What Does GLH And GLH-S Stand For On The Dodge Omni?

The Dodge Omni sprung into being at a somewhat awkward time for car manufacturers. In the mid to late '70s gas prices shot up, and they had to grapple with a new set of standards for engine fuel economy. So the Omni was intended to push into the more economical side of the market — less "vroom-vroom" more "get to where you need to go reliably, and save on gas."

Fast forward a few years to the mid-'80s and suddenly there's the Omni GLH, a somewhat sought-after car by many modern collectors that also managed to stand out on its own even in 1984. But why, though? What made (and continues to make) the GLH — and the GLH-S that came a few years later — so special?

A big part of that is tied to those seemingly random additional three letters. Or more specifically, it's because of where the "GLH" came from and what it represents.

Okay, so, cars are full of acronyms when it comes to various internal systems — ABS (anti-lock brakes), CVT (continuously variable transmission), that kind of thing. A lot of famous cars are also distinguished by a handful of letters following their names — such as the Toyota TRD (Toyota Racing Development), Subaru STi (Subaru Technica International), and so on. The "GLH" is a similar case, but its intention is a bit more tongue-in-cheek.

As Motor Trend points out, GLH is an acronym for "Goes Like Hell." It was conceived in 1984 by famed automotive designer Carroll Shelby, who had been working for Chrysler (both Chrysler and Dodge are owned by the same parent company) at the time. And the GLH designation was chosen because the car did, in fact, pack a punch for its size — weighing a little over one ton (2000 pounds) with a 2.2 liter 110 horsepower engine.

The GLH-S is both just as direct as the original GLH, and slightly more complicated. Chrysler was putting the Omni GLH to bed roundabouts 1986, but Shelby wanted to do more with the design, so he bought a bunch of leftover Omni GLH-T (the "T" stands for "Turbo") models and modified them himself via his own shop. An upgraded, turbocharged engine, along with improved cooling, exhaust, and intake systems pushed the GLH even further. Prompting Shelby to name the new design the Shelby GLH-S — because it "Goes Like Hell S'more."