1978 Dodge Aspen

The short-lived Dodge Aspen was in production from 1976 through 1980, and - along with its Plymouth branded counterpart the Volare - was Motor Trend Magazine's 'Car of the Year' for 1976. The Aspen was the successor to the A-body Dart and the Volare took over the duties of the Valiant and Duster, although concurrently sold along with Aspen and Volare during the early part of the 1976 model year until A-body models were discontinued.

For 1978, the Aspen received a new front fascia that was similar to the Volare, with the overall appearance being similar to the 1977 version. Super Coupe, R/T, and R/T Sport Pak option packages were offered, with the Super Coupe arriving later in the season. The Super Coupe (code A67) had a dark brown body with a black finish hood, headlamps, wiper arms, front fender tops, front and rear bumpers, and remote-control racing mirrors. The 8-inch GT wheels were wrapped with GR60x15 Aramid fiber-belted raised white letter radial tires. Additional appearance upgrades included wheel flares, quarter-window louvers, and front and rear spoilers. Mechanical upgrades included a 360 cubic-inch four-barrel V8 and a heavy-duty suspension with rear anti-sway bar.

The R/T trim package (RPO Code A57) added Rallye wheels with FR78x14 GBR BSW tires, R/T decals and grille medallion, rocker panel moldings with black paint below, red grille treatment, multi-color-bodyside, hood and rear tape stripes, a heavy-duty suspension, and dual remote racing mirrors.

The R/T Sport Pak (code A66) came with a front spoiler, rear deck spoiler, full-length tricolor stripe on a white or black body, quarter-window louvers, and wheel flares.

A Sunrise Package was also available, installed on approximately 500 examples.

New exterior colors on the Aspen included Tapestry Red Sunfire metallic, Citron and Cadet Blue metallic, Augusta Green Sunfire metallic, Tapestry Red Sunfire Metallic, Classic Cream, Black, Caramel Tan and Mint Green metallic, and Pewter Gray metallic. Existing carry-over colors included Light Mocha Tan, Eggshell White, Spitfire Orange, and Starlight Blue Sunfire metallic.

Flanked on either side of the grille were square amber parking lamps, each with twin horizontal trim strips, and round headlamps with square bezels.

Body styles were the same as the previous year and included a two-door coupe, four-door sedan, and two-seat wagon. The base engine was the one-barrel Slant Six, although station wagons came standard with a two-barrel Super Six. The three-speed manual shift was standard and a four-speed was optional. The optional TorqueFlite automatic added a new lock-up torque converter. Steering was by a recirculating ball and the suspension used isolated transverse torsion bars and anti-sway bar in the front, with the front using semi-elliptic leaf springs.

The overhead-valve six-cylinder engine had solid valve lifters, a 1-barrel Holley carburetor, four main bearings, and delivered 100 horsepower and 170 lb-ft of torque. The two-barrel version had 110 horsepower and 180 lb-ft of torque. The optional overhead-valve V8 displaced 318 cubic inches and produced 140 horsepower at 4,000 RPM and 245 lb-ft of torque at 1,600 RPM. The 360 CID V8 had 155 horsepower, and the 360 CID V8 with a Carter four-barrel carburetor had 175 horsepower and 260 lb-ft of torque.

The Sport Coupe had a base price of $3,750, the sedan listed for $3,870 and the station wagon was $4,200. A total of 64,320 examples of the sedan were produced, along with 48,311 of the sport coupe and 53,788 of the station wagon.

Along with the previously mentioned option packages, a Plethora of additional options was available including belt moldings, space-saving spare tire, AM radio, AM/FM radio, 8 track player, CB, rear speaker, Halo vinyl roof, Landau vinyl roof, Deluxe insulation package, Protection group, automatic speed control, power seat, tinted windshield, power door locks, digital clock, inside hood release, and more.

Production of the Aspen continued through 1980, and for the 1981 model year, it was replaced by the Dodge Aries.

by Daniel Vaughan | Nov 2020