When these cars came out looked like a car 10 years ahead of its time ...but 10 years later we would not be able to compare them because they where all in the junkyard lol
Yeah Dodge has come come a very long way since the 90’s. I remember when my mom bought a golden brown 1990 Dodge Spirit. That car was ugly as sin and it stayed in the dam repair shop. I told myself I’d never own a Dodge as an adult and then I bought a 2014 Charger R/T with 26,000 miles and drove it problem free for another 96,000. It was a glorious automobile that garnered me 3.5 years worth of compliments, even more gorgeous was it after I wrecked it in a blizzard during 2020 and had the entire front end repaired and painted just before trading it in. Dodge has come a very long way in terms of both quality and looks; Now they’re ubiquitous. Guess the 1990’s taught Daimler Chrysler a little lesson in quality 👍🏽
It’s sad I have a 2004 Chrysler 300M which was one of the last “Normal Chrysler’s” before they just became rebadged Fiat’s. And yes Chrysler’s & Dodge’s used to be some of the most unattractive cars in the world but by the 90s, they really started to make pretty sexy cars (in looks obviously not quality)
When I worked for General Motors in the 1990s, I drove a Dodge Intrepid with Autostick for several days to benchmark the Dodge system prior to GM and Volvo implementing their own auto-manual transmission system. The Dodge was part of GM's competitive fleet and I had it shipped from Michigan to the GM Desert Proving Grounds in Mesa, AZ for my specialized testing. Note that the Desert Proving Grounds no longer exist. As a powertrain engineer, I used the Dodge to develop a durability cycle to test the future GM/Volvo auto-manual transmission system. I was very impressed by the Dodge, in that, it was sporty, had good quality, and the powertrain was very smooth. As a transmission engineer, we always seems to take pride in breaking cars, hence I beat the crap out of the Dodge. I recall trying to get the Autostick to freeze up by repeatedly manually shifting up/down/up/down/etc. Yet, the transmission kept going without issue. Bottom line is that Dodge did a great job. Overall, the car was nice to drive as well as quite nice looking. Many of my GM engineer friends, including me, were jealous that Chrysler/Plymouth/Dodge kept creating really awesome looking cars during this time while GM created things like the Pontiac Aztek, Buick Skylark, and Chevy Full size van. Well done Dodge!
I can appreciate how far ahead the LH cars were compared to GM's offerings for family sedans. But did you make it to 30k on that transmission? Seems to be about the average life of them when driven like a rental. If I had to pick a family sedan from one of the big 3 in 92 it would have been a manual trans SHO.
That’s the thing. They didn’t fail from poor design or abuse. They failed from neglect. I’m sure Bob knows the effects of cyclical and thermal stresses over many cycles. One or two neutral drops will rarely break a transmission but 10,000 20 mile commutes and never changing the fluid probably will.
My parents bought a ’94 Intrepid ES 3.5L as a used “program” car in Oct. ‘94. I loved it as it was a huge step above the rusty Chevys we had otherwise. As a young teen, I loved driving it and took my driver’s license test in that car. It marked the end of the days Dad would only buy GM, even though it was a certified Pain to own and Chrysler Corp offered to buy it back under the 🍋 Law. My parents kept it because they liked their car’s shade of “Emerald Green” over the ‘95s lighter green. Since then, nearly every other vehicle they bought was a Chrysler of some sort. It spent a lot of time at the shop in its early years for everything: multiple transmissions, steering rack, fuel injector rail, water pump, power antenna and climate control devices. They regularly used it until 2020 and still have it. Even though it’s in good visual condition, it’s ready for scrapping due to a laundry list of current problems. Dad just can’t let something go that he’s worked so hard to keep running. I now own two current Chrysler/Stellantis vehicles (‘19 Charger and ’21 Ram 2500) and told the salesman they owe my Dad some kind of compensation for keeping an Intrepid running for two-and-a-half decades 😂
😂😂 It's funny the differences in mechanical quality between the ES and the base model with these things... My grand mother has a '95 Dodge Intrepid base model with the 3.3L that she bought new, has never needed much of any mechanical work but did have issues with the trans going into limp mode a couple times over the years but was sensor-related and not the trans itself. Some of the dashboard materials started warping/peeling up, and the paint quality wasn't the greatest despite it being garage kept, I think it has about 120-130k miles now. It's definitely been a sturdier car than I've heard from most ES owners with the 3.5L lol. '
Haaaa! Great story and very funny! They definitely owe them something. A Camry or Accord of that same model year would have served your grandparents beautifully without a thought of anything besides regular maintenance. I know because I owned 95 Accord for 20 years with zero issues other than maintenance items. My brother owned a 95 camry with the same exact experience. Probably not as intriguing to look at, but I'm guessing that those repair bills sort of made that intrepid lose its intrigue after a while. I currently own a 2015 Honda Accord EX-L V6 Coupe and have had it for 6 and a half years with zero issues. Love it. It's been paid for 4 years now and it's soooo nice to have a car paid for that is nice to drive and gives me zero issues. Easy and cheap to maintain too. Thanks for sharing your story. Take care.
Also I'm impressed with your steadfast commitment to that company given its track record of reliability issues for multiple decades. They make the most beautiful truck no doubt and that Cummins is a stalwart beast so I definitely see the appeal.
@@gabevillarreal96 The Decrepid, as I like to call it, was the worst of them. There are plenty of other Chrysler vehicles in our extended family that have served on par or better than any comparable vehicle. My new Ram replaces a ‘14 Ram 1500 that I drove 7 years without issue besides an initial loose connection on a wheel speed sensor before 100 miles and a couple software-related recalls. For me, the absolute worst was an ‘04 F150 that I put an engine in along with every minor repair before 100,000 miles. That was truly awful and I finally sent it down the road.
@@settledontheprairie5524 Nice!!! I love hearing stories that counter the general consensus of a brand! And yes that 04 F-150 With the Triton 5.4 V8? They were not made well. My buddy who just purchased a 19 F-150 FX4 and loves it still has his 04 F150 that has given him lots of issues. He's trying to get it right so that he can pass it on to his son but he has replaced every spark plug and ignition coil and is still having a hesitation issue. His new truck has the 5.0 Coyote V8 and it's great. Although he did have a headlight bulb go out last night🤦♂️ Please don't let that be the start of an avalanche of problems for him🙏 I've never had a light go out on my Honda for reference and mine is 4 years older. Quality control at the manufacturing and assembly line is key! Every manufacturer has issue though. Some are simply more prevalent and frequent.
@@aamirqz maybe because it's hardly even American..the power train is built in China of all places because GM is run by a bunch of sellouts who don't care about quality there all about looks and flash .. that gawdy thing doesn't even deserve to be called a blazer by a long shot its horrid...3cyl turbo go kart engine made in China yea that's real American and itll last..what a joke... gm should be ashamed of themselves
Family hauler cars like these don't need those gauges. What a stupid thing to keep bringing up episode after episode. It was as if they were just reaching for stuff to say sometimes to appear "objective".
@@jdubskiwright2380 what a joke. But GM always made cheap looking cars anyways for decades. Maybe there getting better but not comparable to the competition
I remember back in 1999 my buddy’s mom bought a then new Intrepid R/T and we took it for a drive. The R/T had the 240 horsepower V6 and didn’t have an electronic governor like the others that limited top speed to 120 mph. We saw 140 mph before running out of road and a little guts on the driver’s part. It was a good car especially for the time. Crazy how much has changed since then.
The Intrepid R/T was a good car because it was a Mitsubishi Eclipse chassis with a Dodge body. The 3.0 liter engine they had produced 200hp and made for solid performers for their time.
@@ironpanther2420The Intrepid R/T had NOTHING to do with Mitsubishi...you are thinking of the Stratus coupe, which was an Eclipse with a Dodge-styled body and the engines/trannies were 100% Mitsu. The Intrepid R/T had Dodge's 3.5 High Output V6.
I am a gearhead/petrol head through and through. What I love most is that every car has a story. The comment section for retro reviews is my favorite literature.
I bought a '94 partially based upon a glowing rating from Consumer's Reports. Several months later, they dropped the five star rating down a couple notches. I never really had any troubles with it, though I only owned it until 98. For a large car, it got good gas mileage, was comfortable, and reasonably priced.
My Dad's late friend had a 1994 in a medium red color, I remember going to a couple of Detroit Tigers games in that car and a couple other places over the 6-7 years he had it. He worked for Jeep in Toledo Ohio, so obviously he was going to be driving a Chrysler product of some sort. He ended up trading it in due to a list of issues it was having but I have to say, that is one of the most comfortable cars I've ever rode in. Sadly, my Dad's friend passed away of natural causes a couple months ago, he was a really nice guy.
My Mom had this same car, it came with tons of problems. It was always in the shop. But I must say for the time it was the best looking car on the road.
I've heard of some people getting lucky with the 2.7's but not many. The internal water pump design was terrible and killed 90% of them by mixing coolant with the oil, usually at lower mileage. They were extremely quiet and refined engines though when they actually ran, I'll give them that.
@@Stressless2023 They were also very fussy about changing the oil. Early and often was about the only solution. People were used to cars that could go well beyond the recommend time, these couldn't. With the 2.7 it was best to get it changed earlier than recommended. Unfortunately if you had one that leaked coolant into the oil, even this wouldn't help.
