1972 Dodge Polara & Monaco Dealer Promo Film Mopar is a registered trademark of Chrysler Group LLC. Master Tech series training materials are the property of Chrysler Group LLC and are used with permission. MyMopar.com
I remember sitting in first grade elementary school class and Mrs. Parici writing the date on the blackboard to start the day. November 9, 1972. Geeez.... this was a new car back then. I’m so old!
It's not a film. It's a film/slide-strip. I remember these from elementary school. It's a roll of "film" with individual pictures that move forward at the sound of a tone.
@@AaronHarberg Right. You wouldn’t expect such an average every day car from back when to be so impossible to find these days. One day I hope to find and buy a factory 440 Polara Sedan, but I’ve yet to see even one come up for sale in recent years. I’m fortunate to own not only a standard ‘72 Polara 360 Sedan, but also a ‘72 Fury 360 Sedan as well. The Polara was halfway sunk into mud in a barn and the Fury was gonna be crushed. They’re still out there, but these cars seem to have been shoved aside unlike the Challengers and Chargers and Cudas. These would’ve been the uncool cars that didn’t get garage space priority, LOL! I love them
What a beautiful car. Our neighbors had one back (Polara 4 door) then and they rode like Lincolns. Always loved that model. Check out his sideburns, too :) Back in the day, those cars were something to have and looked fancy and pricey. I always thought this is the kind of car I want to have.
I would hardly call 70s cars primitive. I would say practically all of today's cars are primitive regardless of their technology. Without style you have nothing. I had some 70s cars that I would not trade for anything made today. Too much safety and technology is not necessarily the way to go.
I have a green 4 door hardtop Polara Custom with white vinyl top, dark green interior, 360 engine with electronic ignition and 2.71 rear end. Great highway car.
My uncle had a 72 Monaco 4 dr hdtp. in triple blk. He special ordered it from a Chicago dealership with the police 440 HD engine, U code. We called it the mafia car. He used to talk about how well the car tracked, and the seemingly endless amounts of power the car had. But he got rid of it in 74 cuz it only got 8-10 mpg city. Would've loved to have been able to buy it off him. My dad actually tried to but some ex cop beat him to it, 6 grand cash. It was in fantastic condition too. Not a dent or scratch on it.
I think my dad may have bought that car from a dodge dealership in southern Illinois. It was triple black 4dr hardtop with the 440 CID engine. Mom n Dad drove it to Vegas several times. Dad was impressed at how easy it climbed the mountains through Colorado.
I love how they posit Olds and Buick (as well as Ford & Chevy?!) as Monaco's competition, but not Mercury Marquis, which was the obvious influence on Monaco's front end...
I have two 73 Monacos. Do you think they could have made sure that passenger headlight cover in the Monaco was actually correctly lined up before they took the photo. It doesn’t smack of precision assembly does it. If I was the Marketing Director I would have sent them back to re do that photo at their own cost and also given the plant manager and quality inspector a royal kick up the ……..l
You have to laugh at the horrible build quality that they actual show in the video. Look how misaligned the right headlight cover (left side in shot) is at 4:20 min. That said, these Dodges were lightyears ahead of the competition as far as looks.
The dismal build quality was par for the course back then. People today don't know how poorly built cars were back then. It's why the Japanese were able to come in and sweep the market and the big 3 never recovered the lost market share (and AMC went out of business), of course it didn't help that Detroit's product were gas guzzlers too.
04:13 I have driven a 1972 Dodge Monaco like this around 1981 in Copenhagen. It was an experience. It is believed to still exist. Why haven't they checked the headlight doors prior to making this commercial. Looks odd with the one door not closing correctly.
Hi @KoldingDenmark and @jcj. I think that particular car you remember is right here, in my garage. I'm very interested in hearing from you, regarding the history on that Monaco. Had a chat with mr. US in Kvistgård once, he remembered it well. Look forward to hear from you.
That was when Dodge still had good quality. Those two rode smoothly. The 440 magnum gave it real pull. Air Temp A/C made it so nice and cool. Brougham was the better style. Police treated you like a businessman.
I had a 72 Monaco coupe (dark green) that got totaled by a drunk. Then bought a 73 Monaco coupe(tan with white top) that also got hit but still drivable. The 72 had a 440 CID. The 73 had a 400 CID. the smaller engine got better mpg but performance was down a bit.
Poor alignment of panels and trim was typical of the 1970s for all domestic makes. The public tolerated it for a while until they discovered the foreign makers did not do crappy work like that.
@@jhancock1575 Sir, you'll get no argument form me, Mr. Cock. I recall in 1979 I was comparing the Japanese vs US vehicles. They had tight tolerances throughout the build (from engines to body panels). Sad yet true.
Equal Opportunity Offender What’s even more amazing is they actually used the car in their dealer promotion. You would think they would correct the misalignment or get another car. Just a reminder of how bad it was. They could not find a replacement.
@@jhancock1575 The 50 through 70s was about production not quality, yet they sold every car on the lot. Now when I attend a 'car show' and I see these vehicles that have had a lot of attention to the restoration for what was non existing at the time of their birth.
I was about 4 in 1972, but I remember the 1972 Monaco. My parents had one. That car looked like a "Dad" car, but sounded like a hot rod. Deep. Throaty. It rumbled. I was heartbroken when they traded it off in 1978 for an LTDII. What were they thinking?! I guess they were thinking they wanted something they could afford to drive.
I think the speaker made a mistake at 5:43. He said, "notice the chrome trim on the wheel openings". I may be wrong but I think you will find they are polished stainless steel, not chrome. Look similar but chalk and cheese. Chrome is restricted to bumpers, door handles, grille parts, door frame areas and some dash and interior parts.
Notwithstanding the obvious badly misaligned headlight flap at 4:23 (how did they let that get into the film?) these cars are just very solid and handsome, compared to the heavy look-alike plastic trash these days, even if nowhere near as efficient.
I noticed that too. I had a 72 and a 73 Monaco. It was easy to adjust the headlights covers to make them close correctly. I only adjusted once on the 72 and never on the 73.
Companies usually mention minutia like that when their products are not competitive in areas that count. I can't fathom any customer coming in demanding to know how the side market lights are in the new models.
My first Demo Derby car was a 72 Polara 4 door sedan. I had just turned 18 n was old enough to enter. That car was tough for having 24 years of Wisconsin winter rust on it lol. I saved the good low miles 2bbl 360 and put a 318 in it for the derby.
The Monaco is a handsome car...love the front bumper, grill and hidden headlights. The Polara is hohum by comparison.. Not nearly as attractive as the Monaco.
If you are a Car maker of also a Designer like me, and you're thinking about "how to make a better car for future or present Projects, you should look back how those Mopars was made!" Because those Cars of this aera, was really the best cars ever made! Yes, you could use modern electronics, you also could use this modern things and when you combinate this with the Design & Styling of the late 60s-70s & a good V8 with modern Motor management systems, then you have the car what the people really like to buy!!! The present Dodge Charger Shows it, that's are great cars what people buy! I'm thinking like a Designer, a Car stylist and even also as a customer. A fu.... Prius, or a Impala with FWD Platform concept and only V6/6 cylinder engines isn't right! You can see the present Impala is shit against a present Charger. That's very bad, because I think also GM & Ford can see over a 8 years that the present Charger is the much more better car than the Impala or Ford, especially Ford made the big fail with canceling the production of the crown vic! They had the good Body on frame design, what is also a very good concept for future cars in this category. But even they could see that Dodge sales more Chargers, even because they've the V8, the rwd + the right Styling/Design Ford cancels the crown vic & uses a fu.. FWD Platform+ only V6 engines for theyr new car in this category... What a Bad fail! Ford had the right Platform with the crown vic+ the right engines (V8) but they didn't recognise that they only had to design & style new Body for this Chassis. If they had done this, with a new styled '76 Grand Torino or a LTD in modern styling, they had a high quality car what could make very high sales because this would meet really the customers taste I think. We would see what is Chrysler/Dodge/FCA doing with the Charger. I hope they uses theyr V8's, the RWD and a Styling what uses the "coce bottle Styling" for future too. But when they will cancel this traditional things what rescued Dodge they will loose the sales and customers. I don't hope so, because the present Charger and Challenger are the only vehicles with the Tradition of producing cars for America, (& also canada,....& It have so many fans arround the world! Look at me, i'm from germany and I say this is the right way for make cars for America....
@@terrymeadows1827 His family is doing well. Andy sorta sealed his own sad fate- he was an alcoholic, he chain smoked Winston 100s, ran around with younger women and didn't wear his seat belt - a catastrophe waiting to happen. Fortunately it was a single car accident and he was the only one in the car. Sad ending for a sad man.
I was in high school in '72 and remember well the gimmick--and nightmare--of concealed headlights. Who at Chrysler invested all this money for a filmstrip and missed the droopy headlight cover on the front of the Monaco? This was poor design for these, where the trim just screams misalignment. Better cars with these things made certain to downplay misalignment, which was far too common.
This is a dealer information filmstrip. The idea is to help the dealer sell the automobile. The automobile the dealer will be selling is the Dodge. Now Dodge is an automobile and division of the motor company. The motor company with which the Dodge is affiliated is the Chrysler Motor Company. The more of these Dodge automobiles the dealer sells the more money everyone will make from the chairman in NY or Detroit to the janitor at the dealership who cleans the toilet.