I always thought these were a little bit ahead of their time and somewhat groundbreaking for the American manufacturers. Still good after all these years.
In the 1980s I had this car's twin, the 1981 Dodge Omni (Two door 024 version). Everything broke, explaining the name Omni. Junk on wheels. The Dodge and Chrysler dealers would lie about what repairs it needed, and even sell defective parts. This junk was responsible for the bad reputation of the American car. It went to the junk yard in 1990 with 126,000 on the odometer. Today I still am driving a 1989 Chevrolet Caprice Classic, with 254,000 miles on it. It still runs great. It still rides like a new car. I would send in a picture to this website, but it may not be old enough yet?
To all of those saying it was a copy of the Rabbit, I'm sorry to say you are completely incorrect. It was also not designed by Simca or Talbot. It was designed by Chrysler's Europe division and was the first "world car". The Talbot, and Simca versions shared almost nothing with the American versions outside of sheet metal. The drivetrains and suspension were completely different. The Onni predates the rabbit and the rabbit was actually stolen by VW. I suggest you read the following page to enlighten your minds. http://www.allpar.com/omni/horizon-c2.html Navigate down the page to the "Rabbit and Horizon: who copied who?" section. That's just the fact. My first car was a 1986 Omni GLH Turbo that I got from a junkyard for $350, it ran like hell and got 40mpg to boot. Had it 6 years without a single problem until the brakes failed because of shoddy work at my mechanic. So all you Euro trash snobs who think VW had their idea stolen, the opposite is true because they were the thieves because the company was failing at the time, just as they are now.
Best of OPC. 
14 comments:
My '79 had those wheels, after all of these years I have to admit they look cool.
I always thought these were a little bit ahead of their time and somewhat groundbreaking for the American manufacturers. Still good after all these years.
Absolutely. Hard to believe this thing is a '78. Way modern looking for '78.
Well maybe it looks too modern for an american car of that age because it was actually designed in Europe by Simca :)
Wasn't Simca the predecessor to the Subaru?
^ No. Simca was a French designer/manufacturer, Subaru is Japanese and they were operating concurrently.
French, Japanese, whatever, ain't nuthin' but a poor, cheap copy of the VW Rabbit.
The European post-facelift Horizon really didn't look half bad IMO.
http://passionhorizon.wifeo.com/images/t/tal/Talbot_Horizon_1985_p06-d275.jpg
Ahead of it's time... REALLY??
If you call COPYING someone else's design GROUNDBREAKING... a cheap copy of the successful, at the time, VW Rabbit.
It even had the 1.7 VW engine... oh well, if you can't beat em, join em... or, at least BE them.
Pathetic.
This car was also designed an made in Europe by Talbot Motorcars.
It was known as the Talbot Horizon.
In the 1980s I had this car's twin, the 1981 Dodge Omni (Two door 024 version). Everything broke, explaining the name Omni. Junk on wheels. The Dodge and Chrysler dealers would lie about what repairs it needed, and even sell defective parts. This junk was responsible for the bad reputation of the American car. It went to the junk yard in 1990 with 126,000 on the odometer. Today I still am driving a 1989 Chevrolet Caprice Classic, with 254,000 miles on it. It still runs great. It still rides like a new car. I would send in a picture to this website, but it may not be old enough yet?
Looks real sharp in orange with those basketweave/mesh style wheels.
To all of those saying it was a copy of the Rabbit, I'm sorry to say you are completely incorrect. It was also not designed by Simca or Talbot. It was designed by Chrysler's Europe division and was the first "world car". The Talbot, and Simca versions shared almost nothing with the American versions outside of sheet metal. The drivetrains and suspension were completely different. The Onni predates the rabbit and the rabbit was actually stolen by VW. I suggest you read the following page to enlighten your minds. http://www.allpar.com/omni/horizon-c2.html Navigate down the page to the "Rabbit and Horizon: who copied who?" section. That's just the fact. My first car was a 1986 Omni GLH Turbo that I got from a junkyard for $350, it ran like hell and got 40mpg to boot. Had it 6 years without a single problem until the brakes failed because of shoddy work at my mechanic. So all you Euro trash snobs who think VW had their idea stolen, the opposite is true because they were the thieves because the company was failing at the time, just as they are now.
That thing is awesome, can't believe I didn't comment on it.
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