Any car design with the headlights below the wheels just looks so good. We will never see this again due to safety. This is why to me... 90s was peak design. Sports car like looks on mom and pops cars. =)
True totally agree with the styling then being peak. Shortly there after no more pop-up headlights also due to safety concerns. i.e. pedestrian being struck and rolling over the hood, and being severely injured by the pop-up headlights. Not talking about hitting someone at posted speed limits but someone crossing the street and the driver not seeing them and hitting then at an intersection that should be survivable, i.e. 5mph etc. But with pop-up headlights, it can be much more severe damage vs just bruises.
It's why 90s cars continue to look modern on the road today. New car designs are atrocious - oversized grills, with the bumper *behind* the damn grill. This is a ridiculous era for design. Flat. Lifeless. Sameness. Careful.. inoffensive. BORING.
Yeah i had a 1985 Mazda 929 coupe with the pop up lights :). It was bright red. Amazing car and so comfortable. The velour interior used to zap the hell out of me though lol.
I've never owned an intrepid, but I have owned two Chrysler Concorde's, a 97 and a 96. I still own the 96 Concorde with the 3.3 V6. It now has 198K miles and still going strong. I've always been a fan of the first generation LH sedans. Beautiful looking cars!
I used to drive this car, specifically the 1996 3.3L model with no Traction Control. Three years ago I had to say goodbye to this car since it was at the shop so many times for one reason or another. It was also running out of spare parts, one part in particular that had to be replaced was essential for the car to even run at all. They found a single part of it from a warehouse. I thought that was the last of it, but the last straw came when the car suddenly stalled without warning when making a left turn. Bare in mind, this is an automatic transmission car and a lot of money has been put to this car to keep it on operation by this point. Luckily I was already window shopping for a new car before the stall happened, and now I drive a newer car that I hope will last as long as the Intrepid did, I hope.
I loved those engines lol. Every car I had with it or knew someone with it had no problems with the actual engine. The rest of the vehicle was a different story though lol
@@joemcdonough7509 I’ve only seen 2 of this first gen intrepids this year. Most of these cars are gone along with the second gen. My mother and stepfather owned one of these first gens in 2004 a bluish with green color. It was a cool looking car before he took it driving while intoxicated and smashed it into a pull leaving a gas station. Weird that I’m more likely to see a super car than a first gen intrepid.
@@tomasacevedo3932 What a shame the car got smashed up. I do miss the 90's car designs. I think styling was at its peak in those days and Chrysler was a game changer when these LH design cars came out in 1993. Compare this Intrepid with the competitor 1993 Chevrolet Lumina and you'll see what I mean.
@@tomasacevedo3932 I've only seen 2 first-gen LH cars this year too. One was a white Concorde in fantastic condition that I've seen numerous times at my local doctor's office. The other was an Intrepid identical to the one in this vid that I saw less than a month ago, except it had the 3.3 and a big dent in one fender. Was in decent shape otherwise.
My grandfather used to own a first-gen Intrepid like this before he and my grandmother bought a brand-new 2006 Toyota Corolla. He then passed away in 2007. I don’t remember riding in the Intrepid, but as a youngster, it looked like an interesting car.
@@kevinbarry71 Good point. The 2.7 EER V6s in the 1998-2004 Intrepids/Concordes were crap as well. It’s a shame that automakers (especially American ones) often cut corners. Planned obsolescence is a disease.
Although I still prefer the styling of the Eagle Vision, the Intrepid was such a sleek car in ES trim. Literally an overnight success. The early models had transmissions that were dreadful, but the '95s and up got the new valve-body designs that made them stouter.(this was also an era where Ford, Honda, and Nissan were all dealing with trans issues). The LH cars, specifically the Vision and Intrepid top models performed very well for FWD vehicles and of their size. Always loved that they had a sporty nature. Looking at the rear styling of this vehicle and the styling of today's European luxury cars, interesting to see the parallel.(LED light bars are all the rage these days).
Yeah the Intrepid blended the luxury looks of the LHS AND the contemporary modern basic design of the Vision perfectly. Great looking car, I love anything that can always pull off a sporty look. Rims really make the car for me which is why I typically never purchase the base or midrange models. The 17 inchers fitted to this car from the factory were pretty enormous back then and the ES was the only model I would’ve gotten because of them. Remember the Cloud Cars? My grandmother owned a ‘96 Cirrus LXi. We loved that dam car, that can forward design was way ahead of its time 👍🏽
My parents bought a used 95 Intrepid with the 3.3 in December 1995. When my mom got a newer car in 2004 the Intrepid became mine. It had it's quirks, but when I sold it in 2013 it had over 300,000 miles on it. Many road trips it never left us stranded. Also in those nearly 300,000 miles never did the wipers come on when we flashed the high beams or used the turn signals.
Saw one of these in a parking lot a few weeks ago. They are HUGE cars - especially by ‘92 standards when cars in general were much smaller. That makes this Intrepid’s run through the cones even more impressive. Their transmissions were glass, but all-in-all the LH cars were a good, honest effort by Chrysler to put forth a competitive offering and for the most part I’d say they succeeded.
@@Welcometofacsistube - Congratulations, but take your argument to the droves of previous owners who experienced terminal transmission failure prematurely. Some of them are even here in the comments. Good luck.
@@drivedb7 Funny thing about the transmission was most problems were attributed to using the wrong fluid. Chrysler even noted in the early LH service manuals that Dexron could be used as a substitute for ATF+3 (later ATF+4) which is a big no-no. I change the fluid and filter every 30K on my 94 Concorde using only Mopar ATF+4 and it still shifts fine for its age. It's also important to change the differential fluid too
How regularly? Change the transmission fluid as often as the oil? Lol. Meanwhile a GM transmission of the era could go 300,000km on ZERO maintenance other than making sure the fluid was topped up.
I got to drive one of these 1rst Gens for about 4 months till I got my own car and I was sad to leave it.. I loved this car!! Though it was big it handled more like a German big car and in my view it looked almost like a 4 door Chevy Camero! People stared at it where ever I went.. I've heard that people had problems with them, but when I drove this car it was 2005 and the only thing that went bad was the drivers power window regulator.. Would love to own one of these still.
Loved these cars! LH stood internally for Last Hope! Because of this didn’t work they were going to lose a lot of money despite how well the Kcar was doing. And it worked!
The K car was long gone by 1993. It’s last production year was 1988. In 1989, the Plymouth Acclaim, Dodge Spirit and Chrysler LeBaron(same name as the Chrysler division’s K car) were the replacements.
@@andrewcolsen - The original K-car was gone, but if memory serves correct, the platform that underpinned the Spirit/LeBaron/Acclaim was a refreshed K platform.
Last hope doesn't make sense, dodge was high on the hog in the early 90s. The 80s built the foundation for radical engineering projects like the intrepid and viper. If anything the intrepid could afford to fail simply because of the success of the neon, caravan and k car.
@@BigWheel. The early 90’s was still questionable. This car was the deciding factor on which way the company was going to go. Between the LH and the redesigned 96 minivan put them in the best financial position ever. They had excess money. And that is why Daimler came in and went through everything and left them a skeleton of a company.
I had the opportunity to drive an Intrepid, a Camry and an Eagle Premier in those days. I'd pick the Premier above both the other. A more substantial automobile in many ways.
I had a 94 ES with the 3.3 v6. It was my grandpa's and I got it as a 1st car. Great handling car and had no trouble in snow. It did nickle and dime me between 120 and 140,000 miles, but was troubled free until I unloaded it with 171,000 miles 4 or 5 years ago. It was rusting out a bit, I think PA winters claimed it by now.
I worked at a Chrysler dealership right at the tail end of these first model LH cars. We had two technicians who had become wealthy fixing the transmissions on them. They both were driving $60K loaded pickup trucks and had multiple vacation homes and one had a 55 foot Chris Craft yacht. Many other mechanical problems also showed up in a few years. They were really nice cars to drive when they were running properly, but unfortunately their "quality" was an illusion.
One of the things I loved about the production of the reviews from this era is the strong use of the stereo imaging. Listen to it on headphones and you will see (hear?) what I mean. Stereo broadcasts were becoming available and it was exciting to hear that on your home system.
My dream car for some reason was this purple shade available on the top trim of the Eagle Vision version. I was mesmerized by the “auto stick” manual shifting capability. I kept reading the same brochure over and over again until I memorized all the features of an Eagle Vision.
@@rairadrai haha I can relate! When I was a kid I got really hooked with the 00 to 05 impala and I also readed brochures over and over again, my favorite color was... (you guesed) berry red metallic, something about a huge american land yatch in a shade of burgundy/purple
I managed to park next to one of these at the grocery store today. It had been a very long time since I'd seen one, it makes me happy to know at least one 1st gen Intrepid is still on the road
HI, WORLD CLASS QUALITY, MY ASS!! I bought the very 1st Intrepid sold in central Connecticut 3 days after it went on sale nationwide. I kindda fell in love with the "cab-forward" styling as soon as the concept car premiered on the auto show circut, and followed its development for 2 years! And YES! I knew you should NEVER buy a brand new American car the 1st year; you're supposed to wait until they get the initial "Bugs" out in production, but I loved it, and wanted it, so, MY BAD!! In the 1st 6 months, it had to go into the dealers garage twice; 1st for a collapsed valve lifter ( I got the pushrod 3.3 liter engine, instead of the optional 3.5 overhead cam engine, because the 3.3 had been used in the Caravan for a couple of years, and I figured it had a track record, while the 3.5 was brand new ) and then it was recalled for a "piston slap" noise caused by a factory cylinder overbore. But at least they gave me a loaner car each time!! I was in that car as much as the Intrpid!! I had many other problems with it throughout the years I owned it, and I never bought another Dodge again!! ( my next car was a Honda minivan, which I drove practically trouble free for the next 16 years!! ) It was the best looking car I ever owned, though!! CHAS ORVIS, PLAINVILLE, CT. PS : THE HEADLIGHTS SUCKED, TOO!!!
