Here’s how the Neon became Chrysler’s economy car and race car
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In this episode I provide the history of the Neon, which was sold as a Dodge or Plymouth in North America, and as a Chrysler in all other markets. The Neon began in 1994 as a replacement for the Dodge Shadow and Plymouth Sundance, and although the base models were cheap econoboxes, there were also high-performance versions, including the ACR model which was designed specifically for the race rack. The Neon lasted two generations and 10 years before cancellation in the 2005 model year.
I am still driving my 98 neon. 200K miles, 23 years old, and still going! :)
Congratulations 🙂
85k miles, 98
me too.
FUN FACT: in the early 2000s the neon SRT4 was declared "the fastest car under $20,000" by C&D or road and track(I can't remember which one) cause msrp was 18 or 19K
@Jimmy yea thats how most chryslers are
@Jimmy they're valuable today, though...
@Jimmy they are quite reliable, what are you talking about? They are probably used to the max more than any other car on the road and they last. People putting holes in vacuum hoses and doing dumb ass "mods" and running them lean are why they break. Don't talk on what you don't know
Another fun fact- Chrysler completely lied about the power output of the SRT-4. It actually made 285 hp in all years it was offered. this was proven several times by dyno testing bone stock unmodified SRT-4's by several performance magazines, every one of them pushed 285 hp to the wheels.
@@fwddodge22 All is right with the world, I couldnt understand how it was getting a 0-60 time that fast with 220 hp And peeling out through second gear, But it turns out dodge basically release the wheel horsepower numbers and not the crank
I have such a fond memory of this car. I was living with my brother in high school and he purchased one, brand new, essentially without his wife (she knew about it but wasn't there to pick it out so she just trusted his judgment). The car had almost no options outside of air conditioning. It was manual and plain black, but a brand new car at such a silly low price was apparently too tempting to pass up. After my brother and his wife were done signing the paperwork they were walking to the car and an argument ensued after his wife realized how few options were on the car, I was just tagging along. His argument was simply that they didn't have that many to choose from and the car was on special so he had to act fast. Just as he was saying that we rounded the corner of the dealership toward a back lot and there before us was a literal sea of Neon's in every color and trim combo imaginable, it looked like a glitch in the matrix. I've never seen before or since such a wide array of one car at a dealer (it was 96/97' so it was at the height of popularity). They both stopped dead and the fiery look from his wife could have melted an I beam, he looked like a deer that had just parachuted into traffic. It was an awkward ride home and free ammo for her for some yrs after. Turned out to be a decent and fun to drive car in the end but she has been front and center for every car they've bought since.
The Neon was an example of an amazing design torpedoed by bean counters. They took what was the best overall design created by Chrysler in many years and killed it with thin head gaskets, cheap brakes, poor safety and skimpy sound proofing. Everyone wanted one until they drove it.
Very true. One car Chrysler got right and not only killed it but replaced it with complete abomination. Talk about insulting customers.
I like Mexican Neon but it will never be sold in Canada.
Great design, till ya have to work under the hood. Very cute car
I worked at Enterprise from 97-98 the Neon and Ford Aspire were the worst. I had to take the Neon to the dealership several times because something always went wrong with them. Good times
I loved mine only problem ac
@@arri275555 I work at enterprise in the early 2000s but I owned a neon and it was my best car of those years ..chevy Cavaliers bad ford escort bad..ford Taurus that I had later for 6 years 2002 bought in 2011 or 12 fell apart...the neon didn't do that I had a wreck and totaled it ...
My Mom had a first gen Neon in the mid-90s, and she says still to this day it was one of the best and most fun cars she ever had!
I would love to see a video on the "cloud" cars from Chrysler. The Stratus, Breeze, and Cirrus. I had the Stratus and I loved it.
I drive a Dodge Stratus!!!!!
@@kevin9c1 lmaoooo
I hated these. My homie and I would rag on em religiously.
fellow stratus driver
I had 1998 Neon ACR with the Koni adjustable rate struts and close ratio gear box. It was such a fun car to drive handled like a dream and 130mph top speed.
