Dodge Aspen

The Dodge Aspen is a compact car that was marketed by Dodge from the 1976 to 1980 model years. Deriving its name from the tree and the ski-resort city, the Aspen was the successor to the 1960–1976 Dodge Dart. The Plymouth division sold the model line as the Plymouth Volaré (Volare = "to fly" in Italian), replacing the Plymouth Valiant. The model line marked the debut of the all-new Chrysler F platform, which became the ground-up redesign of the Chrysler compact line since its 1960 debut. While the two-door coupe lost the hardtop roofline of the Dart/Valiant, the Aspen/Volaré were also offered as a four-door sedan and a five-door station wagon (marking the return of the Chrysler compact wagon for the first time since 1966). The Aspen and Volaré were both released during a period when the American Big Three were actively downsizing their entire product lines: full-size to compact vehicles were affected. As model redesigns reached production, the central factor behind them was reduction of both exterior footprint and curb weight to improve fuel economy, with the industry reclassifying the size nomenclature of existing model lines. While considered a compact car upon its 1976 launch, the 1980 Dodge Aspen (otherwise identical in size) was considered an intermediate car (a precursor of the modern mid-size car); it is longer than the full-size LX/LY Dodge Charger. During its production, the Aspen and Volaré were assembled by Chrysler in its Newark Assembly (Newark, Delaware) and Dodge Main Assembly (Hamtramck, Michigan) facilities; the end of production marked the demise of the latter facility, which closed the same day. After the 1980 model year, the Chrysler F platform vehicles were replaced directly with its front-wheel drive K-Cars: the Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant.