My Dad had a '60 Chrysler Saratoga 4 door with a flight sweep deck. My Mom wanted a light pink color, it didn't matter, the moment we rode in that car, it was a solid body with a heavenly ride. It was like a jet plane, smooth, fast and stop quickly. And the style? No car could really match it except the New Yorker 2 door hard top or the 300. I was 15 years old and drove it around while my Dad was out or busy. I had no license, but because it was a really great handling car, I snuck it out. That's how assuring and tempting it was.
In the late 70's, my buddies and I looked at a 70 Superbee on a used car lot. Plum crazy, white interior, white vinyl top. At the time I thought it was gross. Wish I could travel back now.
As a rabid AMC fan ,it disgusts me that they get lumped in with mopars! Chrysler corporation is the absolute most horrible thing to ever befall American Motors. A dignified death was ,alas not in the cards .Darn shame
I still think the Galaxie was better looking, but the Fury was a handsome car. And the minor differences that Fury claimed for points just weren't big enough for most people to notice or care about. Seriously, an inch higher or lower isn't going to make a huge difference to most people. Two beautiful cars, though! I'd be proud of either... and they sure don't make beautiful cars like those anymore.
Dad and grandfather both had 68 Chrysler 300s they bought used in the 1970s. My theory is, they bought them because they were incredibly cheap; and they were cheap because the styling of 1969 made 1968 look as fresh as last week's bagels. The fuselage styling predicted (or set?) the vibe of 1970s styling. Meanwhile, the 1969 b bodies were still doing the coke bottle style that gto had in 1967.
I bought one new in 1970 price was around $3500 . Mine had the air conditioner, automatic and was a green color with a black vinyl top. Top speed was around 120mph. It was definitely a stoplight to stoplight car. There was no way I would race someone on the open road. I knew that they would hand me my ass. I might not have won every race, but I did get some respect. It wasn't the pushover that they thought it would be. I got rid of it 2 days before I got married and have regretted it ever since. I had a 71 vette and would still rather have this one back.
The 57 Plymouth is a great car. I own one. It's just a shame Plymouth engineers rushed the cars into production and as a result they we're rust buckets. Luckily for me I have a rust free original. But that being said the 57 Chev was also a rust bucket and they weren't rushed into production, they had a 3 year old body.
Around 78, my dad bought a used 71 galaxy 500 station wagon as a second car for mom, had a 351w. That engine/body combo was completely gutless, I remember laughing out loud the first time I floored it on a drive. Comfortable and roomy tho.
They forget to mention that New Yorker and Imperial share the 392 cublic foot HEMI V8. New Yorker kept beating the others because it is unibody and weighs less than the body on frame Imperial and Cadillac. Imperial also is built like a tank. It could go through a brick wall and keep going.
One of the challenges auto makers have is that gas engines have a speed range of nearly 10 to 1 (700 to 7000 rpm), though accessories like generators, water pumps, power steering pumps and A/C compressors all have to operate at any speed. That means most of these accessories are sized for low speed/low power, which means they're oversized at normal driving speeds.
The announcer made a mistake in describing the Lincoln rear-in treatment. He said that the 1960 Lincoln went to oval from square-in treatment in the 1959. He got his facts backwards.
I was stopped in a 1980 chevrolet caprice station wagon, got rear ended by a car goin about 60 km/hr by the time they slowed down tires squeeling and rammed me. I didnt feel a thing wasnt hurt. Put it in park and walked out, unfortunately wagons rear was bent bad. But you felt safe in those cars.
There's no way any American going into a dealer. Looking at these cars, you know the exact details of door space. Seat height wheelbase, etc. They see a car they like, they drive it and take off with it. And the chevy struck more buyers ohh and trunk space either !
My grandfather had a car dealership in Chicago. De Soto was one of his brands. He aslo had Nash, Essex, Willys, Hudson, Kaiser-Fraiser, and Jeep. I also remember a magazine we were using when I was in Primary School. Showed the Chrysler products in the late '50s with the huge tail fins. The "reason" for those fins , according bto the advertisement, was to equalise the force of a side wind, so the car would not sway and be hard to handle in a side wind. I was about 8-9 years old and knew this was BS.
