1987 Dodge Shadow and Plymouth Sundance Test Drive

The Dodge Shadow and its directly connected cousin, Plymouth Sundance, were introduced in the spring of 1986.  Look at them two ways: they were to replace the dowdy Omnirizon and/or they put Chrysler right in the middle of GM’s J-Car territory.  The P-cars, as they were known, were an improvement of both.  They had a slight problem with weight, but the turbo engine dealt with the mass efficiently. Wheelbase and width were close to the Charger’s dimensions, although the Shadow was taller but not quite as long and about 250 pounds heavier.

That they used existing hardware which was neatly rearranged in a new body was a given, every automaker  must economize like that. But the Sundance and Shadow found solvency of another sort in buyers who would purchase somewhere else.  Their standard content was generous and complemented by a short list of optional equipment.  The cars presented a sporty two window profile rather than the traditional three windows and elicit a lot of Lancer/GTS “geel”; the Dodge leaned toward hardcore performance while the Plymouth’s image tried hard to step up the ladder of value.

1987 Dodge Shadow Commercial

1987 Plymouth Sundance Commercial

1991 Dodge Shadow Manufacturer Promo

1991 Dodge Shadow Turbo Convertible Test Drive

1991 Plymouth Sundance America Test Drive