The Colt was introduced in 1971 along with the Chevrolet Vega and Ford Pinto, although it wasn't nearly as popular with the buying public as those models. Since the Colt was actually Japanese-made, it competed more favorably with the contemporary Datsuns and Toyotas of the time. The Colt would span a total of 5 generations throughout its tenure and undergo a multitude of personality changes, but it nonetheless stands as one of Dodge's longest running nameplates, spanning 24 model years. The Colt would be discontinued after the 1994 model year in favor of the domestically-produced Neon.

Generations (1971-1978)
At the same time the Colt was introduced, Plymouth debuted a similar subcompact model called the Cricket, which was based on an older English design, but the model wasn't nearly as popular for a variety of reasons and was discontinued after 1973. The Colt, while never as popular as its true domestic brethren (the Pinto and Vega), it was still a solid performer for Dodge, reaching a peak of 125,000 in 1975 - and it didn't suffer the mechanical and body rust woes like they did. It started out as a rear-drive model, with an 85 hp 1.6L I4 2bbl engine, and was available in 2- and 4-door models, plus a 5-door wagon. 4-speed manual and 3-speed automatic transmissions were initially offered, with a 5-speed being offered in 1976. In the side profile especially, the Colt very strongly resembled a contemporary Toyota Corolla. The Colt soldiered on through the end of 1978 without much change other than larger front and rear bumpers for 1974 to satisfy the new federal-impact regulations for all U.S.-spec cars, and usual color and grille and taillight updates.

Generations (1979-1984)
In 1979, the Colt was completely redesigned (and of course still Mitsubishi-built) as a much smaller car (some might classify this as a mini-car), and gained an identical Plymouth version called the Champ, the first sub-compact to bear the Plymouth name since the unloved 1973 Cricket. This was a front wheel drive design, and initially was available only as a 3-door hatchback. It had a 1.4L I4 engine as standard, with a 1.6L I4 as an option. A 4-speed was standard, but it had an interesting "twin-stick" feature that had a high and a low range and could be used on all 4 gears, effectively making it an 8-speed transmission. A 3-speed automatic was an option, but it is believed that the automatic was available only on the 1.6 engine. With the new design weighing in at only 2,000 lbs, with the 1.6 engine and 4-speed transmission, the Colt and Champ were fairly quick cars (for the day), and got very good gas mileage - a good thing since these were introduced at the beginning of the 1979 fuel embargo and were certainly godsends for Dodge and Plymouth, especially considering their other not-so-fuel-efficient offerings at the time.

1980 and 1981 models had no changes, but a 5-door model debuted in 1982 with slightly longer dimensions than the 3-door. In 1983 Plymouth dropped the Champ name for some unknown reason, so now Plymouth's version of the Colt was now named... Colt. They were identical cars, and maybe Plymouth didn't see the point of spending the extra money on CHAMP badges any longer, so now the public had the Dodge and Plymouth Colt. A turbo model became available in 1984 on the 1.6L engine as an option on the 3-door (known as Colt GTS), the only year a turbo model was offered in this generation. The Colt (and Colt) would be redesigned for 1985 and upsized a bit to not-such-diminutive dimensions.

Generations (1985-1988)
The Colt (and Colt) were redesigned this year with a larger body and moved upmarket out of the mini-car class and now became a subcompact. 3- and 5-door hatchback bodystyles were still available, but a 4-door sedan and a station wagon (known as the Vista wagon, the first Colt wagon since 1978) were added this year as well. The Vista was avaialble as a 4 wheel drive, and had 3 rows of seats, effectively making it a 7 passenger. A 1.5L I4 was standard in base models, but a 1.6L and 2.0L I4 were both available as options. The Turbo GTS version returned, and a 5-speed manual was available on the 1.6L and 2.0L engines as well as a 3-speed automatic (the 1.5 retained the 4-speed manual). The 5-door hatchback was dropped for 1986, leaving the 3-door and 4-door sedan bodystyles. The 4 Door was available in an upgraded form.called the "Premiere". In 1986 you could get a Premiere 4 Door turbo, which was capable of 0-60 in 9.2 seconds, and was faster then the most popular "pocket rocket" of it's time, the VW Rabbit GTI. The Premiere turbo was available as a 5 speed or 3 speed automatic. 1987 and 1988 offered no appreciable changes to the Colt lines other than minor trim shuffling and new colors. An all new Colt would be introduced for 1989.

Generations (1989-1992)
The Colts were redesigned again this year, dropping the 4-door sedan bodystyle, leaving only the 3-door hatchback and 5-door wagon. The Colts would gain other corporate clones this year, namely the Eagle Summit and Mitsubishi Mirage (the car the Colt was actually based on). The Summit and Mirage would offer a 4-door sedan bodystyle in this generation. The Colts were now rounder, longer, wider and taller than the 1985-1988 generation. Base models would have an 81 hp 1.5L I4, while the GTS would have a 113 hp 1.6L I4 with either a 5-speed manual or a 3- or 4-speed automatic available. 1990 models mirrored the 1989 models, 1991 Colts dropped the station wagon and GT model. The 1.5L I4 got an hp boost to 92. 1992 Colts would stand pat another year while an all new 5th generation Colt model waited in the wings for 1993.

Generations (1993-1994)
The Colts were upsized again from the previous generation, and no more hatchback models this time around; now there would be only a 2-door coupe and a 4-door sedan. Again the Colts were fraternal twins to the Eagle Summit and the Mitsubishi Mirage. A 1.5L I4 was standard in the coupes while a 113 hp 1.8L I4 would be standard in the sedans. Both were available with a 5-speed manual or 4-speed automatic. Wheelbases were stretched 2 inches from the prior version. Anti-lock brakes became

Main Competitors (1971-1978)

 * AMC Gremlin
 * Chevrolet Chevette/Vega
 * Datsun 1200
 * Ford Pinto
 * Honda Civic
 * Mazda GLC
 * Mercury Bobcat
 * Pontiac Astre
 * Toyota Corolla
 * Volkswagen Beetle/Rabbit

Main Competitors (1979-1984)

 * Chevrolet Chevette
 * Datsun 210
 * Ford Pinto/Escort
 * Honda Civic
 * Mazda GLC/323
 * Mercury Bobcat/Lynx
 * Pontiac 1000
 * Toyota Tercel
 * Volkswagen Rabbit

Main Competitors (1985-1994)

 * Chevrolet Cavalier
 * Ford Escort
 * Honda Civic
 * Hyundai Excel
 * Mazda 323/Protege
 * Mercury Lynx
 * Nissan Sentra
 * Pontiac Sunbird
 * Toyota Corolla
 * Volkswagen Golf