Dodge Mirada
Encyclopedia
The Dodge
Mirada was a full-sized, rear-wheel drive coupe
built from 1980–83, and was one of the three cars based on the Chrysler J platform
, the other models being the second generation Chrysler Cordoba
and the Imperial
, these three vehicles being Chrysler's response to the downsizing of its car lines. The Mirada was 800 lb (362.9 kg) lighter and its wheelbase 2.3" shorter (112.7" vs 115") than the Magnum
it replaced. Production numbers were low, with just under 53,000 units sold during its production run. The Mirada would stay relatively unchanged during its 4-year run, with the exception of paint colors and engines. Because of the low production and survival rate, Miradas today are garnering some limited interest from collectors, particularly models with the 5.9 liter V8.
, an extremely popular segment at the time. Advertising and marketing were limited, as the car was introduced when Chrysler was in deep financial difficulty.
It was hoped that the Mirada would reopen the door to Dodge success in NASCAR racing, as the nameplate had not won a race since November 1977. Lee Iaccoca personally called Richard Petty
in late December 1980, asking the King to campaign one, with the promise of parts needed to build the cars and engines. Several teams, most notably Petty and Junior Johnson
, built race ready test cars and to took them to race tracks for testing. The Petty built test Mirada looked every bit as fast (Petty himself remarked "The Mirada just looked good!") as the other race cars eligible to run in competition. On 17 January 1981 at Daytona (Petty fans were so enthusiastic he was running a Dodge again that 15,000 or so showed up to watch), the testing showed the car was around 8 mi/h slower than the GM and Ford cars of the day, and Petty and the most of other drivers moved to other makes, mostly GM. This testing of the car revealed that while it looked fairly aerodynamic, the bodystyle actually had a very high coeficient of drag that made it incapable of speeds over 185 mph. Petty's and Daryl Waltrip's (driving the Junior Johnson built Mirada race car) test results turned out to be a huge disappointment to Dodge, and took the wind out Chrysler's efforts to re-establish itself in racing. Two small and independent racing teams (Arrington Racing/Buddy Arrington
), and Negre Racing however, decided to make a go of the car and campaigned it during the 1981 to 1984 racing seasons. Buddy Arrington managed 17 top-ten finishes during those years, though all were on short (1 mile or less) length tracks. A few other drivers (Dave Marcis in four races, and Dick May in three) ran Mirada's occasionally in 1981, but the cars were either plagued with mechanical issues, or finished several laps off the leaders. Up until the end of 1984, Miradas raced from time to time, but without much success, and ultimately lead to Dodge disappearing from NASCAR until 2001.
in the front and leaf spring
s with a sway bar
in the rear. A "Sport Handling Package" was offered, which included heavy-duty shock absorber
s, torsion bar bushings, springs, as well as anti-sway bars in both the front and rear. The braking system used power assisted disc brake
s in the front and drum brake
s in the rear.
There were a few basic wheel options. The base models came with 15” steel wheels with turbine-like hubcaps, or polished ten-spoke, 15” aluminum wheels with painted section and bright chrome center caps.
Mirada was offered in the following trims:
stereo or an AM/FM/cassette stereo, an AM/FM/8-Track stereo, and a Chrysler CB radio could be chosen as well. The steering wheels offered were either an interior-matched two-spoke wheel with horn buttons in the spokes. The standard steering wheel for the CMX in 1980 and 1981 was the Mopar “Tuff Wheel”, which was similar to the sport wheel found on the vintage Mopar muscle cars such as the early 1970s Dodge Challenger
. Manual windows were standard on the base model, but the power windows from the CMX could be ordered on the base models as well. A rare option was a Cabriolet mock-convertible roof, featuring a blocked-out quarter window.
' movie Six Pack
. It was a NASCAR driven by Brewster Baker's arch nemesis Turk in the Grand National race. In the movie it is called a Buick for some reason. The actual car was built by Negre Brothers Racing and run by them during the 1981 NASCAR season. It was sold to Buddy Arrington
in December 1981, who in turn served as a technical consultant and a driver for the filming of the movies racing scenes driving the Mirada.
Dodge
Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....
