GTP Cool Wall: 1994-1999 Plymouth/Dodge Neon ACR

  • Thread starter Thread starter GranTurismo916
  • 71 comments
  • 8,060 views

1994-1999 Plymouth/Dodge Neon ACR

  • Total voters
    125
  • Poll closed .
Slash
Junky cars, so seriously uncool even though I have good memories in one.
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No one ever said cool cars were reliable (and many of them aren't). :P
 
Custom878
No one ever said cool cars were reliable (and many of them aren't). :p
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This is far from a cool car lol. Throwaway junk.
 
AudiMan2011
Out of all the cars Dodge had to give the ACR treatment to, it was this.

SU.

Proper ACR:
dodge-viper-gts-acr-03.jpg
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Considering the Neon ACR came first and was more of a racecar than the Viper was, I'm not sure what point you're trying to make. The Neon ACR was essentially a car that just needed a roll cage and slicks to make it race ready, the suspension, transmission, clutch, etc. were all very much race components for the time. They even had a dedicate Neon Spec series these raced in and they also won Stock C class in SCCA racing in 95-97. They still even manage to be extremely competitive today with minor modifications.

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As for the car itself, I'm struggling here. Neon's are great little cars and the ACR was a pretty unique idea for the time from one of the US automakers. However, a vast majority of ACR drivers I know are the most stereotypical autocrossers I know and that makes them even more annoying than your average Miata owner.

However, you could buy one from the show room in Nitro Yellow Green, which is one of my favorite car colors ever...so much so I actually bought one (just a sport though)

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I'll go with cool just because I'm enamored with them and any time I see one I immediately think "cool". Whether or not they are actually cool is another stories, but I'm voting with my heart on this one instead of logic.

GranTurismo916
Uncool because none of them are stock.
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Actually I think most ACR's are going to be stock except for tires and possibly wider wheels. Their value is significantly higher than your average Neon so that keeps most people away from them.

Slash
This is far from a cool car lol. Throwaway junk.
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Normal Neon yes, the ACR not at all. Even when the ACR's do fail and can't be repaired, their parts are worth quite a bit.

Although even with a normal Neon, as long as you know how to change a head gasket you'll be fine. I've actually gotten it down now where changing a head gasket is like changing a tire, you just have to do the head gasket more frequently :lol:
 
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Sub-Zero. I love the things. Duke and Joey have them. Those of us who are forum geezers know that Duke likes his neons.

Again, I love the little things. A friend had a beat up 4 door, and it was a riot to drive. It's the little car that can. It's an American automaker sticking its tongue out.
 
Was really waiting for Joey's thoughts on this. Little surprised, but understandable. I too would go with Cool, more in the sense they're a rare sight to see.
 
Awesome car! Love these things.

Uncool though.
 
Downhill Dino
Was really waiting for Joey's thoughts on this. Little surprised, but understandable. I too would go with Cool, more in the sense they're a rare sight to see.
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Did you think I was going to love it, hate it, or just fangirl about it? :lol:

Even before I bought the racecar, I always had a thing for Neon's since I think they are one of the few vehicles the American automakers got right in the 1990's. I was never much on the 2nd gen, but the first gen is my perfect idea of basic transport for the masses. I was also rather said that the fatass Caliber replaced the Neon, but it seems like Dodge got the memo and the Dart is probably as close as we get to something Neon-esque now days.
 
Joey D
Actually I think most ACR's are going to be stock except for tires and possibly wider wheels. Their value is significantly higher than your average Neon so that keeps most people away from them.
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Maybe I searched the wrong thing, but it was very difficult to find a picture of a stock Neon ACR. Could be wrong.
 
Was expecting something like a "I love it buuut..." :p

Thought that:

Joey D
However, a vast majority of ACR drivers I know are the most stereotypical autocrossers I know and that makes them even more annoying than your average Miata owner.
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Would almost be enough to bring it down. Being that many car's images are ruined by their owners. Definitely wouldn't think you'd hate on it, fangirling would be interesting though. :lol:

And yeah those Calibers man, Dodge done messed up. As well as their SRT-4 version.
 
It's more deserving of the ACR tag than the Viper. There, I said it.

Beeblebrox237
You know, the Neon sold in massive numbers. And yet they're totally gone. You never see them anymore. I suppose that wouldn't have anything to do with Chrysler's reputation for building appallingly poorly built and unreliable cars during that period...
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I see the first-gen fairly often. I'd say the second-gen probably outnumbers it a bit, but what surprises me is how fast Calibers have disappeared from roads. Even more surprising: I never see first or second-gen Intrepids/Concordes/LHS's/300's any more, to the point I took a picture of a 300M I spotted a month or so ago. Intrepids used to outnumber just about anything up here.

Anywho, I'd still like to toss one around, but it's not Cool. Sorry little Neon, don't give me those eyes.
 
I voted uncool, because it'll still be seen as just another Neon to a normal person. It's really a car that will only seem interesting to a car enthusiast. An average joe will just ponder on why someone will make such a big deal on what they see as another car.