This was my second ever car in 2003 when I was in high school. This exact color and spec. The headlights were terrible for night driving. Mechanically it had some issues but dang did they look awesome still!
I had one of theses Intrepids. It was a really nice designed/looking car, the one i had. Only thing not nice was under the hood. It blew a few heads and the transmission all at the same time. Left stranded on the side of the highway. When it did work, it had tons of power from the V6, great ride quality( like a cloud) and decent visibility. MPG average was about 24mpg.
I had 3 Intrepids. One 93, a 98 and an 01. They were great cars, tons of room and very good power. I also loved the longitudinal v6 motors. It made working on them so much easier.
And if you chose the Camry, chances are it’s still on the road 20+ years later. Meanwhile these went the way of most Chrysler products of the 90’s- short problem filled lives until owners just gave up on them. (I will say the styling on the Eagle Vision was pretty nice though)
And if you chose a BMW 3 series, someone is still throwing it around some race track after 30 years, hence the fact European track days are full of E36's.
I don't know my grandparents had two cameras and they I don't know my grandparents had two Toyota Camrys 93 and 97 they were garbage they never bought another Camry after their 97 meanwhile my uncle drove a Chrysler Concorde for 14 years my grandparents only had Camrys for 5 years
I rented several of these cars for business trips. Just amazing, loved the 'cab forward' design and my passengers if I had any, loved them for their comfort.
In high school, I worked at John Wallace Dodge in Overland Park, KS when these came out. They were revolutionary in terms of design and quality. This Retro Review brought back some great memories!
Still looking sharp in 2024... 31 years later! I even prefer the 2nd gen. The Eagle Vision and Chrysler 300M are in a league of their own. The power of timeless designs.
I always thought the Intrepid was sleek looking. Its still roomy compared to some cars of today. I do remember hearing issues about the transmissions, but beyond that it does have some nice performance specs.
I remember the hoopla when this car came out. This expectation was this was supposed to be another sales renaissance like the minivan or K car was in the 80s. I don’t think that really panned out but I do remember seeing a lot of them.
It was pretty competitive back then. The Taurus was already on its 2nd generation. Gm had the W body plus the A bodies were soldiering on as low priced value cars. The Toyota Camry and Honda Accord were quality leaders that no longer forced you to compromise on space or performance.
I can't believe I found a video were this car is lauded so much. This car is my childhood. Many memories with this thing. I was always fascinated with this car. It's nice to see everybody else's stories with this thing; it's an interesting car indeed.
These LH cars had to be pretty revolutionary looking back in 1992. They still have a design that fits in with modern traffic today, but unfortunately seeing even a second gen LH car on the road is getting pretty rare.
@@georgesnyder5337 How do you figure? I worked for Chrysler at the time. They shared the same engine, transmission, interior controls such switches, turn signals, radios. So yes basically the LH and Prowler share so many parts it is sedan version of a Prowler except the rwd aspect.
I had the Concord with the same engine. The engine was bulletproof but the rest of the car was crap. The A/C broke several times, front end needed work. It was never ending repairs. Car looked nice and handled/rode well.
We bought one of these when they first came out and I remember a guy sitting next to me at a stop light rolled down his window to ask what in the world kind of car it was. He was amazed how "cool" it looked. It was a decent car for a while until, like many Dodge/Chrysler, the transmission failed at under 40,000 miles. We have to pay almost $3000 to fix.
These Intrepids are great cars. My aunt has owned 3 of them, a green 94 model that was totaled, a red 96 model, and then traded the 96 for a silver 2000 model and she said she absolutely loved her intrepids. My parents even owned one also that was a silver 1993 model but that one got totaled.
I saw one of these in White actually last week lol. He was pushing the hell out of it weaving in and out of traffic. First time seeing that car in years.
My best friends dad had one when we were kids , it took us all around as kids . Even 20 years ago it already had no paint on it . We had no idea how lucky we were to never get stranded lol
My mom had an Eagle Vision TSi, either a 1994 or 1995 model, and it was pretty close to loaded. It was one of her favorite cars, but I think it was the first car my dad leased, and they turned it in before we moved from Cincinnati to Florida in 1997. I remember that it was the showroom model, and while the rest of the interior was gray, the factory ran out of the proper trim piece, so it had a woodgrain "Intrepid" piece between the glove box and dashboard. The dealer replaced it when the right part came in.
My dad bought an Eagle Vision. We had it for 6 years. It was a fun and lots of room in the back. Lots of electrical issues though. Ended up trading it in for an Expedition.
Chrysler had some interesting color choices for these sedans. I was always kind of mesmerized by that metallic gold color that was only available on the LHS.
@@gxdjoeybaby07 they always have nice colors maybe not her highest quality but they’re always bold and have a wide selection unlike most other automakers
My grandma bought a burgundy one of these, then sold her grey Dodge Spirit to my mom. I still remember how futuristic that thing looked, wheels and all. The detail below the tail lights really stuck out. Grandma got a new silver Neon after the Intrepid. Funnily enough, my grandma managed to find a ’92 Spirit as her daily driver earlier this month! Tan on tan, she calls it Tanner
Had a brand new '93 Intrepid ES... loaded, including the Level 3 "Emerson Fittipaldi-tuned" suspension. I really loved that car... handled amazingly well for such a roomy car... certainly a new American benchmark for its time. Only real complaint was that the headlights were atrocious (bad enough that Dodge recalled all the '93s and replaced the headlights with '94-spec lights). Unfortunately, it was totaled a little over a year later when some dumb-a** person ran a traffic light and kissed my right rear quarter just hard enough to send my 45MPH car sideways into a concrete light pole in the median, with a bullseye on the driver's door. I was initially knocked out but walked away with some scratches on my elbow and a mildly sore neck. The car saved my life. Replaced it with a nearly identical '94... differing only in that it had the Level 2 suspension instead of the Level 3. HATED that car... wallowed around as compared to the Level 3 suspended '93, and the Goodyear Eagle GAs squealed around every turn, very unlike the same sized Michelins on the '93. Final insult was when the engine threw it's cam timing belt on it's first major trip to Florida... stranding me and my family on I95 near Cocoa Beach. Car only had 2,500 miles on it. Dumped that one first chance I got.
I remember reading about these when they were first coming out in the magazine section of our local Publix. They were my favorite 4 door cars. I used to dream about my parents owning one. They designed it the way I used to draw cars.
I had a 1997 es and a 1999 se intrepid. Both cars were great. Never any problems with either car. Maybe just lucky on my part. When Dodge introduced these cars in 1993 I believe I couldn’t believe they were from Dodge. I still miss those cars
I had the same year and model intrepid as you. Both great cars. Miss them both. One car parts retailer told me that these were the results you were seeing of the younger generation of engineers that Lee Ziacocca brought into Chrysler Corporation when he headed the company.
I always liked this car and my mom considered getting one despite the issues she had with her Reliant. I always liked the look of them and it’s clear they built a well designed car. Shame that they still came with poor reliability built in. Mom ended up getting an Accord and had it for over 20 years until she passed away. Then I sold it and guy that bought it fixed it up for his son. Apparently it’s still driving.
@@Welcometofacsistube 1,351,333 total production of all years for Dodge Intrepid...Maybe 2% still on the road. Not exactly dead nuts reliable if you ask me. They were built to be disposed of in ten years just like every other big 3 front drive offerings of that era. They were all great for exactly that. Good ride/performance for a company commuter or rental fleet lease. Not so good for the ones who outright bought them and the notorious transmission issues that came along with them. Same deal with their minivans. Great when they worked but burned many owners. BS? I'm afraid it is the truth for many Chrysler owners during the 90s. BTW I was on the front line for said disaster. Just getting out of tech school and working for a Chrysler dealership service center in 96. No need to be in denial my friend. It happened.
My uncle owned a 1997 Chrysler LHS for several years. I loved how big and comfortable it was on the rare occasions I would get to ride it. He eventually traded it in on a more modern Dodge Stratus several years later, when his children moved out of his house and he didn't need a big car. What the K-car did for Chrysler in the 1980s, the LH cars helped carry Chrysler through the 1990s into the 2000s.
I drove one of these back in the day. Drove from New Jersey to California. Plenty of power, handled well, got about 30 mpg and interior was roomy enough to sleep in for the 6 day trip. I actually liked the car....
Structurally speaking these are good cars. But I simply agree with my grandpa that swapping a small block in these cars would be a lot better for them.
