(first posted 8/2/2013) U. S. automotive history is full of examples of horrible timing. Chrysler’s all new 1974 full sized cars that seemed so right during their gestation, debuted just in time for high gas prices and a nasty recession. Chrysler did it again in 1979, but worse. But the 1955 models were the opposite. The meeting of this car and the year 1955 would be one of the great pairings of machine and an era until the Mustang would do it even better a decade hence.
The 1953-54 period had been an unmitigated disaster at Chrysler. Although the cars were well engineered and well built, they were so conservative and old-fashioned that their market-appeal was leaking like a flattening tire. They were the cars that everyone said were what they wanted: practical, durable and roomy. But then as now, what people say they want is not what they actually buy. Sex sells, and in the early 1950s U.S. auto market, that statement was as true as ever.
K. T. Keller and much of the rest of the management had been around since the 1920s. Though Keller was nearing retirement, he was a sharp enough auto-man to know that Chrysler’s bet on conservative and practical 1949 models had been a big loser. The period between 1949 and 1955 is a really fascinating time in Chrysler history that has been well covered at AUWM (here). It was as though, bit by bit, the company was shaking off the torpor that followed the failure of the 1934 Chrysler Airflow and Walter Chrysler’s incapacity and death soon thereafter, and found the old Chrysler Mojo that had been so evident in the 1920s and 30s. The mechanical pieces started coming together with the FirePower hemi engine in 1951 and the PowerFlite automatic transmission that started to phase in at the end of the 1953 Imperials (CC here) and crept out further into the lineup for 1954.
For 1955, the cars finally got back some of the old Chrysler style as well. Walter Chrysler had appreciated that a car’s styling was an important part of its appeal, and was one of the few people in that engineering-centric company to hold that view. Unfortunately, that mindset seemed to have left the building when Walter Chrysler did. But Keller, to his credit, “got it” and hired Virgil Exner in 1949 to take charge of Chrysler’s Advanced Styling studio. Exner’s series of show cars (some of them found here and here) proved highly popular on the auto show circuit, which certainly paved the way for Exner to leapfrong around old-timer Henry King to take over leadership of styling on production cars. Exner may have dabbled around the edges of the 1953-54 models, but the 1955 line would be all Exner.
The ’55 Chrysler bears an unmistakable resemblance to Exner’s early 1950s show cars. This is a curvaceous, full-figured car. Although I personally have always thought that the ’56 was a better overall design (that made a nice transition to the radical 1957 models), this one comes closest to the Italian look at Exner favored early in his Chrysler career. Yes, the Forward Look was finally here. Chrysler Division went further, and claimed that the car had the One Hundred Million Dollar Look, which was supposedly the amount of money that Chrysler spent to design and build this car. That was real money then, and it paid for a real, first class car.
Image source: www.hotrodscustomstuff.com
We don’t often see ’55 New Yorkers, even in pictures. The Imperial and especially the C-300 have sort of become the favorite children of the ’55 Chrysler line, and for good reason. However, it is fun to gaze on the trim on this car and wonder how many pounds of chrome plated potmetal we would have it if were all taken off of the car and thrown onto a scale. The plated pieces on this car probably outweigh me. But isn’t it absolutely delicious to gaze upon all of that grand, glorious, all-American C-H-R-O-M-E! Even the name badges appear to weigh over a pound apiece.
Was this the car that saved Chrysler? There have been several of those, actually, but this one was a very, very important car for the Chrysler Division. First, there would be no more Chrysler 6 – the Windsor would get a new, smaller V8 that used the block of the FirePower hemi but without the hemispherical combustion chambers (and their expensive dual-rocker shaft valvetrain). And, with the Imperial being spun off as its own separate Division, the New Yorker would be the Chrysler flagship going forward.
Oooh, you might say – this is not just a regular New Yorker, but a New Yorker DeLuxe. Sorry to burst your bubble, but every 1955 New Yorker was a DeLuxe. Don’t ask why.
