Dodge Shadow

In 1987, the Chrysler Corporation introduced two new compact cars, the Dodge Shadow and the Plymouth Sundance (which turned in similar sales figures). They were built in Sterling Heights, Michigan and Toluca, Mexico. The first car rolled off the assembly line on August 25, 1986.

Both 3-door and 5-door models were built using a variant of the venerable K-car platform, known as the P-body, which was based on a combination of the Dodge Daytona's suspension with a shortened version of the Dodge Lancer's body. While they looked like regular sedans and coupes, they were actually hatchbacks. Chrysler considered this a special feature: "Hidden hatchback versatility." The relatively large storage capacity of these vehicles was one major selling point.

The Shadow and Sundance offered a variety of four cylinder engines, all either of 2.2 or 2.5 L, some turbocharged. Naturally aspirated versions were, except in Mexico, fuel injected. The engines were tuned for torque rather than horsepower, resulting in numbers that appear to be reversed from the Honda Civic - for example, 93 hp and 129 ft·lbf of torque from the base 2.2 L engine. A Mitsubishi-built 3.0 L V6 was added later, which led to the demise of the turbo option. All were available with a five-speed manual transmission (sourced from Getrag on turbo and V6 models) and a three-speed automatic based on the venerable TorqueFlite. In 1993, the manual transmission was modified to make shifting into reverse easier; a number of other incremental improvements were also made. In 1994, a motorized seat belt was added to the passenger's side.

Because the Shadow and Sundance were based on a larger sedan with a sporty car's suspension, they offered a combination of comfortable and traditional seating with credible cornering. The Shadow was tuned for a firmer ride and better cornering, while the Sundance, identifiable by its chrome (or painted, in the case of the sporty Duster model) eggcrate grille, was tuned for more comfort, though the difference was not radical. Higher performance engines came with higher performance suspensions.