For 1976, Plymouth pushed its aging Valiant platform to the side and rolled out an all-new compact named after a song: the Volare.

Introduced in 1960, the Valiant had a successful run for the Chrysler Corporation, generating a number of Plymouth and Dodge spinoffs, but by 1976 it was clearly time for a change. While the Valiant continued for one more year, a new entry in the compact class was rolled alongside in mid-’76. Called the Volare, it was named after an Italian hit song from 1958 and Sergio Franchi, one of its many cover artists, was recruited as spokesman. There was a nearly identical Dodge stablemate, too: the Aspen.

While the Volare/Aspen F-body platform retained Chrysler’s signature torsion-bar front suspension, this was an entirely new setup with transverse torsion bars and an isolated mounting system. The familiar 225 cubic-inch Slant 6 was also continued with optional 318 CID and 360 CID V8s as well. The chassis was tuned to replicate a big-car ride and the neo-classical exterior styling was intended to signify luxury. Although the song was Italian, not Spanish, the Plymouth ad crew added an acute accent to form Volaré, declaring that “the accent is on comfort.”

Unfortunately, the Volare and Aspen were plagued with quality issues, a record number of recalls, and premature rustout. Still, their trusty Slant 6 engines kept throbbing along, and the basic platform spawned a number of variants that remained in production through 1989. Now here’s Sergio Franchi to tell (and sing) the Volare story.