The other oddity of the entire ’55 Chrysler line was the automatic transmission selector. With the pushbuttons not set to debut until the 1956 models, Chrysler was not about to design a steering column shift mechanism for only a single year. And besides, this was 1955 – no reason to shift gears like folks did in 1939. The “Fingertip Selector Lever” jutting out from the dash was a 1955-only feature that was a real oddity until it was picked up again by modern minivans.
1955 would be the last year for the FirePower engine in its original displacement of 331 cu. in. It was, however, now up to 250 horsepower (at 4,600 rpm) thanks to a four barrel carb and some other tricks. These engines were not known for their low end grunt so much as their ability to breathe and rev. This was no doubt one reason behind the 3:54 axle ratio that was mated with the two speed PowerFlite transmission. The performance minded groused about how the PowerFlite sapped some of the car’s performance, but very few people ordered the stick shift. Besides, help would soon be on the way with a larger 354 hemi in 1956 and the three speed TorqueFlite transmission (and yet another bump in engine displacement) a year later.
If there is a knock on these cars, it is that the Chrysler-built bodies seemed a step or so down in quality from the Briggs-built bodies of the earlier cars. Even though Chrysler bought Briggs Manufacturing, it would seem that the Briggs folks may have snuck off with the recipe for the secret sauce that had made Mopars of yore such sturdy cars. And Chrysler bodies would get much, much worse before they would start to get better again. I am not sure that Chrysler ever really built a first-class body on its own until maybe the 1996 minivan so many years later.
This car really resonates with me. From my earliest consciousness until 1967, my grandma drove a pink and white 1955 DeSoto Firedome sedan that she bought used after getting into an accident in her ’51 Kaiser. The DeSoto was not quite as decadent as this New Yorker, but was largely the same car. Until it went away after the starter gave out, I spent a lot of time playing in that DeSoto. I can still feel those door handles that required both of my small hands to operate and the shiny white paint on the metal dashboard. I wish I had known then that the car had a Hemi, because I could have gained a lot of street cred among my friends in the neighborhood. Everything about that car was big and thick and old fashioned to me, but it resolutely took Grandma everywhere she needed to go. Until one day it didn’t, and it was replaced by a 3 year old Pontiac Catalina. I am proud to say that I was in the DeSoto for its very last ride, and it remains one of my very favorite cars from my early childhood. Which is why I went into a swoon when I saw this one just last week parked outside of a restaurant.
When you think about it, there have been very few Chrysler-built cars through the years after WWII where everything came together – Sound engineering, features, styling and quality, all wrapped up into a package perfectly in step with the market. The ’55 Chrysler was one of those rare cars where it all came together into a complete package, proving that even the most wildly bipolar car company of them all could occasionally have a very, very good year.
Reminds me of the Rover P5 a bit. I wonder if Solihull got some ‘inspiration’ here.
An interesting thought, especially considering that P5 development began around 1955. The most direct inspiration was a pair of Farina-designed P4 one-offs from a couple of years earlier, but the P5 saloon’s roofline and tail do look an awful lot more like the Chrysler than either of the Farina cars. I assume David Bache would have been aware of the Chrysler; of necessity, designers generally paid pretty close attention to the latest styling developments.
Those Rovers always reminded me a bit of the 1952-54 Fords.
Wow, I’ve never made the connection, and I know both these cars. Probably, because until I looked just now, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a P5 in profile. It really shows up in that view.
A real beauty. I was hoping this would come up..Or the 1955 Chrysler 300…Which I think was the first “muscle” car?? This 300 had styling taken from this car and the imperial..Real nice cars.
Yes, the 300 put the much larger Imperial grille on the front of a New Yorker hardtop, then goosed the engine to 300 horsepower (which was not bad out of 331 cubic inches). Add in some heavy duty suspension pieces and yes, it was a factory hot rod – the most powerful car in America at the time.
The 300 is far and away the most attractive of the 55 Chryslers, the Imperial grille without all of the other Imperial styling excesses. It was a very clean and uncluttered design for the time.
A pity that I could not find one of those parked outside of an Outback Steakhouse. Sadly, we will just have to settle for this New Yorker. 🙂
LMAO. Sure JP this was a great catch..This piece surpasses All my expectations..When I wrote that I hoped these would come up I meant as a reference piece in terms of other Mopar products..I honestly had no expectation that someone would find a Curbside 55 New yorker.