If anyone wants to know the high water mark of Chrysler between the 1979 and 2009 low points.. this car is it. Before this, Chrysler was still in the austerity of K-based cars like the Spirit, Le Baron, and New Yorker. After this, the reckless reversion to gas guzzling RWD cars that once the enthusiasts were satisfied, couldn’t compete with even other North American cars on price and economy for volume sales and couldn’t compete with European and Japanese luxury cars on reliability and prestige and profit. Part of the success of the LH was because of the amazing innovation that was obtained by buying AMC. Cab forward and a transverse engine was their idea in collaboration with Renault based on the previous Renault Medalion/Eagle Premier... which is why the LH represents such a complete break in lineage with the K platform and derivatives.. just as their Mercedes based RWD cars represent another break, and their Fiat based cars yet another.. while the last GM W body that left the factory in 2014 was a direct evolution of the first X body in 1979. Even the 2nd generation Intrepid started the decline.. with Chrysler’s horrible sludge producing 2.7L engine. Unfortunately, you don’t see many of these cars any more. Same time as all of the cloud cars disappeared, so did these. Personally, I think it was more based on the types of owners who drove these cars rather than the cars themselves. Rather than the Cam-ray which was probably bought outright by a teacher or accountant, garage kept, always washed, lovingly maintained, and driven very little.. the typical Intrepid was either balloon financed by people who otherwise couldn’t afford it or dumped wholesale to fleets to be airport rental rockets. Then absolutely flood the market two years later as repossessions, lease returns, or auction articles to be flogged at half price to even poorer people where they were driven hard and neglected and succumbed to transmission failures, engine failures, or rust.
My parents had a ‘97 Intrepid with the 3.5 (?). With 5 people in the car, it would do 120 and still had more to give. The transmission also died at 30K miles before a vacation AND it had a TON of electrical problems after 150K miles. Would run like it was barely firing. It still ran 2-3 years later as we saw it around town every now and then. Just saw one less than a week ago, still with the hubcaps. Shocked it was still on the road.
Was my first car. Literally the same as in the video. Only it was blue. I crashed it in 2004. Then I bought another one, it was 1997 model year and also totaled it later the same year. Its was a good car to be your first car and to crash it. Airbags worked perfectly!
Now I did like the Eagle Vision the best. The Talon too, they both looked better than their badge mates. These cars were exceptional in design, but let down by their abysmal quality.
My pops still have this car his came with the spoiler wing on the trunk really was nice looking car he won't give it up he drive it to the store keep it in the garage son.
I rented one of these for a weekend when they first came out. Very comfortable car with very sure footed driving dynamics. Very nice and smooth acceleration. Sad, I have not seen one of these on the road in ages.
The Eagle Vision was my favorite of the three. I was in high school when these came out and remember seeing the lease prices and wanted one but my parents weren't getting me a brand new car at 16.
This was a common car at my high school that us students would drive. Truth be told, the 3.5L V6 in my buddies Intrepid was kind of fast for what it was Could take a ton of punishment and fits up to 8 teenagers!
If I were cross-shopping a Dodge Intrepid and Toyota Camry back in 1993, I'd have chosen the Camry. Chrysler's build quality may have improved, and the Intrepid looks great, but nearly three decades later, I don't recall the last time I saw an Intrepid on the road, but I still see Camrys of that vintage on the road with hundreds of thousands of miles on them.
It actually has less to do with the reliability than it does with the resale value. And the resale value is mainly affected by how many are on the used market after a few years. Toyota at the time was more expensive. It had fewer financing options. Which means that only wealthier people could buy them. Who bought them, took care of them, and promptly and quietly fixed any problems with them. Compare that to a Chrysler product. They had all kinds of creative financing for anyone who had a heartbeat. They even had balloon financing in the form of leases. What they couldn’t flog on a lease they wholesaled to fleets for airport rental rockets. Then in two years between repossessions and lease returns and fleet auctions.. the used market was flooded with cars for half the price of new-which is why lots of people wouldn’t buy them in the first place regardless of how reliable they were. Then even poorer people bought them and abused them and when it came time that the engine or transmission blew it “wasn’t worth it to fix” so were scrapped. But.. every so often you find one that was bought by a frugal person. An elderly individual who knows that care and preventative maintenance is the primary determining factor to the longevity of a vehicle. They looked at purchase price and features, not caring about depreciation because they planned on keeping the car until they couldn’t drive. And so it happened. They can’t drive any more and their cream puff with less than 100,000 miles is for sale for less than 1/2 of what a rusted, leaking, and filthy Camry with 200,000 miles is going for.
@@Bartonovich52 Good point, I never thought of it that way. I've seen many 20 and 30 year old cream puffs of various makes, American and Japanese. Those are the cars many used car shoppers are looking for. I've owned Fords, Dodges, Chevys, Hondas, Hyundais and Toyotas. I always treat them well and keep up on maintenance. But, I'd have to say, despite that, the Toyotas always come out being the longest lasting and most reliable, at least for me. I've got a 2003 Toyota Corolla (my mother bought it new, I got it after she had a stroke and couldn't drive anymore), also got a 2009 Tundra I bought used and a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan wheelchair van for my mother, we bought it fairly new with low miles. I treat it very well, but it has needed a lot of repairs over the years. Maybe I've been unlucky, I know many people get 200,000 or 300,000 miles out of these vans, I'm just coming up on 100,000.
![BOWKYLION - วิงวอน (ex-change) [Official MV]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/cLdnZWDaO-w/mqdefault.jpg)
When these cars came out looked like a car 10 years ahead of its time ...but 10 years later we would not be able to compare them because they where all in the junkyard lol
Yeah Dodge has come come a very long way since the 90’s. I remember when my mom bought a golden brown 1990 Dodge Spirit. That car was ugly as sin and it stayed in the dam repair shop. I told myself I’d never own a Dodge as an adult and then I bought a 2014 Charger R/T with 26,000 miles and drove it problem free for another 96,000.
It was a glorious automobile that garnered me 3.5 years worth of compliments, even more gorgeous was it after I wrecked it in a blizzard during 2020 and had the entire front end repaired and painted just before trading it in. Dodge has come a very long way in terms of both quality and looks; Now they’re ubiquitous. Guess the 1990’s taught Daimler Chrysler a little lesson in quality 👍🏽
Good lord, it's like they all disappeared. And they didn't age well here in the South at all. Ouch.
It’s sad I have a 2004 Chrysler 300M which was one of the last “Normal Chrysler’s” before they just became rebadged Fiat’s. And yes Chrysler’s & Dodge’s used to be some of the most unattractive cars in the world but by the 90s, they really started to make pretty sexy cars (in looks obviously not quality)
4:57 And yet you still see the Camry's they were compared to.
@@cpear760 Seen plenty of those Camry's recently. Can't remember the last time I saw an Intrepid. Even a second gen.
When I worked for General Motors in the 1990s, I drove a Dodge Intrepid with Autostick for several days to benchmark the Dodge system prior to GM and Volvo implementing their own auto-manual transmission system. The Dodge was part of GM's competitive fleet and I had it shipped from Michigan to the GM Desert Proving Grounds in Mesa, AZ for my specialized testing. Note that the Desert Proving Grounds no longer exist. As a powertrain engineer, I used the Dodge to develop a durability cycle to test the future GM/Volvo auto-manual transmission system. I was very impressed by the Dodge, in that, it was sporty, had good quality, and the powertrain was very smooth. As a transmission engineer, we always seems to take pride in breaking cars, hence I beat the crap out of the Dodge. I recall trying to get the Autostick to freeze up by repeatedly manually shifting up/down/up/down/etc. Yet, the transmission kept going without issue. Bottom line is that Dodge did a great job. Overall, the car was nice to drive as well as quite nice looking. Many of my GM engineer friends, including me, were jealous that Chrysler/Plymouth/Dodge kept creating really awesome looking cars during this time while GM created things like the Pontiac Aztek, Buick Skylark, and Chevy Full size van. Well done Dodge!
I can appreciate how far ahead the LH cars were compared to GM's offerings for family sedans. But did you make it to 30k on that transmission? Seems to be about the average life of them when driven like a rental. If I had to pick a family sedan from one of the big 3 in 92 it would have been a manual trans SHO.
@@ericharrison619 He says in his comment that he only had the Intrepid "for a couple days" for testing...
That’s the thing. They didn’t fail from poor design or abuse. They failed from neglect.
I’m sure Bob knows the effects of cyclical and thermal stresses over many cycles. One or two neutral drops will rarely break a transmission but 10,000 20 mile commutes and never changing the fluid probably will.
@@Bartonovich52 did you say neutral drop, give it to Stuntman for the weekend.
Love the Aztek
Dude was snatching that luggage as if he was about to do a drug deal lol
Man on a mission..lol
LOL
HAHAHAHA
My parents bought a ’94 Intrepid ES 3.5L as a used “program” car in Oct. ‘94. I loved it as it was a huge step above the rusty Chevys we had otherwise. As a young teen, I loved driving it and took my driver’s license test in that car.
It marked the end of the days Dad would only buy GM, even though it was a certified Pain to own and Chrysler Corp offered to buy it back under the 🍋 Law. My parents kept it because they liked their car’s shade of “Emerald Green” over the ‘95s lighter green. Since then, nearly every other vehicle they bought was a Chrysler of some sort.
