Dodge Shadow

For 1987, Chrysler Corporation introduced two new compact cars, the Dodge Shadow and the Plymouth Sundance (which turned in similar sales figures), intended to replace the Dodge Charger - Dodge Omni and Plymouth Turismo - Plymouth Horizon, respectively. In addition, the Shadow also replaced the AMC-based Renault Alliance sedan because of Chrysler acquiring AMC from Renault in 1987, officially withdrawing Renault from the United States and Canada. Many Renault and AMC models were poured to the new Eagle brand in 1988.

They were built in Sterling Heights, Michigan and Toluca, Mexico (from late 1988 as 1989 model, sold in this country as the "Chrysler Shadow"). The first car rolled off the assembly line on August 25, 1986.

Both 2-door and 4-door models were built using a variant of the K-car platform, known as the P-body, which was based on a combination of the Dodge Daytona's suspension with a shortened version of the Dodge Lancer's body.

While the Shadow appeared to have a trunk, it was actually a hatchback. Dodge considered this a special feature and advertising literature referred to it as "hidden hatchback versatility". The relatively large storage capacity of these vehicles was a major selling point for the company. The Peugeot 309 which had been developed to replace the European Horizon used a similar layout on a stretched subcompact (Peugeot 205) platform rather than a cut-down midsize one.

Carroll Shelby Enterprises modified Shadows into several performance-oriented vehicles such as the Shelby CSX, which was equipped with a turbocharged 2.2 L engine producing 174 hp (130 kW). Because of the car's light weight and good engine in an era of government emissions choked engines, it was capable of acceleration equal or greater than that of many contemporary muscle and sports cars of the time. A version without the intercooler, rated at 150 hp (112 kW), was sold to Thrifty as the CSX-T.

A convertible version of the Shadow debuted in 1991, the same year Dodge introduced stripped-down, budget-priced "America" versions of the coupe and sedan models. At the time, the Shadow (along with its Sundance cousin) was the lowest-priced car on the market with a standard driver's side airbag, which had been made standard on all US-market domestic Chrysler Corporation cars in 1990. The Shadow received cosmetic updates for 1989: the inset sealed-beam headlamps were discarded in favor of aerodynamic composite units. A new body-color grille and new taillights were among other minor changes. A motorized passenger's side seat belt was added to US-market Shadows in 1994, to comply with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208's requirement for passive restraints. These motorized seat belts do not comply with Canada's safety standards; Canadian-market Sundances continued to use a manual passenger seatbelt, and 1994 Shadows cannot legally be imported across the US-Canada border in either direction.

Production ended on March 9, 1994. The Shadow and Sundance were replaced by the Dodge/Plymouth Neon.