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Origins
The Avenger of 1970 was the first car developed wholly under Chrysler's ownership of the old Rootes empire, and the last all-new design to wear the Hillman badge. It was thoroughly rational: a light, roomy saloon and estate on a simple rear-drive platform, with clean coke-bottle styling and running costs pitched directly at Escort and Viva money. It sold solidly at home, and its 'Tiger' performance versions gave it a small sporting footnote. The badge history that followed maps Britain's industrial churn — Avengers became Chryslers in 1976 and Talbots in 1979, while Brazil built it as the Dodge 1800 and Argentina as a Volkswagen. Production ended in 1981. Nothing about the Avenger was remarkable except its adequacy, which, for the collapsing British Chrysler, was remarkable enough.
Hillman Avenger 2 door · Charles01 · CC BY-SA 3.0