My mom bought a model year 95 in the summer of 94 right after they were first introduced. It was that nitro yellow green color just like the ACR in the video. Hers was a Sport sedan with an auto. People either loved the color or hated it, but most hated it. People on the sidewalk would yell things about how ugly the color was as we drove by. It became embarrassing to drive it. Otherwise it was just an "ok" car for the time. The automatic couldn't make use of the 2 litres power, it was rather slow off the line. In hindsight, she should have bought a Civic.
auto was better for the sohc then the dohc. it couldnt use the power of the dohc. low to mid 16s still isnt bad for a coupe sohc. the pbody, (which was the sundance or duster he mentioned) the v6 had 141hp/171lbs. the sedan ran 16.3ish in auto. which is what a sohc 5spd neon runs with a 4cyl. but the neon is lighter. yet the 3.0l has very limited aftermarket. you can do some easy bolt ons on a atx sohc neon and make it get mid 15s with ease if ya know what you are doing
I still own a 95 nitro yellow green, 4dr, stick shift. My kid is currently driving it. 313,000 miles and counting. Best $900 I’ve ever spent. A little rust but looks great considering it’s survived NY salt courtesy of an annual used oil bath. Neons we’re pick of the litter cars, most fell apart, but every once in awhile you find a dependable one.
@@ryan1turbo899 I got a 95 NYG 2 door as well. I'm in the process of restoring it and making it an ACR clone since the motor was going bad when i bought it. Rust also wasn't to bad considering it lived in Montana it's whole life.
Sounds like the only people who would yell that about your neon must've been insecure people lmao
I've owned and sold about 30 of these lil buggers. Love em. We had a big club in Canada. I had a '98 that hit 13.1 sec in the 1/4 mile, no turbo. Just crane cams, port n' polish, all the bolt on goodies, full interior gutting and a mopar pcm. I miss it dearly. It was a riot.
I've enjoyed them too over the years, I still have a 98 4 door I rescued from going to the wrecking yard about 6 years ago, people can bitch about them all they want, they did what they were meant to do, be affordable cheap transportation and contrary to most opinions, they were a reliable little car. It's just the majority of motorists don't know shit about anything mechanical, much less how to properly take care of things.
2:53
Seeing that KOTH clip completely made my day. Best show on TV, bar none. Great video!
I remember the Neon from when it first came out. It was a big improvement over the Shadow, but it still suffered from the same quality problems that many Chrysler vehicles did. But even in base form, it was still a lot more fun to drive than the Shadow that came before it
A girlfriend of mine had a 2 door first gen manual, can confirm, was fun to drive! But felt cheap...had a big personna as a car, always kinda like the basics on it....
I'll take a shadow over a neon any day ..loved my 87 turbo... Let alone csx versions of them . Most comfortable vehicle I ever owned ..
Plus best visor light great for cleaning and rolling on the pass side...lol
Yeah but I’d definitely take the Neon over it’s successors; the death-trap Caliber and the ridiculously overpriced Dart (which is just a compact Charger)
@@jonahgoldstein9905 Hmm...😑compact charger ftw.
Still rocking my modified 98 Plymouth Neon Expresso at 260k KMs. Love it. So much so that it's my second one.
I still see a few Neons still driving around in the roads of Nova Scotia, Canada. I saw a green one with faded paint and was parked by one of the Lunenburg restaurants. The Dodge and Plymouth Neons are examples of cars that are fun to drive, but are also ruined by shoddy build quality and reliability issues. But still, the first-gen Neons are like a FWD Miata. You still see some SRT-4s driving around and I saw one parked by Taco Bell on the way to Truro. I also saw a few Stratuses, Breezes and Cirruses driving around in my home province of Nova Scotia. Civic owners might have a good laugh. But the Neon can beat those Japanese compacts in racing. Especially when it comes to Showroom Stock where they were dominant. And, they are also favoured in ITA-Class racing. True to it’s namesake, the Neon is literally a Japanese Car Killer.
My SRT4 destoryed a new civic sir last month, she's still got it
Damn you're lucky. There's not a whole lot of compact cars from the 90's in my area (PEI), whether it's Chrysler or Honda, etc., most of them are usually rotted out.
Who else smashed the like button before the commercials were even over???
Awesome video. I don't care who judges me, I've ALWAYS LOVED the Dodge Neon. RT, ACR, or even base model. They've always had a place in my heart haha.
I had a blue 2004 sxt with the fast and furious neon undercar lights lol , it was fun little car.
