Gasoline prices were marching steadily upwards, lines began forming at the pump, and the U.S. economy was suffering. Domestic dealerships were full of hulking, thirsty vehicles at a time when consumers were beginning to take note of fuel economy. And, as was famously noted, America was gripped by malaise. For Plymouth, the stopgap answer was the 1976 Feather Duster.
As a quick response to the fuel crisis of 1973, Plymouth came up with a plan to lighten the weight of the regular Duster and retune the venerable slant-six engine for better efficiency. The $51 Feather Duster Fuel Economy Package applied aluminum throughout the vehicle, including the inner trunk and hood panels, and the bumper mounts. The manual transmission casing was made of aluminum (the automatic had none), as was the six’s intake manifold. A taller 2.94:1 axle ratio, larger exhaust, and a stingier carburetor rounded out the fuel savings. A lighter headliner was also installed. All told, the Duster’s curb weight shrunk by 187 pounds. Fuel economy was optimistically advertised as 24 mpg in the city and 36 on the highway, but by all accounts the real-world numbers were far better than the base Duster and the rest of its class.
Somewhat surprisingly, the Feather Duster’s light weight made it appealing to shade-tree hot-rodders of the day. In later years, a number of Feather Dusters were scooped up and outfitted to race once gas became cheaper.
Of course, the A-body Duster was on its way out, as Plymouth had just introduced the Volare as a replacement. And reimagining the once powerful Duster as a solution to the gas crisis proved to be a tough marketing assignment - the Duster had always been known as low-cost admission to smoky burnouts. Still, an estimated 20% of all Dusters sold in 1976 were Feather Dusters. A similar number of the Feather Duster’s sister car, the Dodge Dart Lite, were sold. Nonetheless, the model was introduced just in time to walk the Duster name to the door, a one-year oddity in Mopar history.
