Here’s why the Chrysler Conquest and Mitsubishi Starion are forgotten 80s hot hatches
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In this episode I provide the history of the Mitsubishi Starion and its rebadged siblings, the Dodge, Plymouth, and Chrysler Conquest. Mitsubishi first imported the Starion to North America in 1983, and Chrysler sold their versions beginning in 1984. Some believe that the name Starion was originally supposed to be Stallion, but the Japanese execs at Mitsubishi couldn't pronounce the 'L' in Stallion, so instead it sounded like an 'R', or Starion. Mitsubishi says in their advertising that Starion is a combination of the words Star and Arion; the latter being a horse from Greek mythology. Both the Starion and Conquest sold far less units than the Dodge Daytona, and by 1985, Mitsubishi and Chrysler began Diamond Star Motors, in an attempt to build a new sports car in the U.S., leading to the end of the Conquest and Starion by 1989.
I've owned 2 1989 Conquest Tsi and loved them. They are great cars that never got the attention they deserved. They are difficult to own today as parts have gotten very hard to come by.
Facts💯brotha!!!
I never see them nowadays. 15 years ago the only ones I saw were rust buckets but I was told they were mustang killers.
@@matthewrupp5526They were NEVER “Mustang Killers”, but they were great handling, gorgeous cars with Japanese build quality and stylish tech.
@@matthewrupp5526 They were quite fast for their time, but that is a bit of an exaggeration. However, installing a larger intercooler and a boost controller made pretty decent gains. The car I owned most recently had a Toyota 2JZGTE engine swap which made the car legitimately fast.
Uh, rockauto? Or you mean like body panels and windshields and stuff like that?
A briefly owned an '87 Starion and it was a blast. Nothing says 80's cool like one of these.
Nothing says 80s like a IROC-Z Camaro, but close...
@@danziger69 - The Camaro is nothing special... Light, dangerous, and junky. Almost none left despite their huge numbers compared to these other rare cars.
@@danziger69 Aaaahh, the Chicago Italians LOVED Those IROC Z28's!!!!!😎😎😆😆
I had an 87’ Conquest in 1995 and I loved it.
I wish I’d kept it. It was such a cool car and was quite fast 😎
The Chrysler Conquest was a nice looking coupe for its time. Chrysler Corp and Mitsubishi collectively made some distinctive cars.
Do you even DSM?
I forgot about these entirely. The wide-body was a good looking car. Thanks for the memory refresher.
I've got an 88 in the garage getting an engine swap from the 2.6-liter 4-cylinder turbo to a 2.8 straight 6 BMW. Love the car but the low revving single overhead cam turbo engine with the two injector throttle body injector setup made it very hard and expensive to make power. The front suspension and steering systems are also pretty bad when compared to the rival Toyotas and Mazdas of the late 80s. So gone is the steering box and rudimentary front suspension, to be swapped with an RX-7 rack and pinion and front suspension. It's definitely a spaceship on the roads and people always ask what it is when I actually get to drive it.
I remember seeing both a Mitsubishi Starion and a Dodge Daytona Z in the 1984 movie "Cannonball Run II".
Jackie Chan in the Starion and The Chairman of the Board in the Daytona. Good times.
I loved these cars in the 1980s. The angular wedge body with big fender flares had the look of a 1980s-techno japanese muscle car, combining two car genres I was really into. The "Starion" name seems like it could be a direct reference to the "Diamond-Star" partnership.
I owned a red 1987 Dodge Conquest TSI in college. Absolutely loved it! It almost killed me a couple of times (turbo lag’s delay in boost) but it was extremely reliable and had gorgeous looks and performance for the era.
Staggered rims, fat meats, intercooler, adjustable shocks, nice dash light show at night - the amber multiband EQ lights etc. It was one of the most fun cars I've ever owned. It had a cool little range where the boost kicks in and it would pull pretty stout for a little f'er. I had the maroon colored one. It IS getting diecast respect - Autoworld just put out some 1:64 Starion AND Conquest cars w/opening hood and very good detail. 👀
Loved the look of these cars when I was a teen-and still do now. I wanted one so bad!!! They looked great and it was one of the first cars I remember having stereo controls on the steering wheel.
