The Plymouth Laser is a two-door 2+2 sports coupe sold by Plymouth from 1989 until 1994. The Laser and its siblings, the Mitsubishi Eclipse and Eagle Talon, were the first vehicles produced under the newly-formed Diamond-Star Motors, a joint venture between the Chrysler Corporation and the Mitsubishi Motors Corporation.
Overview
Introduced as "the first Plymouth of the '90s" in advertising, the Plymouth Laser debuted in January 1989 as a 1990 model. The company produced a Chrysler Laser model from 1984 to 1986. The 2-door hatchback was based on the Dodge Daytona model prior to the name badge moving, to the Plymouth brand. Commercials for the 1990 Laser featured R&B singer Tina Turner who appeared in a series of 1990 promotional ads for Plymouth. With three available engines, two transmission offerings, and sporty "aero" styling, the Laser was the most performance-oriented Plymouth since the Barracuda, Duster, and Road Runner muscle cars of the 1970s.
Despite its close resemblance to its Mitsubishi and Eagle siblings, it has several unique styling cues intended to set it apart from the other two. Apart from badging, Lasers sport a race-inspired look, with a plastic panel in the place of a grille, a full rear light-bar, a bulge on the hood for 2.0 L engine models (not necessarily turbocharged), and available stylish "lace" patterned alloy wheels. Rallye Sport (RS), models are set apart from the base models by their black roof with body-colored targa band, power steering, lower bodyside accent striping, and dual power mirrors, as well as an array of options not available on base Lasers. due to poor sales. Nothing, including the price, was changed.
{| class=wikitable align=center
|+Production figures by model year: Figures are in United States dollars.
{| class="wikitable" Style="text-align:center"
|-
! !!colspan=4 | Trim level
|-
! Model year !! Base !! RS !! RS Turbo !! RS Turbo AWD
|-
| 1990 || $10,855 || $11,900 || $13,905 || N/A
|-
| 1991 || $10,864 || $12,770 || $13,954 || N/A
|-
| 1992 || $11,184 || $13,332 || $14,811 || $16,853
|-
| 1993 || $11,542 || $13,910 || $15,444 || $17,572
|-
| 1994 || $11,542 || $13,910 || $15,444 || $17,572
|}
Engines
{| class="wikitable"
|+
!Engine
!Displacement
!Power
!Torque
!Years
|-
|1.8 Inline 4
|
| @ 5500
| @ 3500
| rowspan="2" |1990 - 1994
|-
|2.0 Inline 4
| rowspan="4" |
| @ 6000
| @ 5000
|-
| rowspan="3" |2.0 Inline 4 Turbo
| @ 5500
| @ 3000
|1991 - 1994
|-
| @ 6000
| rowspan="2" | @ 3000
|1990 - 1993
|-
| @ 6000
|1991 - 1994
|}
Awards
The Laser Turbo was on Car and Driver magazine's Ten Best list from 1989 through 1992.
Discontinuation
The Plymouth Laser was not a major sales success. It did not sell as well as the Eagle Talon, and certainly not as well as the Mitsubishi Eclipse. Several factors influenced this. First, the Laser was a product of badge engineering, therefore it had to compete with two other cars that were virtually identical. Compounding the problem, it faced in-house competition from the Talon, as the Eagle brand was also owned by Chrysler. Where Plymouth was generally marketed as the value-oriented, mainstream brand, Chrysler was trying to market Eagle as their performance brand. Due to this, a much heavier amount of advertising was devoted to the Talon. The fact that the Laser was far different from any other product Plymouth was selling at the time did not help its popularity. In the early 1990s, Plymouth's bread and butter lineup still consisted of K-car-derived cars and minivans; the Laser simply did not fit into this group.
Due to these factors, the Laser was discontinued after a brief run of 1994 models. This failure of badge-engineering was just a preview of what would happen to the whole Plymouth marque in subsequent years. The Laser's discontinuation coincided with the introduction of its successor, the 1995 Plymouth Neon.