berry@sri-unix (06/18/82)
Oh yes, now I remember. I was indeed confusing the Champ/Colt with the Horizon/Omni. Thanks to everyone who set me straight. (And enough is enough!) --berry
dlr (06/18/82)
The Horizon/Omni twins do use VW engines though.
ziegler (06/18/82)
The Horizon/Omni 1.7 Liter engine was designed by VW, and the blocks are produced by VW in Germany. The remaining parts are made by Chrysler, and Chrysler does the assembly. The 2.2 Liter OHC engine that was introduced on the 1981 line is a Chrysler product all the way, and a lemon at that.
jj (06/19/82)
As a reply to the 2.2 litre being a lemon: Why is it a lemon. On a limited sample of 7 Horixon/Omni owners with the 2.2 litre engine, I find none unhappy? It is possible that it is a lemon merely because it was designed in the US? Surely the US has a few intellegent people left in it.
ziegler (06/21/82)
<FLAME ON!!!!> Please folks, I am not the type to put something down just because it's American! In fact, I went out of my way to buy an American-made car with an American-made engine. You guessed it, a Horizon with a 2.2 liter engine. I called it a lemon because mine has no run right since the day I got it, and that was 22,000 miles ago. Furthermore, everyone I've talked to that has the same engine (it is used in several Chrysler products now) has had some kind of engine trouble. Every single one of them! I LIKE my Horizon, it's the engine I don't like! I suspect rabbit!jj knows seven very lucky people, because my informal survey of dozens of people, as well as my talks with Chrysler service men, all confirm that the engine has problems. So don't get down on me for being anti-American. I really do believe that there are intelligent people here in America, and I do believe that Americans can and do put out quality products. But the engine in my car is not one of them!!! So GET OFF MY CASE!!!!!!!! <flame off> Joe Ziegler houxf!ziegler
cak (06/21/82)
Actually, I believe that even the engine in a Horizon/Omni is made in the US now. We bought an '81, and one of the reasons we were persuaded to buy early was that the '82s wouldn't have the Audi engine anymore. Chris Kent, Purdue CS
bob (06/24/82)
I have a brother-in-law who bought an Horizon about a year ago. He has had it in the shop about every couple of months. The enging has no power and performs poorly. A week or two after he has it tuned it is as bad as ever. He just wants to get rid of the thing. No one will offer him more than 50% of the cost. When he objects they just say 'well who are we going to sell it to'. One Datsun dealer has an almost new Horizon with every feature on it. He is asking $4500 canadian and NOONE has even test driven it in a almost a year. If there are people out there with Horizons that aren't having problems you may be in the minority but I am pleased for you. For the rest good luck. bob lawson decvax!utzoo!utcsstat!bob PS A friend of mine just told me of a friend of his, are you still with me, who has an Horizon that the passenger door won't open. The dealer can't make it open either so it is permanently closed. Isn't shitting on Horizons fun!
jj (06/25/82)
Your friend's problem with the Horizon is the lean burn computer.
A lot of dealers don't know how do deal with them at all, and don't.
>From the symptoms, it sounds like it has a crack in it's encapsulation, and
as a result drifts. I am NOT pulling this out of my hat, either. He should
call Chrysler zone and raise Cain, and tell them about the messages he
had posted on netnews. He should also find a dealer who knows how to
work on a car that has <gasp!> electronics in it. If he complains right,
he should manage to get the thing fixed for free, the key is to point out
that the problem existed before the warrantee expired, and was NOT fixed.
the door problem is simple also, take off the inside panel, force the
back of the latch <thus breaking it if it's already stuck> and then
opening the door, and putting it back on right.
I find the problems with Horizon/Omni really surprising, since I haven't met
a single complainer in my part of the Northeast, excepting two people whose
dealer couldn't fix the leanburn unit. They were accomidated by another dealer,
and make happy.
Perhaps everyone who has problems/no problems should post their location
(part of US) conspicuously in the article, and I will look for a trend.cak (06/28/82)
Our Horizon (an '81 4 door) performs fairly well, given what it is. There are some problems in opening doors -- the standard answer is 'Pull up -- not out', which usually works. The car is my mother's, who uses it just to commute, so it hasn't been punished to any extent, though it makes occasional ~400-600 mile highway trips (rare). The paint job is acceptable, but some of the inside door trim is coming loose. No mechanical difficulties, other than run-on, which is usually fixed by a tune at the specified interval. Overall, we've been happy with it -- it's a good commuter car. The internal fittings are somewhat spartan for my taste; but it was cheap, and the gas mileage is good. So, I think we would be numbered amoung the happy Horizon owners. Our dealer helps a lot; he lives just down the street, and is very courteous and prompt about service. Chris Kent, Purdue CS