by 82Lebaronconv » Wed Dec 29, 2010 12:57 am
In 1977, my friend Clint bought a new Dodge Aspen RT. It was fully loaded, with factory t-tops (remember those?), a special graphics package and the 360 CI V-8. At that time, Clint was a dedicated Mopar man and he had traded in his yellow 1973 Dodge Challenger for the Aspen (in retrospect, a tragic mistake). The Challenger was an awesome car, but the Aspen was just awful. He had huge problems with the "Lean Burn" electronic ignition system (sometimes the Aspen would start right up, other times, it would not start at all) and premature rusting of the fenders and rear quarter panels despite careful maintenance. After suffering with the Aspen for a number of years, Clint finally sold it and bought a new 1986 Chevy Monte Carlo SS that he still owns to this day. He never owned another Chrysler product after the Aspen. Clint is very fastidious about his cars and the Monte is stored in a windowless concrete garage that is more like a bunker. He only drives it occasionally during the summer and bath towels have covered the seats since it was first brought home from the dealership. The car looks and even smells brand new and today has barely 50,000 miles on the odometer. If you want to see a truly outstanding original 1980's car, this has to be one of the best in existence.