1995 Dodge/Plymouth Neon | Retro Review
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- čas přidán 15. 07. 2020
- Anyone still have a 5-speed Neon? Bonus points if it's Barney & Friends Purple!
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I distinctly remember their, “Hi.” marketing campaign. These flooded used car lots for a decade and seemed to have disappeared just as quickly as they became popular.
Yeah they became disposable pretty quick. Even the 2nd gen was pretty well-received back in 2000 yet you rarely see them now. I'll see a Chevy Cavalier from the same era quicker than I'll see a Neon surprisingly, even though they both seemed equally popular.
Corion H for real, I’m almost astonished how rarely I see them. About 20 years ago I had a ‘95 Highline with a 5-speed. It was fun to drive (when it could drive), but it was a lemon that left me stranded more often than it got me where I needed to go. I wonder if its disappearance can be attributed to Cash for Clunkers.
Idk I have 7 neons and daily drive one 🙆♂️. I don't think anyone else at my job drives a car older than 2000.
I see plenty of neons. Haven't seen a cavalier in years.
On the rare occasion I see a Neon, its 2.0L engine is usually burning copious amounts of oil if not knocking as well.
It's amazing how quickly these disappeared from the streets. When you see one it's surprising.
I'll second that. I saw one a few months ago. I had to triple take and then stare. It wasn't in great shape, but by God it was still running.
Cheap used cars often don't get repaired, unless the owner is a DIY person. I don't see that many '90s Civics anymore, but many that I see are pretty beat but running.
JUNK!!
@Samuel Dumas hahaha I'm Mexican and some of my familiars had these cars during the early 2000s to the year 2018 those cars were ugly and annoying those engines sounds like a blender greetings from Tijuana BC .
I’ve got four 1st Gen Neons in Michigan. I think most have either rusted away or snapped their timing belts destroying the valves. Gotta love interference engines.
I remember these things EVERYWHERE back in the day.
And then one day they're gone! I can't remember the last time I've seen one on the road.
They were disposable cars.
@@johnjones393 I see one once every now and then but it's pretty rare. When I do see one, it's clapped out bad
Especially on the back of a tow truck!
Lol, I remember driving this during Driver's Ed in high school and it just shut down while waiting behind another car to maneuver around the cones. The teacher was screaming at me to keep moving but I told him it what happened. He just told me to turn the ignition again and it worked. He told me I had to react quicker if I wanted to survive the real road. Thanks for jogging back that memory.
Manual or auto?
@@Abraxium If it's a driver's ed car, it's going to be an auto.
@@johnjones393 My driving school had manual cars.
@@Abraxium It was an automatic. Wished I knew how to drive manual.
@@johnjones393 I was going to say something like "that's called stalling with a manual, you silly American goose" and claim not in most European countries as EU driver licences note whether or not you have only for automatic directly on the card, but that argument fell through because I couldn't understand why these would make it to Europe at all. Fair enough, that is really weird
Still the only car that I've ever seen with power front windows and manual rear ones.
The base model Ford Focus had the same thing 2012-2017
That's still pretty common in Europe.
In Europe my family rented a Ford Focus and it had the exact same thing in 2013
Still very common in Ireland on cheaper spec cars
My stepmom’s old 2004 Audi A4 had that too. I always joked about it because would you expect such cost cutting from a “premium” car made in the 2000s
I am not really crazy about the Dodge neon. But I still think it is better than the Dodge caliber.
but the dodge caliber r/t is AWD
Almost anything is better than a Dodge Caliber.
True.
Nearly anything is better than a Dodge caliber.
I am not a pineapple but for what my opinion is worth, the Caliber was far more practical. A fold flat front passenger seat should be found in every vehicle that comes with a rear hatch.
This is what Chrysler needs today: a fun to drive small car that doesn’t look angry (I’m looking at you Dart)
The Chevy Sonic beats them all, hands down! Too bad GM has pulled the plug on these REALLY GOOD sub-compacts!
Most cars look angry these days. I hate it.
@@TheOzthewizthe Chevrolet Sonic is just a piece of garbage.
@@unitedcity_mc4421 It isn't a great car. But still better than the one it replaced, the Aveo.
