The Dodge 400 was a

mid-size car Mid-size—also known as intermediate—is a vehicle size class which originated in the United States and is used for cars larger than compact cars and smaller than full-size cars. "Large family car" is a UK term and a part of the D-segment in t ...

built by

Dodge Dodge is an American brand of automobiles and a division of Stellantis, based in Auburn Hills, Michigan. Dodge vehicles have historically included performance cars, and for much of its existence Dodge was Chrysler's mid-priced brand above P ...

. It was similar to the

Chrysler LeBaron The Chrysler LeBaron, also known as the Imperial LeBaron, is a line of automobiles built by Chrysler from 1931-1941 and from 1955-1995. The model was introduced in 1931, with a body manufactured by LeBaron Incorporated, LeBaron, and competed wit ...

of the same era. The 400 was introduced for the 1982 model year but renamed and merged into the

Dodge 600 The Dodge 600 is a mid-size car that was built by Dodge. It was introduced in 1982, as a 1983 model, based on the Chrysler E platform and was discontinued after the 1988 model year. It was Chrysler's answer to the GM A-body, whereas the M-body ...

lineup just two years later. An improved version of Chrysler's K-cars, it was called the Super K platform.

Design

While heavily dependent on the K-car, the suspension geometry was revised with

computer-aided design Computer-aided design (CAD) is the use of computers (or ) to aid in the creation, modification, analysis, or optimization of a design. This software is used to increase the productivity of the designer, improve the quality of design, improve c ...

(CAD), one of Chrysler's first forays into this area. Aside from the suspension modifications, the interior was plusher and the front and rear designs were different. To provide higher comfort than in the regular K-cars, particular care was paid to sound proofing, with a redesigned firewall and additional isolating material throughout. Aside from the stacked-slat grille being different from that of the LeBaron, the 400 was somewhat less ornate overall. Faux louvres on the front fenders were unique to the 400.

Levy Levy, Lévy or Levies may refer to: People * Levy (surname), people with the surname Levy or Lévy * Levy Adcock (born 1988), American football player * Levy Barent Cohen (1747–1808), Dutch-born British financier and community worker * Levy ...

, p. 17

Model years

1982

The 400 was intended to be a more upmarket version of the

Aries Aries may refer to: *Aries (astrology), an astrological sign *Aries (constellation), a constellation of stars in the zodiac Arts, entertainment and media * ''Aries'' (album), by Luis Miguel, 1993 * ''Aries'' (EP), by Alice Chater, 2020 * "Aries" ...

and a corporate twin of the downsized LeBaron. It was originally only available as a two-door

coupé A coupe or coupé (, ) is a passenger car with a sloping or truncated rear roofline and two doors. The term ''coupé'' was first applied to horse-drawn carriages for two passengers without rear-facing seats. It comes from the French past parti ...

. In the spring of 1982 two additional bodystyles appeared: a convertible and a four-door sedan. The 400's suspension, while soft, was somewhat firmer than that of its LeBaron sister. This was Dodge's first convertible since the 1971 Challenger and one of the first domestically-manufactured convertibles since 1976, when Cadillac had phased out the Eldorado convertible. The 400 was available in two trim levels: base and LS. Engine choices were limited to a 2.2 L

inline-four engine A straight-four engine (also called an inline-four) is a four-cylinder piston engine where cylinders are arranged in a line along a common crankshaft. The vast majority of automotive four-cylinder engines use a straight-four layout (with the ...

or an optional

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 ...

-sourced 2.6 L "Silent Shaft" four-cylinder; this was only available coupled to an automatic. The convertible came with the Mitsubishi-sourced engine as standard. Outputs were respectively.

1983

There were no major changes made for 1983 other than the LS trim being omitted from the lineup. During 1983, the 400 sedan was replaced by the

. The coupes and convertibles were rebadged as

from 1984.

Production

Production figures:

References

External links

{{Dodge Canada Timeline

400 __NOTOC__ Year 400 ( CD) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. In the Roman Empire, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Stilicho and Aurelianus (or, less frequently, year 11 ...

Front-wheel-drive vehicles Mid-size cars Coupés Convertibles Sedans Cars introduced in 1982