Good morning, Autopians! Today’s Showdown is a study in ranged weapons, from the good folks at the corporation formerly known as Chrysler. We’ve got an old-school rear-drive captive import, and the sexiest K-car ever made. It’s gonna–hey, where are you going? Come back! No, really. It’s gonna be great.
Naming a car is a tricky business, which may be why automakers have nearly abandoned the practice in favor of cryptic alphanumeric nomenclature that no one except the marketing department really understands, or cares about. Great car names are evocative: Mustang, Charger, Tempest, Javelin, Blazer, and so forth. And they needn’t be aggressive to be effective: Sprite and Miata are cute little names for cute little cars. Perfect cars for driving in the city? Try a Civic or a Metro. Compare those to FX45 or BZ4X or M340i or whatever – which would you rather tell people you drive?
That brings us to today’s choices. If you have a straightforward little car that always hits the target dead-center, call it an Arrow. If you want to tell people your new car is high-tech and futuristic, Laser is the perfect name… or at least it was in the mid-1980s. But before we get to those, I guess we should finish up with yesterday’s open-source engines:
Twice the cylinders, twice the votes, it seems. Having briefly owned examples of both, and worked on many more of each over the years, I have to side with the Chevy folks. Air-cooled VWs are cool, but my heart belongs to V8s, and the good old SBC (and its successor, the LS) is always welcome in my garage.
All right. Let’s look at some cars named after shooty things.
1976 Plymouth Arrow 200 – $3,200
Engine/drivetrain: 2.0 liter overhead cam inline 4, three-speed automatic, RWD
Location: Sammamish, WA
Odometer reading: 122,000 miles
Runs/drives? Runs, but has been sitting for years
After a few failed experiments with various Rootes Group vehicles, Chrysler settled on its Japanese partner Mitsubishi for its captive imports. This sleek little coupe was known as the Mitsubishi Lancer Celeste in its homeland. It’s powered by Mitsubishi’s two-liter four, a chain-driven overhead cam engine with Mitsubishi’s “MCA-Jet” emissions control system, consisting of an extra tiny intake valve for each cylinder to lean out the mixture, one of many strategies tried by automakers in the ’70s to meet new requirements.
In the case of this little gold Arrow, that engine drives the rear wheels through a three-speed automatic. Yeah, I know. It has been sitting for a long time; the seller has brought it back to life, but there’s still a lot of work to be done before it’s roadworthy. It has a tick from the top end of the engine, which is likely a valve out of adjustment. You all remember how to adjust valves, right?
Cosmetically, it’s in remarkable shape. Japanese imports from the ’70s were reliable, but they tended to rust if you breathed on them too hard; in climates with any weather whatsoever, a lot of them simply dissolved. The fact that this one has survived with only a little bubbling on the hood means that it was probably parked inside, and didn’t see any winters.
The stock Arrow might not be a performance car, especially this one with an automatic, but its sleek (by 1970s standards) body shape became very popular with drag racers. Small, lightweight, and already rear-wheel-drive, the Arrow was a natural choice for quarter-mile shenanigans. With so few left, I can’t decide if it would be a shame if someone turned this one into a drag car, or the absolute perfect use for it.
1985 Chrysler Laser XT – $3,500
Engine/drivetrain: Turbocharged 2.2 liter overhead cam inline 4, three-speed automatic, FWD
Location: Weed, CA
Odometer reading: 86,000 miles
Runs/drives? Yep!
A tip of the hat to Sam Blockhan on Opposite Lock for pointing this one out to me. This is a car I know well, because I used to own one, just about like this, in fact, except mine was brown. This rare sister model to the Dodge Daytona existed for only three model years, from 1984 to 1986, and was dropped when Chrysler’s own LeBaron was restyled in 1987. The Laser was a fancier, more luxurious version of the Daytona, with nicer interior appointments and a different rear spoiler. This XT model was the top of the line, and an exceptionally rare car – only 3,452 Laser XTs were built in 1985.
