Automotive journalist Sam Barer (of "Sound Classics" and "Sam Barer's Four Wheel Drift" fame) didn't start out driving desirable sports cars. Here he talks about the unappreciated Mini-Mopar that he first drove over 20 years ago -- and still enjoys today!
This 1986 Dodge 600 ES Turbo Convertible has been in my family since new. I took my driver's licensing test in it when it was less than a year old (and received a 98-percent score, thank you very much). I took the cars on dates, raced unsuspecting cars with it and enjoyed plenty of top-down driving days in high school and during college-era summers.
The car is powered by Chrysler's 2.2L Turbo I four-cylinder plant. It produces just shy of 150 flywheel hp. Top speed is a real 125 mph. The ES package delivers ultra-stiff shocks, alloy "pizza" wheels, plus the all-important Corinthian leather.
It is easy to laugh off this car, but even with nearly a quarter-century and just under 90,000 miles under its belt, it recently sprinted repeated 0-60 mph tests at 7-seconds flat, which is faster than plenty of V8 Mustangs and Camaros of the era -- not to mention much faster than some more exotic machinery, such as the Ferrari Mondial.
Despite its limp-noodle platform (which brought new meaning to the term "cowl shake",) few cars from 1986 can out handle the Dodge 600 ES. The car's light weight, kidney-killing stiff suspension and ultra-quick steering make it a pleasure to drive on winding roads.
(Original advertising campaign. This one appeared in New Yorker magazine)
And ohhh...that Corinthian leather! The cabin is spacious and the seats extremely comfortable. With superior head, shoulder and leg room, as well as a perfect driving position, contemporary Mercedes SLs, Mustangs and Corvettes seem like torture devices in comparison. The digital dash (with climbing LED tachometer) and glossy plastic-wood trim instantly scream 1980s, but assuming the sun isn't washing out the speedo from view, everything works just fine.
It might not be worth much -- but I'd sooner sell the Ferrari, Triumph, Corvette, cat, daughters...before parting with my Dodge 600 ES. And though it wasn't very "cool" in its day, it's getting respect now -- albeit from elementary school kids, who react to it the same way I did to '57 Chevy Bel Airs when I was their age.