Very futuristic-for its time.
The Plymouth Arrow was very similar in base form minus the blister fenders. The Conquest was a fun little car and had great presents.
Yes way advanced for its day
Hoping for a Mazda 929 video
I had a 1992 Mars. And 929 and no one knew what it was because I put some really nice wheels on it .
I was told it was designed by jaguar
Had an '85 Dodge Omni GLH through the mid to late 90s .
To this day, the most fun to drive of almost any car I've owned.
I test drove a GLHS Turbo around that time. Although torque steer was a bit unruly, those things were a blast to drive as well.
Look forward to a future episode featuring these pocket rockets...
Same here I've owned an 87 Dodge Omni GLS it had better acceleration
than 80's for escort and pinto and
the MPG were just super would love
another one just for gas milage.
Yep, owned a 1983 Starion. Black with Grey interior. I loved that car.
This car is timeless to me. It is a beautiful sculpture that goes on to infinity. I wish i could own a fine example. 💜
A friend of mine had a black Conquest TSI around 2005 or so, it was a good-looking, fun car that handled great, was plenty quick, and had a really good-shifting 5-speed. Cool cars.
I actually saw one at the gas station last weekend. That was the first one I've seen in years.
For the time they were good cars. I remember having a Conquest turbo as a demo for a while.... I liked it.
Picture at 5:30 looks like it was taken in Northern Kentucky across from downtown Cincinnati. Behind that Starion looks like the Bengals stadium on the right and on the left is two recognizable bridges, one being the Brent Spence Bridge that I-75 and I-71 run through.
I've always loved the way these cars look. I've never seen one in person. But I would definitely like to own one
They look better in person... especially in widebody
Always wanted a Dodge Raider from the 80s'. 2.2L dodge motors were great motors.
Is that the same as a dodge omni. They had hi/lo shifter plus regular shifter. They were fast for a 4 cylinder
I am amazed qt the amount of affection with which I remember a lot of cars from the 80's. These are an excellent example. I wish I had one, now. Much more personality than cars today.
Thats called nostalgia ❤
I love all these videos... everything from the 70s and 80s remind me of much better days.
Love this content
But you haven't even watched it yet.
I had a 1985 Plymouth Conquest and loved it. Thank you for putting this video together. It brought me back in time
I bought a used Sapporo in the early 90's, it was a fun little car.
Had briefly drove the Starion Turbo in the late 80s early 90s. Was a fun car to drive. I recalled the turbo lag was pretty bad, but once it kicked in it does go. The wide body also made it looked much better.
My dad had a 87 gold widebody starion, awesome sounding car. Slight problem with engine meltdown. Best sounding 4 cylinder ever
I had the 84 Daytona Z turbo! Blk on blk 5sp. Digital dash, loaded.
These cars were the only ones that I knew of that offered only rear wheel ABS. Still quite the quirk.
So happy to see this one. I see these around occasionally. Few survivors in the rust belt.
I literally. Just saw the cleanest one I’ve ever seen this morning at cars and coffee!! One of the coolest cars ever!
That bugger could outrun any 5.0L in the 80s
Facts...
Nope
With exhaust and intake it would get on par with one. With a boost controller it definitely would. Stock vs Stock however, the Mustangs had it by a few tenths.
In the 90s i beat a turbo honda civic
That thing was a dog with fleas 😅.
That conquest and starion were way ahead of time here time they were fast as hell and a whole lot of technology
Loved those cars.
I had 85 Celica GTS and then a 85 Supra. The build quality of the Mitsubishi was so much better imo. When I experienced the Mitsubishi one it was a different class.
I owned an 87 Conquest, 86 Daytona Turbo Z (with T-Tops), and a Chrysler Laser. the Conquest was so much fun.