Yes, I know the Sonic is basically a second gen Aveo. But they fixed a lot of the problems (Not all, but most) from the first generation.
Manual models were ABSOLUTE blasts to drive.
I had a SRT4 yes it was a blast to drive.
ACR's mopped the floor of Mazda Miatas R.
I had a '95 SOHC with the best lift throttle oversteer of any FWD car I've driven before or since.
Paul Jensen yeah right
@@kt81776 Please go ahead and read the SCCA autocross records for the 1995-1998 era. To be fair the only car that could consistently beat the Neon ACR was the BMW 3-series. But the 3-series cost roughly three times a Neon ACR's price.
Omg everyone had these or the grand am in high school ..... Then there was me with the Town Car,
I have a crown Victoria, that car is a beast
Living the highlife in high school lol
True. Grand Am guy here.
Town Car, the other two are not even close.
The only guy that could do a burnout lol
I remember when this car first came out. They had a daily commercial of this car zooming up and down country winding roads and at end of commercial it had the words Hi in the front of the car.
I remember seeing one wrecked in the junk yard. Somebody scribed bye on the hood.
MIGHT BE ONE OF MINE HAD 97 NEON RED 2 DOOR MADE IT TO 166K ON IT
IT WAS MONEY PIT REPAIR CAR
ONLY GOT 100 FOR IT
My Mom and Dad both had one. My mom had the green Dodge and my dad has a purple Plymouth.
I can never forget those days. My dad's was dusty and dirty and had cassette tapes everywhere and would always shift into neutral "by accident" while driving and my head would fly forward while he listened to R&B love songs. Meanwhile my moms car I only have memories of her dropping me to school and eating hash browns before school and seeing her face every day made mine light up after school ♥️Good times. Hers was SUPER CLEAN inside and out too 🤣 not dad's though 🤣
2:30 those are GREAT engine power(132/129) 0-60 (8.1) and 60-0(120ft) numbers for the time
You’re right that’s pretty good especially compared to a 2020 Nissan Sentra 2.0 with 149hp/145 torque 25 years later
Could have been better with DOHC engine and a turbo
@@applepoop10 The r/t had 150hp. Fun little cars to drive with a manual.
Isaac G yesss the corolla still puts out like 132 lol 25 yers later😂👀👀
POV KING even the SOHC was fun with a manual. Too bad mine was junk though. Didn’t even make it to 100k before it puked all over the place with a bad head gasket.
27 years ago and the car still seems modern. Too bad we don’t want small, efficient and fun to drive cars.
It's a piece of $hit.
I owned the second gen Neon and that was absolutely reliable up until 300,000 mi but no question that the first generation was just so much more fun to drive, plus they were really charming cars.
but people still want small efficient shit to drive SUVs
@@basshead. so youre telling everyone you got beat by a SRT4 Neon
I agree 💯
Say what you haters will about the Neon, I owned a 2005 (last model year before they stopped production)... bought it when gas prices began to soar... for a small compact car, this thing was durable, quiet, and trouble free for over 10 years. When I sold it in 2015, the paint looked brand new, and I had only ever replaced the tires and brakes. Not bad for a $15,000 vehicle!
bought a used 96 baseline when i finished university in 99...lots of fun memories with that car! =D
My first new car was a ‘95 Highline coupe...it was very reliable only needing a coil pack and routine maintenance over 110k miles. Over the years I converted it into a ACR version with sticky tires, Koni suspension and beefy sway bars. It ruled the autocross track, beating GTI’s and Integras. The SOHC was the engine to have as it was grossly underrated so they could sell DOHC cars for more money.
Mr. Regular: *heavy breathing*
Get out of here
I remember the bill boards for this car. “HI”
And then when the coupe came it, it was "Yo"
Funny that my wife bought this car twenty five years ago due to a dumb commercial from Chrysler with a mosquito chasing the car😂😂
the mosquito was actually RUST lol.
Isnt that a POLO ad???
LOVED my '98 five speed. 40MPG.
My first new car purchase was a 99 Plymouth Neon. While I got screwed on the financing (my fault admittedly), it was a fun car. It would get up and move, and it was very fuel efficient.
I'd be down to own another small car like it. However, that doesn't seem to be the case these days.
