The Plymouth

Plymouth (automobile)

Plymouth was a marque of automobile based in the United States, produced by the Chrysler Corporation and its successor DaimlerChrysler.-Origins:...

 Reliant (or Reliant K, as it was sometimes called) was one of the first two so-called "K-cars

Chrysler K platform

The Chrysler Corporation's K-cars were compact-to-midsize cars designed to carry six adults on two bench seats and were aimed not only to replace Chrysler's nominally-compact F-body Aspen and Volaré, but also to compete with intermediates like the Chevrolet Malibu and Ford Fairmont...

" (the other one being the Dodge Aries

Dodge Aries

The Dodge Aries is an automobile sold by the Chrysler Corporation from 1981-1989. It replaced the Dodge Aspen as Dodge's family car with "mid-size room" in a size and front-wheel drive format commonly associated with compact cars...

) manufactured by the Chrysler Corporation

Chrysler

Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....

, introduced for the 1981 model year. The Reliant replaced the Plymouth Volaré/Road Runner

Plymouth Road Runner

The Plymouth Road Runner was a muscle car built by the Plymouth division of the Chrysler Corporation in the United States between 1968 and 1980. In 1968, the first muscle cars were, in the opinion of many, moving away from their roots as relatively cheap, fast cars as they gained options...

, which was the short-lived successor automobile to the highly regarded Plymouth Valiant

Plymouth Valiant

The Plymouth Valiant is an automobile manufactured by the Plymouth division of Chrysler Corporation in the United States from 1960 to 1976. It was created to give the company an entry in the compact car market emerging in the late 1950s...

. Though technically a compact car

Compact car

A compact car , or small family car , is a classification of cars which are larger than a supermini but smaller than or equal to a mid-size car...

, the Reliant's spacious interior and six-passenger seating gave it a mid-size status from the United States Environmental Protection Agency

United States Environmental Protection Agency

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States charged with protecting human health and the environment, by writing and enforcing regulations based on laws passed by Congress...

.

The two cars are largely credited for helping Chrysler

Chrysler

Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....

 recover from bankruptcy.