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WHITBY FR EF PRFSS PAGE 18, WEDNESDAY SEPTEMBER 24, 1980, NEW CAR SUPPLEMENT Plymouth Reliant 1981 PLYMOUTH RELIANT Plymouth Reliant - a totally new generation of fuel-efficient, front wheel drive small cars - is a com- plete transporation package designed to meet the motoring requirements of the 1980's. Reliant continues Chrysler's leadership in front wheel drive, following in the tracks of the spec- tacularly successful Plymouth Horizon and Dodge Omni. There are three six- passenger 1981 Plymouth Reliant models - a sporty two-door sedan; a four-door sedan; and the North American automotive in- dustry's first front wheel drive, four-door station wagon. All three Plymouth Reliant models are built on a 2,530 mm (99.6 inch) wheelbase. There are two price classes - Custom and Special Edition. The Plymouth Reliant is two feet shorter, more than 800 pounds lighter, and 33 percent more fuel efficient than the Plymouth Volare compact it replaces. Reliant's standard equip- ment includes a front wheel drive, transverse-mounted 2.2 litre four-cylinder engine; rack and pinion steering; manual transaxle; Iso-Strut front suspension; ail new flex arm beam axle rear suspension; semi- concealed wiper system; soft color-keyed bumper fascia with standard rub strips; full-lenght vinyl body side moldings; styled steel wheels; and bright grilles and head-lamp bezels. The standard power plant for Reliant is the new Chrysler-designed and built 2.2 litre, four-cylinder engine with a cog belt driven overhead camshaft, hydraulic valve lash ad- juster, and aluminum cylin- der head. Bore and stroke dimensions are 87.5 mm X 92.Omm. The new engine features Chrysler's exclusive elec- tronic fuel control system. This system includes elec- tronic ignition, electronic control of spark timing, Hall-effect distributor, and an electronic feedback car- buretor, which helps provide the following advatages: It provides precise engine spark advance and timing, contributes to good fuel economy, promotes good acceleration, engine per- formance and smoothness throughout the speed range, and helps to control engine emissions -even before they leave the engine. An optional 2.61itre power plant manufactured by Mit- subishi Motors Corporation is also available. It features overhead camshaft design, aluminum cylinder head, cast iron cylinder block, two-barrel ca-buretor, and hemispherical-shaped cylin- der head design. The camshaft in this engine is chain driven, and the well-known "silent- shaft" counter-balancing system (composed of dual counter-rotating balance shafts), is used to reduce 1981 PLYMOUTH RELIANT TWO-DOOR COUPE engine vibration. An "after-run" fan system on the 2.6 litre engine operates the fan for five minutes after the engine is turned off if the fan discharge air temperature is 38°C or higher. Fan operation lower engine compartment temperatures and minimizes carburetor fuel evaporation. The system includes a logic cir- cuit of temperature and timing switches which prevent the fan from operating in cold weather, or during engine start up. Standard seating for the new Reliant is cloth and vinyl bench seats, with ad- justable head restraints mounted on the front seat. The seats feature new light- weight stamped steel fram construction, and the split back version for the two- door body style is equipped with inertia seat back lat- ches for ease of entry and exit to the rear compar- tment. Optional bucket seats are also available for the new cars. Special features in- clude: plastic coating on ad- joining metal parts to minimize seat noise; seat back pivot redesigned to make rear seat entry easier on two-door models, dual- sided inertial latches on two- door models, and adjustable head restraints, and com- puter-aided design for lightest weight. Standard interior features include power ventilation system, column-mounted contorls for * windshield wash/wipe, and head-lamp dimmer. A wide range of options are offered - power front disc brakes, power steering, power seats, power door locks, pwer decklid release, power wagon tailgate release, automatic speed control, tilt steering column, digital clock, and electric rear defroster. Other standard options in- clude air conditioning, a full radio line-up from AM/FM to AM/FM/Multiplex stereo with stereo cassette and Dolby* Sound System, a premium speaker/amplifier system, Halogen headlam- ps, roof racks, flip-up sunroof for two- and four- door sedans and for wagons, a rear washer/wiper package and tonneau cover. Compared with the initial designs, production Reliant models have dramatically reduced wind resistance and drag. This improvement evolved through a variety of engineering changes and modifications, such as sim- ple tapering of chamfering of parts to redesign of hood panels and grilles. Com- bined with earlier im- provements, a total reduc- tion of over 20 per cent has been achieved compared with the initial designs. - - M'fflom