1957 Chrysler New Yorker

After completely overhauling its cars for 1955, Chrysler Corporation did it again for '57 with the 1957 Chrysler New Yorker. From Plymouth to Imperial, every model had "The Forward Look," with dramatically lower bodies, crisp thin-section rooflines, acres more glass, and lean dart-shaped profiles with soaring tailfins. Suddenly, Chrysler was Detroit's new styling leader. In fact, its '57s so impressed General Motors designers that they immediately started over on their '59 models.

The 1957 Chrysler New Yorker defined elegance and style for the late 1950s.

The Chrysler-branded '57s were perhaps the handsomest of the bunch, thanks to a simple grille and rear end, plus tastefully restrained ornamentation. The $4638 New Yorker convertible was particularly elegant with the top lowered.

Like sister divisions, Chrysler also set new standards for ride and handling by introducing torsion-bar front suspension for '57. Another benchmark was new three-speed Torque-Flite automatic transmission, a quick, smooth shifter that would prove exceptionally trouble-free, though not its gimmicky pushbutton controls. Further enhancing performance, Chrysler's efficient Hemi V-8 was enlarged for New Yorkers from 354 to 392 cubic inches, good for 325 standard horsepower.

The 1957 Chrysler New Yorker revealed the new Torque-Flite
automatic transmission.

Though Chrysler sales were strong in '57, the droptop New Yorker attracted just 1049 orders. Rarer still was a new high-performance 300 convertible with 375 or 390 bhp; it saw only 454 copies. Today, collectors wish there'd been a lot more of both.