Javillac
The 70's was a turnaround period for the US automobile industry. The oil crisis and the rise in fuel prices put the country with the largest volume of car manufacturing in the world in check.
Oversized V8-powered sedans were losing their appeal to buyers who now sought economy in their car. Those were times when the United States produced their own versions of an affordable compact like the Ford Pinto or the Chevrolet Vega.
But these attempts, although they sold very well, could not be compared to the utilitarian ones of European origin, like that Volkswagen Golf, which were very popular in America, or the Renault 5, sold under the name of LeCar as a result of the collaboration between the French brand and AMC.
The corporate giant Chrysler is so far absent from this story, until then offering the Plymouth Duster as a competitor to the Vega and Pinto. Although the Oil Crisis had forced them to take measures such as ending the muscle car, the group did not have its own budget compact.
THE HORIZON, A EUROPEAN REMEDY
This is when Chrysler got ahead of Ford and General Motors when looking at the models they had available in Europe. Although Simca had already been sold in the United States with little success the brand's new model presented in 1977, the Horizon, was chosen to be manufactured in America.
The car was particularly interesting as it was a modern hatchback front-wheel drive and five doors, reasons that made it the European Car of the Year in 1979. The Horizon would thus become the first "world carChrysler's, and demonstrated to the American public that a compact model could be economical and agile.
Cars sold since 1978 as the Plymouth Horizon and Dodge Omni, and received the mandatory American treatment for any foreign car, with larger bumpers and different headlights. Also, to suit the tastes of the country, the interiors were more similar to those of an American car. As for the exterior, they came to be painted in two tones and even had a version with a body covered in false wood, in true style "station wagon".
MOTORIZATIONS
The mechanics were curious, because originally they were not of Simca origin. The brand searched a 4-liter inline 1,7-cylinder engine of Volkswagen origin and that it developed 63 CV of power. It would not be until 1981 that Chrysler launched its own 4-liter inline 2,2 designed for compacts and that yielded 84 CV.
These cars came onto the market at a time when Chrysler was near bankruptcy, which is why PSA took over SIMCA in Europe and turned it into Talbot. Fortunately, fresh out of Ford, Lee Iacocca, known as the father of the Mustang, became the new president of Chrysler who applied a series of measures, which, together with the success of the Omni and Horizon, which sold more than 300.000 units in their first yearThey saved the company.
Interestingly, from 1983, the car began to offer a 1,6 liter 62 hp engine of Simca origin, which replaced the Volkswagen engine. For the 1987 season, the 1,6 was no longer offered, with the 2,2-litre engine now being the only mechanic available, now developing 93 hp. In addition, in 1988 it would add another three more horses thanks to the incorporation of fuel injection.
There were also plans to offer the new and robust 1,9 liter diesel engine developed by PSA that was offered in the European Horizon. It was discarded given the low popularity and bad reputation of diesel engines in the United States at the time. 
TWO COUPES BASED ON THE HORIZON
In 1979, and under the orders of Lee Iacocca, they appear on the market versions hatchback three-door hatchback and sporty silhouette of the Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon. The appearance of the cars seemed to promise more performance than they could deliver, based on the existing chassis and mechanics.
The cars were marketed as Dodge Omni 024 and Plymouth Horizon TC3, but unlike the models on which they were based, they did not sell well. In order to increase interest in these models, in 1980 a purely cosmetic sports package was offered for both cars, which in Plymouth was sold as "Tourism sports package” and in Dodge it was the “De Tomaso sports package". The latter had interiors and wheels designed by the company itself. Italian company De Tomaso.
Given the low sales of the models, their names eliminated Omni and Horizon from their nomenclature in 1981, becoming Plymouth TC3 and Dodge Omni 024. Also in that year, De Tomaso models were fitted with the new 2,2-litre engine. In 1980 and thanks to Chrysler's collaboration with Mitsubishi at that time, the car was marketed in Japan as Chrysler Omni 024, but after two years only 1.491 units were sold in this country.
With the arrival in 1981 of the 2,2-litre engine, the Dodge 024 would be offered as the Charger 2.2 Package and, from 1983, it would begin to be offered as the fifth generation of the Dodge Charger, which would be on the market until 1987. The same happened with the Plymouth model, which would go on to be sold as Plymouth Tourism 1983 since.
Taking advantage of this platform and the 2,2 liter engine, In 1982 a pickup based on the coupé models was presented. already mentioned, which used all the components of these cars from the doors to the front. This new truck was the Dodge Rampage, which featured a Plymouth counterpart from 1983, the Scamp. These pickups were not very popular and were only sold until 1984 with 37.000 assembled units.
CARROLL SHELBY AND THE DODGE OMNI
Thanks to the good relationship between Lee Iacocca and Carroll Shelby when they worked with ford, since 1983 the legendary car builder begins to collaborate with Dodge giving it that touch of sportsmanship that the brand needed so much.
The first of these cars to bear the Shelby name was the Dodge Charger Shelby, launched in 1983 and focused on suspension and cosmetic improvements. Besides. the compression ratio was increased so that the 2,2-liter engine develops 107 horsepower, which, by 1984, increased to 110 CV.
As well In 1984 the long-awaited sports version of the Dodge Omni appears five-door prepared by Carroll Shelby. The car would receive the mechanics of 110 CV and another series of improvements such as wider wheels, bigger brakes and a harder suspension.
After Chrysler denied the name of Omni Coyote, it was chosen Omni GLH, initials for “Goes like hell", a name proposed by Carroll Shelby himself and which comes to mean something like "run like hell”. Of this version, 10.142 units were manufactured.
The attributes of hothatch of these cars would be complemented from 1985, when both models modified by Shelby could be equipped with a turbocharger that increased power to 146 hp.
GLH-S, EVEN MORE POWERFUL
In 1986 Carroll Shelby presents a limited series of the Omni which he calls the GLH-S "“Goes like hell S'more” or "run like hell some more”. Some of the many improvements were a larger turbo or the addition of an intercooler, which made the GLH-S give 175 hp power.
Production of the Omni GLH-S was limited to 500 numbered units and it was advertised as a car capable of taking on cars like Porsche, Ferrari or BMW and winning. The benefits were surprising for the time, with a 0 to 100 in 6,7 seconds and a top speed of 217 kilometers per hour.
The Charger would also receive the GLH-S trim in 1987, when Shelby buys the last 1.000 units of the Dodge Charger Shelby and incorporates the improvements already present in the Omni. These cars were also numbered and, curiously, they do not have any anagram in which the Dodge name is mentioned.
END OF PRODUCTION
In Europe, the last Talbot Horizons were discontinued in 1986 and were a success, but in the United States their sales volume was higher, so their production lasted until 1990. Of the Dodge Omni, 919.996 units were manufactured, of which 749.125 corresponded to the five-door model and 160.729 to the hatchback three doors. To which could be added 212.630 Chargers, based on the same platform and sold until 1987.
The Plymouth Horizon sold 1.293.371 cars, of which 880.532 were five gates and 412.839 of the hatchback three doors. Which gives a total between both cars of more than two million units, making it one of the most popular cars of European origin sold in the United States.
Dodge and PSA photos.