@@RF-vg5kv That's awesome haha. I bet it got great gas mileage too😂
Right there with ya homie. I had an 03 base model that I slapped the matching red srt4 spoiler on and looooved it so much. It has 270k miles before it kicked the bucket. Even though I got a much newer car immediately after I was miserable in it and just wanted my little neon back! I’m happy in my newest car but I do still miss my old neon because I know whoever has it now won’t baby it like I did and it was still in amazing physical condition when we sold it to our mechanic.
Me too I love the dodge neon it is one of the best looking dodge cars
This is awesome. My Dad's best friend had one and he used it as a commuter for like 15 years. It just wouldn't quit.
The Neon was the most covetted car in my Driver's Ed class in 1996
When I took Drivers Ed summer of 1989 it was the Shadow
Lol nobody WANTS a Dodge
I graduated Class of 1996. My high school has a driver's ed lot in front of the school
I have so many good memories of my parents 2000 Dodge Neon. I actually learned to drive with it and took my test with it. It was bare bones basic crank windows, ac half the time wouldn’t blow super cold, tape deck and it was slow at times. But it sure was a good car to learn to drive with! It’s been almost 17 years since then.
Haven’t seen a neon in years. Figured they all got turned in during the cash for clunkers program.
I don't think they held up very well
@@WhittyPics The first ones didnt, the older years though, you can shit talk them all you want, they lasted forever as long you took care of it, i had one back in 2011, 2000 Neon, if i didnt drive it thru standing water id still have it today
Few of them are riding around my parts. All of them are in racing trim.
I believe cash for clunkers were meant for old gas guzzler cars, trucks and suv’s…..
Here in Memphis Neons are everywhere considering their age, I see way more Neons than Civics from around the same era. Actually the first gen Neon is one of the only 20+ year old cars I regularly see here.
The 95 model was my first new car and I loved it. The only extras I got were the automatic transmission and air conditioning. I maintained it meticulously and never had an issue In 7 years of owning it, well except for the peeling paint. Even so, I kept the paint issue at bay by constant touch up before it spread. I kept hearing how terribly unreliable they were and at 150k miles, I sold it to my nephew for a song. He drove it for another 50,000 miles with no maintenance. It was still running strong when he sold it.
I wonder what ever became of your model 🤔
Consider yourself lucky. So many of the early ones were total crap.
You had a unicorn....
@@adamtrombino106 yup sounds like it.
My neon was the same way i put 260k miles with no big problems
My first car - loved it, never left me stranded, had almost 244,000 miles on it when it got T-Boned
It was hard to be beat for sheer performance from a cheap economy car when it was released. I loved the all white look with the soccer ball wheel trims. When my sister was needing a new car in 2000 my dad kept asking me “what about one of those ..Hi.. cars?” Referring to the original advertising. She would up getting a Ford Focus ZX3.
I bought a 2000 Neon off my brother for $200 because the transmission was leaking like a sieve. I was a couple months away from starting college and wanted a fuel efficient car I could rely on for transportation, so I ended up rebuilding the engine and the transmission in it. Took me a couple tries to get the transmission rebuild right, but eventually did and I was immensely proud of that car at that point. It wasn't fast at all, but there will always be a soft spot for Neons in my memory.
The manual transmission versions were actually pretty bulletproof
My father purchased a '95 model in '94. It was a white base model with the grey bumpers and all. I learned to drive in that car and even took it to school a few times and to my first job. The car was legitimately fun to drive. Plenty of torque with the 2.0 and handled great for even being just the base model. I remember actually getting into a few street races with friends who had Cavaliers and Civics at the time and the Neon would always clobber them, lol. My father sold that car in 2008 and it was still kicking strong until the new owner installed new door speakers and car caught fire and that was it's demise. I had always wanted an ACR Neon but were always so hard to find one for a decent price. Nowadays, it's hard to even find a first gen Neon at all!
I had a 93 Plymouth Sundance (the last year of them) and it was a tank of a car. Great video by the way. The Neon was a very good affordable car from them.
93 was the last year? wack, i had a 1994 plymouth sundance dohc.
My mom got a new 4dr Sundance, 1987, good little red car 🚘. Good on fuel, held up to harsh winters.
I'd like to see videos about the Chevy Lumina, and/or the Chevy Monte Carlo, if you get a chance. We owned a 90 Lumina and a 2000, loved them both.
