Plymouth Acclaim

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Plymouth Acclaim

Manufacturer	Chrysler Corporation
Production	1989-1995
Predecessor	Plymouth Caravelle Plymouth Reliant
Successor	Plymouth Breeze
Class	Mid-size car
Body style	4-door sedan
Layout	FF
Platform	A-body
Engine	2.5 L K I4 2.5 L Turbo I4 3.0 L Mitsubishi 6G72 V6
Transmission	5-speed manual 3-speed A413 automatic 3-speed A670 automatic 4-speed A604 automatic
Wheelbase	103.5 in (2,629 mm)
Length	181.2 in (4,602 mm)
Width	68.1 in (1,731 mm)
Height	53.5 in (1,358 mm)
Curb weight	2,783 lb (1,262 kg) base
Related	Chrysler LeBaron Chrysler Saratoga Dodge Spirit
Similar	Chevrolet Corsica Ford Tempo Nissan Stanza

1989-1991 Plymouth Acclaim LX

The Plymouth Acclaim was a mid-size sedan produced from the 1989 to 1995 model years. The Acclaim was first introduced by Plymouth as the successor to the discontinued, but similarly-sized extended-K Caravelle^[1]. At the same time, many automotive publications identified the Acclaim as the de facto replacement for the somewhat smaller Reliant which continued to sell for a short period. ^[2]^[3]^[4]. The Acclaim was very similar to the Dodge Spirit, as well as the Chrysler LeBaron and the export-market Chrysler Saratoga.

1 Platform
2 Marketing and advertising
3 Replacement
4 Trim levels, features, and colors
- 4.1 Trim levels and features
- 4.2 Colors
5 Engines
6 Transmissions
7 Changes through the years
8 Trivia
9 Notes
10 External links

[edit] Platform

The Acclaim was a version of the Chrysler Corporation's AA-body 4-door sedan, which was an evolutionary development of Chrysler's extended K-car platform.

[edit] Marketing and advertising

Across the AA-body family of cars, the Acclaim was generally marketed as the low-end to midrange offering, while the Spirit's advertisements placed it as a midrange or sporty version, and the LeBaron was supposed to be the luxury version. However, in reality, there were Acclaims (including but not limited to the LX models) delivered from the factory with a great deal of the deluxe and/or sporty equipment, and the Spirit and LeBaron were widely sold in base-model configurations largely devoid of luxurious or sporty equipment. The Acclaim differed in appearance from the Spirit and LeBaron sedan primarily in styling details (grilles, taillamps, interior and exterior trim). Virtually identical cars had been offered under Dodge and Plymouth nameplates for fifteen years by the time the Acclaim arrived, and the LeBaron sedan spread this tendency to the Chrysler brand as the nominally upmarket offering to compete against medium price entries from Buick and Oldsmobile.

Starting at about US$12,000 in its final year, the Acclaim was a bargain for most of its life as a family car, fleet car, and even as an upscale economy car. The Acclaim was the most reliable domestic car in 1991, according to J.D. Power, beaten only by the Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry. It was also one of the last Plymouths to outsell its Dodge stablemate, and one of the last vehicles to use the four-cylinder engines introduced with the Reliant.

[edit] Replacement

Chrysler would not directly replace the Acclaim with another Plymouth. Unlike Dodge, Chrysler only offered the upmarket and award-winning Chrysler Cirrus which applied the cab-forward styling first introduced by the Chrysler Concorde, Dodge Intrepid, and Eagle Vision in 1993. Eventually, the Plymouth Breeze would be offered as a value version of the Chrysler Cirrus until the Plymouth nameplate was retired entirely.

[edit] Trim levels, features, and colors

[edit] Trim levels and features

From 1989-1991 the Acclaim was available in three trim levels:

base
mid-level LE
high-end LX

For 1992, all of these models were dropped in favor of a single standard model, that could be loaded up with options, if the buyers wanted. Some of the options available included a power sunroof, cassette player, air conditioning, power windows and power door locks, cruise control, and an anti-lock braking system(ABS); later on, many of these options would become standard features.

