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The Dodge Spirit was introduced in 1989 as a mid-size 5 or 6 passenger sedan making it a great family vehicle. It was an immediate replacement for the similarly sized 600. The Spirit is also as being the de facto replacement for the somewhat smaller Aries and the hatchback Lancer. The Spirit proved itself right out of the gate to be a huge contender in the marketplace as it sold and astounding 60,000 cars in its first year. Sales this strong forced Dodge to stop making the Aries mid-year. But even the Dodge Spirit had to come to an end, which it did on December 9, 1994. At which time it was replaced by the "cab-forward" Stratus. To understand the origins of the Spirit name, one has to travel back to the day of the American Motors Corporation - which was bought out in 1987 by Chrysler Corporation. The name Spirit was then used for a line of subcompact cars called the AMC Spirit from 1979 to 1983.

The Spirit however came back as Dodge's version of the Chrysler AA platform, a stretched variation of the Chrysler K platform. These were being rapidly produced in Newark, Delaware and Toluca, Mexico. The Dodge Spirit could seat six with an optional front split-bench seat. It had a relatively large trunk, which was a favorite among consumers, a simple solid-beam rear axle and a MacPherson strut front suspension. The Spirit can be identified from the other A-bodies primarily in the grille and rear lamp styling. The Dodge Spirit was often compared with the Ford Tempo, the Honda Accord and the Toyota Camry. It sold relatively well, but mainly on the basis of price and value. Though criticized in its later years, it did outsell the critically acclaimed Stratus which was quite an accomplishment.