The Duster competed with Ford's much smaller fastback Maverick compact, which was also introduced in 1970. This car replaced the Ford Falcon which had competed with the Valiant. While the Maverick was offered in a 4-door configuration, the Duster was not. The Duster resulted from the Plymouth planning staff's desire to use their allotted 1970 restyling money for something more desirable than the usual two and four-door Valiants. Working "under the radar", Plymouth designers and engineers presented a close-coupled coupe with a trunk design that managed to fit all of the hard points of the existing Valiant platform, but provided the desired new look. The Duster was also created to fill the slot that was formerly occupied by the Valiant-based Barracuda. When the Barracuda moved from its A-body platform to the new E-body platform in 1970, this left a hole in Plymouth's lineup for a sporty compact. The Duster would fill this gap and would be one of many factors in the sales failure of the E-body pony car Barracuda.
Like many other performance V8's of the day, for insurance reasons, the 340 engine was underrated at 275 hp (205 kW) with a single four-barrel carburetor and 290 hp (216 kW) with three two barrels. However, in reality both configurations could produce at least 315 to 320 hp (235 to 239 kW). On the street, the 340 delivered as promised. The engine was simply a screamer and many a big block driver found themselves shaking their heads after being beaten by the little Chrysler small block. Within the Chrysler family, the 340 gave nothing away to the 383 on the strip, and totally outclassed it when it came to handling. When coupled with lightweight A and E-Bodies, the 340 setup was a born street-fighter that was equally at home on the track. The engine was praised as a high-winder with good durability, making it popular with circle-track racers.
Dodge gained a version of Plymouth's popular Valiant-based fastback Duster. Dodge management considered naming it the Beaver, but it was instead marketed as the Dart Demon.
For 1973, the Demon fastback was renamed Dart Sport, in response to certain Christian groups' complaints about the "Demon" name and devil-with-pitchfork logo.
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