Chrysler threw every trick, gimmick, and option in the book at this car. It has a digital dashboard with full instrumentation, a trip computer, an electronic message center with a synthesized voice (the one in my ’84 Laser XE was affected with a sort of automotive Tourette’s syndrome – it would randomly speak various messages), power-adjustable Recaro seats with inflatable lumbar supports, and of course Chrysler’s 2.2 liter Turbo I engine, here paired with a three-speed Torqueflite automatic.
This one runs and drives just fine, with only 86,000 miles on the clock. It was apparently the seller’s mother’s pride and joy, and the family has been taking it for a spin around the block to keep the juices flowing. It needs new tires – they’re probably wildly out of date – but other than that, it sounds like it’s in fantastic shape.
It sure looks great. This has always been one of my favorite body styles of its era, and I think it still holds up today. Like Camaros, Firebirds, and Mustangs, Daytonas and Lasers too often got beaten to death by “enthusiastic” owners; I know mine was pretty rough around the edges by the time I got it. This one is a bit dull and faded, but I bet it would shine up all right. I’ll tell you one thing: if I had a place to put it, I might very well make a trip down to northern California to check it out.
These two sporty coupes are all but extinct, and we won’t see the likes of them again. But if these two are out there, just waiting to be put back on the road, there must still be others. If you want a sporty two-door, you may have to dig a little, but they’re out there. Yes, these are both automatics, but if you simply must shift your own gears, either one can be swapped to a manual. So what’ll it be: the rear-drive Arrow, or the turbocharged Laser?
(Image credits: Craigslist sellers)
Both of these cars are in better shape than expected! Good finds, I think!
I wanted to go with the Arrow, but the Laser has fewer mechanical question marks, but more that can go wrong.
It comes down to personal preference, I think.
The Arrow is a better car. I trust a Mitsubishi over a K-car.
Also, Mitsubishi made the best generation Dodge Challenger from 78-83
Wait, is that Laser in Weed, CA? WEED? I didn’t know Snoop bought an entire town 😀
Maybe I’d take the Laser if it had T-tops
I had the ’77 version of the Arrow in the late ’80’s. Proved reliable until someone ran a red light and totaled it the day after Thanksgiving on my way home from the Army recruiting office having just enlisted. The rust was real though – it was orange paint with silver rust-stop patches all over it.
I’m going with the Arrow because it’s more interesting. The Lazer is probably the more reliable choice.
If you think the Arrow is more interesting now, just wait until you try to get parts for it!
THAT’S when it will get REAL interesting!
Well, if I follow the advice of most Autopian comment sections, I could just LS swap.
🙂
Clicked on this article fully prepared to vote for the Arrow, but the overall spec and condition of that Laser (yeah, automatic, whatever, 80’s Chrysler manuals sucked anyway) won me over. I learned to drive on a Dodge Lancer Turbo and discovered the joys of turbo lag early in life. The Laser is a seriously good buy at this price. The Arrow would be a good base for an engine swap, though.
Yeah, same here…was gonna vote Arrow but the Laser won me over
OMG that Arrow! I drove a red one to high school every day. Ours was also a ’76, but was a manual (4 speed) and had the smaller 1.6 liter engine. It was both slow AND got lousy gas mileage – struggled to hit 20 MPG. My friend’s VW Rabbit was significantly faster. Non-power steering, non-power brakes, AM radio, and indeed the lower door panels both began rusting from the inside out after only 4 years.
BUT – we parked on the street and that thing opened and started every morning through the dead of winter, often when the locks on my father’s Volare would freeze, and then after defrosting, refuse to start. Fond memories of doing doughnuts in snow covered parking lots.
The Laser is an objectively superior car – assuming the locks don’t freeze!
Big time neither here, but I’ll go with RWD and plan to drop in a mustang Ecoboost or something I guess.
Another “¿Porque no los dos?” day in the Showdown for sure. That digital dash almost tipped the scales to the Laser, but the Arrow is just the perfect little 70s runabout, and in the preferred colorway. Plus, the Celeste has been popping up a lot on my car-spotting Instagram feed … which I take as the universe trying to send me a sign. We’ll take the Plymouth.
I had an 84 Laser, bought new, for a year before the Mrs totalled it. No turbo, 5-speed, high 30’s mpg on the highway, but its best attribute was the front seats. Cushy where they should be, but with excellent lumbar and thigh support. The manual shifter however was a cable operated joke.
