1995 Dodge Avenger | Retro Review
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- Опубліковано 11 лют 2023
- The Chrysler/Mitsubishi partnership known as Diamond-Star Motors had been a major player in the sporty 2-door segment with legendary icons such as Starion, Conquest, Eclipse, Talon, Stealth, and 3000GT. However, the Avenger would be among the last.
Show 1422 | Original Airdate 02-01-1995
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John Davis in 1995: "You're probably tired by now of hearing about all the successes of the Chrysler Corporation..."
Me in 2023: "Just wait twenty years.."
@@MyerShift7 Amazing how? Powertrain is the biggest thing to impress car enthusiasts yet Chrysler's smaller designs were based on Mitsubishis, and the third Hemi is mediocre (just two valves per cylinder)! Instead of setting a new standard for the whole line-up they chose to live in nostalgia! I expected electric-hybrid transmissions on all cars from the 2000's but only recently companies are showing interest. There are so many great ideas not being invested, I cringe everytime corporate cocksuckers praise brands for their pathetic technological improvements! And don't get me started on the elephants called electric vehicles; "the future" is heavy, fragile, expensive, and dependant on approved "mechanics" to do the service!
The 90s were definitely their hayday.
I think their biggest blunder was that they didn't cash in on the whole SUV thing. Jeep is THEE SUV brand, and only had a couple models up until recently. If in the late 90s and early 2000s they'd have added models like the Compass and Wagoneer that would've saved them from Daihmler.
Man I COMPLETELY forgot about this car. They used to be everywhere. Haven’t seen one in ages.
My friend had one of these in highschool 2011, always thought it looked cool. You see exactly 0 of them left on the road
The last few disappeared with Cash 4 Clunkers.
My dad bought one new in 98 it was a es with the 2 liter 4 cylinder. He chose the 4 cylinder because of the manual
Had a red 95 unfortunately I totaled it
thats sad, great cars!
I haven't seen one on the road in a decade.
Always liked Dodge’s design language of this era. This Avenger was quite handsome and the aggressive taillights really set them off. Very Stealth-y.
What’s on the radio at 3:39?
Cd and digital clock.
(Band) Gin Blossoms - (Song) Found Out About You
"Found About You" by Gin Blossoms
@@bones642 I googled what you wrote & came up with (Singer) Buck Owens ~ (Song) Put A Quarter In The Jukebox.
Found that sound at the 9 second mark under the channel Gerry King with 38k views. Hope this is the song you were looking for.
True, I always thought the rear taillights looked very similar to the dodge stealth. 90's Dodge design looks really good in my opinion.
Man I miss the 90’s.
I bought a 1997 Avenger Sport and it was a great car. I drove it for a decade. Great ride, reasonable performance and good fuel economy. The only downside was some cheap plastic bits that broke on the interior (cup holder, etc). I wish they still built sport coupes like they did back then instead of all the crossover crap. My Avenger was nicely equipped for $17k -- it was a great value. I miss that car.
I had a 1995 brand new. Mine was not a "sport", but a base model. The cup holder broke within 10k miles and I had it replaced under warranty, twice.
I felt very lucky to have such a nice car as a teenager. My parents bought me the car and I made payments to them for it for 3 years.
Still a great looking car today
I’m lucky enough to have a 97 with 40k miles… got it with 24k miles and so far this car has treated me great!
When and where did you find one to purchase?
This and the Dodge Stealth seems like it had potential
You know what the stealth is, Right?😅
@@JenGM24 yessir GT 😔 miss it
Everything was a bloated eclipse/ galant Frankenstein
@@xFactoryUSA Hey man😅
They were pretty decent vehicle, is just that people didn't comprehend them, specially that v6 it was a little hard to work on due to the lack of space in some models, that is why i always went with the 4 cilinder.
mitsubishi engines kept exploding. it's a shame, the cars looked great back then but you won't find any survivors because of the build quality
I love this era of Chryslers: The LH Cars, Neon, Viper, Ram, and this are all really nifty.
I thought these looked good back in the day. Used to see them everywhere. It's been years since I've seen one in the wild. Hard to believe that 1995 was 28 years ago!