The closest thing to in nowadays is a used late model Dart, but I’m not familiar with its reliability or fuel mileage. It’s done pretty well with its resale value though and 6 speed manuals seem to pop up just as much as automatics.
@Katrina Balanchuk Idk much about Nissans, but the compacts I had for rentals a few years back were pure crap.
Katrina Balanchuk they’re CVT-only in the US, even the base model. Maybe you’re thinking of the Versa? It’s the only car left, save for the Z, that Nissan even offers with a manual transmission and it’s only a five-speed. Shame, really. Even the Honda Fit comes with six gears nowadays.
Another car thts impossible to find tht isnt riced out or destroyed...
Saw a riced Intrepid for the first time a few years ago, I though that was the only Chrysler car from the time that was immune to that.
Tons of stock ones out here but it's normal since the community here is JDM or KDM.
USDM cars get almost no attention out here.
@teletubbykiller54 now the ricer kids are moving on to the Accords and Civics from the mid 2000's to early 2010's
You looking to buy one? Mine's a 97 Neon Sport. 105,000 miles.
Thanks for the memory.
I bought one new and it was a great car. Loved the way it handled. My only problem was bad brakes. Wasn’t sure it would stop in time. Paint was great. No engine troubles. Looked new the day I sold it.
This video not only reminded me how great it was but why I bought it in the first place. This review when new, the car magazines plus the constant fun commercials. I was hooked.
Thanks MotorWeek. Keep it up.
These were sold as the Chrysler Neon in Australia and sold in small numbers. They were a bit more expensive than the rest of the competition and it's 3spd automatic was not liked at all by most people who drove it. It's oddball styling wasn't to everyone's taste either.
We had the Plymouth and Dodge
In America these things were admired by almost everybody, from kids to old folks. Nothing looked as modern as Dodge Neons did back in '94 when these came out.
The 3 speed was unfortunate. Because it had no overdrive the gearing was really tall for freeway use but that sucked the life right out of them. The manuals almost seemed like a different car.
@@lb9gta307 There was not enough space for the TE41 four speed automatic. The 2nd gen Neon had that transmission.
That was legit probably the best shifting American car manual of the era.
Seriously? That clunking thing? lmao
Owned one for a little over a year back in my early 20s thanks for the trip down memory lane motorweek
Had a loaner for a week, back in 1998 when my car was in the paint shop. I really liked it
The early - mid '90s were really the last of Chrysler Corp's halcyon days. Introduction of the Viper, Daytona IROC, Spirit ES & RT, Stealth, drastically improved Ram trucks, Intrepid (and other LH cars) and yes, the Neon.
Except that most of that stuff still broken down quickly and the Neon was still a throw away car that didn't last very long before it was ready for the scrap heap.
These were a huge jump from the k cars it replaced.
Except in longevity. I see more Ks still on the road than Neons these days... although neither are what you'd call 'common'.
Not sure what you mean, the K car was actually pretty decent.
K’s were actually pretty nice cars. Fairly quiet and smooth with good quality interiors. If only Chryco. could’ve made an engine with more poke and a 4 speed automatic they probably wouldn’t have been able to build them fast enough.
@@Pro1er The Shadows/Sundances and Acclaims/Spirits were decent cars
Huge jump.....BACKWARDS!
I had a '98 highline (all white with white rims - only looked clean right after a car wash). Loved that car before it disintegrated in true Chrysler fashion. Bought it for next to nothing and drove it across the continent and back while in college. My dad was a pickup guy and I took him out once for a little back roads slalom. He was terrified! He said it was like riding a roller skate because that Neon stayed planted to the road. Thanks, for the time machine MotorWeek!
Wife drove the 4-door Sport, I drove the 2-door Sport. For a young family with 2 kids and a new mortgage they served their purpose until we could afford better. Hers had the manual, and was a blast to drive.
The Neon was a well-designed car but not a well-engineered or a well-built one...sad, because the car held so much promise when it came out. It really did have class-leading room, performance and its looks were cute, if not a little too feminine. My then-girlfriend (now wife) test drove one, didn't like the cabin finish (plasticky door trim and awful switches) and ultimately ended up with a slightly smaller but definitely better-built '95 Mazda Protege. Good call.
Even in this video, you can tell the glove box door was apparently sourced from Fisher Price's plastics molding company.
