Dart vs. Valiant

Dart or valiant

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Princess Valiant

Princess Valiant

A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
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So put yourself in the shoes of a new car buyer any time between 1963 and 1976. You are buying a sensible compact car that gets good fuel economy with a bit of punch on demand when passing another car on the highway.

The Chrysler A body fits the exact description of what you want, you find yourself looking at a dodge dart but it's a very large dealership so your salesman advises you that he also has a large range of valiants available as well.

Any color, powertrain combo, and options are available on either one.

Which one do you prefer and why. Dodge dart or Plymouth valiant.
 
:)

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Dart, it just is a better looking car to my eye.

Plus i own one.

lots of factors were involved in people's choice of car. Prior ownership, looks, dealership location to their home, family stories, ext.

Id personally tell you my opinion on the early A darts and valiants but i dont think it would be well received.

I do own a ugly dog tho and i understand how something can be perceived as undesirable to most and yet be the best looking to one.

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Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, therefore:

1963 to 1965: Dart
1966: Valiant
1967 to 1969: Dart
1970: Valiant Duster
1971 to 1972: Dart Demon
1973 - 1976: Duster

...in 1971 - as performance minded buyer - maybe I would prefer the 340 Duster...
 
If the choice is limited to one........

I'll take one of each please? :)
 
In ‘64 the Valiant and Dart each had unique body styling. Guessing the interior - dash were also unique.
Looks like major exterior differences continued to at least 1968. When did the Dodge -Plymouth exteriors and interiors converge?
 
I have only owned 1 Plymouth and it wasn't a good car. All the rest have been Dodge's. I just like them better.
 
I just like the looks of the Valiant. Mechanically they are the same, with the exception of the shorter wheelbase.
 
Pre 1968 I like the Valiants better, but after that the Darts take it.
I just love the Dart body styling after 67.
Never did like the Duster swept back end because they had too much of a Nova hint.
Have had both Dodge and Plymouth and loved both equally.

My Aunt went through this exact choice when I was a kid and ended up with the Valiant, and we hit 48 of the 50 states in that car and she took me to a ton of the attractions each state had.
It was the first time in my life I had ever really been out of the mountains, and we spent most of the summer break from school driving from one state to the next hitting each states attractions in a brand new white 68 Valiant with a /6 and a window mounted evaporative cooler that looked like an old vacuum cleaner.:D

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I like the early A-bodies from 63 to 66 and really don’t care too much for the later A-bodies. I lean more towards the Plymouths then the Dodges but I have owned both. The Valiants are lighter and smaller and would have the same drive train so I lean towards the valiant, although the Darts have much more legroom in the backseat. However, given that we’re talking early A-bodies, I’d like to introduce the Barracuda into the mix and suggest that I would choose the Barracuda over both the Dart and the Valiant.
 
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Plymouth, we have always been a Plymouth family and my Mom's 66 bought new was a daily driver for 30 years.
 
- Marvin - said:
Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, therefore:

1963 to 1965: Dart
1966: Valiant
1967 to 1969: Dart
1970: Valiant Duster
1971 to 1972: Dart Demon
1973 - 1976: Duster

...in 1971 - as performance minded buyer - maybe I would prefer the 340 Duster... --
Click to expand...
-- Same except, 1963 to 1965 Valiant.
 
Dart. Better overall styling.

> BUT I been looking at this, I got the itch if this guy would drop a bit, I may pull the pin. Need an interim ride for the spring, then maybe send it down the road.

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In 4-door, A-body, slant-6 cars, I'd say there's never been much difference Dodge vs Plymouth. But Dodges always had the better-looking, more upscale models. "Any color, powertrain combo, and options are available on either one"... but that wasn't true in the '60s. Dodge always had better options. You usually couldn't get the best/biggest motors in the Plymouth A-body. Far as I know you couldn't get a 2-door hardtop Plymouth A-body. (But by around '71 Dodge=Plymouth in almost every way.) So if your talking '60s, I'd be getting a Dodge.
 
I've had a 69 Valiant and a 70 Dart Swinger for daily drivers in the past and they were both good cars... :steering:
 
For me it's the earl A Dart, but that is partly nostalgia as my first car was a 65 Dart I bought for $200 in '82. I do also like the styling of the early A valiant. To your comment "put yourself in the shoes of a new car buyer any time between 1963 and 1976", I don't know how the production figures go, but when I was kid growing up in MA in that time era there seemed to be a lot of darts around, but not that many valiant. So I have a lot of good dart memories as my mom had one for about 10 years, and many of my friends had them as well.
 
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