Dodge Diplomat: Dodge’s last rear-wheel-drive sedan

The Dodge Diplomat is an intermediate car that Dodge produced from the 1977 to 1989 model years. Introduced as a more expensive companion to the Dodge Aspen while the Dart was being phased out, it ended up replacing the Aspen and became Dodge’s last rear-wheel-drive sedan before the Viper and the 2005 Magnum.

Dodge Diplomat at a glance

Based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on the Dodge Diplomat.

History of the Dodge Diplomat

The Diplomat name had been used before: by Dodge on two-door hardtops from 1950 to 1954, on the export version of the DeSoto from 1946 to 1962, and from 1975 to 1977 as a trim package on the Royal Monaco two-door hardtop. From the 1977 model year it became a full model line in its own right. The car was introduced in the spring of 1977 as a longer car on Chrysler’s M body, sharing much with the Chrysler LeBaron, which in turn shared much with the F-body Aspen and Plymouth Volaré. Doors and other body panels were interchangeable with the Aspen, while the Diplomat had its own front and rear header panels, bumpers, bonnet and boot lid.

The first cars came in base and Medallion trims. The base engine was the 318 Lean Burn V8 with 145 hp, and the 110 hp slant-six was a credit option. A vinyl roof was standard on sedans, and a simulated landau roof was optional on coupes. For 1978 the slant-six with a four-speed manual became the base drivetrain and the station wagon joined the range with “teakwood”-grain body appliques and base trim only; a low-cost Diplomat S was added for one year, and its 3,322 cars were about five per cent of 1978 production. The V8 output dropped by five horsepower, but a 155 hp 360 cu in V8 became available. For 1979 the Diplomat was facelifted with a grille divided into three rows of eight rectangular openings, new tail lights and a rearranged line-up with a cheaper base model, a Salon in the middle and the Medallion on top; the slant-six was offered with a single-barrel carburettor and 100 hp, and a four-barrel 360 with 195 hp was optional for the last time.

The 1980 model year brought new exterior sheet metal, although the wagons were unchanged from the doors back. The coupe moved to the 108-inch wheelbase of the Aspen coupe to separate it from the new Mirada, the grille was narrowed so the car could share a bonnet with the restyled Chrysler LeBaron, the sedan roofline became more square, and manual transmissions were dropped. When the Dodge St. Regis was discontinued in 1981, the Diplomat became the largest sedan in the Dodge range despite technically being a mid-size car, and Dodge did not market another truly full-size car until the 1990 Monaco.

From 1982 the Diplomat was offered only as a four-door sedan, as the counterpart of the nearly identical Plymouth Gran Fury and the flagship Chrysler Fifth Avenue. In Canada it was sold as the Plymouth Caravelle, in Latin America as the Dodge Coronet, and for 1981 and 1982 in some markets as the Dodge Dart. Production ended after 1989 and the front-wheel-drive Dodge Monaco replaced it. The Diplomat was the last Dodge sold with a carburetted engine and, apart from the Viper, the last rear-wheel-drive Dodge car until the 2005 Magnum. Together with its Plymouth and Chrysler counterparts it marked the end of the intermediate segment, which downsizing had largely eliminated at the start of the decade.

Design and features

• M platform: rear-wheel drive with Aspen roots and LeBaron body sharing.
• V8 and slant-six: a 318 V8 as standard at first, with a cheaper slant-six option.
• Long career as a fleet car: four-door sedans and police versions kept the model in production to 1989.
• Last of its kind: the final carburetted Dodge and its last rear-wheel-drive car before the Magnum.

Dodge Diplomat versions

• Coupe (1977-1981): two-door with landau roof option, later on a shorter wheelbase.
• Sedan: the four-door that became the only body style from 1982.
• Wagon (1978-1981): five-door with teakwood-style side appliques.
• Medallion, Salon and S: the trim levels of the late 1970s.

The Diplomat replaced the Dodge Aspen and was followed by the Dodge Monaco, while it shared its body with the Dodge Coronet name used in Latin America. More Dodge models are in the Dodge collection.

Sources

• Dodge Diplomat, English Wikipedia: origins, engines, body styles, end of production