Canadian Valiant info from valiant.org :
1966 was the last year for the distinctive Dart-based Canadian Valiant. The U.S.-Canada Auto Pact made it possible for manufacturers to ship from one side of the border to the other without the prohibitive import duties which had been levied previously. While Ford and GM (particularly Pontiac) continued marketing unique cars for the Canadian market, as far as I know Chrysler's unique Canadian efforts from 1967 to the middle 1970s were limited to the Fargo truck line and the occasional Canada-only model such as the Dodge Monaco convertible. I will cover this in greater detail in the epilogue.
It is my understanding that the low-end models based on the U. S. Valiant were dropped in '66, leaving only the Dart-based cars and the Barracuda, which was built in Detroit this year and onwards. As always, any comments or corrections are most welcome.
Bill Watson wrote:
Canadian Valiant wheel covers were like the American Plymouth Valiant, only with the Valiant emblem and not the Plymouth on the centre hub. The reverse this year was true for the "Valiant Signet" fender plates - ads showed them ahead of the wheel opening in the fender depressions, but production models had them between the opening and the front door. The Dart GT in 1966 had little air splits on the front fender tips with "GT" etched into them. The Canadian Signet had the windsplits, but less the "GT" etching.
The Barracuda had the Barracuda emblem on the steering wheel, rear window trim and front grille. Apparently early models had "Valiant" on the trunk, but I have only seen "Barracuda" nameplates on the trunk. The name "Plymouth", naturally, was nowhere to be seen.
Basic Dodge Dart Equivalent"Valiant" block letters replace "Dodge" block letters on hood. "Dart" block letters on front fenders near door leading edge missing and not replaced.
Model designation on C-pillar. '66 Dart dash and interior with exception of Valiant crest horn button as seen on '62-'65 Valiants. Hubcaps and wheel covers same as '66 Valiant, including full wheel cover as seen on U. S. model with Plymouth emblem in middle. No "Dodge" script in right hand corner of trunk. "Valiant" block letters between taillights as seen on '65 Dart-based Canadian Valiants.
Dart 270 EquivalentBelieved to continue under "Valiant 200" name although one source shows this as "Custom 200". All Canadian updates to basic Dart equivalent apply here with the following differences: (1) "Dart 270" nomenclature at back of lengthwise stainless moulding believed replaced by plain piece matching rest of moulding; (2) Pictures I have show model designation on B/C pillar; and (3) "Valiant" block letters located above moulding between taillights as seen on '65 Canadian Signet.
Valiant SignetThe Dart GT equivalent definitely continued under this name. All Canadian updates to basic and 270 equivalents apply here with the following additional differences: (1) "Valiant Signet" emblem applied to front fender in about the same location as '65 model; (2) Valiant crest in circle as seen on '65 U. S. Valiant and '65 Canadian "Custom 100" trunk lid replaced "GT" emblem on hardtop B-pillar; "Dart" block letters on rear quarter panel near taillight deleted; and (4) Fascia between taillights same as Dart except says "Valiant" instead of "Dodge".
Station Wagons - none were built.Valiant BarracudaBelieved identical to U. S. Barracuda with exception of "Valiant" nameplates replacing "Plymouth" nameplates. May also have continued with Valiant crest on horn button or sport steering wheel centerpiece, while U. S. Barracudas had Plymouth emblem in this position (but not on the rear window).
Incidentally, Canada was apparently a source for right-hand drive export Valiants. In 1982, I was on the island of St. Kitts in the British West Indies, where I saw a right-hand drive '66 Canadian Valiant 4-door sedan parked next to an Australian Valiant VC 4-door sedan. I recognized the VC as Australian, but not knowing the Australian Valiant history very well at that time I thought from the steering wheel location the '66 was Australian as well. It wasn't until many years later that I learned that the Australians never used a RHD version of the '66 Dart dash, nor did they use a Dart body shell until later.
Epilogue By 1967, Chrysler Canada had rationalized its model and marketing situation to the point where there was almost no difference between U. S. and Canadian offerings, exceptions being the aforementioned Monaco/Monaco 500 convertible and the Fargo line of cloned Dodge trucks. This included the belated introduction of the A-body Dodge Dart and the inclusion of the Valiant into the Plymouth line.
In fact, 1967 was the ONLY year since at least the end of World War II that ALL Canadian Dodges had different instrumentation from their Plymouth counterparts. The '68 B-bodies on both sides of the border (other than Charger and Super Bee) all shaared the same gauges, with the Charger gauge cluster appearing on the GTX and Road Runner in '70. By 1972 one could only tell a Dodge from a Plymouth from the inside by a few small emblems... ...and that was assuming your car was fitted with the correct emblems, which wasn't always the case in that era...
Chrysler Australia, possibly inspired by Canada's embrace of the Dart-based "Valiant", introduced the VE Valiant series in 1967. The VE was clearly strongly influenced by the '67 Dart. The later Australian Valiant Hardtop was essentially a '69 Dart with right hand drive and front sheetmetal somewhat reminiscient of (not identical to) a '70 Dart. And the Pacer Hardtop would have been familiar to American Swinger 340 fans, at least until the bonnet was opened...
The first Dodge Demon was actually a 1970 Canadian show car, featuring a Dart front clip on a lightly modified Duster body and done for a fraction of the cost of a typical show car. Chrysler Canada's history of "mix & match" showed the parent company the way not only on the Demon but on the Plymouth Scamp as well. (I remember seeing my first '71 Scamp from the back, thinking for SURE it was for the Canadian market only...) There may also have been a 1970 Valiant two-door hardtop without the Scamp name (essentially a Dart Swinger with a Valiant front clip).
In 1974, when Chrysler had quit importing the Hillman Avenger-based Plymouth Cricket from the UK [it was not brought in after 1972 but some were sold as 1973 models], Canadian Plymouth dealers got a badge-engineered Dodge Colt which was marketed under the Cricket name. Canadian Dodge dealers in turn got a "Dodge Arrow".
The first non-Japanese MoPar line made exclusively for the Canadian market was the '78 Plymouth Caravelle (actually first made in mid-1977), which was initially a Dodge Diplomat clone with modified grille and taillights; it lasted until its American counterpart died in 1989.
When the E-body (extended K-platform) Caravelle, based on the Dodge 400/600, was brought into Canada, the M-body version was called the Caravelle Salon...but the word "Salon" only actually appeared on the car when it was ordered with the Salon package. Stu McAllister wrote: This always causes lots of fun at the auto parts counter, since we had two completely different cars with the same nameplate from 1982-89. Interesting marketing approach.
There was a two-door front wheel drive Caravelle through 1986 which never appeared in the US.
With the introduction of the G-body sports model in '84, Chrysler Canada started on a different path. The Dodge Daytona was marketed in Canada as a Chrysler Daytona, and sold by Dodge-Chrylser and Plymouth-Chrysler dealers alike in Canada. This was later followed by the Chrysler Dynasty and Chrysler Intrepid. It appears that Chrysler Canada found this easier than creating Plymouth clones of Dodges, or for that matter than selling Dodge cars. The phasing out of Dodge cars was reversed in 2004 when the Dodge SX 2.0 was brought out to complement the Chrysler Neon.
Where y'all been son?
