1986 Chrysler LeBaron | Retro Review
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- čas přidán 14. 07. 2021
- The mighty LeBaron gets a few nips and tucks for 1986.
Show 506 | Originally Recorded 10-21-1985
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My grandfather had a gold one. Most comfortable yet slowest car I’ve ever driven. But we grandkids kept driving it long after my grandfather was gone. Good memories
You can't legally buy a gold car until after 60.
I think everybody’s grandfather had one of these in the ‘80s
@@wdrauch I love american cars 1980s. 1985-1988 is my favorite, Chrysler Lebaron 86 too
These videos always take me back to my childhood
Craig was looking buff in this one! 💪🏼
Dang 🤔👌
Craig Swolhaus
Yummmm
If I could I'd want to relive the 80-90s once again.....cars been one of the reasons. ⏮
Are you kidding? 1980's cars, especially 1980's American cars, were the absolute nadir of automotive engineering and workmanship.
@@MDavidG1 lol they were honest.
@ MDavid G
Sure
Like the 1984 Dodge Caravan that started an entire decades long segment of automobiles.
Like the Buick Grand National which formally ended the Malaise Era.
Like the Corvette C4 that finally gave America a true sports car.
Like the Ford Taurus which European and Japanese cars would finally catch up to in style a decade later.
Like the Oldsmobile 442 which had specific power that even Honda wouldn’t equal until a decade later.
And cars that you still see on the road today.. because they didn’t rust to nothing like Japanese cars nor become one giant electrical fault like European ones.
Oh yeah… everyone longs for the good old days. Everyone remembers themselves in a GTO or a Hemi Cuda or a Mustang Mach 1 when really it was Axel Foley’s crappy blue Chevy Nova with a 230 and a two speed Powerglide with a 2.73 open rear end and bias ply tires… making 70 SAE Net horsepower to the wheels but still returning 13 MPG.
Why? They were kinda shit. Just better style.
@@Bartonovich52 Don't forget the late '80's Buick LeSabre, which routinely sat at or near the top of Consumer Reports highest reliability ratings, ahead of models from Toyota, Honda and even Acura for a while. (I could never really figure that out...most GMs were awfully unreliable from this period.)
"I only see one LeBaron. Where's your LeBaron, Freddy?"
Damn! Singhaus was ripped back then! Miss having him on the show
“John Voight owned this” 😎
I came here to say this!
“Everybody’s talkin at me
I can’t hear a word they’re sayin.
Just driving round in John Voight’s car.”
" no it was justified. He thought i was going for his wallet"
Just a drivin around in John Voight’s car.
Frank Sinatra had one,a station wagon,a town and country.
The 2.2 and 2.5L motors were great. Loved my Sundance and so easy to work on.
2.5 great engine. I love Chrysler Lebaron 1986, efficients brakes, great espace inrerior and confortable
Thank you for the LeBaron review video. It is interesting how many Chryslers used that platform and how Chrysler kept modifying the platform over the years. I remember when Chrysler was putting the LeBaron name on many cars just like Oldsmobile was putting the Cutlass name on many cars during the same era.
Funny how Cadillac tried to "spruce up" an economy car sibling Cavalier and failed miserably. While Chrysler was much more successful in their transformation.
Plus Chrysler had the advertising 1-2 punch of Ricardo Montalban and Lee Iacocca to push these.
@@catlover15301 oh yes - the Corinthian leather!
It helps that Chrysler was seen as more Olds-Buick competition by that point instead of facing Cadillac. Nobody gave GM grief for the fancy-Cavalier Buick Skyhawk and Oldsmobile Firenza.
Volkswagens and Audi’s are much better than any Front-Wheel Drive Vehicles from any of the Detroit Three from this era
@@catlover15301 James earl Jones was also on board for marketing in this era
“Plymouth Aries”?!?! Oh, John…
Nice catch, I noticed that too. Im shocked he didnt know the proper Dodge/Plymouth models...
Exactly, @@jeepthing98. Plymouth sold the RELIANT, remember, John?!!!!!
@@landyachtfan79 My mother bought a Reliant and the door almost fell off in the first year. Absolute junk. The dash was like tinfoil. The very essence of cheap.
@@burningblue1254 "Reliant"
@@JohnSmith-wx9wj Reliant on life support.
5:16 with all that plow and understeer, the camera man had some cojones standing there filming this thing coming right at him.