So well done for capturing this out on the street..It’s a real Gem.
And nice write up about it. In all honestly, from a style point of view this is my favourite US car..And from a time in place when US cars would lead the world in style ( honourable mention to the Italians).I guess until the 70’s.( shall we say- ish)
This car is just right in every level..I would neither add more or take anything away.
The 300 was the best balanced visually, but I don’t think the ’55 Imperial was particularly excessive; it really just came down to the heavier bumpers, a smidgen more side trim, and the gunsight taillights, which I suppose are a matter of taste.
I have some recent pictures of a ’56 Chrysler 300-B that I’m hoping to post in the not-too-distant future.
As proto-muscle cars go, I would point to the 1951-52 Saratoga, which, like the Olds Rocket 88 of a couple of years earlier, combined the FirePower engine with the shorter and considerably lighter Windsor chassis. Previously, Chrysler Eights were all on the longer wheelbase because the straight eight was so long, but the FirePower was a lot more compact and could fit in the space intended for the six. The V-8 Saratoga was briefly the hot ticket among Chryslers; it had 180 hp rather than 300, but that was mostly just a matter of cam and carburetion.
Also, the Saratoga that you speak of had the Fluid Torque semi-automatic that was quite a good performer with the right technique, far better than the later 2 speed PowerFlite in these cars. The FT gave you either three or 4 gear ratios (depending on how you shifted it) plus a torque converter. The PowerFlite only gave you two gears and a converter. The lower “low” in the FT was a big help in launching the Hemi and allowing it to get up into the fat part of its powerband sooner.
The Chrysler Fluid Drive, like the original four speed Hydramatic (but only in this regard) did not have a torque converter but a two element fluid coupling that did not make for any multiplication. The Powerflite had torque converter with a two element stator for more multiplication than it would have had with the usual single stator.
What you say is true for the original version from the 1940s. By the early 50s Chrysler added a torque converter (hence the Fluid Torque name) which gave the unit a better effective gear ratio on starts. The Fluid Torque was the ultimate in semi-automatics. Unfortunately the ultimate in semi-automatics was not what the 1950s customer wanted.
A gem of a find!
There is simply no bad angle on this car and everything about it exudes class and elegance – so different than the flamboyance that would soon follow by the various manufacturers.
This Chrysler is so vastly different and more sophisticated than the crappy Malibu parked next to it. Only your son’s Mercury in the background can start to think about going into the Chrysler’s neighborhood.
Seeing one of these in the wild is a true catch.
So many times with newer cars, there are just not any really interesting little details to shoot pictures of – just capture multiple angles and call it done. Looking at this one, I could have easily peeled off another 15 or 20 close-ups of details like a taillight, a hood ornament or any number of other things. There are so many things going on with the design, but they all come together for a fairly clean look, certainly for 1955.
I also like the really restrained 2 tone treatment with the emerald green side spear. I really like this car.
You really get the sense that these cars – and the DeSoto and Imperial – were sculpted more than drawn, overall and down to the detailed level.
Interestingly, you don’t get the same feeling with the 55 Plymouths and Dodges, which were Henry King’s versus Exner’s and Cliff Voss’s responsibility. Or, the entire 1957 line for that matter.
This Chrysler is fantastic in this color combo!
Oldsmobile offered a similar “Pastel Green” on their 1979 cars, I think one year only in the era. My Dad’s company Delta 88 was this color. I initially found the color a bit odd (retro early ’50s), but it grew on me immensely. If I could have a classic ’79 big Olds in my garage now, my top pick for color would be Pastel Green.
Cool..I would love to see those..I think this is my favourate US car..it was the Ford Mustang (the early models) I say the word think because my knowledge is not vast..And there may be a car that I don’t know about to tempt me away.
But this is style.class.Art Deco colour as well.
I was hoping someone would do a ’55 Chrysler before Mopar week was over. Many thanks JPC.