I loved the chevy luminas. They were bullet proof. I rented 1996. Loved it. Also do video on the 1996 chevy Monte Carlo. I loved that body style z34 package 📦.
I shall endorse the lumina but it was a piece of garbage when I had one...
The steering literally broke while I was making a turn and I had to like Coast to the side of the road after I exited the freeway
Meh.
-GM fan
@@rickc303 I take it you were more of a 1986 Pontiac LeMans guy?
@@jrussellcase nah.
1993 Cadillac Coupe Deville/Deville Touring Sedan/Sixty Special Ultra guy
Also 1998 supercharged Buick Rivera, and Buick Park Avenue guy
And 1992 Oldsmobile Toronado Trofeo guy
Hell, even 1989 Oldsmobile Eighty Eight Royale guy
Not counting the 1979 Cadillac Sedan Deville d'elegance, and 1989 Cadillac Brougham, being RWD
Oh also 2001 Pontiac Grand Prix SE (3.1, so some 60° love). And 1999 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP
-fullsize FWD GM fan whom also likes the Northstar, but not the awfully bland inside and out Lumina 😬
Manual trans 1986 Pontiac LeMans worh sport package would be a pretty cool car these days, much more impressive than a Lumina 😆
I didn't realise the Neon made so many different models. I never went to looks at them. Thanks Pat for another great video.
The only car I ever bought new was a 1996 Dodge Neon coupe, with Customer Preferred Option Package 22B, the Neon Competition Group. It came with a shorter throw shifter, different gear ratios, adjustable Koni shocks & struts, 150HP DOHC engine, 1/2" lower ride height, larger capacity, 4 core aluminum radiator, quicker ratio steering rack, road speed governor delete & rev limiter delete. It was a VERY fun little car. Very much a spiritual successor to the VW Mk 1 GTI.
I remember renting a neon back in 96, It was pretty impressive, drove well,and had good acceleration,only thing I didn't like was lack of insulation,had a lot of road and engine noise.
As I noted elsewhere on this thread (and couldn't find now) I rented a Neon for business purposes ages ago. And got a speeding ticket in upstate New York. Before I realized it, I was going 80 mph in the Neon. With the trooper right on my tail. 🚔
Maybe you could go off topic a bit for an episode, and do a video something that was on a lot of the cars profiled on the channel. I'm talking about whitewall tires. Something that was common on cars long ago, from the 1950s through the mid-'80s, and that you never see on any car these days.
I've driven two and was rather impressed with their ride, handling and acceleration.
Drove a Neon for years and loved it. When my family grew I traded up to a Durango. Good years. Never had an issue with it.
I actually really like the Neon
Would love to have one in a collection
Maaan, this video is straight nostalgia. My grandfather bought me a 99 Plymouth Neon Espresso for my first car. For it to have as many miles (220k+) as it did when I got, the fact the only reason I got rid of it (which I highly regret now) was the alternator going out shows the dependability of these forgotten hidden gems. I would buy another one in a heartbeat. Great Video, keep up the great work.
The Chrysler Neon like the PT cruiser where a hit when they were introduced in Europe.
After the more then average breakdowns and repair bills sales declined and only the Chrysler/Dodge/Lancia Voyager ( Town and Country in the US and yes it had 3 brandname changes !) was sold in Europe.
I have a 95 neon sport coupe with the 2.0 dohc that is 100% rust free and I built the hell out of it. People hear the lopy ass idle and think it's running bad until the light turns green. I love that you used a clip from that neon channel.
Love my 94’ sedan with the the 5spd. Fun to drive a light car, electronics are a little wonky thou
This video was worth the watch and the like purely for all the fantastic cut scenes lol. The neon was one of mine and my siblings favorite cars. We were like 8, 10 and 14 when they came out and we were in love lol. Remember our family took a trip to Disney in like 1997 and all we saw were Neons as rentals everywhere
I remember the introduction for the Neon. I had a shareware copy of TIE Fighter on my computer and you had to watch an ad for the All New Neon before playing the game.
Ahhh Tie Fighter
My parents bought a 2004 Neon new, still have it, and it's been a very reliable little car.
