The Plymouth Volare arrived on the automotive scene with considerable fanfare. It was designed to feel spacious, incorporating a newly engineered transverse torsion bar suspension aimed at delivering a “big car ride.” Adding to its perceived sophistication were “Iso Clamps,” rubber cushions intended to isolate the spring perch from the frame and minimize vibration. This kind of technical jargon seemed to impress automotive publications of the time, perhaps distracting them from noticing the Volare’s vague and disconnected power steering. Despite these shortcomings, the Plymouth Volare garnered significant accolades, even being named ‘Car of the Year’ for 1976 by several now-chagrined magazines. It seemed Plymouth, a division of Chrysler, had a hit on their hands with this new model.
However, the initial celebration at Plymouth was short-lived. Almost as soon as the trophies were placed, a wave of problems began to surface, revealing deep flaws within the Volare. The development of the Plymouth Car, coupled with the necessity to meet stringent new emissions and safety regulations during a harsh economic recession, had severely depleted Chrysler’s financial resources. Confident they had a winning vehicle, company executives decided to accelerate the Volare and its Dodge Aspen sibling into production, pushing for a launch six months ahead of schedule in hopes of quickly recouping their investment. This accelerated timeline was largely achieved by compromising on crucial pre-production testing procedures. As Chrysler’s production team, who voiced their concerns, had predicted, a host of defects soon plagued the Volare, tarnishing its initial reputation.
The issues began subtly with failing seatbelt tensioners and problems within the fuel delivery system. These initial concerns were just the tip of the iceberg. A cascade of more serious faults followed, including defective steering columns that compromised handling, brake lines prone to corrosion creating safety risks, and a lack of essential heat shields on the muffler, posing potential fire hazards. Perhaps most critically, the upper control arms were found to detach from the car’s frame, a severe structural failure. The most widespread and visually apparent defect, however, was the discovery that every front fender on the vast number of 1976 and 1977 Plymouth Volares and Dodge Aspens – over a million vehicles – needed replacement. The fenders were not properly galvanized and lacked necessary inner liners, leading to rapid corrosion and degradation.
The potential hundreds of millions of dollars Chrysler aimed to gain by rushing the Plymouth Volare to market were quickly overshadowed by the billions of dollars in recall costs. These massive expenditures severely strained the company’s finances. By late 1978, the repercussions of the Volare debacle, amongst other financial pressures, forced Chrysler to seek government assistance to avert bankruptcy. The story of the Plymouth Volare serves as a stark reminder in automotive history – a cautionary tale of how rushed production and compromised quality control can transform an initially promising “Car of the Year” into a financial and reputational disaster.