This New Yorker is beautiful and I agree it all came together for Chrysler in 1955, at least for a couple of years. History sort of repeated itself with the ’65-68s, four years of good followed by many years of not so good.
The ’55 300 is my favorite with a close follow by the Imperial. Their front ends were masterpieces.
Perhaps not the best color choice for this, one of my all time favorites. Floyd Clymer (sp?) has a very good analysis of the ’55 New Yorker in a Popular Mechanics article of the same year. This is available in the Popular Mechanics archives.
The 55 and 56 Chryslers (all of the Mopar brands actually) are some of my favorite designs from the 1950s. While I enjoy the exuberance of the 1957 designs, nothing can top these cars as the best of what Chrysler could do. To me, they combine the solidity and slightly conservative handsomeness that conveys engineering strength with just enough sleekness and stylish details to be spot on for the times. A great halfway point between the “ugly but good” cars that preceded them, and the wild designs that replaced them. I also am really happy to see a New Yorker (excuse me, New Yorker Deluxe!) as they represented so much more of the “real” volume at the time versus the 300. If I was buying that year, I’d have found the blue one in the ad mighty tempting, though I probably would have gone for the hardtop coupe.
I like it. It is a case of one of those designs that if you take individual elements (like the split grille) by themselves they seem as if they don’t work but when put together they are harmonious. Definitely a case of the whole being greater than the individual parts.
Just looking at this car you can tell that everyone who had any hand in its coming into being, from Exner, to the engineers, to the guy who riveted the badges on took pride in his work.
I also see that some previous owner was safety minded enough to install seat belts.
I wish I didnt live in the rustiest of rusty places. It would be nice if I could spot a car this nice here. Sadly most al cars of this age are brought here from the southern states or California and as such people only bring them out on the nicest days. Last night while on a trip to the supermarket I drove past a 55 t bird and a few weeks ago a barracuda drove past me. Like I said I really need to live in a place more condicive to classic cars or at least using them.
This New Yorker was in Indianapolis, and we do know how to do rust here. The old stuff like this comes out in nice weather, but I am sure this is not driven year round.
These were very pretty cars, they look great in a 2 door hardtop, one of my favorite Mopars of this vintage is Jimmy Stewarts 56 DeSoto Sportsman coupe from Hitchcocks classic Vertigo.
If ever a car was suited to a man this would be it.I don’t know if he drove one in real life but I could imagine him having an Adventurer just like this
In San Francisco, no less . . . . where many beautiful classics reside to this very day . . . .
So elegant compared to the flashy 57s and no doubt better built
Right, this 55 is “sharp” like a man in a tailored suit. The 1957s are flashy like a showgirl.
This Chrysler again reminds me how much I liked colors and color combinations used on all mid-fifties cars. A lot of thought went into what was offered to customers and, compared to today’s cars, the buyer had what seems now to be unlimited choices.
“The “Fingertip Selector Lever” jutting out from the dash was a 1955-only feature that was a real oddity until it was picked up again by modern minivans.”
Actually this “feature” appeared next on Corvairs with Powerglide.
The dash-mounted shifter also appeared on some Torqueflite-equipped Dodge trucks. My ’66 A-100 had it.
And Tempests . . . . and A100 Dodge vans and post ’64 Dodge Trucks with automatic . . .
I’m certain I’ve mentioned it before, but it was a 1955 Windsor 2-door hardtop loaner car – not terribly different from this car – that showed me that Chryslers could be really nice automobiles. (In 1964.) The handling was noticeably better than that on earlier 1950’s Chrysler products I’d driven or ridden in.
Wouldn’t the Corvair qualify as having a dash mounted shift lever? Unless you were keeping it strictly in terms of Chrysler products.
I have never driven a Corvair, and forgot all about those. However, the dash-mounted lever has not really gained any kind of broad application until recent minivans. Can pushbuttons be far behind?
