The Dodge Aspen arrived in 1976 as the successor to the aging Dart. Over at Plymouth, a badge-engineering version of the automobile called the Volare replaced the Valiant. There were no major leaps forward in the cars from a design perspective, and they sold well enough until some recall issues began to impact demand. In production until 1980, this basic 1977 Aspen 4-door sedan is from the car’s best sales year and looks to be a nice survivor. Nothing fancy here with a Slant-Six engine and “3-on-the-tree” manual transmission.
In an interesting move, the Dart and Valiant remained on the assembly line during the Aspen/Volare’s first year. We understand that demand for the older cars was still strong enough to warrant an extra run. But the Dart/Valiant were gone in 1977 and some of the quality control issues of the Aspen/Volare were beginning to surface. However, since the seller’s car has survived 47 years and 86,000 miles, if it had any bugs, they’re not likely to be a problem now.
Basic 4-door sedans like this ’77 Aspen were about 10% of total sales that year at more than 32,000 units. We suspect the paint is original and rust doesn’t seem to be much of an issue (one of the recall issues). The spartan interior also looks to be from 1977, so this Dodge was probably treated with kid gloves over the years. No V8 or automatic transmission here, so this should be an economical car to operate from its vintage. The brakes are new, and the Aspen has been treated to a tune-up. The tires should be good to go.
The buyer will need to repair a leaky manifold gasket, and the rear-view mirror broke away. The seller is moving and needs to downsize, hence the reason for selling this no-frills piece of 1970s transportation. Located in Winona, Minnesota, the Dodge is available here on eBay where there is no reserve and the current bid is just $2,050.
If my wife wouldn’t threaten me with divorce, I would certainly pull the trigger on this one. Among the last of the 3-on-the-tree configurations from Mopar. GLWTS!
No matter how nice, this is not going to attract many potential buyers to bid. With less than 2 days left and a high bid of $2,050 there probably isn’t a lot of upside. I’d be surprised if the auction ends much above $4,000, and might have trouble reaching that. The segment of the market this car exists in is driven by price, not passion, cars in similar condition with a better driving experience for not much more money aren’t particularly hard to find. That makes this car a tough sell.
Steve R
Sold for a high bid of $2,950.
Steve R
The bare bones version of what was at its core a basic car. Manual steering and brakes, crank windows, no a/c. But got to acknowledge any vehicle with a three-on-the-tree, which even by 1977 was getting rare. I was surprised to learn it has a FM radio– aftermarket maybe? Can’t really tell.
Be ready to turn your head 90 degrees to examine the pics on ebay.
Hard to tell but a bare bones model maybe with a am fm radio
My aunt bought one new in the fall of
’75 and really regretted it. Hers was a
Volare wagon that started rusting out
the day she bought it. And mechanical problems? You name it,
that car had it. The hood would fly open, the car would die when someone behind her would key the
Mike on their CB radio, and that Lean
Burn carb? What a piece of crap! No,
Chrysler didn’t change these cars much except for the build quality which went down the tubes from day
one. No wonder they almost went
bankrupt! You can’t keep selling
garbage like that and still stay in
business. It was cars like this that led
the public to buy imports.
Actually the 1979 and 1980 Aspens and Volares were much improved compared to the 1975 through 1978 models.
78-80s were vastly improved over the 76-77s
The fenders rusted while on the showroom floor. Chrysler gave people new fenders when they started to rust out in order not to have a nationwide recall, and the people had to pay to install, treat, prime, sand fit, and paint, polish, and buff out.
They didnt rust out on the showroom floor , it took a couple of years for them to rust out-still very poor , but no instant rust – even the Asian cars didnt rust out that fast
Yeah, right. If the hood would fly open , it was because nobody latched it- all cars had a double catch by this time and if the hood would have flown up, it would have folded over and broken the windshield and damaged the roof . No car rusts out the day someone buys it, even the Vegas or the imports of that time. The CB thing I’m guessing is an attempt at Sarcasm . The Imports were already hot sellers by the time the Volare/Aspens came out
Regardless of its reputation, seeing it with minimal decoration, dog dishes, and whitewalls, emphasizes to me that it’s a really nicely proportioned and a handsome design.
My grandparents had a Volare, I forget the year, but a slant six and auto. It was a good car for them, but they didn’t drive it much. I think after 10 years it only had 20,000 miles on it. They lived in upstate N.Y. and by then it was really rusty. When grandma quit driving my father sold it for her to some guy for 200 bucks. He was thrilled to get it, said he had a couple of them and they were great cars.
I was just having a similar conversation with the wife. We were discussing one set of my grandparents, whose lifestyle (and town/area they lived in) meant they drove very little. A couple thousand miles on their late 40’s Chrysler would have been a big year. The conversation was prompted by this week, which included lots of “chasing the grandkids” and such. I will have driven over 500 miles “without going anywhere.”
Pity that they didn’t go for the four on the floor with overdrive! That would probably make it more attractive…
If it was closer, I’d bid on it. Too bad!
My late dad’s last car was a 77 white Volare 4 door, green interior, automatic, AM radio, nice car. He died in 80. I kept it for a while after he died. The bottoms of the doors were beginning to rust, nothing major, I put touch up paint on them. Finally traded it in on something newer. When ever I see a Volare or Aspen 4 door I think of Dad.
My late dad’s last car was a 1979 Volare, replacement for his stolen 1980 Volare.
Many people got a raw dea by the rushed out the door too fast 1976 debut of the Volare/Aspen twins. By late ‘77 they were much better and they continued to improve. Lean burn was junk, getting rid of it was a simple procedure, then the cars were reliable. Thing is, the good experiences on the later models don’t get the attention as the ones that got burned with the early cars.
Cars are much better today but in some areas still rust like mad, I seen a 5 year old Mazda 3 from Quebec go to the shredder.
Lovely car. I’ve always loved the 1976-77 Dodge Aspen. My aunt drove one years ago, and she loved driving it! It gave her fun reliable driving service. I know it may seem difficult to believe, given what’s been said about the Aspen/Volare of this time, but it’s true.
Looks like a fleet car the government would purchase.
When the new owner is at the auto parts store getting the new manifold gasket and mirror adhesive kit they’d do well to pick up a spare ballast resistor to keep in the glove box. ;)
I absolutely love this Aspen. I had a 76 Plymouth Volare around the year 2000. I kept it for several years until the rust got the better of it. When I bought it it had the original vinyl interior and the interior was like brand new still no rips or tears. I had to have the driver’s seat vinyl in my 2007 F150 replaced at 80,000 miles because it was falling apart. Everything today is junk. I see it looks like cloth seats in this Aspen and they appear in good condition. The driver’s seat in my Volare was a split bench and the seats reclined. I wonder if this Aspen has that. I am probably one of very few people that can drive a manual transmission and even fewer that can drive the three in a tree. If I had this Aspen I would drive it almost every day and enjoy it. I put less than 5,000 miles on my car last year so I think it might take me awhile to wear this Aspen out. I’m gonna keep an eye on this auction and maybe a possible bidder.
my drivers ed teacher had two new cars, a 76 Volare and a 76 Aspen, both 4 doors. The Dodge was a three on the tree ; he told his students that we had to learn how to drive both automatics and standards. in the mid 80s I was working in a salvage yard when all the roughly 10 year old cars started coming in. Other than a couple of 3 speed on the floor base models , I never saw another three on the tree Volare/Aspen – I sometimes thought I had imagined it , so thanks for posting this one !