That was a great call. My parents always went japanese in the 80s and 90s, with exception of an '86 Taurus. That car was a huge deal
Well was the car dangerous
@@okjeffy6581 Was what car dangerous? The Neon? How the hell do I know?
@@RoadCone411 all I’m saying is that I just don’t understand how a car with a cute little design deceive others. Like look at the Ford pinto. Some people thought it was ugly, but honestly i find it adorable. But it’s actually a car from hell as it explodes after someone touches it’s ass. (Sorry). I’m not saying that the dodge neon is dangerous exactly, I’m just wondering how something so promising can decieve the shit out of other people.
Build quality was perfectly fine for a car in this class and at its price. You're getting a Neon, it's a garbage car for people on welfare, it's not a Cadillac.
It was a fun car to drive and a quick one for the price! It had a really cool and standout design against the rivals of that time: Cavalier, Corolla and Civic and better equipped for sure.
I remember these neons my mom had a 96 and my aunt had a 98 I used to see these everywhere and now All of them went to junkyard heaven
They probably went to China, then recycled and sent back to be used in NEW FCA products!
I drove a car for the first time at age 15 in one of these Neons. It was a rental, and as a total noob, it was a hoot! You couldn't beat the view outward.
Im not a Dodge guy, but I remember these being pretty cool.
This car was absolutely perfect, except for one critical flaw: quality control. Everything from the paint to the auto trans and etc seemed to succumb to total failure at some point. But man, what I'd give to find a mint garage-kept 5spd in any of the fun colors. Perhaps they suffered in a lot of ways, but when they were in good shape, they really were such a fun little car.
Too bad the paint literally fell off these things.
chrysler quality
LOL that's true! 😅
For some reason I saw many Lapis blue ones with sheets of paint missing. Looked like a cow.
Along with everything else about that car
No it was the primer not the paint. And GM and Fords had the same problem back then also.
It’s interesting to see this car paraded with such fanfare, yet most of the comments are how they all disappeared.
What’s interesting is the process that makes cars disappear-and it’s not at all related to how reliable a car supposedly is.
The Neon was an affordable car that anyone could buy. They were also leased-lots of times by rental car companies as fleet vehicles.
This did two things. First, it attracted a demographic who could barely afford the car itself. They were abused and neglected. They weren’t washed. They were parked on the street. They didn’t have preventative maintenance. Etc. Also.. from the two to four year mark.. all of the lease and fleet returns flooded the used market. This meant that there were plenty of low priced ex-rentals which pushed private sales down further-or they went to trade on wholesale and wound up on used car lots for almost nothing.
This meant that even poorer people bought them and they were abused even more until the point where something as simple as a head gasket blowing made the car uneconomic to fix-because the cost of the repair was more than the car was worth.
Now.. take a supposedly solid car from that era like the Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic. No special financing and no leasing. You had to have a down payment and it wasn’t as easy to qualify-plus they were more expensive. There were also no leases available. Well... they attracted wealthier buyers who took better care of them. They also kept them longer, meaning fewer were available on the used market which kept prices up. Because the cars were worth more, people put money into them.
You still see the odd 1995 Toyota Corolla or Honda Civic on the road today. They are usually rusted right through and burning oil.. but people keep driving them rather than scrapping them.
Very interesting analysis. Granted that user and market has a lot to do with reliability, reputation, etc.
@Calvin Nickel yeah I still see lots of 1990’s Corollas still on the road. Same with Civics. But usually they’ve all been wrecked many times & tampered with by body shops & rusted out. I’ve never seen an automatic transmission Neon go more than 270-280,000 kilometres. That’s only an average amount of mileage for a Japanese car on the other hand. But I’ve seen only manual ones sometimes go 400,000 km. That’s really good for an American car. Sometimes Corollas last twice that though. None the less, if you want a reliable neon, make sure it’s got a manual transmission
5:10 I still have my Saturn. When's the last time anyone saw a neon on the road?
My 94 was a beast might still be out there driving around, Saturn was the most reliable small domestic by far, almost corrola tough
My 97 is in my driveway right now.
The Saturn S-series really was impressively durable, as long as you made sure there was still oil in the crankcase.