Lol 😂
The basic square design offered good functional passenger space and rear visibility. The rear deck is lower than in today’s cars. In cars of this era the rear deck was roughly the same height as the front dashboard. This offered good rear visibility. Today’s cars have a rear deck higher than the front dash thus limiting rear visibility which is why rear cameras were deemed necessary.
I watched a green convertible model of this car going the wrong way on the interstate pass between two trucks, catch on fire, crash through a motel room and still be able to make 70+mph on the freeway with a radio that was still clear as a bell.
Driver was a big heavyset fellow and the car had the "woody" look, right? LOL
I'd buy one of these new now if I could. My first car was an 83 Dodge 600. Just the perfect size and such a pleasant quiet ride.
3:45 Why did Chrysler think they had to put "RIGHT" and "LEFT" under the turn signal arrows??
OMG. 🤣In case you didn't know which way the arrow was pointing. Too funny.
Meanwhile the Germans were like, "ACHTUNG! You'll get one light for both turn signals. If you're too stupid to know which side you've turned on that's not our problem."
I actually think those were door indicator lights that would tell you if the right or left doors were open. I'm not 100% sure on that but fairly certain.
Because anyone that bought one of these cars was pretty stupid.
Chrysler's mainstay got an extreme makeover & a new engine for 1986. 0:42.......Um, that's DODGE Aries, John, not PLYMOUTH Aries. Plymouth sold the RELIANT, remember?!!!!!
That's the problem with so many variations of any particular car line.
I miss these cars, been ages since I've seen one on the road. I loved seeing it doing the 0-60 and slalom test.
My dad had a gray 83 LeBaron, silver with dark blue velour interior. He loved that thing. So much that he later got me an 89 DODGE Aries as my first car. Some of y'all see a K Car and you think of a piece of junk, when I see one I think of my Dad. 😀
Of all the K-car LeBarons, I like the dash on the 1983 the best, especially with the electronic package. The 1982’s had the same gauges as the K-car but with silver background, and in 1984 they had a new design for both the gauges and the overall design of the dash.
When I see a K car I don’t think about junk. I think about heaven.
Official car of the handicap spot in the church parking lot
😂
first car I've ever seen that failed the lane change test lol.
Government: "We need government sedans for our military, nothing but the BEST!"
Chrysler: "We give you..... The LeBaron!"
Military Personnel: "Gee, thanks."
They got stripped down bench seat model pea green Dodge Aries. Probably no LeBarons.
I love this car it's not bad it's just fwd that's what kills it . No matter what it saved Chrysler
Too bad they didn't review one that had the 2.2 Turbo.
The George Costanza of automobiles
It won a contest?
@4:17 all of those automotive classics in stately synchronicity
Cool video ! I remember these back in the day these were your regular Aries/Reliant in a upscale suit .
And it's instantly dated thanks to the Taurus/Sable being introduced the same year.
Hey I had one of those about 15 years ago! Paid 500$ for it and drove it until it died... which took about 3 months. I just needed a car, any car. Cruise control and A/C still worked. Ride was ridiculously floaty. The engine just eventually refused to crank (even with a boost) after I let it sit for a couple weeks.
1:01 80’s off duty cop vibes
That belt sure is tight, but the shoulders look good 😄
My mom's girlfriend had this car in that exact same color back in the 90s. It was a formidable beast that held on throughout the decade for her.
I remember how poorly made all the k-cars were. All built for people who HAD to have a new car when they really should have just bought used. They did offer that 7-year limited powertrain warranty though...
Thanks MotorWeek!
Like the Cutlass name....Lebaron was applied to too many different models...you had this sedan, the Lebaron GTS five door hatch...the coupe and convertible which broke away with it's distinctive body redesign in 1987. I recall in a Chapel Hill, NC shopping mall, the local Chrysler dealer had a new 1988 Lebaron sedan like this as a display model. And while I'm sure it was a comfortable car to ride in, I could think about how it was being outpaced by the newer Taurus and Sable...plus the new Accord and Camry. By 1995 the Lebaron nameplate had run it's course and the innovative Cirrus/Stratus cloud cars took their place...and the convertible was renamed the Sebring.....