[edit] Colors

note: the colors listed below were available various model years

Aqua Pearl Metallic
Ascot Gray
Banzai Blue Metallic
Black
Bright White
Cirrus Blue-Gray Pearl Metallic
Dark Quartz Gray Metallic
Debonair Red Pearl Metallic
Emerald Green Pearl Metallic
Glamour Turquoise Metallic
Jewel Blue Pearl Metallic
Lapis Blue
Light Blue Satin Glow Metallic
Light Driftwood Satin Glow Metallic
Light Montego Blue Pearl Metallic
Light Royal Blue Pearl Metallic
Light Royal Blue Satin Glow Metallic
Medium Water Blue Satin Glow Metallic
Nitro Yellow-Green
Pale Blue
Poppy Red
Radiant Fire Metallic
Radiant Fire Red
Raspberry Red Pearl Metallic
Teal Pearl Metallic
Wildberry Pearl Metallic

[edit] Engines

The Acclaim was available with a choice of several engines. The base engine was a 2.5 L TBI I4 engine producing 100 hp. The optional 141 hp, 3.0 L V6 with MPFI was made by Mitsubishi. Also available in 1989 through 1992 was a turbocharged I4 engine producing 150 hp. In 1993, 1994 and 1995, a flexible-fuel Acclaim was offered, powered by a 107 hp multipoint fuel injected version of the 2.5 L engine specially modified to run on fuel containing up to 85% methanol.

[edit] Transmissions

Several five-speed manual transmissions were available, depending on which engine was installed, but relatively few Acclaims were equipped with manual transmissions. The three-speed Torqueflite automatic was the most popular installation on Acclaims with TBI and MPFI 4-cylinder engines, and was also widely installed in conjunction with the V6 in 1993 through 1995. From 1989 to 1992, most V6 Acclaims came with the four-speed A604 electronically-controlled automatic.

[edit] Changes through the years

1991-1992 Plymouth Acclaim

The Acclaim was given a new radiator grille and other minor trim detail changes(like a new chrome Pentastar hood ornament) for 1993. Another new option for 1993 was a CD player. A motorized passenger's side seat belt was added to US-market Acclaims in 1994, to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208's requirement for passive restraints. These motorized belts do not comply with Canada's safety standards; Canadian-market Acclaims continued to use a manual passenger seatbelt, and 1994-1995 Acclaims cannot legally be imported across the US-Canada border in either direction. For 1995, its final year, the 2.5 L engine got a slightly revised cylinder head and both the 4-speed A604 automatic transmission and anti-lock brakes were dropped. A new gold decor package, with gold bagdging in trim inserts was available for 1995. Otherwise, the Acclaim remained mostly unchanged throughout its 6-year run.

[edit] Trivia

In a famous episode from the sitcom Everybody Loves Raymond, titled "The Wallpaper", Marie Barone's car, that she and Frank crash into Raymond's house is a gray Acclaim.

[edit] Notes

^ Chrysler Corporation Master Technician Service Conference book "New Model Service Highlights '89" p.4: "Spirit and Acclaim are the new midsize sedans, replacing 600 and Caravelle." Available at Detroit Public Library or ebay
^ Fifty Years of American Automobiles, the editors of Consumer Guide, Beekman House 1989, p. 335."It was conceived to replace the remarkable Reliant, but sales strength prompted corporate planners to let the new and the old run side by side, much as Volare and Valiant"
^ [1] "the Ks, for their final year, were allowed to share the showroom floor with their replacement model, the larger A-body Spirit"
^ http://auto.consumerguide.com/Auto/Used/reviews/full/index.cfm/id/2029/Act/UsedCarReviewShowAll/ Consumer Guide] "Dodge's compact Spirit and Plymouth Acclaim were longer in wheelbase than Aries/Reliant, which they replaced."

[edit] External links

v • d • e Plymouth (Vehicles • DaimlerChrysler)
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Cars:	Acclaim \| Arrow \| Barracuda \| Belvedere \| Breeze \| Caravelle \| Champ \| Colt \| Conquest \| Cricket \| Duster \| Fury \| Gran Fury \| GTX \| Horizon \| Laser \| Neon \| Plaza \| Prowler \| Reliant \| Road Runner \| Sapporo \| Satellite \| Savoy \| Sundance \| TC3 \| Turismo \| Valiant \| VIP \| Volaré
Vans / SUVs:	Adventurer \| Voyager/Grand Voyager \| Trailduster
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