We all have personal connections to cars in our past, and the 1980-1983 Chrysler Cordoba/Dodge Mirada twins figured large in my early driving misadventures.  Built by the Chrysler Corporation as a downsized version (I am not kidding here.) of the earlier Chrysler Cordoba and Dodge Charger, they came out at the worst possible time.  Gas prices were climbing, interest rates were in the double digits for even the most sterling of borrowers, and the Chrysler Corporation was on the ropes.  While the earlier versions of these automobiles were great sellers, these particular personal luxury coupes fell flat on their faces sales wise.  This is a shame, because they weren’t bad cars.  This particular example, a 1980 Dodge Mirada CMX being sold on EBay out of Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania, is worth a second look.  With just 87,749 miles on the odometer, and in excellent condition, it has only been bid up to $3,350 as of this writing.  Many thanks to Matt Williams for finding this Mirada for us!

My personal experiences with these cars started when my grandfather purchased a 1980 Chrysler Cordoba from a friend in the glass business.  This friend, named Galen, used to work for Chrysler’s distribution center in Florida, and had purchased the car directly through corporate.  My grandfather got it cheap because a limb had fallen on the front part of the roof, bending it and shattering the windshield.  He fixed it pretty easily, and the car was used as a second car to run errands with on the weekends while my grandmother used their Cadillac.  Usually, we were stranded on the weekends, as she roamed far and wide taking care of a trot line of elderly shut ins.  However, this car allowed grandpa, my brother, and I to go to car shows, hobby shops, and hardware stores whenever we wanted.  My grandfather was like a father to my brother and I, and he spent a lot of time with us.  I guess he was more influential than anyone else was in getting me interested in cars, and for that and for many other things, I am eternally grateful.

So, when I turned 16, he gave me the Cordoba.  I had already driven it a few times before, including a night that I “borrowed” it while they were out of town.  Given that I was just 14 at the time, and I was performing some high speed stupidity, I never told him about that ride.  Anyway, it was a good car for a first car, especially since I felt like a car had two speeds at the time: off and full throttle.  It was slow enough to not cause any major trouble, but it had three major faults that I later found out that the Mirada shared (He replaced his former Cordoba with a 1980 Mirada.).  The first was the gas mileage.  My Cordoba got 6mpg city, and 8 mpg highway, but that was with me driving.  The Mirada got 10 mpg city, and 12 mpg highway, and that was with my grandfather driving.  Second, the cars were poor handlers in the rain.  They tended to slide around a bit, and the brakes would lock up with just a little bit of pedal pressure.  Finally, one of the most aggravating problems was that the control box for the electronic ignition would occasionally fail.  A failure would cause the car to run very rough, and clear plastic would ooze from the box and down the cowl.

This particular Mirada the same color, and is about in the same condition now as the one my grandfather bought as a used car.  It seems to be a less optioned car, but it does have some important ones.  Inside, this one has vinyl upholstery, and it seems to have held up well over the years.  It also has a center console with a floor shifter, and even an AM/FM radio with a CB radio.  This is pretty cool, as I have never seen one before.  The windows are the old school crank up type, and it doesn’t appear that the car has power door locks.  Under the hood, it has the same 318 cubic inch Chrysler V-8, with a two barrel carburetor.  It also has air conditioning, and it has been upgraded from a R-12 refrigerant to a more available R-134A type.  Overall, the car has no rust, and sports just a few dings here and there.

One other important detail on this car is that the rubber “tips” on the back corners look to be in perfect condition.  These were made of a soft material, and they rotted away quickly on every Mirada and Cordoba I have ever seen.  Cordobas also had them on the front corners as well.  When the Cordoba and Mirada were in my family, we tried to get replacements from Chrysler.  They were all sold out then, but I later heard that someone was making fiberglass replacements.  If you needed a set, you could probably get some enterprising twelve year old to 3-D print you a set nowadays!

So, is this car worth spending over $3,000 on?  For me, I think it is a good deal for that price range.  They are comfortable, reliable cars that handle well in every condition except for rain, and it is still a handsome design.  The success of these cars was crucial for Chrysler’s survival, but they failed to sell in high enough numbers to help the company.  Compared to the Ford Thunderbird, which was part of its competition, it was a much better looking car.  However, the personal luxury coupes from GM, such as the Buick Regal, Chevrolet Monte Carlo, Pontiac Grand Prix, and the Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme, were probably better cars.  The Cordoba and Mirada twins are fairly rare in the collectible market, and this one would make for a good conversation starter at car shows and cruise ins.  I hope someone buys this car and preserves it.  Good examples of these are hard to find, and seeing this one takes me back.