Meet the 1973 Plymouth Space Duster, the Duster with a fold-down rear seat so you can haul all your stuff.
In checking out the extensive TV and print campaign for the 1973 Plymouth Space Duster, you could be forgiven for assuming that the Space Duster was an official Duster model. In fact, it was an $88.80 option package (also known as the Spacemaker Pak) on the base Duster that included a fold-down rear seat and a fully carpeted trunk compartment. This opened up a 6.5-ft long cargo space with 56 cubic feet of volume, and while the Space Duster wasn’t a true hatchback, it offered nearly as much utility value. “You can get more out of it,” Plymouth said, “because you can get more into it.” Plymouth offered the package for two years, ’73 and ’74, while at Dodge, a similar package was marketed as the Dart Hang Ten with a surfer theme.
Introduced in 1970, the Plymouth Duster might be one of the unsung success stories of the Chrysler Corporation in the ’70s. Working within the tight constraints of the aging Valiant platform and with a budget of just $15 million, the two-door Duster was developed in only six weeks. The conventional wisdom of the time, that notchbacks outsold fastbacks by a big margin (see Ford Mustang), was defied as the Duster became the top-selling car at the Plymouth division, and the volume leader of the entire Chrysler Corporation as well. In 1974, Duster sales topped 277,000 cars. Video below.
I tended to view the Space Duster as a hasty response to the AMC Hornet hatchback. I agree the Duster was highly successful for the Chrysler Corporation, yet the compact car of the era that caught my attention was a Hornet hatchback with the Levi trim.
These were everywhere when I was kid, they were comparably expensive used, I assume because everyone knew they were such good cars
The Chevrolet Nova had a true hatchback as did the aforementioned Hornet. They added a lot of utility and it’s surprising that the trend was short-lived in that size range. It’s not as surprising that the Duster sold well as it was a good looking car and sportier looking than the librarian’s Valiant.
I had a Dodge Dart sport and it had the fold down back seat and fully carpeted trunk and bucket seats! Red white stripe! We used to sleep in it very comfortable! Man I loved that car it had a 318ci dual exhaust it sounded so good?
My 1st car after moving to California was a used 1973 “Gold” Duster which confused me. Nothing on it was gold; It was black with white stripes and a white vinyl landau roof. It was in essence a Space Duster, with a decal of a tornado behind the words Gold Duster. It had the Slant-6 with 3-speed automatic, and I loved being able to do my own maintenance on it. It was very reliable transportation.
Twenty years before the Beastie Boys’ song, Plymouth Division could build ya’ a real “mullet” of a muscle car: 340 Hurst shifted 4 speed all business in the front, Spacemaker fold down rear seat for the party in the back…
That was my first car in 1973 I had it for 7 years of that car
Fortunately they had the folding seat hardware around from the first- and second-generation Barracuda fastbacks, so it was a relatively easy lift to bring these to market.