Dodge does not build many cars like the Dodge Diplomat: a 4-door Sedan (automobile) / sedan (1977–1989) / 5-door station wagon (1978–1981) / 2-door coupe (1977–1981) with 225 cuin Chrysler Slant 6 engine, built from 1977 to 1988 as the oil crises and the first emissions rules rewired the industry.
The story
The Dodge Diplomat is an intermediate car that was produced by Dodge from the 1977 to 1989 model years. Introduced as a higher-priced companion model to the Dodge Aspen as Dodge phased out the long-running Dodge Dart, the Diplomat ultimately replaced the Aspen (alongside the smaller Dodge Aries). Initially offered as a two-door coupe and four-door sedan, the model line also added a five-door station wagon for 1978. From 1982 onward, the model line became offered solely as a four-door sedan. For its entire production, the Dodge Diplomat used the rear-wheel drive Chrysler M platform (an evolution of the F platform introduced by the Dodge Aspen), shared with multiple model lines.
Initially launched as the counterpart of the Chrysler LeBaron (the first mid-size Chrysler), it was also sold in Canada as the Plymouth Caravelle and in Latin America as the Dodge Coronet. For 1981 and 1982, the model was sold as the Dodge Dart. For 1982, the Diplomat became the counterpart of the nearly identical Plymouth Gran Fury and the flagship Chrysler Fifth Avenue. Following the 1989 model year, Dodge retired the model line, replacing it with the front-wheel drive Dodge Monaco. The Diplomat would be the final Dodge vehicle sold with a carbureted engine and its last rear-wheel drive car (with the exception of the Viper) sold until the 2005 introduction of the Dodge Magnum. Alongside its Plymouth and Chrysler counterparts, the Dodge Diplomat marked the final vehicles of the intermediate segment, largely eliminated at the beginning of the decade by downsizing.
What is underneath
Under the skin sits 225 cuin Chrysler Slant 6 engine; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. The gearbox is a 4-speed A833 manual / 3-speed A727 automatic / 3-speed A904 automatic / 3-speed A999 automatic. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is Coupe: 112.7 in / 1977–1979, 108.7 in / 1980–1981, Sedan & wagon: 112.7 in / 1977–1989 (wagons through 1981 only). These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Its place in the line
Where it sits in Dodge's history is not in doubt: the Dodge Dart came before it; the Dodge Monaco followed it; it was built at Fenton, Missouri. On a showroom list of its day it stood against the BMW 7 Series, the Ford Fiesta, the Toyota Supra. Nearby in the Dodge catalogue sit the Dodge 1500 and the 1955 Dodge.
The money
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Dodge Diplomat has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.