At 3:39, the stereo is playing "Found About You" by Gin Blossoms.
Checks out, as that song came out in ‘94 I think. Always fun trying to find out what songs they’re playing in motorweek
Great song that I haven't heard in a while. They still tour. Heard a rumor that they will be pulling up to the PARX casino in an avenger on Feb. 25.
@@skimanfree1073 singer sounds the same as he did in '95, Gin Blossoms are still a good live act 👍
One of the best modern Dodge designs when everything had a viper like front end. Dodge even made a 4g63 awd concept at one point. It sat in a corporate office lobby for some time. Who knows where it is now.
I love Dodge Avenger
At the time, this was a nice looking vehicle.
Still is.
I agree, they’re pretty sharp
I find it more handsome than the latest incarnation of the name, but the latter can be sporty looking when well-dressed.
These things looks great and handled great! They had styling down. If only Mitsubishi and Chrysler kept working together, they probably could have perfected some things
They did, with the new Stratus Coupe that replaced it. All the complaints were addressed.
@@headliner733 except the styling was a dud
@@smokesgtp depends on who's lookin? Lmao. The best looking of them all to me is the original 1995 ES V6 with 16" 5 spoke painted alloy wheels and polished wheel rims and the last 2005 Stratus R/T Coupe with chrome 17" 5 spoke wheels with silver painted spoke pockets. I will add the 2003-2005 Sebring LXi coupe with multi spoke 17' chrome wheels and silver painted pockets is a classic work of art. Especially in pearl or black. Whenever I see one I cannot take my eyes off of it.
01+ then 03+ weren’t bad looking cars. I mean compare them to Accord Coupes and Solaras…they were pretty sharp looking
@@jonthebuildingmanager2896 Eh, I'd prefer the Accord coupe, especially 03+ not the Solara though.
It's a very sexy Mitsubishi Galant Coupe with a Mitsubishi Eclipse front interior. Yeap all Mitsubishi. Only the audio head unit is Mopar. These cars are so sexy in ES trim. All they needed was the 6G72 under the hood for this generation.
Alot of people had these in high school, they looked good but we're slow and burned oil like crazy. I definitely raced a few of these things and they always lost to my Ford Probe Gt and my buddy's grand prix gt.
Good times racing beaters in high school.
These LOOKED great at the time. I remember being almost of driving age when they released. They certainly didn't age well. Even the V6 model was meh at best. My friend ended up getting one in 1997. My 95 Prelude would absolutely DUST this car whether it be in a straight line, or especially in the curves lol. But these did look cool.
....and then you look at the MSRP. The upscale ES here (at $17,000) was a full $6,000 less than the Prelude's $25,000 sticker for their upper-level trim. Even the base Prelude was $2,000 more than the most expensive Avenger. The Prelude was a fantastic car, but the price was out of reach for many.
@@broeheemed32 A fair point. I still have a 94 Prelude. Still runs great. Seems that $ meant something. These had their own body cladding over Galant/Eclipse bones. Prelude shared some parts with the Accord but had more unique parts than the Mopar. Cheers.
@@J.Wick. Cheers back! As it turns out, the Prelude - especially that generation - was a vastly superior car to anything Chrysler offered. I particularly like the non-VTEC Si model..... more torque than anything else in its class at the time, and nothing looked as sweet at that bodystyle.
@@broeheemed32 Only the Eclipse/Talon/Laser, etc. were close IMO. Looks and performance wise both. And only due to Mitsu's involvement. Those GST/TSI/GSX DSMs were pretty sweet rides themselves, amazing what a turbo will do to an otherwise pokey, pedestrian powerplant. Never liked the interiors of those though. Especially not when compared to the 4G Prelude. Some hate it, others love it. I'm firmly in the 2nd camp regarding 4G Prelude interior. :)
The Prelude was a MUCH smaller car. This car has a useable rear seat and a larger trunk. Like the difference between today's Dodge Challenger and a Mustang.
