The K-car platform was a key automotive design platform introduced by Chrysler Corporation for the 1981 model year, featuring a transverse engine, front-wheel drive, independent front and semi-independent rear suspension configuration—a stark departure from the company's previous reliance on solid axle, rear-drive unibody configurations ...

Jun 8, 2022 · Chrysler produced the original K-platform vehicles between 1981 and 1989. The mid-sized K car was succeeded by the C-platform and the AS-platform for minivans. By the mid-1980s, four Chrysler K cars dominated the econocar market.

Oct 27, 2021 · The K platform differed from many of Chrysler’s previous offerings, which usually consisted of a rear-wheel-drive setup. K cars were built with a front engine and transaxle in mind, and while this is the standard setup for most cars today, it was new for the 80s.

Feb 4, 2025 · Chrysler 's answer to the problem, like all other Detroit-bred automakers, was to downsize their entire lineup. During this downsizing, they developed the K-Platform, a now-famous architecture...

May 24, 2024 · Following the initial success, Chrysler expanded the K-platform to include more models, such as the Chrysler LeBaron and the Dodge 400. The versatility of the platform also led to the creation of the minivan, another significant innovation attributed to Chrysler.

Apr 12, 2018 · Thanks to a government loan of 1.2 billion dollars, which Chrysler was able to repay seven years ahead of schedule, Iacocca was able to direct Chrysler engineers to begin production of these cars, all based on the K platform.

Mar 14, 2021 · With Ford's "mini-max" plans brought over to Chrysler, the minivan project was built off of the K-Car platform. The result was a revolutionary vehicle featuring a completely flat floor claimed to fit a four-feet-by-eight-feet sheet of plywood behind the driver's seat, passenger seating for seven and an overall size that fits in every garage ...

Dec 14, 2020 · Within just 3 years of the release of the Aries and the Reliant, the K-Car had changed the game entirely for Chrysler. Not only did the K-Car platform vehicles make up more than 50% of sales for Chrysler, but it had been expanded to be used for 12 different vehicles.

May 2, 2023 · Chrysler produced the original K-platform vehicles between 1981 and 1989. The mid-sized K car was succeeded by the C-platform for minivans. In the 1980’s, four Chrysler K cars dominated the market. These were the Dodge Aries, the Plymouth Reliant, the Dodge 400, and the Chrysler LeBaron.

Jul 7, 2019 · The K car, however, kept Chrysler solvent through the Eighties, and while success does have many fathers, Iacocca generally gets the credit for positioning the K car and for staking the company’s existence on the platform. Tofer’s video details exactly how that chapter in auto history unfolded.