A look back at when Chrysler went sporty with the fastback Laser
The Chrysler Laser debuted in 1984, as did its sister car, the Dodge Daytona and was essentially Chrysler’s “pony” car of the ’80s.
- Originally ran in January 1, 2024 issue of Old Cars
Recently, I visited Chrysler’s webpage and found that its lineup is comprised of just three vehicles: The Pacifica minivan, the hybrid Pacifica and the 300 sedan. It would seem that Chrysler, a proud name with a long and interesting history, has become merely a minor star in the Stellantis constellation.
I won’t pretend to guess what the future may hold for the company that Walter P. Chrysler founded nearly a century ago. The “Malaise Machines” column is more of a rose-tinted rearview mirror than a crystal ball. And peering into it back to the mid 1980s, I see a reinvigorated Chrysler Corp. that, under the leadership of cigar-chomping, limelight-loving Lee Iacocca, had narrowly escaped death and was thriving. The government-guaranteed private capital loans that had buoyed the company through its darkest moments had been repaid with interest by 1983. Chrysler was doing so well that, in 1987, it bought AMC.
A potential car buyer visiting a Chrysler showroom in the mid-to-late 1980s would find a vehicle to suit their needs, unless it was a truck or minivan. Dodge and Plymouth covered the utility vehicle market, and posh Chrysler Town & Country minivans wouldn’t hit showrooms until 1989 as 1990 models. Luxury cars such as the LeBaron and New Yorker were front and center, but Chrysler had edged into a more youthful market segment with cars such as the sporty LeBaron GTS sedan and Laser sports coupe.
The Laser is especially interesting in retrospect. With the Laser, Chrysler was fielding what amounted to a pony car. Chrysler was a “senior” nameplate, and as such, its products tended to skew toward the mature customer. Even the high-performance “Letter Cars” of the ’50s and ’60s were banker’s expresses — big and expensive. The Laser, by contrast, might appeal to the banker’s kid. Perhaps it’s not so surprising when considered in light of Iacocca’s involvement in bringing the original Ford Mustang to market.
The Chrysler Laser debuted in 1984, as did its sister car, the Dodge Daytona. Yes, they were K-car derivatives. No, they were not K-cars. To build the sporty duo, Chrysler took the versatile K platform and deducted 3 inches from the wheelbase to arrive at a stubby 97 inches between the axle centerlines. The firm’s solvency may have seemed stable by this point, but the economies of developing the new models from an existing platform couldn’t be overlooked. Still, the new, so-called “G-24” coupes had their own glass and sheet metal. Pure K-cars shared everything from the A-pillar forward and much else besides.
The Daytona and Laser are a master class in 1980s sporty coupe styling. The rectangular quad headlamps and chiseled droop-snoot front-end recall Camaros of the era, while the glasshouse and sharply raked B-pillar evoke various front-engined Porsches. Some might call it pastiche, but I think it works very well from an aesthetic standpoint. It was also functional; the cars had a 0.35 drag coefficient.
Chrysler turned up the wick as high as it could on the MacPherson strut front and flex-beam rear suspension systems inherited from the K-car. Engineers significantly stiffened the springs, and grippier tires were bolted on along with a fast-ratio steering rack that gave 2.5 turns lock-to-lock. Motive power was courtesy of the corporate 2.2-liter OHC four-cylinder, either with or without turbocharging. The naturally aspirated 2.2-liter mill was good for 97 hp; the turbo gave a respectable-for-the-period 146 hp, along with a useful 170 lb.-ft. of torque. A 100-hp 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine was available later in the production run. Five-speed manual or three-speed automatic transaxles sent power to the front wheels.
Interior ambiance was perfectly in tune with the car’s sports coupe design brief. Deep, well-bolstered, low-mounted bucket seats helped locate front seat occupants during aggressive cornering, while a pair of “plus two” perches, better suited to a briefcase or small dog, catered to tagalongs. The dashboard and center stack were replete with a high-tech graph-paper-grid motif meant to suggest digital sophistication. A digital instrument cluster could be had, and it was one of the better ones. Another option so redolent of the early digital age was Electronic Voice Alert (EVA), a digitally synthesized voice that kept drivers informed about important information, such as engine temperature and fuel level.
A one-owner Laser
Chrysler’s youthful offering caught the eye of a Maryland MoPar enthusiast. He ordered this 1986 Laser from Fred Frederick Chrysler in Laurel, Md.
“I was about 30 and thought we needed something sporty to drive beside the minivan we had,” he says. “I didn’t want a digital dash and I didn’t want my car to talk to me, so I ordered a base model and added all the options,” he explains. This is why the black car has turbo power, leather seats and alloy wheels while technically being a base model."
After nearly 40 years in the same hands, the car has mellowed nicely. The black paint has worn thin in spots after repeated polishing, and the black leather upholstery has acquired a few dignified creases, but there’s not a speck of rust to be seen. Its custodian explains that he often drove minivans in preference to the Laser, keeping it preserved. To date, it has covered less than 34,000 miles.
“It’s been very reliable,” he says, “I only had to replace a few ignition components early on, but other than that, nothing,” he says. “People told me I’d have trouble with the turbo.”
The engine was one of the first on the market with water-cooled turbo bearings, which no doubt contributed to its reliability. This particular car also has a slightly larger oil filter than standard.
“The threads are the same as a [Chrysler] V-8, but the filter is bigger, so I get a little more oil capacity,” the owner says. The grille on the hood is functional, directing air downward toward the turbocharger. However, this version of the engine doesn’t have the intercooler that would be used on later Chrysler turbo fours."
When the Laser does get driven, it’s the car’s road manners that captivate. “I like the way it handles; it really grips the road,” the owner enthuses. But, he laments that he “can’t see anything in traffic,” a consequence of the Laser’s low build and roads that are, today, populated with overly tall station wagons called SUVs.
Today’s Perspective
It’s very easy, in retrospect, to sniff at a four-cylinder, front-wheel-drive pony car. But, to dismiss the Laser and its Dodge Daytona counterpart as merely a compromise forced on Chrysler by the economy of relying on a K platform derivative isn’t giving them their due.
Gas shortages were still fresh in public memory and the days of V-8-powered passenger cars were seen as numbered. The Camaro and Mustang had been offered with four-cylinder engines (turbocharged in the Mustang), and most Japanese sports coupes were four-cylinder-powered. While it’s true that many sports coupes remained rear-wheel drive, it was understood that front-drive models would probably replace them in time. The G-24 coupes were perfectly in tune with their time.
In speaking of the virtues of front-wheel drive and turbo fours, Ricardo Montalban summed it up best in advertisements when he mellifluously intoned: “Once you drive it, you’ll never go back to a V-8 again.” As an example of the breed, the Chrysler Laser remains a convincing argument to enjoy performance and style — efficiently.
Ever wonder what your classic ride is worth? Old Cars Price Guide is now online! Check it out and join to get the unbiased and real-world pricing on classic cars. You get pricing anytime, anyplace on your phone, tablet or computer.
If you like stories like these and other classic car features, check out Old Cars magazine. CLICK HERE to subscribe.
Want a taste of Old Cars magazine first? Sign up for our weekly e-newsletter and get a FREE complimentary digital issue download of our print magazine.