Everybody's talkin' at me
I can't hear a word they're sayin'
Just drivin' 'round in Jon Voight's car
😂😂😂 I love Seinfeld
Forget the Volvo, I want this because Jon Voight owned it
I remember my day having a k-car convertible when I was young. Being a curious kid sitting in the back, one day I lifted up the rear floor mat and I saw something moving. It was the road beneath us lol
Ford: *I'm about to end this whole man's career*
Yep, that Taurus snuck up and up-ended everything.
"No Baron has ever owned a LeBaron." Jerry Seinfeld
My folks owned 2 K cars, a Reliant wagon with a 2.2 and an Aries wagon with a 2.5 (owned both at the same time) and they were great cars, my Dad did all the maintenance work and we never had any major issues. The engines were easy to work on and got great mileage (this was the mid to late 90's and we bought both used). Oh I know, "they were all junk and Japan builds everything the best" yeah we get it, cool story, I like my K cars.
Why do I feel like Lee Iacocca was holding a pistol to John’s head when he was preparing the script for this segment……😂
Laugh at this car all you want. The "K" cars made Chrysler STACKS, And that's the bottom line (literally) in business.
@@jamesslick4790 Ehhhhh.....what the K car did was keep Chrysler from disappearing entirely. You can still see Cavaliers and Cieras and Celebrities from that period. The K cars are almost completely gone, as they were junk on the showroom floor.
The K car, partnership with Mitsubishi and the acquisition of AMC to get Jeep saved Chrysler. Lee is arguably the greatest auto manufacturer CEO of all time.
@@Drchainsaw77 There's nothing you said that invalidates what I wrote.
My parents bought a Reliant K wagon new in 87 with the 2.5L motor and it was a really solid and durable engine. We got rid of the car 13 years later with a solid 130k miles basically for scrap.
Back when we still scrapped a car at 100k! Now we expect 3x that.
Is it weird if i say i want one?
Because i do really want one now
Wouldn't mind one myself
Lebaron cars are so neat in its own way :3
I knew John Davis was going to geek out about those gauges
The 2.5L was a $279.00 option and was a MUCH better, more responsive and more economical engine than the MCA 2.6L it replaced. For 86, Chrysler had revised the cyl head on all 2.2 and new 2.5L with better combustion chambers. Larger head bolts were used ( so 85 and older blocks do not interchange) 2.5L got a stronger nodular iron crankshaft, stronger connecting rods and better oil pump. The TBI system was a new low pressure unit that was more reliable than the high pressure Bosch system of 84-85. They used it through 1995. Yes it was slow by today's standards. No the car couldn't handle, and it wasn't designed to do so. Yes it was a dressed up Aries. But Chrysler built and sold hundreds of thousands of them, 82-88 anyhow. Rust was the #1 enemy.
I love these things. Have two K wagons and a J convertible of my own haha.
Seeing Craig Singhaus as a tester is a vibe
What would Volvo engineers think of this death box on wheels
they were OK, stop
And your opinion is based on what? Your ignorance?
Volvos were overrated.
The 700 Series had a serious flaw with roof strength. That’s why the C pillar on the 900 Series looks so different.
These cars were very good and had also a good mileage! ❤
When my parents decided to replace Mom's 100K-plus mile Honda Civic, she wanted the Subaru GL wagon with the five speed that they found. Dad wanted her to test a LeBaron. She drove it, he drove it, and they came home with the Subaru. Dad said he was shocked that the Chrysler was so junky. They never regretted buying the Subaru and replaced it with another one.
My family had two Subarus GL wagons (a gold '83 and champagne '87) back then and the only regret about them was that Rusty Jones lied about his protection... both those things started showing major rust in like 3 years flat
I have one of these. Out behind the barn the owners of the house before me parked it there in '91 and you can still see part of the roof that has yet to return to the Earth.
Ah yes, an ‘80s Chrysler. The paint would never look that good again.
@@thirdstar9255 - What’s a “millennal”? I though boomers were suppose to be smart.
@@MyerShift7 - Yeahhh, no. Chrysler’s paint quality throughout the 80s, 90s and 00s was horrible. Recall the K-cars, the Dakotas, the Shadow/Sundance twins…. even the 2nd gen Rams had paint issues amongst other things.
They could teach Honda a thing or two about paint.
It’s impossible to see a black Civic or Accord from 2005-2015 that doesn’t have peeling clear coat or peeling paint.