Back in the days Chrysler Neon was the best selling American car in Finland. None of them were sold with the 1.8. In fact I didn’t even know they offered a 1.8 in a Neon. All of them over here were 2.0 and majority automatics.
Back in the day o guess it was the second best selling American car in Portugal, after the Voyager. Voyager sold some thousands, neon sold I don't know.... 50? Something like that.
@@TheAllMightyGodofCod They sold more of them in Finland even though we’re a small country. Even up to 1010 Neons per year in 2000.
@@mikojarvinen6273 they sold ok here but you can't really sell a car like the neon In Portugal, too big of a displacement, and the quality/equipment doesn't match what would be expected for the price and size of the car but they did sold some....at least before everyone just wanting jeeps
@@TheAllMightyGodofCod Neons were genuinely good value for the money. Buyers here liked the fact they were getting decent performance in an economy car. Also the automatic was a plus, other manufacturers would ask high premium for automatic transmission. What did not neon offer than competitors didn’t? It was as cheap as Nissan Almera, had better options and more power. At the end of the day it was as crappy as its competitors, but more fun.
@@mikojarvinen6273 it depends on where you are... Although I genuinely think you would be better with a Neon than with a a bigger Chrysler, most people here bought them because it was a new car brand, one that they had only seen in American movies and thought they were good. Besides, for the space they offered they were very affordable but I would say they didn't get much for what they paid as pretty much no one went for a second Chrysler after the neon or any other Chrysler car...
It was one of those things that you try it out once and you move on.
Not like a Toyota or a Honda where you usually get good value for money and so, when you trade it in, you buy your second Corolla... Except if you die from old age before your Toyota did, in which case you don't need a second one.
Just discovered this channel I think it is amazing being so many memories please show more .
Almost bought one of those SRT Neons back in the day. Wound up getting a Dakota with the magnum V8. That was a miserable truck and I regretted not going for the little rocket Neon. I did test drive it and it was pretty darn fast for then.
The SRT neons had a couple issues as well
I'll never give up my Dakota Sport. Useful, versatile, economical, all with a 318, 5-speed and positrac.
@@JDMHaze Not really, just a lot of dumb owners and soft engine and tranny mounts, easily fixed.
@@ronaldjohnson1474 Maybe I just had a "bad" one. The dealer had to rebuild the motor at 5000 miles. It never ran right before or after that and the paint started peeling off the roof shortly after that. I was not hard on that truck, it was just trash and had numerous other problems as well.
@@gregvarner9562 I'm actually looking at a dakota currently, or rather trying too, there's one for sale on my way to work and it's just insanely clean for a northern truck. My only concern is they either seem like great trucks or rolling turds and IDK if I wanna gamble that.
Aside from that damn headgasket issue our Neon was a pretty trouble-free and fun ride. Clutchless shifting with the 5 speed was easy and she was quick for what she was. It was a nice little car for us.
can't wait for your video on the volkswagen fox!!
Me too! I had a '93 red Fox GL Wolfsburg
I have a blue '89 Fox GL as my daily project car rn lol
The SRT 4 was a beast! I would not mind owning one today.
Wonderful vid! My wife drove an 01 for many years, Patriot Blue!
Would love to see your take on the Acura Legend! My first 2 cars were a Gray 87 and a white 90, many great memories with those!
Acura Legends were awesome ...there are still some of those bad boys on the streets!
Look up Daewoo Arcadia. I've seen a few in person, the first time I did I was like... wait what? I think I even have a picture stored on my server from when I first saw it.
@@BigDapPacino a second gen 2 door built up would be a dream car for sure!
I remembered going to high school and one of my friends had one. I don’t remember the trim he had, but I remembered one time he took me home and when he turned on the a/c, I thought the car was going to stall for how bogged down the engine got and felt like the car struggled, which I decided not to get. I never got to ride in it, but I remembered my old supervisor at my old job had a copper SRT-4 and it sounded like a beast 🔥
The Neon was JUNK... I had one. Trunk leaked water . It had no suspension . It was like a horse drawn wagon. And the engine was garbage. I went through two of them . It looked good and that's why it sold . But all in all this may be the car that killed Chrysler
I don’t think this car did it. This was one of the least expensive car on the market except for Hyundai or a geo metro. People expected the low quality. If anything it was the same level of quality on the intrepid or the trucks that did it.
