Last great car from Plymouth

"" (bignslow) 09/26/2014 at 13:17 • Filed to: plymouth prowler

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The year was 1997. Bill Clinton started his second term in the White House, gas was $1.30 a gallon and Spice Girls had a song that was in the top 10 on the charts.

Chrysler was a year away from merging with Daimler-Benz and didn't really have that good of a fortune. Although their 90's aerodynamic styling looked quite modern the cars were still plagued by Chrysler's ill fated automatic transmission failures.

Plymouth engineers were given free reign to design a modern hot rod. The result was the Prowler.

At the time it was one of the most radical cars to come from America. There weren't really any cars made in America that stood out as much as the Prowler in 1997. Sure, Chevy released the C5 but it was still a Corvette.

Sadly Prowler's "hot rod" looks weren't backed by muscular drivetrain. A car like this deserved a V8 backed with a 5 speed. Instead customers were stuck with a single available engine, the 3.5 liter V6 from a Chrysler 300M which was made worse by a single available transmission choice. The well known, ill fated 42LE - 4 speed automatic with a useless autostick option. The cool thing is that the tranny was in the back of the car similar to a C5 Vette which helped with 50/50 weight distribution.

There is an upside to the Prowler. Having an almost all aluminum body and chassis made the car pretty light so performance was still decent (if you can call it that). 7.2 seconds 0-60 for early years and 5.9 seconds 0-60 by the end of production in 2002 thanks to an improved engine.

Prowler also had a neat suspension setup with pushrod control arms in the front and double wishbone IRS in the rear staying true to the hot rod/kit car origins.

The interior had a retro layout with body colored accents and plenty of cheap, 90's Chrysler plastics. The gauges were awkwardly placed in the center of the dash which made for an interesting driving experience. What else are you to do, not like you have to worry about shifting gears.

At the end of the day the Prowler is not the fastest or the best built car to come from Chrysler but in my opinion it's the last great car Plymouth built which inspired and continues to inspire a lot of newer models. Think PT Cruiser, HHR, SSR, Thunderbird and even the new pony cars. Mustang, Camaro, Challenger are all retro inspired.

OPPOsaurus WRX >  09/26/2014 at 13:22

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wow do a search for V8 prowler and you'll find the most tightly packed engine bay ever

Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. >  09/26/2014 at 13:24

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It looks so good with a fender delete. that plus MT swap and you have a good little car.

nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul >  09/26/2014 at 13:27

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they look sooo much better with a bumper delete.

FJ80WaitinForaLSV8 >  09/26/2014 at 13:29

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Always thought this was an awesome car. Would certainly add one to my collection if I had the opportunity.

 > OPPOsaurus WRX 09/26/2014 at 13:29

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That V6 isn't exactly free swinging in there either.

OPPOsaurus WRX >  09/26/2014 at 13:32

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yea I saw that, actually I think that was one of the first photos i've seen of the engine bay. Its pretty cool how you can see the suspension bits behind the grill. I can;t believe a V8 fit. I bet that thing would be awesome with a turbo 4 for lightness

nFamousCJ - Keeper of Stringbean, Gengars and a Deezul > OPPOsaurus WRX 09/26/2014 at 13:32

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"I also ordered a set of "Lambo" doors from Vertical Doors, but the shop said they should stay stock for the overall quality, safety, and looks of the car; it would not be ideal for racing, either."

Dodged a bullet there.

OPPOsaurus WRX > Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. 09/26/2014 at 13:34

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 > OPPOsaurus WRX 09/26/2014 at 13:40

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I think SBF will fit in there. The 302 is pretty small. Joining it to the tranny would be another thing though.

GT Stig > Sir_Stig: and toxic masculinity ruins the party again. 09/26/2014 at 13:44

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I.... kinda like the fenders... It almost looks like a bit of a literal boat without them. MT swap for sure though.

JGrabowMSt > OPPOsaurus WRX 09/26/2014 at 13:50

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Yeah, but the transmission can't take the power. Gotta do a big swap to get a Prowler to put the power down effectively. Maybe someone should stuff a Porsche G50 into it with a V8 of choice....That would rustle my jimmies.

Mattbob >  09/26/2014 at 14:42

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The channel that the shifter is in, is in the shape of a penis (balls at bottom)

472CID >  09/26/2014 at 15:09

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Trying to think of the last cool Plymouth outside of the Prowler.

There's the Eclipse

Laser ... and outside of that... the Firearrow?

 > Mattbob 09/26/2014 at 17:01

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What has been seen can't be unseen.