The first Plymouth Duster was a semi-fastback

Fastback

A fastback is a car body style whose roofline slopes continuously down at the back. The word can also designate the car itself. The style is seen on two-door coupés as well as four-door sedans.-History:...

 version of the Plymouth Valiant

Plymouth Valiant

The Plymouth Valiant is an automobile manufactured by the Plymouth division of Chrysler Corporation in the United States from 1960 to 1976. It was created to give the company an entry in the compact car market emerging in the late 1950s...

automobile, produced in the US

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 from 1970 to 1976.

The Duster name was later revived for optional trim package

Trim package

A trim package is an automotive package composed by a set of cosmetic embellishments to a vehicle. In some cases the trim package may include a specific model or ending name...

s on certain versions of the 1979-1980 Plymouth Volare, 1985-1987 Plymouth Turismo, and 1992-1994 Plymouth Sundance

Plymouth Sundance

The Plymouth Sundance is a compact car model that was produced for model years 1987 to 1994. It was designed to compete with upmarket compacts such as the Geo Prizm, Ford Escort and the Honda Civic after the production of the Horizon was to be extended...

.
The Duster competed with Ford's

Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company is an American multinational automaker based in Dearborn, Michigan, a suburb of Detroit. The automaker was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. In addition to the Ford and Lincoln brands, Ford also owns a small stake in Mazda in Japan and Aston Martin in the UK...

 slightly smaller semi-fastback Maverick

Ford Maverick (North America)

The Ford Maverick was a compact car manufactured from April 1969-1977 in the United States, Canada, Mexico and from 1973-1979 in Brazil — employing a rear wheel drive platform dating to the original 1960 Falcon...

 compact that was also introduced in 1970, and the slightly larger semi-fastback Chevrolet Nova

Chevrolet Nova

The Chevrolet Chevy II/Nova is a compact automobile manufactured by the Chevrolet division of General Motors produced in four generations for the 1962 through 1979 model years. Nova was the top model in the Chevy II lineup through 1968. The Chevy II nameplate was dropped, Nova becoming the...

 whose design was introduced in 1968.