Still have mine I bought 20 years ago. She runs but needs some work. Love it
Got an 87’ wide body conquest and let’s just say it’s a love hate relationship but I could never let her go
Lots of good memories here ! Owned driven or worked on about 3/4 of the vehicles mentioned. Still never drove a Starion, their weren't too many around even when they were new.
There are several Seinfeld episodes with outdoor street scenes and there is a silver Starion used just as a parked vehicle (same vehicle, different episodes) … it stands out for sure!
This car was superb! I owned an '87 Conquest, i wish could have it now!
I always loved the Mitsubishi Starion/Chrysler conquest particularly in the wide-body style .... I still dream of finding a good example
Nice. Very nice Mitsubishi.
…they were quite popular here in the Silicon Valley in the late 80’s. I remember the smaller Mitsubishi Cordia and it’s sedan the Tredia.
Loved the Starion in Cannonball Run II...it could drive underwater, awesome! Driven by Jackie Chan and Richard Kiel! Now I need to watch that movie again!
I owned a 1989 starion wide body from 2000-2002. I loved that car even though it seemed to always have a problem. Out of all the cars I’ve had I miss that one the most.
Had mine for 14 years, I love it
I had one. It was very fast,it handled very well. It was SCCA champion for a few years. It was a great car. No support .
Nice Video on the Mitsubishi Starion, Jackie Chan drove one in Cannonball Run 2, It had some high-tech gear on it like the last car from the 1st Cannonball Run Movie only in that one he was driving Subaru DL, Jackie Chan had been known for Driving Mitsubishis in some of his films that you can write a Book on.
Maybe in the Future you could do a Video on the Mitsubishi 3000GT / Dodge Stealth.
I had one in the mid 90’s and I just loved it.
i found myself really considering these in 2010-ish when i needed a car. they were (relatively) everywhere in various states of decomposiiton. might have dodged a bullet but i still wish i would have bought one.
see also mark III Supra, Honda Del Sol, xj6 VDP, any gen prelude, etc etc
I had black in color 1982 and a 1987 Mitsubishi Starion. I loved that car. Wish I still had it.
This is my dream car currently❤
Owned a 89 for a few years. The wiring for the injectors was known to cook under the hood due to the heat of the turbo. Re run wiring, drop vac to waste gate and built a hoop ahead of the fmic. Dynoed at 257hp and 290 ft/lb at 18 lb of boost. I’m still surprised I didn’t put a big square dent in the hood... but bow was it fun to drive.!!!
I had an 88 starion for 3 years and it was fun to drive and they look awesome. It was making over 300whp with the 2.6
Thanks for doing this, Didn’t know it’s US history. I have a soft spot for these - one of the greatest Japanese 80s cars 😅.. The galant was also called sigma in some markets ( the orange one has that on its number plate). Yes almost certainly was supposed to be “Stallion”- pretty obvious given Mitsubishi used “colt” on their smaller car for sometime. R/L confusion was pretty common in Japanese to English translation at the time. ( although probably also more recent with the 4WDToyota “Kluger”= possibly was supposed to be “Kruger”)
The Group B rally story is mind-blowing. That is truly great automotive journalism.
Make an Isuzu Piazza/Impulse video. I know you made an Isuzu video, but you should go in depth in different models
Was hoping you would feature these. We didn't get them in Canada, but I always thought they were neat.
owned 2 of them. One Starion and one Conquest. loved them. Enjoyed ever minute driving them
A guy where I live has one is pristine condition
I had an 86 Dodge Daytona and a 92 Mitsubishi Eclipse, both were fun cars, wish I had one of them still.
I picked-up a used 1987 Conquest TSI wide body, black, in 1990. It was a fun little car.
I owned a 1985 Mitsubishi Starion. I liked the care a lot!
I've wanted this car since I was 15.
Amazing cars
These cars look so cool! I wanted one so bad when I was a kid!
I love the look of the "wide body" 89 Starion. Definitely an underrated JDM legend - (at least in the looks department).
I was young when these were out, but I’d say it was better looking that most cars of the 80s. Kind of has a Mazda rx7, Porsche 944 look to it.