@@Bartonovich52 - Those Hondas had problems (many of which were repainted by Honda under a customer support program), but Chrysler of all companies is in no position to “teach” anyone else anything about paint durability.
I like these K-cars, been growing to like 'em more and more throughout the years.
Typical CZcams poster on any old car review video:
"My parents had one of these and it lasted 300,000 miles with no problems. My better quality than my cousin's Camry. This is when America made great cars, not like today's junk."
I agree for the money these K cars were decent and fairly reliable and cheap to repair .
So true...every make.
I owned an Camry and received my mother's hand-me-down Acclaim. The Acclaim was definitely the better car long term. Better built. Better handling. Roomier. More comfortable. Cheaper to repair and far more reliable. It was also easier to work on.
The Camry rusted to nothing decades ago.
Spruced up Dodge aries lol
Lord that dude that opened the hood was jacked
Good Review Of 1986 Chrysler LeBaron. 😀👍🏻
I bought a 1986 brand new in 86 & drove it for 18 yrs. it had every option on it you could think of
Wow. Even when new these things sagged in the rear.
Would be awesome if you guys could show a J body Lebaron review! I'm restoring my dad's 93 car and would love to see a proper review of the car...
This reminds why everyone was flocking to Japanese cars.
0-60 in 14.2 sec…”sorta long acceleration “…sorta unsafe acceleration.
Nothing"sorta" about it even in those days
Just remember that the std 2.2L TBI was even slower, and so were those built with the MCA 2.6L, which the 2.5L replaced... Here's something rather 'funny'.. Cars that had the 2.5L came with the 'performance' 3.02 ratio final gear as well. LOL
@@adamtrombino106 And the mitsu 2.6 was carbed. The 2.5 TBI was superior in every way in the real world. Just with that awful 3 speed automatic even teenager me didn't bother to ever floor it there was no point. But with the 5sp stick they were actually pretty decent and you could drive one today without getting run over.
@@303nitzubishi4 Considering 60 mph was faster than any legal speed limit when this car was produced, I wouldn't call it unsafe. And as someone who daily drives an old truck with similar acceleration numbers I have no trouble keeping up with traffic.
Nothing unsafe about it.
It’s just that modern drivers are so spoiled they know nothing about energy management.
So I was driving home on the highway… I lived a little ways out of town.. in my 1985 Volvo 744 with the non turbo 2.3, four speed automatic.. and at the time it was 24 years old and had 400,000 km.
I was coming up to an S197 Mustang GT just riding the ass of a truck and travel trailer on a windy two lane blacktop.
I knew every passing lane, the approaches, the sight lines, and how long they were. One was coming up so from a dozen car lengths back I punched it to time my arrival at the Mustangs rear bumper with the dashed lines.
The Mustang couldn’t see anything and was riding the brakes constantly.. being at a severe energy disadvantage by the time I was closing in. One quick look around the right as the curve ended and the stretch opened up.. nobody, out I go.
Passed the Mustang, and the truck and trailer and got back in just as the double solid came on. The Mustang pulled out behind me but he realized it was too late as another corner came on.
It’s too bad I drove a Volvo. He probably thought I had a turbo. I could have done the same thing in my Buick Skyhawk (0-60 with a 2.0 pushrod 4 and three speed auto was 18 seconds).
There is literally nothing unsafe about a car that accelerates that slowly. In fact, excessive acceleration often encourages people to be bolder than they should.
As a car kid, these smaller k-cars never registered on my radar until Chrysler elongated them even more in the late 80s and changed every control on the dashboard digital. The days when the Chrysler started using the Mitsubishi V6s.
Was waiting to see the hubcaps roll off the car during the slalom.
They're bolted on.
I love Chrsyler LeBaron, my favorite car 1985, 1986, 1987 and 1988
It was a k-car that had a suit.
I laughed when he said 25mpg out of a 100 horsepower 4 cylinder.
Why?
@@curierfromxibalba1155 because that's bad
@@dabnisbrickey6527 compared to what at the time?
3 speed auto with a non lock up torque converter. With the std 3.02 final gear, that car was pushing 3k rpm at 70 mph. 25mpg was good with that set up!
@@adamtrombino106 test loop for highway is 55mph at that time.
Interesting seeing these cars now in 2021
I miss my four door 1983 Lebaron as the seats had couch like comfort
1:00 DAAAAAANG Craig Singhaus looking SWOLL
My 1985 version was guttless I was glad to see it go.
