Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Werent the Horizon/Omni (Horomni) basically a VW Rabbit, licensed to the pentastar folks? I remember talk back then that some of the body panels were even interchangeable.....
I think the Omni's were slightly larger than the Rabbits.
I have not seen an Omni in a long, long time and ended up with one in front of me on the road on the way to work. God those were ugly cars.
Werent the Horizon/Omni (Horomni) basically a VW Rabbit, licensed to the pentastar folks? I remember talk back then that some of the body panels were even interchangeable.....
Seriously considered the Omni for myself. Not from any real fondness for the things but for the price and miles thought it would be fun. Was about a week short of getting the extra funds for it. Almost shed a tear when I saw the pic in the paper.
Yeah that would stink. Hopefully some parts were salvaged from it.
Those were actually decent little cars... I know a lady that has one... she has driven it daily for years. Its a light yellow 4dr hatchback, but I think they all were werent they?
Quote:
Originally Posted by yachtcare
Werent the Horizon/Omni (Horomni) basically a VW Rabbit, licensed to the pentastar folks? I remember talk back then that some of the body panels were even interchangeable.....
Hmmm.... I dont know. I didnt think anything about them were the same.
Hmmm.... I dont know. I didnt think anything about them were the same.
I did a quick check out of curiosity. Indeed the Horomni's were a slight bit larger than a rabbit, at least in the length of wheel base, about 1.5"-2" depending on model(2dr/4dr).
But just taking a quick glance, not alot of difference there, other than the customary grill/badge/taillight configuration. (Compare to pic of Omni above)
Last edited by Compression; 12-08-2009 at 08:09 AM..
The Omni and the Rabbit had absolutely nothing in common, they were entirely different cars. Early Omnis & Horizons did use a Volkswagen four cylinder motor that shared the same basic architecture with the SOHC Golf motors, but certain parts were designed and built to Chrysler specs.
It isn't widely known, but the Omni/Horizon actually originated in France as the Simca Horizon.
The Pontiac (Daewoo) LeMans of the 80s was a terrible car, although there is one thing about them that has always interested me. The top of the line models shared the 2.0l I4 found in J-Body Pontiac Sunbirds during the 1980s. I've never seen it done, but a 1.8l/2.0l Turbo should be a direct swap into one, even the transmission should bolt up. That would make one wicked little hot rod!!
The Omni's and Horizons in that day and age actually had a decent reputation as a car that held up well and got decent mileage. The GLH mentioned already was quite a pocket rocket for the day. (Those days had some abysmal performers.)
The GLH was pretty decent but not quite the rocket people make it out to be -- I think a lot of people confuse the GLH with the GLHS. That's where the real performance was.
You are not the first person who has told me that. My best friend has said they look like a giant Cavalier. I personally like the style of both the old and new GTO's
Does this like a a giant Cavalier LOL? Not to me at least. I do see a resemblance to the Grand Prix GTP though.
Had they produced them from the factory to look like that you would have a legit agrument. The NEW GTO is a big over weight jelly bean with tires. Very ugly and not all its hyped up to be performance wise.
That orange one does look good though I will say that.
The Omni/Horizon are infamous as being one of the very few cars that Consumer Reports rated as "Unacceptable". The magazine contended they were simply too dangerous to drive due to the fact that certain maneuvers could cause loss of steering control at highway speeds. Chrysler denied there was a problem, but then turned around and redesigned the steering on later models to eliminate the problem they said didn't exist.
These cars were not clones of the VW Rabbit, but as mentioned above, they did buy engines from the now closed VW plant that used to exist in Pennsylvania that built first generation Rabbits. Chrysler did not have a suitable engine.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