I had a 87 conquest tsi. I miss this car so much.
I had a white 1986 Dodge Conquest in 1993. Very fun car!
I’ve been waiting on this one - I know I kept asking for this one so thank you !!!
I have 2 now both 88shp models aka sports handling package.... You forgot to mention.... I had 8 of these cars and yes you can add lots of power ... Plus these cars value now is sky rocketing....
I used to detail cars at a car dealership. Got to drive a starion to the auction. Car was very fast and handled even better.
If I had ever found any, that weren't in the junkyard, I would have considered buying it.
But that allowed me to get a Starion intercooler to use on a CRX with a Ford Probe turbo :)
I'm 2001, I found and bought a mint condition red '87 TSi garage queen with only 10k miles on it. It probably should have been in a museum. Lived it for the time i had it. I hope it's still alive out there somewhere.
This is the first car I remember wanting as a kid . I’d still love to have one. But I seldom see them anymore. I always wanted the dark blue one.
Yes. dark blue was a good look. I think that color was 89. I also really liked the silver with black interior for 89.
The Sapporo/Challenger never get the respect they deserved. I purchased a Sapporo with manual trans new and the thing was a real sleeper. Nobody knew or understood until they drove it. If it had been built to last longer I'd still have it, once the warranty ran out it felt like I was replacing a part every other month.
Mustang guy but I really loved those cars. Wish I had bought one of the 87 to 89 model year and saved it. They were really nice looking
I owned both a 1986 conquest TSI turbo, and a 1988 Dodge Daytona Pacifica. Both great cars. Awesome video!
I used to own a 88 Chrysler Conquest TSI. Everywhere I would go people would always stop and ask what kind of car it was.
I have one and a parts car 1989 ESI-R. Everything works great, love the car and have a blast driving it. Upgraded somethings like a big turbo lol
Crazy how with all this tech in cars today how that 80s body style has come full circle with a vengeance
I owned an 85 Daytona Turbo and gave the 87 Chrysler Conquest Tsi a close look, I even planned on calling it Tessi but picked up an 87 Daytona Shelby Z instead. Later I owned a 3000GT VR-4, the true replacement of the Starion. I believe you already did an episode on them.
THIS WAS AND STILL IS ONE OF THE BEST LOOKING CARS DURING THE 80's !!!
What a beautiful car. One of the few awesome looking cars from the 80s I always wanted one.
I owned a 1984 200sx turbo..a wonderful ride... I miss it
The Station 5 spoke wheels are iconic. An improvement on the Celica 4 spoke wheels. The Celica and Starion look a lot alike. But the Starion's wide fenders were awesome.
I met a guy one day about 20yrs ago when I was delivering mail to his house. He met me at the mailbox and I couldn't help but notice his red car in the driveway. I asked if it was a Starion. He went off on the fact that I was the only person he'd ever met that knew what it was.😊
It was in very good condition. I hope he enjoys it to this day.
As a teen LOVED THIS CAR!!
I had a beautiful black 87'. Damn, I miss that car. Very fun and rare
Friend had a 87 new. Had a HKS kit on it and with increased boost would spin rod bearings regularly. He had the engine replaced under warranty 5 times. Neat car built to look like a 944 Turbo. But the motor couldn't take upgrades like the Porsche could.
I briefly had a Chrysler Conquest TSi. With the digital dash. Unfortunately, mine was used and had mechanical issues. But I still think it was one of the best looking and coolest cars of the 80s!
I did own a 87' RX7 with the flip up headlights. You had to remember to keep them up when the cold weather came in or you wouldn't have headlights until spring.
A girlfriend at the time had a turbo Conquest. Excellent car and best factory stereo at the time.
When I was a teen in the late 80's I always liked these cars. And I've always wanted one. And still do. They where stylish but under powered.
Had a 1982 Datsun 200SX manual shift. LOVED that car.
Great thorough video, thank you!
I had a friend when I was about 7 or 8 whose parents bought a Conquest. He told me the orange buttons on the seatbelts were ejector seat that shot you through the sunroof. 😁