It spent a lot of time at the shop in its early years for everything: multiple transmissions, steering rack, fuel injector rail, water pump, power antenna and climate control devices.
They regularly used it until 2020 and still have it. Even though it’s in good visual condition, it’s ready for scrapping due to a laundry list of current problems. Dad just can’t let something go that he’s worked so hard to keep running. I now own two current Chrysler/Stellantis vehicles (‘19 Charger and ’21 Ram 2500) and told the salesman they owe my Dad some kind of compensation for keeping an Intrepid running for two-and-a-half decades 😂
😂😂 It's funny the differences in mechanical quality between the ES and the base model with these things... My grand mother has a '95 Dodge Intrepid base model with the 3.3L that she bought new, has never needed much of any mechanical work but did have issues with the trans going into limp mode a couple times over the years but was sensor-related and not the trans itself. Some of the dashboard materials started warping/peeling up, and the paint quality wasn't the greatest despite it being garage kept, I think it has about 120-130k miles now. It's definitely been a sturdier car than I've heard from most ES owners with the 3.5L lol. '
Haaaa! Great story and very funny! They definitely owe them something. A Camry or Accord of that same model year would have served your grandparents beautifully without a thought of anything besides regular maintenance. I know because I owned 95 Accord for 20 years with zero issues other than maintenance items. My brother owned a 95 camry with the same exact experience. Probably not as intriguing to look at, but I'm guessing that those repair bills sort of made that intrepid lose its intrigue after a while. I currently own a 2015 Honda Accord EX-L V6 Coupe and have had it for 6 and a half years with zero issues. Love it. It's been paid for 4 years now and it's soooo nice to have a car paid for that is nice to drive and gives me zero issues. Easy and cheap to maintain too. Thanks for sharing your story. Take care.
Also I'm impressed with your steadfast commitment to that company given its track record of reliability issues for multiple decades. They make the most beautiful truck no doubt and that Cummins is a stalwart beast so I definitely see the appeal.
@@gabevillarreal96 The Decrepid, as I like to call it, was the worst of them. There are plenty of other Chrysler vehicles in our extended family that have served on par or better than any comparable vehicle.
My new Ram replaces a ‘14 Ram 1500 that I drove 7 years without issue besides an initial loose connection on a wheel speed sensor before 100 miles and a couple software-related recalls.
For me, the absolute worst was an ‘04 F150 that I put an engine in along with every minor repair before 100,000 miles. That was truly awful and I finally sent it down the road.
@@settledontheprairie5524 Nice!!! I love hearing stories that counter the general consensus of a brand! And yes that 04 F-150 With the Triton 5.4 V8? They were not made well. My buddy who just purchased a 19 F-150 FX4 and loves it still has his 04 F150 that has given him lots of issues. He's trying to get it right so that he can pass it on to his son but he has replaced every spark plug and ignition coil and is still having a hesitation issue. His new truck has the 5.0 Coyote V8 and it's great. Although he did have a headlight bulb go out last night🤦♂️ Please don't let that be the start of an avalanche of problems for him🙏 I've never had a light go out on my Honda for reference and mine is 4 years older. Quality control at the manufacturing and assembly line is key! Every manufacturer has issue though. Some are simply more prevalent and frequent.
4:03 John and his lack of oil pressure and voltmeter gauges! LOL
Standards were different back then. Today he won't even praise a car for room under the hood for basic maintenance.
The funny thing is that the current Chevy Blazer does have a voltmeter and oil pressure gauge, but John never even mentioned it during the MW review.
@@aamirqz maybe because it's hardly even American..the power train is built in China of all places because GM is run by a bunch of sellouts who don't care about quality there all about looks and flash .. that gawdy thing doesn't even deserve to be called a blazer by a long shot its horrid...3cyl turbo go kart engine made in China yea that's real American and itll last..what a joke... gm should be ashamed of themselves
Family hauler cars like these don't need those gauges. What a stupid thing to keep bringing up episode after episode. It was as if they were just reaching for stuff to say sometimes to appear "objective".
@@jdubskiwright2380 what a joke. But GM always made cheap looking cars anyways for decades. Maybe there getting better but not comparable to the competition
I remember back in 1999 my buddy’s mom bought a then new Intrepid R/T and we took it for a drive. The R/T had the 240 horsepower V6 and didn’t have an electronic governor like the others that limited top speed to 120 mph. We saw 140 mph before running out of road and a little guts on the driver’s part. It was a good car especially for the time. Crazy how much has changed since then.
The Intrepid R/T was a good car because it was a Mitsubishi Eclipse chassis with a Dodge body. The 3.0 liter engine they had produced 200hp and made for solid performers for their time.
@@ironpanther2420The Intrepid R/T had NOTHING to do with Mitsubishi...you are thinking of the Stratus coupe, which was an Eclipse with a Dodge-styled body and the engines/trannies were 100% Mitsu. The Intrepid R/T had Dodge's 3.5 High Output V6.
@@W0RLDSSMALLESTVI0LIN I stand corrected, you are 100% right.
I am a gearhead/petrol head through and through. What I love most is that every car has a story. The comment section for retro reviews is my favorite literature.
Guy! I thought I was the only one!
I bought a '94 partially based upon a glowing rating from Consumer's Reports. Several months later, they dropped the five star rating down a couple notches. I never really had any troubles with it, though I only owned it until 98. For a large car, it got good gas mileage, was comfortable, and reasonably priced.
My Dad's late friend had a 1994 in a medium red color, I remember going to a couple of Detroit Tigers games in that car and a couple other places over the 6-7 years he had it. He worked for Jeep in Toledo Ohio, so obviously he was going to be driving a Chrysler product of some sort. He ended up trading it in due to a list of issues it was having but I have to say, that is one of the most comfortable cars I've ever rode in. Sadly, my Dad's friend passed away of natural causes a couple months ago, he was a really nice guy.
My Mom had this same car, it came with tons of problems. It was always in the shop. But I must say for the time it was the best looking car on the road.
Saamme. It was fast but i always had front end issues.
I had a 2003 Intrepid, unfortunately with the 2.7 “Sludge Monster”. Aside from that, I had it for 6 years and it WAS a good runner.
The 2.7? Oh god… 🤮
Probably the worst engine in existence.
Best looking cars in the junk yard tho
I've heard of some people getting lucky with the 2.7's but not many. The internal water pump design was terrible and killed 90% of them by mixing coolant with the oil, usually at lower mileage. They were extremely quiet and refined engines though when they actually ran, I'll give them that.
@@Stressless2023 They were also very fussy about changing the oil. Early and often was about the only solution. People were used to cars that could go well beyond the recommend time, these couldn't. With the 2.7 it was best to get it changed earlier than recommended.
Unfortunately if you had one that leaked coolant into the oil, even this wouldn't help.
worst pos car i ever had
This is my work car right now, it's at 250,000 miles. Amazing and really smooth, kind of quick honestly
😳👍Damn!🤯❤
Any car design with the headlights below the wheels just looks so good. We will never see this again due to safety. This is why to me... 90s was peak design. Sports car like looks on mom and pops cars. =)
True totally agree with the styling then being peak. Shortly there after no more pop-up headlights also due to safety concerns. i.e. pedestrian being struck and rolling over the hood, and being severely injured by the pop-up headlights. Not talking about hitting someone at posted speed limits but someone crossing the street and the driver not seeing them and hitting then at an intersection that should be survivable, i.e. 5mph etc. But with pop-up headlights, it can be much more severe damage vs just bruises.
It's why 90s cars continue to look modern on the road today. New car designs are atrocious - oversized grills, with the bumper *behind* the damn grill. This is a ridiculous era for design. Flat. Lifeless. Sameness. Careful.. inoffensive. BORING.
I remember my high school art teacher in 1991 looking to buy a car and complaining about styling being bland and everything looking the same.
@@MattExzy What? The 90's were peak blandness!
Yeah i had a 1985 Mazda 929 coupe with the pop up lights :). It was bright red. Amazing car and so comfortable. The velour interior used to zap the hell out of me though lol.
I love the wheels. '90s alloy wheels are sexy. I almost never see these things on the road anymore.
This is the most 90s review ever
I've never owned an intrepid, but I have owned two Chrysler Concorde's, a 97 and a 96. I still own the 96 Concorde with the 3.3 V6. It now has 198K miles and still going strong.
I've always been a fan of the first generation LH sedans. Beautiful looking cars!
I used to drive this car, specifically the 1996 3.3L model with no Traction Control. Three years ago I had to say goodbye to this car since it was at the shop so many times for one reason or another. It was also running out of spare parts, one part in particular that had to be replaced was essential for the car to even run at all. They found a single part of it from a warehouse. I thought that was the last of it, but the last straw came when the car suddenly stalled without warning when making a left turn. Bare in mind, this is an automatic transmission car and a lot of money has been put to this car to keep it on operation by this point.
Luckily I was already window shopping for a new car before the stall happened, and now I drive a newer car that I hope will last as long as the Intrepid did, I hope.
I loved those engines lol. Every car I had with it or knew someone with it had no problems with the actual engine. The rest of the vehicle was a different story though lol
drove a 94 intrepid for a while. the interior and the seats were so comfortable. best seats of any car ive been in
I always loved the look of these cars, I get a bit exited when I see one still on the road. More rare than a Lamborghini.