I just looked on FB and saw many 2nd gen Neons but none of the early ones. I actually would like one with a manual but won't search too hard! I think Chrysler should have built them in Mexico and upgraded them some. They were assembled in Illinois.
Whenever I pass my neighbor on the road lol
Their oval personality worked. You heard that Ford?
96-00 Taurus looking right back at you
Keye Haze Begun, the jelly bean car wars has.
I drove mine for twenty consecutive years. July 1995, Ft. Walton Beach, Florida. I paid *gulp* a whopping 16K. Black Plymouth Neon Sport Coupe. I beat that thing to death, in the rev limiter DAILY. I think I'm qualified to say this: Neon's were "throw away cars" never intended to last. Way too many quality issues, but it was the most fun I'll ever have driving anything. Gave it to my daughter December 2015. Steering and handling just as tight as the day I bought it. I like to think I got my money's worth - and so much more.
First new car I ever bought, a 95. Loved it!
They were really distinct looking when they came out, lots of features, superb power, handling, the early years ones had problems but I believe that was sorted out as the run continued, most small cheap cars weren't well maintained and get a bad rap I think (no oil changes, etc etc.)
A very impressive car on paper, but in retrospect none of these held up well at all. Still, at least Chrysler TRIED to make a competitive product and succeeded to a degree. I think that’s more than they can claim with pretty much anything in their lineup today.
Pacifica- #1 van in America, but sure, you know what's best.
HellKitty 101 - People still buy minivans? And #1 by what metric? Even if such foolishness were true, that’s like bragging that you’re the healthiest guy in intensive care. 😂
@@drivedb7 People buy garbage crossovers and breath through their mouths. Minivans make too much sense.
@@kirbyswarp -- Bah! Gimme a wagon instead. I'll take two, actually.
It’s sad dodge and Chrysler have always been poor quality, you’d think they’d have learned and improved by now. Unfortunately they still are “dumpster cars” as we call them in the US
I grew up middle class in the 90s...so many Neons and Sunfires around.
Both of which were poorly built and landed in the scrap yard long ago.
I have a green one... it's on my dresser... it's a plastic dealer promo model that was given out at Dodge/Plymouth dealers to promote the car back when it was new. :)
Simple, easy to fix, and cheap to maintain. It doesn't even need insurance. Now see this is where Chrysler could go with their future economy car models. Literally MODEL. LMAO. I think they might even be able to make a reliable die cast or plastic molded automobile that will last a long time.
2:57 Damn bro! You're gonna' kill that thing! You are not playing Pac-Man there.
I had a 98 RT (black with grey racing stripes) such a fun ride and fast for a 4 cyclinder... the car also was also quite comfortable. One of best cars I owned over the years. I still miss it
I guarantee to be faster than the modified Honda Civics or Toyotas that was the best part
A lumber yard I worked at in the 90’s had a few of these for their company vehicles. Base model, crank windows, manual trans, no A/C. Yet, with the stick shift, these were kind of fun to drive.
God I miss my 95 Plymouth neon. I used to hit 140mph scary but fun!
That was no 98 horsepower. I bought it a long time ago for $850 and started to modify the engine like a bigger camshaft and a aftermarket ECU had it tuned and some Headers and 800cc fuel injectors it was a complete shit bucket but what fun I had only thing that was scary was I never got to change out those skinny 195's tires!
I haven't seen one of these in the wild in a long time. I almost forgot that it was made.
I believe MOST people would like to forget these ever existed!
Who is the “hottie” driving that Neon.....😍
Probably 50 and married/divorced with kids in college. lol
From the looks of that haircut, I think it's Karen
Smokin' HOT! She COULD even sell me that POS rattle trap!
I had one of these (coupe sport with the DOHC). It had a larger rear sway bar, Koni Yellows, and mopar race springs. This car on R compounds was an absalute blast to drive in the twisties!
I still see early Neons around here from time to time.
SO many girls in my high school had these.
I had the 1997 coupe automatic. It was an ok car but fell apart. And the paint chipped off and the body rusted as a result.
WELCOME to Chrysler "quality"!
Yes, the only quality piece that would last a while was the Pentastar on the grill. Wait? Maybe not.