I bet it wasn't not the trunk leaked it was the taillight gasket was leaking that cause water in your trunk
My ex had a 96' that was awful lol. Keep in mind that she got this thing with only 30k on it and had it less than a year... She went to her car after work and opened the drivers side door... the door panel got stuck and pulled completely off the door as she opened it. One of her speakers made a loud popping and crackling noise whenever the car hit a bump... then a few months later she was picking up a friend.. he gets in... closes the door.. and the window (it was down) bursts inside the door. You couldnt even make this stuff up. Absolute pile of crap.
So glad I found this channel! I was a super car nerd in the 90s as a kid 😊
I would love to see the episode of My Old Car for Dodge Diplomat and other Chrysler M platform cars.
This was my first car. A midnight blue 05 SXT, that little workhorse never left me stranded AND I sold it after 250K miles. God damm I miss my little blueberry.
Do a pt Cruiser. My Mom used to own a '06 pt cruiser base red and 5 speed manual. Had for about 7 1/2-8 years and then got rid of it due to a bad transmission.
🤡 🚗
I love how you implement commercials for these cars in your videos it's sooo good👍🏻
I had a 93 civic hatch, friend had a neon same year. Civic still on the road. Neon is a great name for a small car. They just can't make them solid.
@Wolf's Garage first yr they came out
It came out in 95
@My Old Car : Great video and thanks for using the picture of my car at 5:26 haha ! This thing sees semi-regular track use, I bring it to shows and I event road tripped from Quebec to Pennsylvania two times for Carlilse Chrysler Nationals. Love this thing and will never get rid of it. Owned it for almost 10 years now.
Had the final year, floor model and fully loaded Plymouth Neon with sunroof, 6 cd changer, 2.4 liter Sports package, fog lamps and spoiler. What a fun car! The girls thought it was the cutest car. Because it was last one out the door, I also got 0% financing for 5 years.
I like this there were everywhere in my town here in Switzerland 15 year or so ago. Because we had a Chrysler dealer and some people bought the Neon. The last one I saw was like 7 years or so ago.
I had a 1998 Plymouth Neon in the Expresso trim. I think it had pretty much every option - fog lights, sunroof, and I'm pretty sure the DOHC engine. It at least had the hood bump that I think denoted the DOHC engine. Either way, none of the power of either engine mattered if you had the automatic -- a crappy 3 speed. It actually got WORSE highway mpg. Mine also had a really powerful and super cold a/c system that unfortunately sucked even more power. It was not a great car for summer trips to the beach. Not only did it drink a lot of gas but the interior was also loud as hell (and I don't think cruise control was offered on any trim in the first gen either).
Fun Fact: Chrysler wanted Universal Pictures to have the SRT-4 as the hero car in 2 Fast 2 Furious, but technical advisor Craig Lieberman put his foot down and convinced the producers to veto the idea. Instead, they used the EVO VII.
It did exactly what it was meant to do. Sold like donuts n coffee
If there was a car to bring back names this car could've been the Dart and Valiant
My brother's friend had one in highschool. (2001-2004) Had it all decked out with blue neon lights a sound system, tinted windows, turbo, ground effects and a cherry bomb. Was beautiful. I got to drive the SRT4 5 speed and it was definitely cool.
0:01 almost sounded like the better call saul intro
Neon had a great intro ad campaign (Hi.), right up there with DDB's VW campaign from the '60s. However, Neon was advertised starting at a phony $9995. The destination fee was $500 which was extremely high for its time, especially on an economy car, so no Neon ever went out the door for less than $10,495 (and that's if any dealer would even stock a base model). Similar scheme to what Ford is foisting on us now with the new Maverick pickup advertised at $19,995--but the always non-negotiable destination charge is $1495 making it in reality no less than $21,490.
I recall Plymouth dealers around here advertising a Highline Sedan with auto and a/c for $10,859.. My ex wife went to buy 1 in 96 looking for that price and model. Of course, they were 'sold out' and she bought 1 for nearly 12k w/o taxes etc instead.. To this day, I swear that was the same car as advertised, but with the price jacked up.
When was the last time you seen a Neon on the road?
See em around nc all the time
Honestly, I don't see too many cars older than 10 years old unless I'm in a poor area.
In NH. Never. Maybe 10 years ago I'd see them looking rough.
