This 1978 Plymouth Volare popped up on my Facebook Marketplace feed the other day and brought me back. Way, way back to the summer of 1981 between my junior and senior years of high school. I took driver education in dark red Volare just like this green machine and finding this kind of reminded me that I need to blog our Chrysler's infamous "compact".
Asking price for this an eyebrow raising $6,000. It has only 22,000 miles on its forty-four-year-old digital ticker so that and its freakishly good condition no doubt jacking up the asking price up and over the moon. Who knows what the story is behind why a non-descript grocery getter could still be around be in this shape. Most likely Granny's last car got mothballed after she passed and the family has finally decided to get rid of it. Asking price could be worse given this crazy used market. However, at the end of the day, it's just an old car. And a green Plymouth Volare four-door to boot.
I actually enjoyed driving the Volare I learned to drive in. It was much easier to handle than my father's hoary 1972 Cadillac Sedan deVille. Kind of peppy too despite it being loaded down with an instructor and four kids taking turns behind the wheel. I told the instructor that and he was amazed considering my father had a lordly Cadillac.
Then again, my old man's Cadillac had issues. Lots and lots of issues.
The Plymouth Volare replaced the Valiant and Duster in Plymouth's lineup starting in 1976 and they were a disaster. Not so much on the sales front, at least at first, but these cars were plagued with recalls.
There were issues with the brakes, fuel system, suspension and door latches, locks and even the hood latch. Then there were issues with the cooling system, seat belts and exhaust too. All that making this all the more remarkable. At least the venerable "Slant Six" kept on chuffing with little drama - with all of 90-horsepower. There was a 318-cubic inch V-8 available that made 120-horsepower too. Holy smokes. And I thought the six in my Driver's Ed-mobile actually had some poke. I guess I had no idea just how bad we all had it back then.
Full disclosure, I failed my first driver's test, but I don't blame that Volare. I'd say it was too much time having passed between the end of driver ed and my taking my road test. That and taking my road test in my father's loathsome Cadillac. My high school didn't offer the Volare to us for road tests, but I wonder how I would have done had I taken my road test in it. By the way, the listing for that Volare is still up after some eighteen weeks.
In Italian, "Volare" means "to fly".
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