What a classic, wish they were more popular in England I’ve only seen a couple
A co worker of mine had a Neon that had crank windows in front and power windows in the rear. I later found out front and rear power windows were two separate options. Talk about a-la-carte
Everyone has been wondering where these cars have gone in the last decade. Well, im here to let you know that nearly every one either rotted out, or exploded. The junkyards near me were riddled with the bastards. And then they all just vanished one day. I can honestly say that I haven't seen a neon in any form in at least a year or 2.
Once again, Chrysler had their great ideas down on paper, and then hired a crack team of crackheads to build their garbage.
im still driving a 97 manual plymouth coupe. gets good gas mileage and is even a little fun to drive.
bitch to work on though.
The only Neon's I've seen around in the last couple years were SRT versions of the second-gen Neon, I actually saw a very nice one the other week. First gen Neons or normal second gen ones though? I can't remember the last time I saw one. It's been a while since I've seen the replacement Caliber. lol
Mines in my driveway. It's a 97.
Still have mine. 95 sport coupe with 235hp to the wheels. Runs perfect and is 100% rust free. But I agree. No one took care of them and they rotted out and or blew up and got scrapped.
@Fuert Neigt lol people never took care of neons. They were throw away economy cars. I took care of my 95 and still have it. It runs like new and looks like new. Can't blame the cars for the owners negligence.
As popular as these were in their day because of their combination of speed, looks (as far as compact cars go) and cheap prices, there are none to be found on the roads these days, especially here in Canada, which tells you something. They were just not built to last.
No shit!
I had a stack of motortrend and car&driver magazine on my bunk bed headboard growing up. I used to get excited when the new magazine arrives in the mail and my mother would alert me to pick it up from the mailbox. I would slowly read the magazines before bedtime, page by page. Dodge Neon, Pontiac Firebird and Mitsubishi 3000GT was my favorite cars.
The Neon’s Super Bowl launch ads were awesome! Thanks god i didn’t fall for the hype! My buddy bought one, horrendous reliability!!
I always had a special place in my heart for the Neon. Too bad it's been known for being such a crap car...
It is known as a CRAP car because.......IT IS A CRAP CAR!
When I see what appears to be a nice Neon on Facebook Marketplace, if I send the seller a message the Neon is already sold. I wouldn't mind having one. An older economy car is not worth it when you depend upon a shop to fix things - not even a Corolla, but generally the problems with Neons are not serious issues for the home mechanic.
I had a manual '98 highline. I'd happily get another, preferably DOHC, from somewhere that doesn't try to kill cars with salt.
I don't think it was the car, I think it was the crap people that bought it. They were they dregs of society, the worthless welfare trash, drug addicts and other criminals. You could be sure if you saw a Neon, you had better keep your wallet in your front pocket if you didn't want it to disappear.
When would they be reviewing the Neon SRT-4!?
thats second gen, after 2001.
Had two of these I can tell you they are tough little cars. Dodge did a great job with the neon.
I still remember seeing a full size billboard of one of these downtown when they first came out. It had a white one facing the camera head on and above that it just said "Hi."
Wow, a fully loaded Neon for 12k...I knew a girl who had the coupe in Blue...the paint faded quick and overall it didn’t hold up too well...RIP Neon
One of the biggest issues with these, was seating position. The front of the car is so low, plus the driver and passenger seat sit low in the car, basically on the floor. My dad had one as a rental back in the day, he hated driving the “ass dragger” 😂
Sorta like a Pinto. It was roomy enough (for rwd) if you design the passengers to ride 6” off the road.
PHOENIX RISING it was just a factual comment idiot.
I forgot how fast pased and to the point these old school reviews were. 👍
My father works for an automotive supplier that makes crankshaft dampers. Around 1999 they rented a 3 speed automatic from Hertz, took it to their shop, and installed their damper on it for NVH testing. My father drove it home a few times, too. Once their testing was done they put the original parts back on it, and give it back to Hertz. At the time I remember thinking it was a lot slower than our 99 Jetta TDI.
Started with a 95 Neon, and later went to a 2005 SRT-4 Stage 2. The second generation was waaaaaaay better performance wise and handling.
Yeah but you were still driving a Neon.
LOL, My mother said that the Neon looked like a blob on wheels when they first came out in 1994 as a 1995 model year.