You may not realize this but the first gen intrepid design was indeed based on a Lamborghini Portofino concept car from 1987!
@@joemcdonough7509 I’ve only seen 2 of this first gen intrepids this year. Most of these cars are gone along with the second gen. My mother and stepfather owned one of these first gens in 2004 a bluish with green color. It was a cool looking car before he took it driving while intoxicated and smashed it into a pull leaving a gas station. Weird that I’m more likely to see a super car than a first gen intrepid.
@@tomasacevedo3932 What a shame the car got smashed up. I do miss the 90's car designs. I think styling was at its peak in those days and Chrysler was a game changer when these LH design cars came out in 1993. Compare this Intrepid with the competitor 1993 Chevrolet Lumina and you'll see what I mean.
I saw a mint af 97 with 40K miles for sale last year!!
Garage kept South Dakota car
@@tomasacevedo3932 I've only seen 2 first-gen LH cars this year too. One was a white Concorde in fantastic condition that I've seen numerous times at my local doctor's office. The other was an Intrepid identical to the one in this vid that I saw less than a month ago, except it had the 3.3 and a big dent in one fender. Was in decent shape otherwise.
I almost never see an Intrepid on the road any more and I sure do miss them. So when I saw this video I couldn't click on it fast enough. 😊
I LOVED my '95 Chrysler Concorde....HATED the '97 Buick LeSabre it replaced! The only problem ever....ELECTRONICS!
I still own one , if you want to see some pictures , let me know 👍
@@denisivlentiev5825 Is it the green 1st gen with the 3.3L on your channel?
@@Modine. yes ! 🙏
@@Modine. I’m still driving everyday , it have now 92k miles on the board
I remember seeing one overheating in a parking lot when it was brand new in 1995
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
It was a common issue for those unaware of the coolant charge process
These were some of the worst cars ever made.
@@Commentleaver-c6xthat is so not true
@@peachyclean93 very true, the headlights on these pieces of junk turned completely yellow in about a year. They were garbage for sure.
My grandfather used to own a first-gen Intrepid like this before he and my grandmother bought a brand-new 2006 Toyota Corolla. He then passed away in 2007. I don’t remember riding in the Intrepid, but as a youngster, it looked like an interesting car.
They were crap. Just like all Chrysler products. There's a reason why they were only around for a few years.
@@kevinbarry71 Good point. The 2.7 EER V6s in the 1998-2004 Intrepids/Concordes were crap as well. It’s a shame that automakers (especially American ones) often cut corners. Planned obsolescence is a disease.
Much better than ANY Toyota EVER!
@@johnmaki3046 you are delusional and are likely a danger to yourself and others
@@kevinbarry71 No matter, Kevin... OWNED BOTH...CHRYSLER WAS MUCH BETTER!
Although I still prefer the styling of the Eagle Vision, the Intrepid was such a sleek car in ES trim. Literally an overnight success. The early models had transmissions that were dreadful, but the '95s and up got the new valve-body designs that made them stouter.(this was also an era where Ford, Honda, and Nissan were all dealing with trans issues). The LH cars, specifically the Vision and Intrepid top models performed very well for FWD vehicles and of their size. Always loved that they had a sporty nature. Looking at the rear styling of this vehicle and the styling of today's European luxury cars, interesting to see the parallel.(LED light bars are all the rage these days).
Yeah the Intrepid blended the luxury looks of the LHS AND the contemporary modern basic design of the Vision perfectly. Great looking car, I love anything that can always pull off a sporty look. Rims really make the car for me which is why I typically never purchase the base or midrange models. The 17 inchers fitted to this car from the factory were pretty enormous back then and the ES was the only model I would’ve gotten because of them. Remember the Cloud Cars? My grandmother owned a ‘96 Cirrus LXi. We loved that dam car, that can forward design was way ahead of its time 👍🏽
The '93 Concorde was gorgeous too, one of the prettiest cars of the 90's for me.
My parents bought a used 95 Intrepid with the 3.3 in December 1995. When my mom got a newer car in 2004 the Intrepid became mine. It had it's quirks, but when I sold it in 2013 it had over 300,000 miles on it. Many road trips it never left us stranded. Also in those nearly 300,000 miles never did the wipers come on when we flashed the high beams or used the turn signals.
you were lucky you didn't get the 3.5!
My dad bought a 95 base model new. 3.3 ran great and that car went 240k miles without any major repairs.
Saw one of these in a parking lot a few weeks ago. They are HUGE cars - especially by ‘92 standards when cars in general were much smaller. That makes this Intrepid’s run through the cones even more impressive.
Their transmissions were glass, but all-in-all the LH cars were a good, honest effort by Chrysler to put forth a competitive offering and for the most part I’d say they succeeded.
Bs. My 300m has 300000km on it. Original Trans. You MUST service these transmissions regularly. If don't regularly they last just fine
@@Welcometofacsistube - Congratulations, but take your argument to the droves of previous owners who experienced terminal transmission failure prematurely. Some of them are even here in the comments. Good luck.
@@drivedb7 Funny thing about the transmission was most problems were attributed to using the wrong fluid. Chrysler even noted in the early LH service manuals that Dexron could be used as a substitute for ATF+3 (later ATF+4) which is a big no-no. I change the fluid and filter every 30K on my 94 Concorde using only Mopar ATF+4 and it still shifts fine for its age. It's also important to change the differential fluid too
Hal 1000, your comment doesn’t make sense.
How regularly? Change the transmission fluid as often as the oil? Lol.
Meanwhile a GM transmission of the era could go 300,000km on ZERO maintenance other than making sure the fluid was topped up.
I got to drive one of these 1rst Gens for about 4 months till I got my own car and I was sad to leave it.. I loved this car!! Though it was big it handled more like a German big car and in my view it looked almost like a 4 door Chevy Camero! People stared at it where ever I went.. I've heard that people had problems with them, but when I drove this car it was 2005 and the only thing that went bad was the drivers power window regulator.. Would love to own one of these still.
Loved these cars!
LH stood internally for Last Hope! Because of this didn’t work they were going to lose a lot of money despite how well the Kcar was doing. And it worked!
The K car was long gone by 1993. It’s last production year was 1988. In 1989, the Plymouth Acclaim, Dodge Spirit and Chrysler LeBaron(same name as the Chrysler division’s K car) were the replacements.
@@andrewcolsen - The original K-car was gone, but if memory serves correct, the platform that underpinned the Spirit/LeBaron/Acclaim was a refreshed K platform.
The Kcar was still around but in different forms. The last year for it was 95.
Last hope doesn't make sense, dodge was high on the hog in the early 90s. The 80s built the foundation for radical engineering projects like the intrepid and viper. If anything the intrepid could afford to fail simply because of the success of the neon, caravan and k car.
@@BigWheel.
The early 90’s was still questionable. This car was the deciding factor on which way the company was going to go. Between the LH and the redesigned 96 minivan put them in the best financial position ever. They had excess money. And that is why Daimler came in and went through everything and left them a skeleton of a company.
I live for these retro reviews. And feel old because I remember them from the first time around
I remember reading a magazine at a Publix in Florida about these LH cars. I was so happy for Chrysler. I was only 13.
I had the opportunity to drive an Intrepid, a Camry and an Eagle Premier in those days. I'd pick the Premier above both the other. A more substantial automobile in many ways.
Looking at the intrepid now it has a fighter jet look to it. Always loved those gold accented wheels
The father of Chrysler LH family and the legend of cab-forward design.
Legendary in looks. But as far as reliability durability dependability and overall quality, they were definitely Legendary in the awful sense!
That was the Eagle Premiere, based on a Renault design.
I had a 94 ES with the 3.3 v6. It was my grandpa's and I got it as a 1st car. Great handling car and had no trouble in snow. It did nickle and dime me between 120 and 140,000 miles, but was troubled free until I unloaded it with 171,000 miles 4 or 5 years ago. It was rusting out a bit, I think PA winters claimed it by now.
I love the styling of this car. Looks great and Aerosmith are on the stereo 👍
I worked at a Chrysler dealership right at the tail end of these first model LH cars. We had two technicians who had become wealthy fixing the transmissions on them. They both were driving $60K loaded pickup trucks and had multiple vacation homes and one had a 55 foot Chris Craft yacht. Many other mechanical problems also showed up in a few years. They were really nice cars to drive when they were running properly, but unfortunately their "quality" was an illusion.
My grandfather had a '93 Black on grey ES, I miss that thing so much. Such a beautiful car.
A 96 Intrepid ES was my very first car. Absolutely loved it, so much I had two other second gen LH cars.
One of the things I loved about the production of the reviews from this era is the strong use of the stereo imaging. Listen to it on headphones and you will see (hear?) what I mean. Stereo broadcasts were becoming available and it was exciting to hear that on your home system.
Yeah, the HiFi stereo VCR was important to us back then. My dad used to judge people who didn’t have HiFi stereo capable VCRs back then.
Still a good looking car all these years later
In every mw retro review I always enjoy reading the stories in the comments about people who had a experience with the car of the video
My dream car for some reason was this purple shade available on the top trim of the Eagle Vision version. I was mesmerized by the “auto stick” manual shifting capability. I kept reading the same brochure over and over again until I memorized all the features of an Eagle Vision.