I had a Silver 4dr with the 2.2, I actually miss the car, it was simple, comfortable, easy to service and was just a good easy driving car with a bit more bling than a K car!
Squeezing in the backseat is almost easier in a coupe!
My parents used to have a Plymouth Voyager with this same engine (in 1994!), combined with an awful 3spd auto. It required wide open throttle to even have a chance at maintaining speed up hill, forget about accelerating up hill. It’s amazing how they can get so little hp and torque out of such a large 4cyl. Today we easily get 2x as much hp and nearly 2x the torque out of the same size engine with even better economy.
It's called technology. You would hope that in 30 odd years it would improve!
my sister had a 86 dodge 600 2dr which was the same car but dodge version. hers had the the optional turbo. with that turbo option it scooted.
Leredbaron makes a decent reasonably priced frozen pizza
I believe this car would've benefited greatly with the 225\60\14s that my 86 Grand Am had
These cars were so underpowered that when you turned on the air conditioning the car would slow down.
Bruckell Legran
In the late 1980’s, they changed the look of the Chrysler LeBaron. The door handles looked different.
0:44 - small flub... Plymouth Reliant/Dodge Aries, take your pick.
My Aunt had one of these..... That thing was in the shop every other month for 10 straight years. Endless money pit.
My dad had a baby blue or gray one with a turbo in the early 90s
Hard to believe this is the car that saved Chrysler back in those days.
I was in love with the 1987 (forward) convertible model. Good thing I didn't buy one, as so many of these series disappeared within five to seven years. One expensive repair, and the K-mart cars got thrown in the trash heap.
1986 was the final year for the K-body LeBaron coupe and convertible; likewise for the Dodge 600 coupe and convertible.
I love how positive the review is...but it's not really - he's very critical of the car without saying it's a pile of dreck
The older body style is my favorite, but these were also very good looking cars.
Yeah, they must have put literally hundreds of dollars into the styling of this junker.
@@windwalker121 I wouldn't say they're junk. I still see a lot of them on the roads today.
Nowadays, 0 - 60 in 7 seconds (half the 14 second time of this car) is nothing to write home about. Those were the bad old days in automotive terms.
That was V8 territory at this time
The _ONLY_ V8 that was getting to 60 in under 7 seconds at the time was in the Corvette. The Mustang GT, Camaro IROC-Z, and Trans Am GTA would just barely sneak under 7 seconds two years later.
Most V8 sedans were absolute boats with less than 150 horsepower and getting to 60 well above ten seconds. Coupes with sporting pretensions like the Monte Carlo SS and Ford Thunderbird still took on average 9 seconds to get to 60.
It's interesting how the interior doesn't live up to the padded-roof Brougham promise the exterior makes. It's still plush by '80s standards and Chrysler's overstuffed seats were just that bit comfier than the ones in an equivalent GM, which in turn were better than the skimpy Japanese or rock-hard VW ones or the lumpy Ford seats that forced you to slouch whether you wanted to or not. But it's the exact same interior as in a top-trim Aries/Reliant.
A fine old american car. I'm surprised they didn't test one with the hemi though. I sure wish they still made em' like this!
The 2.5L is the engine that replaced the 2.6L Hemi from Mitsubishi. If you watch the 1982 LeBaron Convertible video, that was tested with the 2.6.
what a lovely car
Jon Voight was probably annoyed by his car saying, every now and then, "a door is ajar."
Damn, they didn't even try to make it more luxurious than a Dodge or Plymouth, just slap on paded vinyl roof and an upright grill.
It was still the late 70s formula: Add more fake wood trim, more chromed plastic inside, thicker carpets with more sound deadening, more stainless trim on the outside, and more power accessories that the Aries and Reliant couldn't get, to dress up a std chassis. And don't forget to add some sort of roof treatment...
No redeeming qualities back then, no redeeming qualities now. It wasn’t until the early ‘90’s until Chrysler made a good family car. I still like the looks of the first generation Chrysler LHS, Dodge Intrepid, Eagle, etc.
Sadly, the K platform was far more reliable than the LH platform ever was. Unless you bought a turbo.
I want one with a warranty!
Didn’t John Voight drive one of these? 🤣
People in my family owned a Chrysler LeBaron.
Well, at least swapping out ac compressors would be a piece of cake.