Yes, but it was the 90s and most everything was a blob on wheels.
How did she feel about the late 90s Taurus?
Every car in the 90s look like it had been melted in the sun at some point. Excluding full-size pick up trucks/SUVs and anything made by Volvo in that era.
@@Turshin She loves the Taurus but drives Fords. My mother had three Fords, including the escort, 2004 explorer (bought since new; transmission seizing up in May 2018), and a former rental car the 2017 edge titanium EcoBoost.
@@grndiesel Yeah. Take the Toyota Previa van for example, it shaped like an egg 🥚🍳
Ahh 1994 1/2 Plymouth Neon was my and my wife (at the time) very first brand new car purchase. Good times!
Good point in this clip referring to the Saturn; the Neon was the only domestic car that was anywhere near Saturn in terms of initial quality. Here we are 25+ years later, I still see a few Saturns here and there (original S series) but I cannot remember the last time I saw a Neon.
3:01 John: However the optional automatic has only 3 speeds! LOL
Hated driving my wife's old 2000 Neon with that 3-speed, felt like it was running at 5,000RPM at 70mph (didn't have a tach lol).
@@corionh4775 I had a '94 Golf with a 4-speed and it also was revving at, I suspect, 3500-4000 rpm at highway speeds. It also didn't have a tach, but it was loud. No idea why you'd add an extra gear and make it so useless.
The base model Toyota Corolla also had only a 3-speed automatic until 2002, so it was not unheard of at the time. The Neon's other oddity was that the optional power windows were only on the front doors; the rear doors still had manual crank windows. That's common in European cars, but rare in U.S. models.
@@MaestroTJS Yeah I've driven a couple 4-speed cars that felt similar, but her old Neon felt like it was gonna blow up on the freeway revving so high lol. It was a reliable little crappy car though and didn't ask for much as far as repairs surprisingly since it had about 180k-ish miles when I got her a new car after we got married, but it was definitely obvious that it was built to a price lol.
@@corionh4775 Ha, yeah, I can imagine the "feeling like it was going to blow up" part. Domestic cars were hardly known for their build quality and suffered with rattles and a general feeling of not being screwed together well. I test drove a brand new 2004 or 2005 Cavalier and it actually felt worse than my 10 year old Golf at the time. Even the salesman wondered why I was looking at one...! I doubt the Neon was any better.
When I was a teenager, I'd see Neons all over the place. Even though they got bad reviews for safety and quality, they still sold very well due to their price, interior space, and performance.
The 1990s was a time of low quality interiors by Chrysler and GM.
Where I currently live, I occasionally see 3 SRT-4 models in excellent condition with a bigger turbo in each one.
I hardly see as many Neons anymore, but still see numerous K Cars around.
*MotorWeek* Perfect as always. Have a nice day :p
Just sold mine last year...STILL runs like a top!!! Auto, sport with strawberry paint.. Bought brand new...
I always respected Chrysler Co for dropping the pretence and just calling both the Dodge and the Plymouth "Neon".
The Neon did some things well but they still fell apart and were rough around the edges like most Chrysler products of that era. A Honda Civic seemed like a Mercedes next to a Neon when you looked closer. The fact they flooded rental car lots, where you never saw a Honda, also says a lot. And plenty of Civics from this era are still on the road while you see about as many Neons today as Ford Pintos.
Literally “rough around the edges” of the interior plastics! The example I sampled back in the day had mold lines in the inner door pulls that would about cut your fingers
Mark and Jeffery I agree with you both. Chrysler was good at making cars with some impressive performance specs but the art of refinement wasn’t even in their vocabulary. Even much later their products continued to dominate rental car lots and fleet purchases because the average consumer didn’t want to spend their own money on most of their vehicles. The first generation Dodge Caliber is a perfect example. It looked ok on paper but in person was crude and nothing like its competitors. Even today FCA makes the least reliable vehicles in America and many are still crude and unrefined. A Dodge Hellcat looks good on paper but a cheaper Camaro or Mustang will seriously embarrass it around a racetrack and in most every other way besides on a drag strip where even a Tesla will also embarrass it.
@@sharedknowledge6640 I'll say Chrysler/Dodge is doing something right these days at least, because anytime you can produce multiple vehicles (300/Charger/Challenger/Durango based on 10 to 20-year-old architecture and have people still flocking to buy them, you've got something good going lol.