@@rairadrai haha I can relate! When I was a kid I got really hooked with the 00 to 05 impala and I also readed brochures over and over again, my favorite color was... (you guesed) berry red metallic, something about a huge american land yatch in a shade of burgundy/purple
I had an Intrepid ES. Great car. I wish they made large comfortable sedans like that again.
I managed to park next to one of these at the grocery store today. It had been a very long time since I'd seen one, it makes me happy to know at least one 1st gen Intrepid is still on the road
I still drive on of first generation , 92k miles on board 🤝
HI, WORLD CLASS QUALITY, MY ASS!! I bought the very 1st Intrepid sold in central Connecticut 3 days after it went on sale nationwide. I kindda fell in love with the "cab-forward" styling as soon as the concept car premiered on the auto show circut, and followed its development for 2 years! And YES! I knew you should NEVER buy a brand new American car the 1st year; you're supposed to wait until they get the initial "Bugs" out in production, but I loved it, and wanted it, so, MY BAD!! In the 1st 6 months, it had to go into the dealers garage twice; 1st for a collapsed valve lifter ( I got the pushrod 3.3 liter engine, instead of the optional 3.5 overhead cam engine, because the 3.3 had been used in the Caravan for a couple of years, and I figured it had a track record, while the 3.5 was brand new ) and then it was recalled for a "piston slap" noise caused by a factory cylinder overbore. But at least they gave me a loaner car each time!! I was in that car as much as the Intrpid!! I had many other problems with it throughout the years I owned it, and I never bought another Dodge again!! ( my next car was a Honda minivan, which I drove practically trouble free for the next 16 years!! ) It was the best looking car I ever owned, though!! CHAS ORVIS, PLAINVILLE, CT. PS : THE HEADLIGHTS SUCKED, TOO!!!
Best part of these retro reviews is the comments reading everyone's personal stories with the car!
This was my second ever car in 2003 when I was in high school. This exact color and spec. The headlights were terrible for night driving. Mechanically it had some issues but dang did they look awesome still!
I had one of theses Intrepids. It was a really nice designed/looking car, the one i had. Only thing not nice was under the hood. It blew a few heads and the transmission all at the same time. Left stranded on the side of the highway. When it did work, it had tons of power from the V6, great ride quality( like a cloud) and decent visibility. MPG average was about 24mpg.
This is my favourite car of all-time and in general I don't even like Chrysler vehicles.
But this car was so nice to drive.
I had 3 Intrepids. One 93, a 98 and an 01. They were great cars, tons of room and very good power. I also loved the longitudinal v6 motors. It made working on them so much easier.
I drove a few back then. That 3.5 engine had good low end punch and the flat floor inside made it seem extra roomy.
My 97 is still on the road with 272,000 miles.
Good.
👍
Very Good
I remember when these came out. I always liked the sporty look. That cab forward design was very popular
VERY COMFORTABLE, VERY POWERFUL...Just messed up by their "cut-rate" electronics!
And if you chose the Camry, chances are it’s still on the road 20+ years later. Meanwhile these went the way of most Chrysler products of the 90’s- short problem filled lives until owners just gave up on them. (I will say the styling on the Eagle Vision was pretty nice though)
A 20 year old Toyota is half transparent if you live anywhere it snows.
@@Bartonovich52 but still running!
And if you chose a BMW 3 series, someone is still throwing it around some race track after 30 years, hence the fact European track days are full of E36's.
I don't know my grandparents had two cameras and they I don't know my grandparents had two Toyota Camrys 93 and 97 they were garbage they never bought another Camry after their 97 meanwhile my uncle drove a Chrysler Concorde for 14 years my grandparents only had Camrys for 5 years
I owned a 1995 Chrysler Concorde... loved it.
I do not see them anymore. I still see 90s Honda accords and Toyota Camrys once in a while.
It goes well with background chatter from a Married with Children episode.
I rented several of these cars for business trips. Just amazing, loved the 'cab forward' design and my passengers if I had any, loved them for their comfort.
In high school, I worked at John Wallace Dodge in Overland Park, KS when these came out. They were revolutionary in terms of design and quality. This Retro Review brought back some great memories!
Still looking sharp in 2024... 31 years later! I even prefer the 2nd gen. The Eagle Vision and Chrysler 300M are in a league of their own.
The power of timeless designs.
I always thought the Intrepid was sleek looking. Its still roomy compared to some cars of today. I do remember hearing issues about the transmissions, but beyond that it does have some nice performance specs.
My 3.3 Litre's tranny was FINE! LOVED THE LOOK...THE MOTOR...HATED THE ELECTRONICS! If it had been done RIGHT....A TRULY GREAT RIDE!
I remember the hoopla when this car came out. This expectation was this was supposed to be another sales renaissance like the minivan or K car was in the 80s. I don’t think that really panned out but I do remember seeing a lot of them.
It was pretty competitive back then.
The Taurus was already on its 2nd generation. Gm had the W body plus the A bodies were soldiering on as low priced value cars. The Toyota Camry and Honda Accord were quality leaders that no longer forced you to compromise on space or performance.
I still see 93 Camrys on a daily basis, can't recall when I last saw any LH platform car....
I can't believe I found a video were this car is lauded so much. This car is my childhood. Many memories with this thing. I was always fascinated with this car. It's nice to see everybody else's stories with this thing; it's an interesting car indeed.
These LH cars had to be pretty revolutionary looking back in 1992. They still have a design that fits in with modern traffic today, but unfortunately seeing even a second gen LH car on the road is getting pretty rare.
Second gen Eagle Vision (aka Chrysler 300m ) here in good condition running strong 👍👍
When I was a kid. I used to think of this as the Dodge Viper sedan. Boy was I wrong lol.
Chrysler wanted you to think that so they could collect thousands of dollars, from many people, for this junk.
No definitely not. But was pretty much a Plymouth Prowler sedan.
@@bikingD Not at all either.
@@georgesnyder5337 How do you figure? I worked for Chrysler at the time. They shared the same engine, transmission, interior controls such switches, turn signals, radios. So yes basically the LH and Prowler share so many parts it is sedan version of a Prowler except the rwd aspect.
@@bikingD sharing turn signal stalks does not make it a “prowler sedan”. The prowler was a rear drive one-off culled from the parts bin.
I had the Concord with the same engine. The engine was bulletproof but the rest of the car was crap. The A/C broke several times, front end needed work. It was never ending repairs. Car looked nice and handled/rode well.
We bought one of these when they first came out and I remember a guy sitting next to me at a stop light rolled down his window to ask what in the world kind of car it was. He was amazed how "cool" it looked. It was a decent car for a while until, like many Dodge/Chrysler, the transmission failed at under 40,000 miles. We have to pay almost $3000 to fix.
These Intrepids are great cars. My aunt has owned 3 of them, a green 94 model that was totaled, a red 96 model, and then traded the 96 for a silver 2000 model and she said she absolutely loved her intrepids. My parents even owned one also that was a silver 1993 model but that one got totaled.
I saw one of these in White actually last week lol. He was pushing the hell out of it weaving in and out of traffic. First time seeing that car in years.
My best friends dad had one when we were kids , it took us all around as kids . Even 20 years ago it already had no paint on it . We had no idea how lucky we were to never get stranded lol
Loved this version.. the re do a few years later with the big headlights was a harder take tho
My mom had an Eagle Vision TSi, either a 1994 or 1995 model, and it was pretty close to loaded. It was one of her favorite cars, but I think it was the first car my dad leased, and they turned it in before we moved from Cincinnati to Florida in 1997. I remember that it was the showroom model, and while the rest of the interior was gray, the factory ran out of the proper trim piece, so it had a woodgrain "Intrepid" piece between the glove box and dashboard. The dealer replaced it when the right part came in.
For some reason, I always pictured the Taylor family from Home Improvement having one of these.
I've seen way more of those Camry's on the road still than I've seen these Intrepids.
and Accords
You mean the oil burners?
My dad bought an Eagle Vision. We had it for 6 years. It was a fun and lots of room in the back. Lots of electrical issues though. Ended up trading it in for an Expedition.
Chrysler had some interesting color choices for these sedans. I was always kind of mesmerized by that metallic gold color that was only available on the LHS.
they had some great colors on many of their cars during the 90s!
@@gxdjoeybaby07 they always have nice colors maybe not her highest quality but they’re always bold and have a wide selection unlike most other automakers
My grandma bought a burgundy one of these, then sold her grey Dodge Spirit to my mom. I still remember how futuristic that thing looked, wheels and all. The detail below the tail lights really stuck out. Grandma got a new silver Neon after the Intrepid.
Funnily enough, my grandma managed to find a ’92 Spirit as her daily driver earlier this month! Tan on tan, she calls it Tanner
Had a brand new '93 Intrepid ES... loaded, including the Level 3 "Emerson Fittipaldi-tuned" suspension. I really loved that car... handled amazingly well for such a roomy car... certainly a new American benchmark for its time. Only real complaint was that the headlights were atrocious (bad enough that Dodge recalled all the '93s and replaced the headlights with '94-spec lights). Unfortunately, it was totaled a little over a year later when some dumb-a** person ran a traffic light and kissed my right rear quarter just hard enough to send my 45MPH car sideways into a concrete light pole in the median, with a bullseye on the driver's door. I was initially knocked out but walked away with some scratches on my elbow and a mildly sore neck. The car saved my life. Replaced it with a nearly identical '94... differing only in that it had the Level 2 suspension instead of the Level 3. HATED that car... wallowed around as compared to the Level 3 suspended '93, and the Goodyear Eagle GAs squealed around every turn, very unlike the same sized Michelins on the '93. Final insult was when the engine threw it's cam timing belt on it's first major trip to Florida... stranding me and my family on I95 near Cocoa Beach. Car only had 2,500 miles on it. Dumped that one first chance I got.
