The Plymouth Duster Affordable muscle?

Most car enthusiasts in the US will associate the name "Plymouth" with the golden age of the muscle car. The brand, a part of the Chrysler family, experienced its peak in the 1960s and 70s, releasing several models that have enjoyed a great degree of popularity and are still considered valuable classics today. Some members of the Plymouth family, however, are less famous than others. One Plymouth that slipped under the radar is the Duster, which only had a lifespan of seven years but has plenty of character to offer. The Duster, a version of the more long-lived Valiant, had a sporty personality and countless different trims to choose from. Let’s take a closer look at its history and characteristics. The Plymouth Duster – a variant of the Plymouth Valiant with a sportier body style – was introduced in 1970. It was part of Plymouth’s effort to give the Valiant a revamped image. However, over time, the Duster distanced itself from its parent model. The Valiant badge was only used on cars built in 1970, but the Duster was produced for a further five model years. The Duster was created to compete against a variety of compact, sporty cars on the market during that era, such as the AMC Hornet, the Ford Maverick, and the Chevrolet Nova. In order to emphasize its aggressive, strong character to potential buyers, Plymouth made an attempt at obtaining the rights to Warner Bros’ “Taz the Tasmanian Devil” character from the Looney Tunes cartoon series. However, negotiations failed. In the end, the company came up with an alternative logo of its own, the “twister”, which evoked some of Taz’s signature “whirlwind” movement.