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classiccarslovers on Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Chrysler's legendary "letter-series" performance line ended with the 1965 Chrysler 300L -- or so we thought. Today there's a new 300, but the thrill of a convertible isn't part of the resurrection.
The 1965 Chrysler 300L was the last of the letter series for more than 30 years.
For 34 years, the 300L was the last of the great performance Chryslers that began with the 1955 C-300, but that changed with the introduction of the 1999 300M. Is the M worthy of the great letter-series tradition? If you like V-6 "cab forward" sedans with front-wheel drive, yes. Otherwise, it's nothing like its burly V-8 predecessors.
The 1965 Chrysler 300L featured clean styling. |
The same might be said for the 300L hardtop and convertible. In 1965, Chrysler was into a fourth successful year peddling "standard" 300s that were barely sportier than low-line Newports. But that, plus fast-waning demand for sporty big cars, had made letter-series superfluous, so the L was the least special of the original line. Still, it had the same clean new styling and long 124-inch wheelbase as other '65 Chryslers, plus a 360-horsepower 413 V-8 that cost extra in plain 300s. But at $4618 for the convertible, the surcharge for an L amounted to over $700 -- a lot to pay for little more than distinct badging and the bigger engine -- so sales totaled just 440 ragtops and 2405 hardtops.
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classiccarslovers on Sunday, August 21, 2011
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.
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classiccarslovers
Oldsmobile sounded the gun in America's "horsepower war" with its 1949 Rocket V-8, but Chrysler's new 1951 Chrysler New Yorker "Hemi" was a shot heard 'round the world.
The 1951 Chrysler New Yorker's "Hemi" engine could reach up to 300 horsepower
Though not a new idea, the Hemi -- named for its combustion chambers' half-dome shape -- produced more horsepower per cubic inch than any other engine around. In initial form it made 170, 10 more horses than Cadillac's contemporary V-8 of identical size, and even minor modifications could easily yield 300. But though a New Yorker convertible paced the 1951 Indy 500, the Hemi wasn't raced much before mid-decade because the cars it powered were large and lumbering. And Chrysler did little to change that, its 1950-54s being mainly brighter, smoother renditions of its square and stodgy new '49 generation. (So little change occurred for 1951-52 that Chrysler didn't even keep separate production tallies.)
Chrysler paid the price as sales steadily declined to crisis levels by 1954. Government-mandated production curbs during the Korean War didn't help. Nor did inflationary pressures that boosted the New Yorker convertible's price by $700 for '51 to a lofty $3916. As a result, sales were just 2200 in 1951-52. The cheaper six-cylinder Windsor convertible managed 4200.
The 1951 Chrysler New Yorker was a contender in the "horsepower war" of the 50s
But even when handicapped by sluggish semi-automatic Fluid Drive transmission, the FirePower Hemi redefined performance for the medium-price field in no uncertain terms. Of course, it also speeded up air flow through the hair of Chrysler convertible drivers. Indeed, a Hemi ragtop perfectly symbolized the "sky's the limit" optimism of the age.
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