A very pretty Plymouth Sundance sedan, seen in heavy rain in the great city of Zhuhai in Guangdong Province. The classy American compact was in a fine shape, painted in black with a red-white line over the doors.
The Plymouth Sundance was made from 1987 until 1994 in the United States and Mexico, where it was known as the Chrysler Shadow. There was also a Dodge-badged variant in the US, which was called the Dodge Shadow.
The Sundance was available with 2.2 and 2.5 liter K-engines or with a Mitsubishi sourced 3.0 V6. Power went to the front wheels. Sadly there was no engine badge on the car so I can’t be sure what was under the bonnet of our black example. The whole car however seemed pretty basic and the transmission is a manual, indicating the engine is most likely a 2.2.
The Sundance was never officially sold in the the traditional way, with a dealer network and such, but at least one batch of Sundances were imported unofficially in the early 1990’s, and sold directly to Chinese car trade companies that sold them to consumers on general car markets. The lack of a dealer network made service and parts a big problem, and that is the main reason why there aren’t many Sundances around these days. It even had an official Chinese name: 太阳舞, Taiyang Wu, literally Sun Dance.
Typical late 1980’s American interior with loads of cheap black plastics and simple square design. Radio is after-market. Seat covers too, a typical Chinese thingy to protect to original cloth. The interior was in near-perfect condition too, the owner of this vehicle must have a heart for the Sundance, and some cash too, because parts and expertise will be hard to find. Amazingly, this is already the second Sundance I met in China, after a less-perfect white example in Beijing.
The red-white line probably points to some sort of special edition or trim level. If you know more, please leave a comment below. I met the Sundance at the parking lot of the Jiuzhou Port Passenger Transport Terminal (since demolished) in Zhuhai, a major port for passenger ferries connecting Zhuhai with Hong Kong, Macau, and Shenzhen.
That rainy day, with not much else to do, I hatched a plan to visit the three main cities in the Pearl River Delta in one day: Shenzhen – Hong Kong – Guangzhou. And to do that, I needed to make a stop in Zhuhai. The plan worked, but it took me the whole day, some eight ferry rides, and three passport checks, if I remember correctly.
On the way I met a couple of great cars, including this Plymouth Sundance. Sun she did not bring, but definitely some happiness!
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