Talking Cars
As I grew up watching the ‘Horsepower” race evolve into what it is now, along came some cars that just never made any sense. There are cars produced in limited numbers that are so bad, they aren’t worth hardly anything. One of these cars was a 1978 Plymouth Volare Road Runner.
Back in 1976, Chrysler Motors took the Duster model and tricked it out, transforming it into a Road Runner. I think, to this day, all of the engineers who created this must have been doing really good drugs! They ruined a fast car so badly, they ended up only producing them for 4 years: 1976 to 1980. What was so insane was that the Volare had a slew of engine options. But, no matter what the engine was, the outside trim package stayed the same. It boasted the proud name “Road Runner” right along the bottom. Some car enthusiasts say this car might have had a record for longest name. Like, the “Plymouth Volare Road Runner Duster #43 Sport Kit Car?” I don’t think all of that would fit on the registration. But they were made to please the customer!
The ‘78 Road Runner was a lost cause right out of the gate. They had the gall to make one with a 225 slant six motor. That Road Runner had a whopping 140 Horsepower and did 0-60 MPH in a sick 14 seconds. Engine sizes were all over the place, with the fastest option being one that had a gas guzzling 360 V8 four barrel. That gas monster only boasted 220hp, and got 12 miles to the gallon. That’s highway mileage, folks. The ‘78 Plymouth Road Runner would soon have a reputation for being a sporty looking car that was a pooch, or what we call a “dog,” in terms of power and get-up-and-go. It was supposed to be a hot rod! Yeah right, it was far from that! Chrysler bragged about the Volare having a beefed up suspension system, and a better drive train. They even beat their chests, hyping that you could get a Richard Petty edition that only came in blue, with a #43 door decal. Wouldn’t that make you want one? However, the #43’s were only limited, with around 1,000 being made overall. Many car collectors thought for sure that the #43 Volare Road Runner would fetch 6 figures some day. Right now, if you had one in excellent condition, it would only be appraised at around $8,000.
The 1978 Road Runner was a mixed bag of being simply just a worked over Valiant. It had a Duster rear end, complete with Duster tail lights. The front grill was a Duster/valiant/ Road Runner mess of a combination one could only dream up when hungover. The body style itself was a carbon copy of the Dodge Dart. So, Dodge made an “Aspen” with the exact same body style, and sold many of those with a 318 V8. Two can play that game! The worst thing of all were the color combinations that Dodge came up with, and Plymouth was even worse. They had multi-colored outsides and checkered seats inside, which were also bucket seats with no console – unless you ordered it with a 4-speed. No matter what Chrysler/mopar did to make a Roadrunner or a Volare appealing, it just didn’t “do it” for consumers. At the time, Corvettes, Camaros, and Mustangs all ruled the sales.
I hope you enjoyed the story of the failed ‘78 Volare Road Runner because it stands as a historic failure in the world of making cars. Email me at joseywales2@gmail.com See you next week!