Chrysler LeBaron 1st Generation

Production period:	1977 to 1981
Class :	Motor car
Body versions :	Saloon , station wagon ,coupe
Engines:	Gasoline : 3.7-5.9 liters (62.5-125 kW)
Length:	5123-5225 mm
Width:	1885 mm
Height:	1354-1410 mm
Wheelbase :	2865 mm
Curb weight :	1454-1691 kg

The Chrysler LeBaron first generation was produced from 1977 to 1981 in the USA.

History

Based on the M-platform Body ,first appeared in the market segment of compact luxury vehicles. The high-quality equipped car was the smallest vehicle in the history of the Chrysler brand. It competed against the Cadillac Seville and the Lincoln Versailles . It established a model family, which - with some modifications - was produced until 1989.The first oil crisis in the mid-1970s led to increased interest in smaller but well-equipped vehicles in the US . 

After some import vehicles, General Motors with the Cadillac Seville and the Ford Motor Company since 1976 increasingly successful with domestic designs in this segment. Chrysler put the Seville and the Versailles from 1977. The model designation referred to an eponymous American bodybuilder before the war, which had been taken over by Chrysler in 1935.With the LeBaron Chrysler founded a new model family, which was internally summarized under the name Chrysler M platform. Regardless, the LeBaron was just as little a new development as were the rivals of General Motors and Ford.

 While the Cadillac Seville derived from the Chevrolet Nova and the Lincoln Versailles were due to the Ford Granada , the LeBaron resorted largely to Chrysler's F platform . This was technically and externally closely related to the Dodge Aspen and the Plymouth Volare .The LeBaron used the same suspension as the Aspen / Volaré; also brakes, wheelbase and body shell were identical. As a drive initially served only a 5.2-liter eight-cylinder engine; from 1978 to 1981 was alternatively also the Slant Six  with 3.7 liters of displacement available. In the model years 1978 and 1979 also a 5.9-liter eight-cylinder engine could be delivered.

PERFORMANCE 225 cu in, 3,687 cc (90 hp)
max speed: 90 mph, 145 km/h
max power (SAE net): 90 hp (67 kW) at 3,600 rpm
max torque (SAE net): 160 1b ft, 22.1 kg m (217 Nm) at 1,600 rpm
max engine rpm: 4,400; 24.4 hp/l (18 kW/l)
power-weight ratio: Sedan 37.7 lb/hp (50 lb/kW), 17.1 kg/hp (23 kg/kW)
speed in direct drive at 1,000 rpm: 25.5 mph, 41 km/h:
consumption: 20.2 m/imp gal, 17 m/US gal, 13.6 Ix 100 km.
PERFORMANCE 318 cu in, 5,211 cc 120 hp
max speed: 102 mph, 164 km/h
max power (SAE net): 120 hp (89 kW) at 3,600 rpm
max torque (SAE net): 245 1b ft, 33.8 kg m (331 Nm) at 1,600 rpm
power-weight ratio: Sedan 28.9 lb/hp (39.1 lb/kW), 13.1 kg/hp (17.7 kg/kW),
speed in direct drive at 1,000 rpm: 25.5 mph, 41 km/h; consumption: 17.8 m/imp gal, 15 US gal, 15.4 Ix 100 km.

Stylistically, the LeBaron was largely identical to the Aspen / Volaré. Numerous body parts such as doors and fenders as well as the glazing could be interchanged. However, the Chrysler designers were able to conceal the Origins  of LeBaron better than the Lincoln designers had succeeded in the case of the Versailles. The front end of the LeBaron was completely independent. In addition, the turn signals were mounted horizontally above the front headlights. Such positioning was unique among American automobiles of the 1970s. The LeBaron was available as a sedan, coupe and - from 1978 - as a station wagon, the traditional name Town & Country received. Until 1979, all body versions were based on the same wheelbase; however, with the facelift of 1980, the LeBaron Coupé received a wheelbase shortened by 10 cm.

In 1980, the LeBaron received a comprehensive facelift with a completely new roofline. The C-pillar was now much steeper, and the rear end together with the lighting unit was completely redesigned. The grille was also new. The LeBaron now carried a Waterfall Grill, which had appeared in 1974 at Chrysler's then top model Imperial LeBaron and had been used since 1975 in the large, exclusive New Yorker . In addition, the rear fenders of the coupe were now designed straight.

As equipment variants there was the basic model, the LeBaron S or Special as a starter model with reduced equipment as well as the top models LeBaron Salon and LeBaron Medallion.

OPTIONAL:heavy-duty suspension (standard for st. wagon only); tilt of steering column; automatic speed control; electric windows; electric sunshine roof; halogen headlamps; vinyl roof;
air-conditioning; T-bar roof; "LS" equipment.

A special model, which was only offered in 1980, was the LeBaron Fifth Avenue Edition, The car had a special vinyl roof, which included only the rear part of the vehicle roof in the area of ​​the C-pillar in the style of a Landauer. In addition, the fixed triangular window of the rear doors was covered with vinyl. Between the vinyl upholstery and the car-color painted roof ran a wide, the optical separation serving chrome strips. The vinyl construction was developed by the convertible company American Sunroof Company (ASC); there were also made the modifications. In the 1980 model year, only 650 LeBaron Fifth Avenue vehicles were manufactured. In 1981, this version was no longer on offer. The design concept, however, was almost unchanged for Chrysler New York's Fifth Avenue and its successorUsed Chrysler Fifth Avenue . 

The LeBaron Sedan V8 was offered in model year 1977 at a base price of $ 4,898, the better-equipped Medallion version had a price of 5,496 US $. A comparable motorized Plymouth Volaré cost $ 3,500. The Cadillac Seville and the Lincoln Versailles were more than twice as expensive ($ 11,200 and $ 13,595, respectively), while the 600mm longer and heavier Chrysler Newport was priced at LeBaron.

Over the years, prices for a LeBaron Medallion rose significantly. In model year 1979, the technically and externally unchanged car already cost $ 6,556, and in 1980, after a facelift had been carried out, the selling price increased to $ 7,424. 

From 1977 to 1981, a total of 431,616 copies of LeBaron. With the conversion of the model range on the front-wheel drive K-car family Chrysler handed the name LeBaron from 1982 to an extended version of the Plymouth Reliant .Nevertheless, the sedan of the M-Body was produced until 1989. The car took the role of the top model of the Chrysler Corporation from 1982 and was sold under various names - Chrysler New Yorker (model year 1982), New York's Fifth Avenue (1983) and Chrysler Fifth Avenue (1984 to 1989) - in nearly 500,000 copies.

The Chrysler Group-owned brand Dodge offered from 1977 under the name Dodge Diplomat own, slightly simpler version of the LeBaron. The diplomat was cheaper than the LeBaron, but sold much worse. In addition, a Plymouth version called Caravelle was available on the Canadian market .