I had a 97 Concord LXi and it did have a sunroof so they solved that problem…great car, engine was fantastic and so was the handling!
I remember reading about these when they were first coming out in the magazine section of our local Publix. They were my favorite 4 door cars. I used to dream about my parents owning one. They designed it the way I used to draw cars.
I had a 1997 es and a 1999 se intrepid. Both cars were great. Never any problems with either car. Maybe just lucky on my part. When Dodge introduced these cars in 1993 I believe I couldn’t believe they were from Dodge. I still miss those cars
I had the same year and model intrepid as you. Both great cars. Miss them both. One car parts retailer told me that these were the results you were seeing of the younger generation of engineers that Lee Ziacocca brought into Chrysler Corporation when he headed the company.
I always liked this car and my mom considered getting one despite the issues she had with her Reliant. I always liked the look of them and it’s clear they built a well designed car. Shame that they still came with poor reliability built in. Mom ended up getting an Accord and had it for over 20 years until she passed away. Then I sold it and guy that bought it fixed it up for his son. Apparently it’s still driving.
They didn't. They are dead nuts reliable. So tired of that bs
Your Mom made the better choice getting the Accord. Much more dependable.
Sorry to hear about your Loss 😢😞Thank you for Sharing
@@Welcometofacsistube 1,351,333 total production of all years for Dodge Intrepid...Maybe 2% still on the road. Not exactly dead nuts reliable if you ask me. They were built to be disposed of in ten years just like every other big 3 front drive offerings of that era. They were all great for exactly that. Good ride/performance for a company commuter or rental fleet lease. Not so good for the ones who outright bought them and the notorious transmission issues that came along with them. Same deal with their minivans. Great when they worked but burned many owners. BS? I'm afraid it is the truth for many Chrysler owners during the 90s. BTW I was on the front line for said disaster. Just getting out of tech school and working for a Chrysler dealership service center in 96. No need to be in denial my friend. It happened.
My uncle owned a 1997 Chrysler LHS for several years. I loved how big and comfortable it was on the rare occasions I would get to ride it. He eventually traded it in on a more modern Dodge Stratus several years later, when his children moved out of his house and he didn't need a big car.
What the K-car did for Chrysler in the 1980s, the LH cars helped carry Chrysler through the 1990s into the 2000s.
I drove one of these back in the day. Drove from New Jersey to California. Plenty of power, handled well, got about 30 mpg and interior was roomy enough to sleep in for the 6 day trip. I actually liked the car....
Structurally speaking these are good cars. But I simply agree with my grandpa that swapping a small block in these cars would be a lot better for them.
This is so ironic. I JUST purchased a 1994 Dodge Intrepid ES with 76k Miles on it! Mine is Victory Red!
If anyone wants to know the high water mark of Chrysler between the 1979 and 2009 low points.. this car is it.
Before this, Chrysler was still in the austerity of K-based cars like the Spirit, Le Baron, and New Yorker.
After this, the reckless reversion to gas guzzling RWD cars that once the enthusiasts were satisfied, couldn’t compete with even other North American cars on price and economy for volume sales and couldn’t compete with European and Japanese luxury cars on reliability and prestige and profit.
Part of the success of the LH was because of the amazing innovation that was obtained by buying AMC. Cab forward and a transverse engine was their idea in collaboration with Renault based on the previous Renault Medalion/Eagle Premier... which is why the LH represents such a complete break in lineage with the K platform and derivatives.. just as their Mercedes based RWD cars represent another break, and their Fiat based cars yet another.. while the last GM W body that left the factory in 2014 was a direct evolution of the first X body in 1979.
Even the 2nd generation Intrepid started the decline.. with Chrysler’s horrible sludge producing 2.7L engine.
Unfortunately, you don’t see many of these cars any more. Same time as all of the cloud cars disappeared, so did these.
Personally, I think it was more based on the types of owners who drove these cars rather than the cars themselves. Rather than the Cam-ray which was probably bought outright by a teacher or accountant, garage kept, always washed, lovingly maintained, and driven very little.. the typical Intrepid was either balloon financed by people who otherwise couldn’t afford it or dumped wholesale to fleets to be airport rental rockets. Then absolutely flood the market two years later as repossessions, lease returns, or auction articles to be flogged at half price to even poorer people where they were driven hard and neglected and succumbed to transmission failures, engine failures, or rust.
My parents had a ‘97 Intrepid with the 3.5 (?). With 5 people in the car, it would do 120 and still had more to give. The transmission also died at 30K miles before a vacation AND it had a TON of electrical problems after 150K miles. Would run like it was barely firing.
It still ran 2-3 years later as we saw it around town every now and then.
Just saw one less than a week ago, still with the hubcaps. Shocked it was still on the road.
Was my first car. Literally the same as in the video. Only it was blue. I crashed it in 2004. Then I bought another one, it was 1997 model year and also totaled it later the same year. Its was a good car to be your first car and to crash it. Airbags worked perfectly!
These were in my opinion the best line of cars from the best American car company ever. The entire 1994 lineup is AMAZING
Now I did like the Eagle Vision the best. The Talon too, they both looked better than their badge mates. These cars were exceptional in design, but let down by their abysmal quality.
My pops still have this car his came with the spoiler wing on the trunk really was nice looking car he won't give it up he drive it to the store keep it in the garage son.
I miss when car steroes had those equalizer buttons on the side!! Portable cassette players used to have it too. It was awesome ☺😞
I rented one of these for a weekend when they first came out. Very comfortable car with very sure footed driving dynamics. Very nice and smooth acceleration. Sad, I have not seen one of these on the road in ages.
I remember my mom driving the Eagle Vision rental. It had the sweet 3.5.
The ol Decrepid. Lol. The only thing “forward”was the windshield the cab was actually back further by some inches.
Decent speed from these cars, I had one that end with transmission issues but it was swift and the ride was soft.
Actually, The MOST FUN CAR!
The Eagle Vision was my favorite of the three. I was in high school when these came out and remember seeing the lease prices and wanted one but my parents weren't getting me a brand new car at 16.
Currently rotting in a junkyard near you. These make great fertilizer for your garden.
this makes me wanna buy another intrepid
This was a common car at my high school that us students would drive.
Truth be told, the 3.5L V6 in my buddies Intrepid was kind of fast for what it was
Could take a ton of punishment and fits up to 8 teenagers!
I liked my Intrepid. It was roomy enough for my three kids. And the 3.5 was fast. It was also easy to work on.
If I were cross-shopping a Dodge Intrepid and Toyota Camry back in 1993, I'd have chosen the Camry. Chrysler's build quality may have improved, and the Intrepid looks great, but nearly three decades later, I don't recall the last time I saw an Intrepid on the road, but I still see Camrys of that vintage on the road with hundreds of thousands of miles on them.
It actually has less to do with the reliability than it does with the resale value.
And the resale value is mainly affected by how many are on the used market after a few years.
Toyota at the time was more expensive. It had fewer financing options. Which means that only wealthier people could buy them. Who bought them, took care of them, and promptly and quietly fixed any problems with them.
Compare that to a Chrysler product. They had all kinds of creative financing for anyone who had a heartbeat. They even had balloon financing in the form of leases. What they couldn’t flog on a lease they wholesaled to fleets for airport rental rockets. Then in two years between repossessions and lease returns and fleet auctions.. the used market was flooded with cars for half the price of new-which is why lots of people wouldn’t buy them in the first place regardless of how reliable they were. Then even poorer people bought them and abused them and when it came time that the engine or transmission blew it “wasn’t worth it to fix” so were scrapped.
But.. every so often you find one that was bought by a frugal person. An elderly individual who knows that care and preventative maintenance is the primary determining factor to the longevity of a vehicle. They looked at purchase price and features, not caring about depreciation because they planned on keeping the car until they couldn’t drive.
And so it happened. They can’t drive any more and their cream puff with less than 100,000 miles is for sale for less than 1/2 of what a rusted, leaking, and filthy Camry with 200,000 miles is going for.
@@Bartonovich52 Good point, I never thought of it that way. I've seen many 20 and 30 year old cream puffs of various makes, American and Japanese. Those are the cars many used car shoppers are looking for.
I've owned Fords, Dodges, Chevys, Hondas, Hyundais and Toyotas. I always treat them well and keep up on maintenance. But, I'd have to say, despite that, the Toyotas always come out being the longest lasting and most reliable, at least for me.
I've got a 2003 Toyota Corolla (my mother bought it new, I got it after she had a stroke and couldn't drive anymore), also got a 2009 Tundra I bought used and a 2008 Dodge Grand Caravan wheelchair van for my mother, we bought it fairly new with low miles. I treat it very well, but it has needed a lot of repairs over the years. Maybe I've been unlucky, I know many people get 200,000 or 300,000 miles out of these vans, I'm just coming up on 100,000.