Its still one out where I live non modded
Week ago
I bought a 2001 Dodge Neon R/T my first year of college. It was a dealer demo with about 5,000 miles on it for $13,995. I drove it until 2006 when it had about 55,000 miles on it and sold it for $8,500. They may be a joke car now, but that car never gave me a problem other then the sunroof motor starting to have trouble sliding it back and forth shortly before I sold it. You could still open and close it by pushing the button and pulling or pushing on it. Haha. But I have to say it was a fun, dare I say reliable little car.
Would love to see a Dodge Lancer video!
The 80s H body, my favorite vehicle ever :)
I had a 1995 neon as my first car, it was heavily abused and out lasted all my buddies cars. I now have a neon SRT4 ACR because its the ultimate version of my first car, and its an absolute blast to drive.
I had a neon expresso. Great little car until the very commonly known problem happened. That head gasket blew. A great little car though.
Knowing these cars I'm surprised the paint didn't blow off as well
@@JDMHaze lol true. I drove mine from Washington to alaska, my brother said he was surprised I made it because my head gasket was trash. Lol
Just curious, What did the EXPRESSO mean? Was it just a trim? Or did it include anything special?
@@sirot5561 it was a concept car first, is definitely a odd looking concept. Then it become a trim for the plymouth line, which was a good value for the equipment you get.
@@sirot5561 honestly I think it was just a trim. It was a manual transition with a spoiler on the back and some extra horse power.
See a few Neons knocking about here in the UK in RHD of course. Great video my friend
That purple expresso version was the epitome of terribleness. I hated this car. The paint was horrible too. It peeled off. Even with this mess of a car, I can’t stop watching this channel! Keep these awesome shows coming please.
I remember the peeling paint down to the primer, especially on the white models.
That happened to lots of cars back then
That water based paint was the worst
I bought one for £500. Ran it with no problem for a year and sold it for £600. I wish all of my cars had been so good.
The first Gen Neons ,so unreliable it became a meme with Mechanics in the late 90s early 2000s.
Let me guess, head gaskets? In terrible paint chips coming off like pizza slices
@@JDMHaze Electrical Issues , map sensor , ECU , EFI troubles etc.
@@Durahan82 wow that's a surprise, while the electrical is a given with a chrysler or Chevy , and sometimes ford,, Chrysler is still muffing it up as we speak
@@JDMHaze Only their big Pick-ups where Reliable in those years.
The only major issue I had on my 97 was the headgasket. It has been pretty solid other than that.
I was friends in and for a while after high school with four brothers that were all into Neons. They come from a long line of Mopar guys, but Neons were so plentiful, cheap, and potentially fast that they were just a no-brainer for those guys. They all had quick Neons, the fastest by a LOT being a 2-door Neon Expresso that had the engine, transmission, interior and dash from a wrecked SRT-4, and it was gutted and crazy light and had a bunch of upgrades and tuning, I’m sure it was way over 300 hp. That thing was terrifying. The other brothers all had 2.4s from Breezes, Stratuses, etc. in them and were plenty quick themselves. I bought an ACR off of one of them, and was VERY impressed with its performance on the twisty mountain backroads I love to drive. I later had a second generation manual R/T, which was an almost equally fun country road car. I loved Neons. Cheap, fun, reliable, and unique. Shame they disappeared.
everyone I know that has owned a Dodge Caliber says it was the worst car the ever owned.
I had the Plymouth version 96 base, two door, 5-speed I bought used in 98. Was fairly quick little car. I had run with a 7 series BMW up I-57 going to work downtown Chicago in about 2000. He never shook me and I couldn't catch him, but it was fun!!!! It also got 30MPG at 90MPH w/the A/C on and full of passengers.
Do the death of buick
Buick isn't dead yet, unless you mean their cars, since they now only sell SUV's in North America. But they still sell a lot of cars and even minivans in China.
@@MyOldCar I was meaning their cars yes.
my moms dad had a Chevy nova. It would be cool if you did an episode on it! your videos are also cool
The tuner community back then referred to the neon with the dual overhead cam 2.0 as the “civic eater” because it was faster than the stock VTECH civic. Reliability could never touch the civic.
My 96 Civic has been a lot of problems but its old and will get what it needs
I had two first generation Neons. A 1995 Sedan and a 1997 Coupe. Damn I loved those cars. They just make you happy driving them! I will still own another one.