My brother bought one of these in 95. I bought it from him in 97. Though it wasn't all that quick: it was a great blend of looks, handling, fun, and practicality. Four six foot guys could ride in road trip comfort too. It was perfect back in the day.
After I totaled my Neon, I replaced it with a '95 Avenger manual in this exact color. The video doesn't do justice to how nice the color is. It had a subtle purple tint to it. I lived in a small town, and the Dodge dealership was really small so they found mine at a different dealership and traded it for a vehicle that the other dealership wanted. It was the only Avenger my dealer had, and before I took delivery, they had to park it in the back because people kept looking and touching it and trying to open the doors to look inside. Fantastic car.
I had forgotten about it until you mentioned it, but I now do vividly remember the gray having a subtle purple tint to it. It was a really nice gray! 90s just had better paint color choices. Today we get 50 boring shades of gray, white, black, and often a generic shade of red and blue. BORING.
It was sad to hear all the wonderful things John had to day about the Chrysler Corporation in 1995 ... "and don't think that it's over".... Unfortunately, the good times wouldn't last long after that point. I remember having similar thoughts about Chrysler at the time. I loved the styling of the Avenger and would buy one today if it were updated for the 2020's. I owned and loved a Neon, an Eagle Talon, and a Dodge Stratus in the 1990s. Unfortunately, the positive sentiment of Chrysler was similar to the positive sentiments i suspect were shared on the Titantic the day before the big final night. It has just taken Chrysler a lot longer to go down.
Unfortunately for Dodge/Chrysler you can only sell tarted up trash for so long before your customers start noticing. I'm surprised they've lasted as long as they have. But let's be honest, it's only because other companies such as Daimler and Stellantis were stupid enough to buy them.
Always thought was a handsome looking car
This is actually a Japanese Dodge and Chrysler! Just like the Eagle Talon!
Right track wrong way. They're all built at Mitsubishi Diamond Star Motors in Illinois with majority domestic content. They're American cars all the way. Built by Mitsubishi for Chrysler on a 2 door Galant chassis.
@@headliner733 One part is true but I think the Galant is a four door and not a two door! The two door is an eclipse!
@@4HBirtcher the WHOLE part is true like I said it is built on a 2 door Galant chassis. There never was an official 2 door Galant. But that's what these cars are is a 2 door Galant. The Eclipse was built on a shortened Galant chassis. Much shorter. The Avenger/Sebring Coupe shared the Galant's 103" wheelbase and chassis. Which is why they have so much rear seat room and trunk room because they're a 2 door Galant. Just like how the last Mercury Cougar is built on a Contour/Mystique chassis with a 106" long wheelbase, giving it decent interior and cargo room.
The good old days
Imagine if an awd turbo version of this was produced....if only SRT was around back then.
The Monte Carlo of Chrysler (or DSM...)
I wanted one so bad!!! An Eclipse with a trunk and a V6? Yes, please!!!! 😍😍😍
3:14 John: DITTO THE CLEAR, COMPREHENSIVE GAUGE CLUSTER! LOL
3:18 kite screaming.
John was so happy to see an oil and volt gauge obviously
I loved when they raced these in iroc
Look at my newer vids, saw one recently
@@alexander1485 that's cool. One of my favorite race cars
This was almost going to be my first car back in 2006. My dad and I were looking at a beautiful red 1999 Avenger that was for sale at a local Dodge used car area and I was really anticipating on getting it. It was a one owner vehicle, but was a bit pricey back then. I think I remember seeing they wanted $9,600. It was a fully loaded V6 model and I remember it had around 52,000 miles on it. Well, I ended up getting a 1995 Honda Civic EX 2 door 5 speed instead for $2,000. Yeah, I guess the Honda was the better choice in the long run.
My parents helped me buy one of these, brand new, when I was 16 years old. I felt incredibly fortunate to have such a nice car as a teenager.
Even in 2023 The Dodge Avenger, Chrysler Sebring and Eagle Talon TSI are looking as great. Currently im on a hunt for a clean Eagle Talon TSI.
I wish you the best on your hunt for a worthy TSi. Most have either been modded beyond redemption or neglected.