Mirada was a full-sized, rear-wheel drive coupe
Coupé
A coupé or coupe is a closed car body style , the precise definition of which varies from manufacturer to manufacturer, and over time...
built from 1980–83, and was one of the three cars based on the Chrysler J platform
Chrysler J platform
The J platform was a designation used for two automobile platforms from Chrysler Corporation in the 1980s.The first was a rear-wheel drive platform, in production from 1980...
, the other models being the second generation Chrysler Cordoba
Chrysler Cordoba
The Chrysler Cordoba was an intermediate personal luxury coupe sold by Chrysler Corporation in North America from 1975-1983. It was the company's first model produced specifically for the personal luxury market and the first Chrysler-branded vehicle that was less than full-size.-History:In the...
and the Imperial
Imperial (automobile)
Imperial was the Chrysler Corporation's luxury automobile brand between 1955 and 1975, with a brief reappearance in 1981 to 1983.The Imperial name had been used since 1926, but was never a separate make, just the top-of-the-line Chrysler. In 1955, the company decided to spin it off as its own make...
, these three vehicles being Chrysler's response to the downsizing of its car lines. The Mirada was 800 lb (362.9 kg) lighter and its wheelbase 2.3" shorter (112.7" vs 115") than the Magnum
Dodge Magnum
The Dodge Magnum name has been used on a number of different automobiles. The most recent is a large rear-wheel drive station wagon introduced in 2004 for the 2005 model year and produced through to 2008. This new Magnum is Dodge's first car to use the new Chrysler LX platform, shared with the...
it replaced. Production numbers were low, with just under 53,000 units sold during its production run. The Mirada would stay relatively unchanged during its 4-year run, with the exception of paint colors and engines. Because of the low production and survival rate, Miradas today are garnering some limited interest from collectors, particularly models with the 5.9 liter V8.
Marketing
The Mirada was marketed as a personal luxury carPersonal luxury car
A personal luxury car is a highly styled, luxury vehicle with an emphasis on image over practicality. Accenting the comfort and satisfaction of its owner and driver above all else, the personal luxury car sometimes sacrifices passenger capacity, cargo room, and fuel economy in favor of style and...
, an extremely popular segment at the time. Advertising and marketing were limited, as the car was introduced when Chrysler was in deep financial difficulty.
NASCAR
Richard Petty
Richard Lee Petty is a former NASCAR driver who raced in the Strictly Stock/Grand National Era and the NASCAR Winston Cup Series...
in late December 1980, asking the King to campaign one, with the promise of parts needed to build the cars and engines. Several teams, most notably Petty and Junior Johnson
Junior Johnson
Robert Glenn Johnson, Jr. , better known as Junior Johnson, is a retired moonshiner in the rural South who became one of the early superstars of NASCAR in the 1950s and 1960s. He won 50 NASCAR races in his career before retiring in 1966...
, built race ready test cars and to took them to race tracks for testing. The Petty built test Mirada looked every bit as fast (Petty himself remarked "The Mirada just looked good!") as the other race cars eligible to run in competition. On 17 January 1981 at Daytona (Petty fans were so enthusiastic he was running a Dodge again that 15,000 or so showed up to watch), the testing showed the car was around 8 mi/h slower than the GM and Ford cars of the day, and Petty and the most of other drivers moved to other makes, mostly GM. This testing of the car revealed that while it looked fairly aerodynamic, the bodystyle actually had a very high coeficient of drag that made it incapable of speeds over 185 mph. Petty's and Daryl Waltrip's (driving the Junior Johnson built Mirada race car) test results turned out to be a huge disappointment to Dodge, and took the wind out Chrysler's efforts to re-establish itself in racing. Two small and independent racing teams (Arrington Racing/Buddy Arrington
Buddy Arrington
Buddy Arrington is a retired NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup driver.- Biography :...
), and Negre Racing however, decided to make a go of the car and campaigned it during the 1981 to 1984 racing seasons. Buddy Arrington managed 17 top-ten finishes during those years, though all were on short (1 mile or less) length tracks. A few other drivers (Dave Marcis in four races, and Dick May in three) ran Mirada's occasionally in 1981, but the cars were either plagued with mechanical issues, or finished several laps off the leaders. Up until the end of 1984, Miradas raced from time to time, but without much success, and ultimately lead to Dodge disappearing from NASCAR until 2001.