Gotta be the Laser – had a girlfriend with a Arrow back in the day when it was still fairly recent (early 80s) and it was one of the scariest cars I have ever driven – even back then when it was relatively new. Couldnt stop or get out of its own way, and the steering play was so bad it made cargo ships look limber.
Is there really a city in California called “Weed”, or is that some sort of code for what the guy is really selling?
https://www.ci.weed.ca.us/
I picked the Arrow. I’d buy all the cosmetic pieces to turn it visually into a Fire Arrow. Then I’d never stop talking about my Fire Arrow. I’d awkwardly wedge it into every conversation, and it would be awkward because Fire Arrow absolutely doesn’t roll off the tongue.
But I’m weird that way.
The Laser is so much better looking. It also doesn’t have moldy carpet. It’s the clear winner here in my eyes. Yeah, I know the Arrow is rear wheel drive. That’s great and all, but they’re both slushboxes anyways, and at least the Laser has a turbo. Plus, good luck finding parts for the Arrow.
Hard choice, but I like the Arrow a bit better. This is a “why not both” scenario.
Shame about the slushboxes, but even with those transmissions I’d happily rock either one of these. My uncle had a Daytona Turbo Z of this generation and young me worshipped that car. I’ve got a major soft spot for all the pre-DSM Mitsubishi/Chrysler captive imports from the Starquest to the D50/Ram50, and I’ve loved the looks of the Arrow since I was a kid watching the Arrow-based drag cars tearing up the quarter at the Mopar Nationals.
In this case, there are several factors which have me leaning toward the Laser.
1) Parts availability is much better
3) That digidash!
2) A very similar Laser won Raddest Domestic at Radwood Socal this past Saturday.
Now, if that Arrow was a 79-80 Fire Arrow with the 2.6L and a manual, this would be a completely different story.
A great design touch on these Lasers and Daytonas is the door rear cut line, how it bends back forward at the bottom. For some reason, I’ve always liked that.
Laser gets the thumbs up, today, though if that Arrow had been the pickup version, the vote would have been reversed.
What synchronicity! This was posted just this morning: https://japanesenostalgiccar.com/plymouth-arrow-1976-promotional-video/
Since this Arrow has the 2.0 liter engine it presumably has “Mitsubishi’s signature ‘silent shaft’ technology” so it got my vote despite it being equipped with a typically abysmal 70s automatic transmission.
Laser, though having owned a K-car with the Turbo II many, many years ago, the automatic is a major fun killer compared to the 5-speed. Then again, the Arrow is also a slushbox, so that evens things out.
My heart says Arrow, but my head says Laser. Today, the head wins, so Laser it is.
Frank Sinatra says it’s gotta be the Laser.
https://i0.wp.com/bamfstyle.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/CR2FS-CX-HatRing.jpg
For Friday’s Showdown: cars named after melee weapons. 🙂 (The Scimitar comes to mind.)
Laser, please.
I wasn’t planning to vote for it. I had a Daytona years ago and it was not great, but this is a much better spec and seems to have been maintained well. Also I could drive around making PEW PEW PEW noises.
The Arrow is in surprisingly good shape, but it’s just not appealing.
Vs. 911 Club Sport maybe?
LeSabre vs. Cutlass
Vs. Rapier, Stiletto, Espada,and Estoque. For longer distance stabby things maybe we could include Javelins, several Darts and a to bring things back to where we started, a Lancer
(Rolls D20) “Natural one.”
For Friday’s Showdown: cars named after melee weapons
Mini Clubman
Gimme the Laser. K car parts are abundant, and it should at least be able to get out of its own way with the turbo motor. The Plymouth looks cool but doesn’t have the goods to back up those looks.
This should really be titled “Mopars with era-emblematic c-pillars.” Each so good looking – ’70s aero and ’80s futuristic.
The Laser was the first turbo I ever drove. It had come in for work, and I needed to take it for a test drive. Of course, I had to see what the turbo felt like when it kicked in. Such fun for a 16 year old! Plus my boat is a Laser. So ya, Laser.