Dodge Diplomat

The Dodge Diplomat is an intermediate car that was produced by Dodge from the 1977 to 1989 model years. Introduced as a higher-priced companion model to the Dodge Aspen as Dodge phased out the long-running Dodge Dart, the Diplomat ultimately replaced the Aspen (alongside the smaller Dodge Aries). Initially offered as a two-door coupe and four-door sedan, the model line also added a five-door station wagon for 1978. From 1982 onward, the model line became offered solely as a four-door sedan. For its entire production, the Dodge Diplomat used the rear-wheel drive Chrysler M platform (an evolution of the F platform introduced by the Dodge Aspen), shared with multiple model lines. Initially launched as the counterpart of the Chrysler LeBaron (the first mid-size Chrysler), it was also sold in Canada as the Plymouth Caravelle and in Latin America as the Dodge Coronet. For 1981 and 1982, the model was sold as the Dodge Dart. For 1982, the Diplomat became the counterpart of the nearly identical Plymouth Gran Fury and the flagship Chrysler Fifth Avenue. Following the 1989 model year, Dodge retired the model line, replacing it with the front-wheel drive Dodge Monaco. The Diplomat would be the final Dodge vehicle sold with a carbureted engine and its last rear-wheel drive car (with the exception of the Viper) sold until the 2005 introduction of the Dodge Magnum. Alongside its Plymouth and Chrysler counterparts, the Dodge Diplomat marked the final vehicles of the intermediate segment, largely eliminated at the beginning of the decade by downsizing.