1974 Plymouth Duster - The Rest Was History

If you're of a certain vintage you may either had one of these or knew someone who did. Plymouth Dusters were as common place thirty to forty years ago as Camrys and Accords today. If I'm not mistaken this one hails from model year 1974. 

One of Chrysler's few bright spots back in the early '70s, the Duster was a nice combination of styling, practicality and value. They were also much less expensive to purchase used than an Oldsmobile Cutlass, Chevrolet Monte Carlo or Pontiac Grand Prix. Despite their size they were classified as compacts. Then again, all cars back in the 1970's were bigger than they are today. 

They were, often times, also far less equipped overall than those personal luxury cars were. My only time spent behind the wheel of one was one that had no power steering or brakes. Being as light as it was its "Slant Six" was quite responsive and out and out impossible to steer or brake. Driving it reminded me of my one or two times riding a horse and feeling I could die at any moment. 

Based on the Chrysler "A-body" platform that also underpinned the far more prosaic Valiant and Dodge Darts of the time, Plymouth made the Duster between 1970 and 1976. Dodge marketed a similar looking version of it they called "Demon" in 1971 and 1972.

Plymouth dropped the Duster for model year 1977 replacing it, in essence, with a two door version of the updated Valiant they called "Volare" they had introduced in 1976. I was always fairly lukewarm to Dusters, they were just "ok" to me. That said, they were far more cool than any Volare ever was.

The whole Valiant-Duster-Volare debacle just one of a number of blunders Chrysler made back then that led them to the brink of bankruptcy and the '70's melted into the '80's. Chrysler eventually replacing the Volare with the K-car. The rest, as we say, was history.