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With that said, I kinda forgotten about the original Neon ACR funny enough. I mean, I learned about it when I was a little kid from playing GT2, but it kinda just left my mind. Hmm, now with the knowledge learned here from other users; I kinda want to give it a try in GT2. Well, it's either that or I someone am able to buy one myself. :lol:
 
Seriously, Seriously Uncool.

While the ACR was not available in Australia the very thought that the normal Neon was is enough to make me shudder in disgust.
 
GranTurismo916
Maybe I searched the wrong thing, but it was very difficult to find a picture of a stock Neon ACR. Could be wrong.
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It took me so long to find a decent representative pic of an ACR that I took what I could get and forgot to throw in some others at the end. Sorry if that ate up a lot of your time when posting the thread.
 
Doog
It took me so long to find a decent representative pic of an ACR that I took what I could get and forgot to throw in some others at the end. Sorry if that ate up a lot of your time when posting the thread.
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I've had worse. And it's my job anyway.
 
No thanks. Looks rather bland. Uncool.
 
Beeblebrox237
You know, the Neon sold in massive numbers. And yet they're totally gone. You never see them anymore. I suppose that wouldn't have anything to do with Chrysler's reputation for building appallingly poorly built and unreliable cars during that period...
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To be fair, what volume car from the mid 90s do you still see in any great numbers on the roads? They sold bucketloads of Mk3 Golfs, Civics, Escorts etc during the 90s in the UK but none are exactly common on the roads.

Build quality or not, cars like that are treated as disposable items by the general populace. Few people take great care of them during ownership and that takes its toll on numbers.
 
GranTurismo916
Well, there's barely any modified cars at least where I am.
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Same thing in New Hampshire. Not a whole lot of car people. I'm actually the only car enthusiast in my school.
 
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Doesn't deserve an uncool. It's not an SRT4.

That said, while it is a great little car, it still suffers from a massive image problem.
 
I personally think this is a horrible looking car and I think the SRT-4 is a better looking car (maybe I played too much MC3) so based on that and what I know about the normal Neon, it's seriously uncool, no matter how good the handling was.
 
It's an ACR but who can tell? That just makes it another Neon - Uncool.
 
homeforsummer
To be fair, what volume car from the mid 90s do you still see in any great numbers on the roads? They sold bucketloads of Mk3 Golfs, Civics, Escorts etc during the 90s in the UK but none are exactly common on the roads.

Build quality or not, cars like that are treated as disposable items by the general populace. Few people take great care of them during ownership and that takes its toll on numbers.
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Certainly not many. But you do see them from time to time. Recalling my time in America over the past couple of years, I can't recall seeing any. I'd forgotten the Neon existed, such is the completeness of its disappearance from the roads I've seen.
 
Tornado
There are still a ton of Cavaliers, though, but certainly noone would say that was a better car than even the Escort, nevermind the Neon.
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Cavaliers are like automotive cockroaches. My sister had one, and even she couldn't kill it. (Her idea of car maintenance is keeping gas in the tank)

Come to think of it, we shared an Escort in high school and both of us together couldn't kill that either.
 
homeforsummer
To be fair, what volume car from the mid 90s do you still see in any great numbers on the roads? They sold bucketloads of Mk3 Golfs, Civics, Escorts etc during the 90s in the UK but none are exactly common on the roads.
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Around here and in Madison, I'd say Accords, Camrys, 3rd-gen Cavaliers (and Sunfires), GM W-body cars, Legacys, and Chrysler minivans probably top the list. I suppose people who buy larger cars (versus a Neon or Civic) take a bit better care of their vehicles.
 
Wolfe
Around here and in Madison, I'd say Accords, Camrys, 3rd-gen Cavaliers (and Sunfires), GM W-body cars, Legacys, and Chrysler minivans probably top the list. I suppose people who buy larger cars (versus a Neon or Civic) take a bit better care of their vehicles.
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The way people treat different cars is weird, and their reputations for poor build or reliability even weirder.

For most of the last 20 years or so, the Ford Fiesta has been the best-selling car in the UK. But despite selling in huge numbers, the number of examples more than about 15 years old is pretty slim. I'd say I see Peugeot 206s on the road more regularly - and yet the Pug is a car people will insist is unreliable and not built to last.

Likewise, the number of mid-90s Ford Mondeos on the roads is virtually nonexistent now, despite it being the biggest-selling car that size during the period. I'd say I see more Vauxhall Vectras - even Cavaliers - than Mondeos of a particular age. Are the Vauxhalls better built? Do they rust less (there's every chance)? Do owners treat them better? Could be all three. I even see more late-90s Alfa Romeo 156s than I do late 90s Mondeos - believe the rep, and all the Alfas should have died, but perhaps owners treat them better because it's that sort of car.

I suspect part of the Neon's problem is that because it was seen as one of the best of that class of car, more people bought them, and more people effectively drove them into the ground. I don't doubt it wasn't a well-built car, but I'm led to believe it was a good one, and its popularity probably contributed to its sudden disappearance from the roads.
 
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