Start with what the Plymouth Satellite is: a 2-door convertible / 2-door hardtop with 273 cuin V8 engine, built from 1964 to 1974, in the decade that gave the world the pony car and the mid-engined supercar. What it meant takes a little longer.
Where it came from
The Plymouth Satellite is a mid-size automobile introduced in the 1965 model year as the top trim model in Plymouth's "B" platform Belvedere line. Available initially in two-door hardtop and convertible models, the Satellite remained the top-of-the-line model until the 1967 model year. A station wagon version was added and a higher "Sport" trim introduced. The Fury name was moved to Plymouth's mid-size models for 1975, at which time the Satellite name was discontinued.
Under the skin
The engine is 273 cuin V8 engine; other versions carried different engines, listed in the specification table below. Drive goes through a 3-speed Manual transmission / manual / 4-speed manual / 3-speed Automatic transmission / 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. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
In context
In the Plymouth line-up the Plymouth Satellite has a clear place: it replaced the Plymouth Belvedere; it handed the line to the Plymouth Fury (seventh generation); the factory was Highland Park, Michigan. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Porsche 911, the Nissan Silvia, the Ford Transit. Nearby in the Plymouth catalogue sit the Plymouth XNR and the Plymouth Laser.
Owning one today
MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Plymouth Satellite 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.