It’s here now Jim! On 2013 Dodge, er… RAM 1500 pickup trucks when equipped with the new 8-speed transmission. Except instead of pushbuttons it’s a rotary knob. And of course, the reviewer from the WSJ doesn’t like it because it’s different.
http://blogs.wsj.com/drivers-seat/2013/01/24/is-the-2013-ram-truck-shifter-all-wrong-or-is-it-my-imagination/
If you want to manually select a gear when the rotary knob is in Drive, there are GEAR- and GEAR+ buttons on the steering wheel. There’s a pic of those on this page at Allpar.
http://www.allpar.com/model/ram/2013-ram.html
Actual pushbuttons are on the new Lincoln MKZ (the Fusion-based sedan). Reviewers seem to find them either gimmicky or actively annoying. (You have to look at the “gear shift” to change gears!)
Except on minivans it’s a beefier thing with some kind of knob, pretty much like any automatic floor shifter only on the dashboard, and not as high up. The Corvair one was more like the ’55 Chrysler though, but it poked out from under the instrument cluster.
And pushbuttons are not far behind and in fact are used in Lincolns and maybe elsewhere, although they are on the right hand side, down the left edge of the upper part of the console. The Chrysler ones were manual, not electronic, and moved a cable just like a lever would.
Having just slogged through the four available volumes (with one yet to be published) of Robert Caro’s LBJ biography, I don’t know if I can believe the story of Ronald Reagan losing a car to LBJ in a poker game, but I can believe that LBJ might have told the story! Well worth a read for anyone who hasn’t picked it up yet.
I think the 55 New Yorker Deluxe would rate in the top 3 in my long, long list of Mopar favorites.
My dad had purchased a beautiful 55 New Yorker sedan, like this one in 1961 from a small local car lot. His was an elegant black in color ,with beautiful gray interior.
I remember as a youngster fighting those door handles also, as it was hard for my little fingers to push down and pull at the same time.
Many, many stories in my family about dads New Yorker including a late night impromptu drag race with a local kid and his hot rod Chevrolet . As the story goes the New Yorker (to borrow from a Beach Boys song) shut him down. Dad always had a bit of a heavy foot!
The beloved New Yorker met its fate after our move to Minnesota , as road salt and a 6 volt system combined with sub zero temperatures and a high mile Hemi engine led to it being traded.
The reason all ’55 New Yorkers were DeLuxe had to do with the model shuffling Chrysler had done a couple of years earlier.
At the start of the ’50s, Chrysler had two wheelbases for its standard cars (not counting the Crown Imperial, which was sold in very small numbers). The sixes had the short chassis, the eights had the longer chassis, which was needed because the straight eight was longer than the six. The FirePower V-8 was a lot shorter than the old straight eight, so in mid-1951, Chrysler decided to move the cheapest eight-cylinder model, the Saratoga, to the shorter chassis, leaving the New Yorker on the longer platform.
In 1953, Chrysler decided, “Since we don’t need the longer wheelbase for the straight eight, why don’t we just consolidate all the standard models on the shorter wheelbase and leave the longer versions for the Imperial to add status and exclusivity.” Since that technically made the Saratoga redundant, it was dropped for ’53, but to make sure dealers still had something in that price range to sell, Chrysler added a new de-trimmed New Yorker that was basically the Saratoga with a new name, renaming the existing New Yorker line New Yorker DeLuxe.
When the ’55s came out and the Windsor DeLuxe got its own V-8, the base New Yorker also became more or less redundant, so Chrysler dropped that as well. However, the upper series remained New Yorker DeLuxe, probably for the benefit of buyers who were trading in a ’53 or ’54 and perhaps to discourage used car sellers from dinging the ’55 New Yorker’s resale value by assuming it was still a lower trim line. (The New Yorker DeLuxe was indeed DeLuxe and priced to match!)
By 1956, I assume Chrysler figured people had gotten the idea, so the DeLuxe identification was dropped from both the Windsor and New Yorker again.
It wasn’t exactly a tidy approach, but it did have a point.
These are stupendous automobiles. Family friends had one and, like the author, I spent all my time in that New Yorker on every visit.
The example here is slightly lower-end New Yorker (no two-tone dash paint, lack of a horn ring, lower-end upholstery -see below).