In before the SRT-4 guys scream it's not a Neon.
Dem mopar boyz.. love to brag bout there straight piped scat pack chargers and hell cats and srt
My first car was a silver 2005 Neon SE with a standard 5 speed manual along with manual windows and locks. God I'd loved that car, it got me through 2 accidents and was flooded during Hurricane Irma. I had it for about 5 years before getting rid of it 2 years ago which even when I got rid of it it only had 145k. God I miss that car!!!😭😭
I had a '96 coupe with the DOHC engine. Fun to drive but the most unreliable car Ive ever owned.
mo-powah, mo-problems lol
@@JDMHaze mostly electrical...
@@rsuffridge1 thats chrysler lol You might as well have bought a jaguar/land rover at that point lol... you would've got the same special treatment with the electronics
I have that base model, and yeah, it's slow, particularly when you don't have the throttle pressure cable adjusted quite right. 3rd gear at 30 mph no matter how far down, and no kickdown when I come off a corner. I think I need to tighten up the cable a few notches.
Other than that, super-easy to work on once you get to know them.The cheapest part is the lower center engine mount. I've replaced that 5 times now.
The Neon was cheaply built and performed poorly in the IIHS crash tests and weren't reliable
Thankyou I had the red 1995 Plymouth Neon Highline sedans with rainbow seats. Grandma left it to me in 2003.
MOPAR MO'PROBLEMS
"Fake news! Chrysler is the greatest car company, maybe ever. Trust me, everyone agrees."
- everyone, ever
Pt loosers are cool.. neons are great when on back of a chevy tow truck.
Loved my neon. My dad bought when first came out in 95 and mine was bought 97 year in 99 ..
Wish I could post a pic as proof but at 7:42 when you talked about the MotorSport Edition neon. That was a pic that I personally took back in fall of 2001 when I finished signing all the paperwork at the dealer.
I had a Neon with the dohc engine as a company car. Stick shift. It was a a blast to drive ! With frameless glass on the doors it was very noisy at highway speeds.
1:29 how concept included a trash compactor - lol new volvo v60 polestar has a center console trash bin. I can’t help but not like the idea of having a legit trash container in my car, especially a luxury car (as opposed to service type vehicle / van). It does seem practical, but all I can think about is the likihood of something gross going in there, and then needing to clean it out (gum, dirty napkins etc).
Great video! I think this was the video where I discovered your channel!
1996 Plymouth Neon black two door 5spd manual base was my first car! Bought it used in 1998, ran great for the first 6 years I had it, then the engine control problems started, sold it two years later. A decent first car, it was great on gas and I didn't have the paint problem!
The Neón was a good little car, my dad had one and so did I! It was about the best car Chryslers made..
I am driving an Elantra now and miss the drive of my Neons - highly under rated. The engine was engineered for the BMW 3-Series with Bob Lutz (coming off being the President of BMW) commandeering it to be tweaked to fit the small engine bay of the Neon. BMW dealers (in North America only) were furious and that engine was scuttled for the 3-series in that market. The original 3 speed was also Lutz pivoting when the planned 4 speed was having all sorts of issues and they just did not want it in another volume car until they pinned down a reliable fix for it - so they added computer control to the inexpensive but durable 3 speed from the Omni/Horizon series. I believe international (and Mini) often got a 1.8L not 1.6L (plus a nice woodgrain and leather interior option - in 2000 refresh - and darn nice grill I was sorry Canada did not get).
4:28 that highlighter yellow color was epic
Live in the midwest and neon and stratus cars were literally everywhere, I haven't seen any in a few years.
I had one of these and I loved it man that thing handled like it was on rails and it actually was pretty peppy
I used to make the interior parts for the neon at lear automotive in Huron Ohio. The quality was terrible.... Great work Sir thank you for the great work
Thanks for doing this one, the Dodge Neon was my first car had an old 96 4 door with a 3 speed, drove that car until the engine gave out.
1st new car w/ a note. Had a ‘96 & ‘98 sport. Fun car. Never got stuck in the snow.
Love these! Subaru Baja would be a fun video even though it has never been popular
Another fun fact is that the srt-4's were one of the few cars never equipped with a muffler from the factory.