Powertrain
The 3.7 L engine was the standard engine in the base Mirada with the 5.2 L V8 offered as optional, and the 5.9 L V8 was only available in the Mirada CMX and only in the 1980 model. All of these engines were mated to the A904 automatic transmission except the 360, which received the beefier A727.| engine displacement Engine displacement Engine displacement is the volume swept by all the pistons inside the cylinders of an internal combustion engine in a single movement from top dead centre to bottom dead centre . It is commonly specified in cubic centimeters , litres , or cubic inches... , type Engine configuration Engine configuration is an engineering term for the layout of the major components of a reciprocating piston internal combustion engine. These components are the cylinders and crankshafts in particular but also, sometimes, the camshaft.... , carburetor Carburetor A carburetor , carburettor, or carburetter is a device that blends air and fuel for an internal combustion engine. It is sometimes shortened to carb in North America and the United Kingdom.... type | max. motive Motive power In thermodynamics, motive power is an agency, as water or steam, used to impart motion. Generally, motive power is defined as a natural agent, as water, steam, wind, electricity, etc., used to impart motion to machinery; a motor; a mover. The term may also define something, as a locomotive or a... power Power (physics) In physics, power is the rate at which energy is transferred, used, or transformed. For example, the rate at which a light bulb transforms electrical energy into heat and light is measured in watts—the more wattage, the more power, or equivalently the more electrical energy is used per unit... at rpm Revolutions per minute Revolutions per minute is a measure of the frequency of a rotation. It annotates the number of full rotations completed in one minute around a fixed axis... | max. torque Torque Torque, moment or moment of force , is the tendency of a force to rotate an object about an axis, fulcrum, or pivot. Just as a force is a push or a pull, a torque can be thought of as a twist.... at rpm | transmission Transmission (mechanics) A machine consists of a power source and a power transmission system, which provides controlled application of the power. Merriam-Webster defines transmission as: an assembly of parts including the speed-changing gears and the propeller shaft by which the power is transmitted from an engine to a... |
|---|---|---|---|
| 225 CID Slant 6 Chrysler Slant 6 engine The Slant-6, known within Chrysler as the G-engine, is one of Chrysler's better known automobile engines. The engine is an inline-6 piston engine specifically designed such that the cylinders are inclined at a 30-degree angle from vertical... I6 Straight-6 The straight-six engine or inline-six engine is a six-cylinder internal combustion engine with all six cylinders mounted in a straight line along the crankcase... 1-barrel |
90 bhp (1980) 85 bhp (1981–) @ 3,600 |
160 lbft (1980) 165 lbft (1981–) @ 1,600 |
3-speed A904 automatic Automatic transmission An automatic transmission is one type of motor vehicle transmission that can automatically change gear ratios as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually... |
| 318 CID LA V8 V8 engine A V8 engine is a V engine with eight cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two banks of four cylinders, in most cases set at a right angle to each other but sometimes at a narrower angle, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft.... 2-barrel |
120 bhp (1980) 130 bhp (1981–) @ 3,600 |
245 lbft (1980) 230 lbft (1981–) @ 1,600 |
|
| 360 CID LA V8 4-barrel |
185 bhp @ 4,000 |
275 lbft @ 2,000 |
3-speed A727 automatic Automatic transmission An automatic transmission is one type of motor vehicle transmission that can automatically change gear ratios as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually... |
Suspension
The suspension of the Mirada utilized transverse torsion barsTorsion beam suspension
thumb|250px|A front [[VW Beetle]] suspension cross-sectionA torsion bar suspension, also known as a torsion spring suspension or torsion beam suspension, is a general term for any vehicle suspension that uses a torsion bar as its main weight bearing spring...
in the front and leaf spring
Leaf spring
Originally called laminated or carriage spring, a leaf spring is a simple form of spring, commonly used for the suspension in wheeled vehicles...
s with a sway bar
Sway bar
A sway bar or anti-roll bar or stabilizer bar is a part of an automobile suspension that helps reduce the roll of a vehicle that is induced by cornering or road irregularities. It connects opposite wheels together through short lever arms linked by a torsion spring...