@@upbeattvraw-hiphop8242 Exactly...
I loved this design back then. If they had stuffed a v8 in these they’d probably be collectibles now. Too bad all we got was oil burning motors that blue smoked at 60k.
Love it! Back when Chrysler was an American company! Well, and American company that teamed up with Japanese companies quite often to build cars that is...
The others did it too...think Ford and Mazda or GM and Isuzu or maybe GM and Toyota?
OMG THIS WAS MY FIRST CAR EVER!!!!!! RED 1996 AVENGER ES!!!!!!!
So sad these used to be everywhere and now you never see ‘em
They should’ve built a more reliable car
Because they were crap and didn't last.
My friend had one in the late 90s
I see one every day in my garage. They weren’t junk. But they are nearly 30yrs old, and they didn’t sell millions of them. How many 30 year old Mitsubishis (which this car was) or Nissans do you see floating around? I rest my case.
Nice styling for 1995 !
First the Galant E50, now the also Galant-based Avenger! Nice!
I never saw many of these in fact i forgot it existed. I do Remember the Sebring.
I used to have 1997 Avenger ES lots of fun that v6 was 👌🏾
My father bought me this car as a college graduation gift. RIP, the car that is, my father outlived it. 🍋
what ended it?
I swear i was watching a Motorweek yesterday that reminded me of the Dodge Avenger R/T and here it is! I have loved these cars since i first saw them in 95. The top trim Sebring coupe is very nice too
I preferred the Sebring convertible. Very nice-looking car.
The forgotten dsm.
These were my favorite in the 90s, the avenger and stratus.
I had a white '96 Avenger 2.0 5-speed for almost two years before a lady ran a stop sign and spoiled my fun. There was a lot of room under that hood ... I was toying with the idea of an engine swap to a 340 I still have. Yes, it would have been a lot of work! Then I bought a 2001 Sebring LXi coupe with the Mitsubishi 3.0 24-valve V6 and 5-speed. Vastly superior performance all around. I drove it for 11 years. I liked both of these cars very much.
I've always thought these cars were AWESOME cool, and modern looking. They still look super slick today. Unfortunately, they're extremely rare to find in the wild in 2023.
Great looking car, but that 2.5 V6 needed a 5 speed manual option. I'm actually surprised at the MW numbers because my best friend's 96 ES ( bought new) sure felt a lot slower than that!
I had one 95 es midnight black and gray, brand new ish show room model , i was 17 drove it to high school we had so much fun in this car , as adults we all still talk about it almost 30 years later 😅❤🎉
Still have a 99 ES. It’s definitely a nostalgia car today, but still like taking it for a drive very much.
These cars were everywhere. Problem is they were cheap, which made them affordable to people that couldn’t afford to own a car and they suffered from owner neglect. Within a few years the lower income buyers cars were shit boxes. And the majority of buyers were lower income (read, low credit ratings).
All that success went away very quickly.
Ah, that automatic gear lever.
That's the standard Mitsubishi shifter at the time...
Wow memories… I had a 95 Avenger got it summer 95…..5speed 4 cylinder in Electric Blue . Still one of my favorite cars even though it had only few options.
Back in day it was rare to find one around here with the 4 banger and stick. Almost all were v6 auto. Who wants to drive a sporty car with a lame automatic!?
Now this is a pretty handsome car. The second gen Avenger was known as the Car for people who hate driving according to RCR. 😂
20 years later and I’ve only seen one of these still on the roads…
Young people bought them and trashed them. Can't remember the last time I saw a '95 Mitsubishi Eclipse on the road either.
I would guess most were ready for scrap after ten years. The 2.5 V-6 was very problematic and expensive to maintain.
@@palebeachbum good point! they were both such beauties
@@Gr8thxAlot I’ve heard the same 🥴
@@Gr8thxAlot they tended to rot out too. Plus that horrid 90s Chrysler 4 speed auto. If you had one with the 4 banger and stick I bet I could make that car last without spending a fortune.
Dang back in the day I used to love them.
