Over at Hagerty: This is the last Plymouth ever made, and it could be yours

[Purepony]

Well, that's your opinion. The neons in my family weren't junk. Yes, there were some teething problems as far as head gaskets and they were taken care of, just like valve issues and drive-by-wire software problems had to be fixed on the hemi in 2005. Otherwise, only the 'basic' versions had basic interiors - the R/T versions could be fairly nicely optioned. About the only people bashing it back then WERE the Honda drivers, I beat V-TEC hondas and they didn't like it. Neons were popular and kept winning in SCCA racing; getting the racing championship three years in a row. Thousands of enthusiasts kept neons.org busy. There's a nice mention on it half way through this article https://www.roadandtrack.com/motorsports/a28067326/new-face-of-vintage-racing-dodge-neon-acr/

Cmon you don’t consider head gasket issues a problem ?

i don’t know I think the big three really lost the market because of things like that.

the Honda’s are losing quality too there’s recalls left and right

 

[F4R/T]

I’d still drive a neon ! Anything made by Ma is a okay... if you think differently don’t forget the other brands had serious issues too! I worked for Ford in those days. I always say I’m a mopar guy all the way thru but I love fords for one reason... the brothers made a killing off old Henry !

 

[#41]

How many 20 year old Hondas do you see on the road vs. 20 year old Neons?

While many Neons skated by, any dealer mechanic will tell you how many problems the Neon had. the guying public as well... Consumer Report = black spots all over the place.

The quality of a car isnt the experience of a single person, but the average of all.

 

[Bb70charger500]

For the price it was a nice little car if you beat the crap out of it they died if you drove it like a civilized person they lasted . I beat mine it died I fixed it with better parts it was fine .
Don't forget it was a cheap car you can't hold it up agents cars that cost double

 

[Photon440]

Cmon you don’t consider head gasket issues a problem ?

i don’t know I think the big three really lost the market because of things like that.

the Honda’s are losing quality too there’s recalls left and right

Yes, I consider head gasket issues a problem... and as I said, they were addressed. Once the MLS head gaskets were introduced, the problem was taken care of. For a small car, they still had plenty of room inside, they were very aerodynamic, and they were light weight. I don't think over a million in sales counts as 'lost market', rather, they walked away from the market and decided to build cars that people didn't want instead. (Caliber)

 

[monaco66coupe]

I never had any head gasket problems on the 2002 Neons that I owned. I did remember though the greatest factor to owning one was there was a special then, and The price was 9995.00 brand new. Not one thing ever broke on that car that was more than a nuisance repair.

 

[Slap Stick]

Sorry guys but that car was junk. the only reason some people say it’s nice is because it was a Plymouth but had it been the same car in a Honda everyone would be bashing it.

They overheated, they had fuel pump issues and shared everything off a pt cruiser.
The interior was very basic and exterior had the sex appeal of a salad.
Sorry guys but mopar or not that was a shame

Actually the PT Cruiser was based on the Neon.

 

[F4R/T]

They sure sold a lot of those little PT cruisers too! Those were a little more difficult to work on from up top but once you had them figured out they weren’t bad.

 

[YY1]

The 2.5 in our P/T with a manual trans- driven in a spirited manner quite frequently finally developed what I think was a head gasket issue at 154,000 miles. We had it from 40,000 on.

Other than that the worst thing that ever happened to it was wheel bearings (I'll admit that a grounding issue causing the bearings to lose metal is a bit of a bizarre problem) and a motor mount.

 

[Darter6]

2007 PT Cruiser is the last new car we have bought. Still drive it everyday.
The Neon and the PT were cheap cars,but not bad for the money.I got my money's worth.

 

[Ron H]

When I reflect on Plymouth - I think of the models I had and one I have now...and many-many models I would have liked to have over the years. When I do...there are models I don't think of at all including the one in the post...

 

[moparedtn]

I did my loyal to Ma thing in 1985 when I bought a new GLH Turbo (they weren't making any
RWD stuff anymore, other than cop car type models and pickups).
Even though GM and Ford both kept making RWD fun cars, I stuck with Ma then - and wound up
trading it on a new '89 5.0 Mustang just a few years later.
That GLH had about every issue known to man happen with the electronics and was in the shop,
under warranty, about every other month.
When it spit out the final drive pinion out of the transaxle at 49k miles, that was enough for me...
as much as I wanted to be supportive of Ma, in the end I could not be.

That 5.0 Mustang is what Mopar should have been making all along - cheap, V8 RWD fun. Durable
as hell, too. I kept that car dang near 15 years and 250k miles, with not even a single clutch
replacement needed.
When Mopar started making RWD cars again that I could actually support, I did - and still do, but
no way in hell was I gonna ever try another FWD from them.

 

[YY1]

I had bad electronics and bad manual trans experiences with my 4 year old '86 turbo Daytona as well.

This 1994 RWD "Venom" concept car is what they should have moved forward with-

...although I don't care much for the "grill".

 

[Billccm]

I had bad electronics and bad manual trans experiences with my 4 year old '86 turbo Daytona as well.

This 1994 RWD "Venom" concept car is what they should have moved forward with-

View attachment 1098314

...although I don't care much for the "grill".

I actually wrote Chrysler and asked to be put on the list for early ordering of the Venom. It's a shame they didn't move ahead with that Camaro killer.