I kind of wondered about that dash also. Every one of these I have ever seen was 2 toned, but not this one. The lack of a horn ring on the wheel is interesting too. The upholstery looks to me as though it has been redone in a more modern material. I could not find an online brochure to compare it with. Oldcarbrochures has one for the Windsor but not for the New Yorker.
The dash IS two tone, yellow and white (which probably were the exterior colors, you can see the yellow on the hood.. The steering wheel is the premium, and the upholstery was used when leather was ordered. My 55 New Yorker convertible in gold and white had matching gold and white leather in this pattern. it was also used in some DeSotos (Coronado and others) and Imperials and slightly different pattern in 56. I bought mine from a neighbor who bought it new. I became disenchanted with it, after high speed runs, the engine would not restart. With the Hemi it had to cool before starting. After a few months of this I traded with a college professor who was buying all he could. I traded the New Yorker and a Windsor wagon (also 55) for two Lincoln Capri’s the professor had switched to 12 volt. A convertible and sedan. Both the Lincolns and Chryslers were and are quality cars, I still have a preference for the Chrysler products, and in my 56 Fireflite I get the same sensations.
clicked the wrong one
That color! In the Fifties Revell made a scale model of a 1956 New Yorker De Luxe St. Regis two-door hardtop that was cast in the same color plastic as your featured car. I remember it well. I never built mine up but I did use the wheels (with real rubber tires!) and the motor to transform another Revell kit of a 1915 Fiat Tourer into a nifty hot rod.
1955 Chrysler New Yorker: Our neighbor bought a lustrous black 1955 Chrysler New Yorker sedan. It fit his lifestyle perfectly in that he was a respected banker. The stately car took your breath away. Being in Houston, he opted for the Airtemp factory air, located behind the rear seat, with a single wide vent aimed toward the headliner. Beautiful car.
I was telling someone about my car and they googled it and came across this article and I realized hey, that is my car.
I am the owner of this car and I think it is really cool that this article was written about it.
It is a beautiful old car and we love it.
I will bookmark this page and watch for anymore comments, even though a year later.
Thanks for responding – I found your car out one evening and almost squealed with excitement. I love your car, but then you probably know that by now. Funny you should comment today, as this morning’s feature was a 56 Imperial found at a show in the New England area. I believe I spied your car one time since, sitting in a lot for some service.
If you ever felt like doing or working with me on a follow-up piece that tells some more of your car’s story, email me at jpccurbside@gmail.com. “My Curbside Classic” and CC Follow Up pieces are always enjoyable for others to read.
Yes – we are on Indianapolis and only drive it on nice days in the summer.
If googled this article after seeing a convertible ’55 New Yorker in the opening scene of “The Creature Walks Among Us” (ca. 1956, and second sequel to “Creature From The Black Lagoon”). Actress Leigh Snowden is blasting down the Overseas Highway in the Florida Keys with the top down (err, rooftop that is :-)) All I could tell was it was a Chrysler, and a little Google Image searching quickly turn up the unique grillwork.
I think this is a style classic. The grillwork is complex yet looks well integrated. In fact, I can’t recall a front end I think was more elegant.
I fell in love with this convertible. https://www.curbsideclassic.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/55-NY-4.jpg
I don’t have the real car now, but have built models of my 1:1 cars for years. This is a model of the gold and white New Yorker convert I had. I made it from a C300 kit and had to fabricate the grilles and all trim as well as changing to a convertible. Didn’t notice when I took the photo the top boot slid back further than it should have been. Also had a Plymouth like the other model.
Love the “fingertip gear selector.”
No reason for the modern huge, chunky gear selector & the false notion that it requires an entire center console for it’s support.
1955-1956 Chryslers were great-looking cars and perhaps the last to be well-built before everything went to hell for 1957. I agree with the author that the 1956 facelift was a nice improvement over the ’55s.
Looks like a 4:3 scale Volvo Amazon onto which tailfins were added.
I’ll show myself out now.
Besides the missing badge on the front the steering wheel appears to have been repainted and lost its horn ring, or something.
BEAUTIFUL interior…simple and classic.
Beautiful images like this make me happy! =) Thanks!