Woah! It's got the Mitsubishi G2 Eclipse interior! 😯
3:43 *The ROCK EYEBROW STARE*
I always love the styling of these! I liked the Sebring version too and the stratus R/T all the slow but neat looking poop boxes lol
Are you gonna upload your second-gen Dodge Intrepid review? I have such fond memories of the one my Mom drove!
Beautiful looking car
Miss this car. Bought one new off the show room floor... that initially I Did Not want..👀 but was the best decision I had made. Wasn't Uber fast, but it handled like a dream with the double wishbone suspension. I had a 99 all the bells and whistles. Like someone else said on here, you don't see them anymore. Although I was fortunate enough to see a guy with a red 2000, Super clean about a month ago. Almost asked him how much lol. I enjoy the Avenger. Definitely wouldn't mind having one now. The Eclipse, Talon, 3000 gt and Avenger all had a similar if not exact interior. Wild. Mine lasted me 11 years, till I had a problem I didn't have the money for to fix at the time. If I did, no doubt I'd still have it now.
Neighbor had a Sebring that sat for 7 years not being started. Put a new battery in it and it cranked right up. Amazing, it was beautiful inside
Always liked the look of these (and this era of Chrysler in general, my first car was a Daytona) but you NEVER saw them or the Sebring coupes; Monte Carlos and Grands Prix were all over the place in this era.
How weird, it sounds like John read the voice track right into a camera microphone for this video.
Chrysler was killing it in the mid 90s, then they merged with Daimler in '98 and everything went to hell 🙁
GF in college had a 98 Sebring LXI coupe. Burgundy with very nice tan leather interior and a great Infinity stereo! The 17” rims made tires break bead and leak because they were too soft an alloy. Speaking of leak- despite constantly cleaning the sunroof channels any time it rained hard the front seats got drenched.
Thank God her mom opted for the used car warranty and had AAA- every 6 months without fail it left somebody stranded due to fuel pumps dying.
I finally talked her into trading it for a Corolla and she never had another car issue when we were together.
This car looked so awesome when I first seen it
I owned a 1995 Viper RT/10 back in the late 1990's. Sold it in 2010. An old RT/10 are a good value today for $35k. They never did increase in value..
I saw an IROC race car avenger but havent seen a normal one in like 15 years
I loved the sleek designs of the first gen Avenger and Sebring. I saw tons of those 2 around when they first hit the dealers. The refreshed second gen Sebring and its Dodge cousin, the second gen Stratus were even more aggressive looking.
Chrysler was doing very well at this time until they made the big mistake to merge with Daimler.
Wow haven't seen one of these in a long time
What is the oil and volt gauge situation?
They were great looking and fun to drive pretty unreliable though. This is definitely one of the best looking Dodges made and it's proportions were spot on
They should have used this make the Avenger sedan. I am not saying it was a bad looking car, but this looks alot better. Sometimes, I forget how much Chrysler and Mitsubishi actually collaborated together. That being said one of buddies had the Avenger coupe and said it was a good car for him.
Knew a girl in high school that drove on of these, gave me a ride once. She was one of the popular people.
The good ol days where manufacturers built a variety of vehicles instead of the ever homogenous SUV. I think it's lost on them that car designs influenced suv designs and vice versa keeping things fresh and moving. Now its maybe 10 slightly different versions of the same box on wheels, what a snooze.
It's sad but they build what people want to buy. In the 80s until around the mid-late 90s there was a booming small 2-dr econo sporty car market. Today that market is a shadow of what it once was.
People said a similar thing when this car was made. They complained that the muscle car era was over. That changed as well eventually. The part that scares me is the end of the internal combustion engine. I love oil!
Back then there was a lot of "badge engineering" and automobile magazines were always calling Japanese cars "Appliances". The biggest letdown in the 90's was when Volkswagen decided to bring back the Beetle. The price was supposed to be $12,500 USD but came out with front engine, front wheel drive and people were paying $30,000 USD with $5,000 in "ADP", Added Dealer Profit.
@@444mopar That's true but you can also only buy what is being built. Pretty much everyone but the big 3 still sells cars at a decent clip. For snowbelt states the suv has purpose, but everywhere else It's just more money.