My mom had a green ‘95 manual Neon highline. The manual transmission was definitely the reason hers was reliable. The automatic was JUNK. She sold it in early 2007 just before I was born with approximately 330,000 kilometres. She cried when she sold it. I NEVER see any first gen Neons on the roads anymore, although I did see a dark blue 2 door coupe one a couple months ago with 97-99 hubcaps. It looked mint. Definitely seldom used.
I remember taking a road trip across Canada in one of these , with 5 people in the car and all the luggage it sure was cramped but the car held up well , it was the later dodge sx 2.0 I believe from 2004 but it’s still a neon based model.
They're underrated. I want to own one so bad
omg. I bought one brand new and it literally self destructed. That was the last Chrysler I ever messed with ever! It was fun to drive but a blown head gasket at 8000 miles thats a bit much, not to mention the reverse failing in the 5-speed and the sunroof getting jammed open several times. Sadly I traded in my very reliable but rather boring Ford Aspire in on this junk heap.
You LEARNED a lesson....the hard way!
MINE WAS A USED ONE GOT IT IN 1998 2 DOOR 25K ON IT
KEPT IT UNTIL 2018 ONLY HAD 166K ON IT
ALL RUST ALL OVER GOT 100 FOR IT
I wish I could find a ford aspire 😞
I was 15 when these first hit the dealerships. Maaaan I feel old now
whats awesome is that the neon looks like a garden snake when compared to the viper. its hilarious that some of the "snake" design idea from the viper made it to the neon, one of the best cars ive ever owned
@Fuert Neigt you obviously like dressing in cubic zirconia and pretending to look good. ya got bullied didnt you. probably by some guy that lives in poverty too. look
What happened to all those Neons...oh nvm, it's a Chrysler.
Well said,sir!
My first car my grandma left me when she died
@RJ mi Had to be BETTER than the first one! LOL
@@TheOzthewiz 82 Isuzu IMark manual red with a yellow and brown interior.
I think that this is the only car that actually made profit to Chrysler. It has some issues but the design was cool, they made the Neon Challenge. When I was a kid my aunt bought one, and that car was very reliable. It was so reliable that the bought another Neon in 2000. But for me the first one was way cooler than the last one.
My next door neighbor had a 1996 Neon in dark red. She drove it for 22 years and "retired" it with 202,000 miles on it. She used to give me a ride to work occasionally and it was a really nice car. Definitely quiet inside and very comfortable. She was heartbroken when it came time to replace it.
As a kid, when it was a new model, this was a pretty cool car. As an adult I would never own it.
Huh, these brand new were really nice.
Too bad it was cursed with Chrysler's reliability.
Or lack thereof.
I drove one for 250,000 miles on the original transmission and engine. The Neon being unreliable is an urban myth.... They had problems with paint and trim, but not the powertrain.
They really weren’t that bad.
My aunt had one of these and I loved it. She replaced it with a Mazda 3 a few years ago. I’ve been looking online for a 1995-1998 Neon and haven’t found a single one. It’s amazing and very sad how quickly they’ve disappeared.
They were not built to last and also most people didn't care for them well. They were throw away cars ready for the scrap yard in a fairly short period of time.
Remember in the 80's where everything was electronic and turbo charged? What happened!? Also, I love this car. Love the interior patterns and painted body strip protector.
You will still see plenty of 1995 Honda and Toyota cars on the road, you have a hard time even finding a 2000s era neon still running.
If you say so I actually see very few here in Canada but still see plenty of first and second gen neons. 94 to 2002 Corollas tend to evaporate into rust dust...
Jenny Nguyen rust-dust lol
I see about as many mid 90s Japanese cars as I do american cars any time I see either though they're trashed.
I've seen a nice dark fuchsia pearl 2door Neon in Bamberg, South Carolina that is still rolling in good shape.
"High level of impact protection." Maybe if the impact is coming from a Yugo....
The IIHS rated it Poor, you can see the footage on CZcams
More likely a TATA NANO!
Thanks MW, I got my wisdom teeth out today and needed something to watch.
I didnt know this generation of Neon had frameless windows! That's actually quite classy for an econobox