What Kind of Car Does Homer Simpson Drive?

Homer Simpson's car never looked like a GM product to me. When the show debuted in 1989, I figured someone in his income bracket would be driving an American car from the late 1970s or early 1980s. And since GM beat all of its cars after 1977 with the ugly stick, that left them out. Ford? Maybe -- I was thinking a Fairmount. Homer is too proud to drive a compact (although I believe in one flashback, he's seen driving a Pinto or a Gremlin), and not wealthy enough for a full-size car. So I always assumed Fairmount, because...

His car is definitely not an AMC product, just judging by the lines. And as for Chrysler -- their products of the late 1970s/early 1980s meant either a K-car (too small for Homer, and probably still too-expensive for him when the show premiered, even second-hand) or an Aspen. I never dreamed that I would be way off, however, and that he would actually be driving the last wimper of Mopar-era-muscle: a 1973 Valiant.

Of course! He is the quintessential Chrysler customer. Also, he has a short commute, so it's not like a car that old would have been totally destroyed by 1989 (which is apparently the year it still is in Springfield). So the mystery has been solved, even though the episode from this past Sunday referred to it as a 1986 Plymouth Junkerola.

Here's more info on the Valiant and the Fairmount if you want to compare.