@@ninji522 People are pretty well conditioned into wanting SUVs too. Plus I think they're more profitable for the big 3 than small cars. Amusing when you think we somehow got where we were going in those little tin cans in the 80s and early 90s.
That side profile reminded me the lumina and or that lumina based Monte Carlo from that time frame too
DOOODDDGGGGEEE
WHAT HAPPEEEEENNNNED?! 🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🦅🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Was the engine on a high idle there?
I had a 95 Avenger. It was a great car.
Such a good looking car, if only the V6 had come with a 5 speed.
With some 90's mope rock on the radio.😄
I liked the Sebring coupe best. Especially when they offer it in white with the grey bottom trim. I miss the old Chrysler
I remember when these came out! Lol
Our local mall (remember those?) had Dodge cars on display. I sat in the Sebring and the cup holder broke off in my hand.
@@philsmgb4393 I do remember new cars being positioned throughout the malls lol
It looked great, shame they didn't make it rwd and build a Magnum 360 with aluminum heads, cam and intake that use the design and engineering from the Viper with a the T-56 and D60 based IRS from the Viper too.
The 1995-05 Avenger/Stratus Coupe and 1995-05 Sebring Coupe were coupe versions of the 1994-03 Mitsubishi Galant
The biggest flaw was not carrying over any turbo engine options from K-era like the Mexican market did....
Why don’t I remember this avenger? Ah Chrysler, that’s why.
Rarer to see this today than a Lamborghini or Ferrari.
Great economy car. Basically a grown up version of the Dodge Stealth.
The Nascar (correction IROC) version of this car was really what the Dodge Stealth and 3000GT should've been.
The Stealth and 3000GT did have major success at Pikes Peak which is what there designer wanted. A grand tourer that you could drive up a mountain in a snow or rain storm safely, and quickly.
Found Out About You 🔊
Back when that song was just a year old, not nearly 30 and playing on classic rock stations. How the time flies, still a good tune
Bought a 99 black ES with tan leather interior in 2003 with only 25k miles on it. Did some suspension, engine & exhaust work to it. Put nice focal speaker set in it, really sounded nice. Unfortunately it had a horrible transmission in it & the paint didn’t hold to well…but it was a sharp car…
These cars were even more badass in IROC racing (replacing the Dodge Daytona which was used from 1990 - 1993).
Imagine if they would had made this rwd. It would had been the challenge of its day
My dad has a 2000 Sebring he bought new.. the motor has a bad lifter so the engine is basically trash.. but the cars wishbone suspension is still so solid and tight after 23 years.. Mitsubishi built a solid platform for these.
I had a 97 Avenger in Bright White. Great looking car but that 420A engine had no guts
Same engine i had in my 97 Mitsubishi Eclipse
@@michaelscholfield7588 That engine made all sorts of noise when you floored it then you look at the speedometer and you're at like 25mph LOL I had a cold air intake, headers, full exhaust, tune and race synthetics on it and dynoed it. I was expecting like 220 crank horsepower...yea, I was making 167 crank horsepower.
Nossa que carro lindo só canal pra ser um arraso sensacional 😀👍👍
Uau muito da hora 👍👍👍🎤
It's such a shame these didn't do very well. The 2.5 v6 is mostly to blame, followed closely by Chryslers trademark rust issues. I really liked the avenger when it was out. It's just a shame they didn't put a better motor behind it.
You'd see a hundred Monte Carlos and Grand Prixs for every Avenger. Sebring convertible did great, though
Did anyone else notice the weird click noise and smoking brakes @ 2:42? I had a '96 Avenger with the 2.0L 140hp 4cyl. and 5-speed manual. It was very underpowered, but I still enjoyed driving it as long as I didn't need to get up a steep hill on the interstate. It was and still is a sharp-looking car.
All cars do that on hard braking especially in hot weather. It's the brakes from the extreme braking load.
That 2.5 was a dog too. I bet yours with the stick would have beat one in a race.
@@444mopar 4cyl ES manual is quicker 0 to 60 than V6 ES auto but not by much V6 beats it on top end