in the rear. A "Sport Handling Package" was offered, which included heavy-duty shock absorber
Shock absorber
A shock absorber is a mechanical device designed to smooth out or damp shock impulse, and dissipate kinetic energy. It is a type of dashpot.-Nomenclature:...
s, torsion bar bushings, springs, as well as anti-sway bars in both the front and rear. The braking system used power assisted disc brake
Disc brake
The disc brake or disk brake is a device for slowing or stopping the rotation of a wheel while it is in motion.A brake disc is usually made of cast iron, but may in some cases be made of composites such as reinforced carbon–carbon or ceramic matrix composites. This is connected to the wheel and/or...
s in the front and drum brake
Drum brake
A drum brake is a brake in which the friction is caused by a set of shoes or pads that press against a rotating drum-shaped part called a brake drum....
s in the rear.
Trims and options
There were several different types of rooflines offered. The base models all received a basic metal roof with a chrome beauty strip extending from the bottom of the opera windows and across the roof. Those who chose to have their Mirada look a bit sportier could opt for either a power sunroof, or a glass T-top roof; and those who wanted a more luxurious look could choose either chose a vinyl Landau roof or a Cabriolet roof, which was basically a mock convertible top. The T-tops and Landau would be offered every year except for 1983, and the Cabriolet top would be offered every year. However, the power sunroof was not very popular and was only offered for 1980 and 1981.There were a few basic wheel options. The base models came with 15” steel wheels with turbine-like hubcaps, or polished ten-spoke, 15” aluminum wheels with painted section and bright chrome center caps.
Mirada was offered in the following trims:
- Base
- S (also referred to as "SE")
- CMX
Interior
The interior of the Mirada was offered in a variety of materials and colors. The base model dashboard was black with a faux woodgrain finish, which surrounded the gauges and center console, but the CMX came with a brushed aluminum finish replacing the woodgrain. The seat options were either vinyl bucket seats, leather bucket seats, or a 60/40 split cloth bench seat. Since the Mirada could be chosen with either a column shift or floor shift, the bench seat was only offered with the column shifter. Buyers had the choice of either an AM/FMFM broadcasting
FM broadcasting is a broadcasting technology pioneered by Edwin Howard Armstrong which uses frequency modulation to provide high-fidelity sound over broadcast radio. The term "FM band" describes the "frequency band in which FM is used for broadcasting"...
stereo or an AM/FM/cassette stereo, an AM/FM/8-Track stereo, and a Chrysler CB radio could be chosen as well. The steering wheels offered were either an interior-matched two-spoke wheel with horn buttons in the spokes. The standard steering wheel for the CMX in 1980 and 1981 was the Mopar “Tuff Wheel”, which was similar to the sport wheel found on the vintage Mopar muscle cars such as the early 1970s Dodge Challenger
Dodge Challenger
The Dodge Challenger is the name of three different generations of automobiles marketed by the Dodge division of Chrysler.The first generation Dodge Challenger was a pony car built from 1970 to 1974, using the Chrysler E platform and sharing major components with the Plymouth Barracuda. The second...
. Manual windows were standard on the base model, but the power windows from the CMX could be ordered on the base models as well. A rare option was a Cabriolet mock-convertible roof, featuring a blocked-out quarter window.
Appearance in movies
It was one of the race cars in the Kenny RogersKenny Rogers
Kenneth Donald "Kenny" Rogers is an American singer-songwriter, photographer, record producer, actor, and entrepreneur...
' movie Six Pack
Six Pack (film)
Six Pack is a 1982 American comedy-drama film directed by Daniel Petrie and starring Kenny Rogers, Diane Lane, Erin Gray, Anthony Michael Hall, and Barry Corbin-Plot:...
. It was a NASCAR driven by Brewster Baker's arch nemesis Turk in the Grand National race. In the movie it is called a Buick for some reason. The actual car was built by Negre Brothers Racing and run by them during the 1981 NASCAR season. It was sold to Buddy Arrington
Buddy Arrington
Buddy Arrington is a retired NASCAR Grand National/Winston Cup driver.- Biography :...
in December 1981, who in turn served as a technical consultant and a driver for the filming of the movies racing scenes driving the Mirada.