(first posted 10/27/2015) The past two decades have revealed Chrysler to be the automotive king of special editions. After all, the final count of PT Cruiser special editions was almost a dozen. Chrysler’s LX-body 300 has featured special editions like the Motown, Glacier, Walter P. Chrysler Executive Series, even a designer limited edition, the John Varvatos Luxury Edition. Then there are the various limited edition Chargers, Challengers, et all. But Chrysler has been at this game for a while, and a look back through time reveals a very interesting and eclectic bunch of special editions.
Chrysler Sebring TSi
Years produced: 2006
Total production: ?
The 2001-06 Sebring may have been one of the most attractive sedans in its segment, but unfortunately it revealed something troubling about its corporate parent, DaimlerChrysler. The Sebring had been left to stagnate in one of the most brutally competitive segments in America, saddled with a weak and unreliable V6 and a low-rent interior. It was a far cry from the heady days of the mid-1990s when Chrysler was on a roll and its new “Cloud Cars”, including the Sebring’s predecessor the Cirrus, were sweeping the awards circuit. With an all-new Sebring due to arrive in 2007 on an all-new platform shared with Mitsubishi, Chrysler decided to send the second-generation JR sedan off with a new top-of-the-line model. This flagship sedan would dust off the TSi nameplate, last seen on the range-topping versions of the Eagle Talon and Vision.
The Sebring TSi included attractive 17-inch alloy wheels, a rear spoiler, subtle ground effects, fog lights and a chrome exhaust tip. The changes could be heard as well as seen, thanks to a different exhaust tune.
Inside, Chrysler implemented some attractive changes with two-tone perforated leather seats, accent stitching, leather-wrapped shift knob and steering wheel and, interestingly, genuine California Walnut accents. All of these were pleasing additions but the basic Sebring interior was one of the worst in the segment in both design and material quality.
Performance modifications were limited to a sport-tuned suspension. The 2.7 V6 was the same as in lesser Sebrings, with 200 hp and 190 lb-ft of torque. The mid-size horsepower wars of the 2000s had seen to it that, by 2006, these were some rather underwhelming figures. Although a five-speed manual had been available on the related Stratus V6 sedan from 2002 until 2003, the Sebring sedan had never received one and the TSi was no exception. Instead, the only transmission was Chrysler’s four-speed automatic with “AutoStick” manual shift control.
The TSi was an elegant addition to the aging Sebring’s lineup. It certainly was more appealing than the restyled R/T option package on the moribund Dodge Stratus sedan that year (pictured). Chrysler’s design language was changing from sleek, curvy if somewhat bulbous forms to more angular, upright and chunky shapes, most excitingly expressed by the 2005 300. Those expecting the 2007 Sebring to resemble a smaller version of the hot new 300 would be disappointed. If the 2001-06 Sebring didn’t already look attractive, its successor sure made it appear so.
Plymouth Silver Duster
Years produced: 1976
Total production: ?
Although it was simply a two-door Valiant with a sleeker rear-end, the Plymouth Duster proved to be a hot-seller. The Duster was competitively priced, well-sized and could be specified with 340 and 360 cubic-inch V8s that made for some excellent bargain performance. As Plymouth’s compact coupe, the Duster was also well-positioned to receive various special editions. There was the Feather Duster, covered previously, which featured lightweight aluminum parts for a weight saving of around 187 pounds; Dodge’s version was known as the Dart Lite. The Duster Twister resembled the Duster 340 but came only with the Slant Six or 318 V8. The Space Duster had a fold-down rear seat. The popular Gold Duster was more a full-fledged model than a special edition as it was offered from 1970 until 1975. The final special Duster would replace the Gold Duster for 1976, and was known as the Silver Duster.
Proudly placed on the front cover of the 1976 Plymouth Valiant brochure, the Silver Duster was, not surprisingly, only available with silver paint. However, the exterior was spruced up with a red vinyl canopy roof and curious accent striping that dipped at the rear wheel and then kicked back up to join the taillights. Inside, there was an available “Boca Raton” cloth and vinyl interior. While silver is now a painfully ubiquitous automotive paint color, it was less popular in that decade of “earth tones”, the 1970s. Conversely and perhaps for the best, you certainly can’t find something like Boca Raton cloth in any of today’s cars.
The powertrain lineup was quite simple, consisting only of the 225 cubic-inch Slant Six, 318 cubic-inch V8 and the hero engine, Chrysler’s 360 cubic-inch V8 with 220 hp and 280 ft-lbs. The vast majority of Dusters carried the more humble engines, with the 360 only accounting for a tiny fraction of sales by the end of the Duster’s run. For 1976, Chrysler had introduced the new F-Body Dodge Aspen and Plymouth Volare which were initially met with much critical acclaim. The aging Duster’s final year of production volumes were less than a third of 1975 volumes, with 34,681 manufactured. How many of those were Silver Dusters is unknown.
Dodge Lancer Pacifica
Years produced: 1986
Total production: 500
Around twenty years before the name would appear on a luxury Chrysler crossover, the Pacifica name was used on two highly-specified Dodges. The Daytona Pacifica took over from the discontinued Chrysler Laser in 1987, offering Daytona buyers such niceties as heavily bolstered bucket seats available with leather upholstery. In 1986, the Pacifica name was used on a limited edition Dodge Lancer.
The Pacifica edition was named for Chrysler’s Pacifica Advanced Design Studio in Carlsbad, California which opened in 1983. Although the Daytona Pacifica was a full-fledged trim level from 1987 until 1988, the Lancer Pacifica was only a limited edition and just 500 were produced for the Californian market. All were white with color-keyed wheels and ground effects and the 146 horsepower 2.2 turbocharged four-cylinder, with some featuring a five-speed manual transmission. Despite the low production numbers, these aren’t completely extinct and numerous Lancer Pacificas have popped up on Mopar enthusiast forum classifieds.
Dodge St. Regis Touring Edition
Years produced: 1980
Total production: 438
Despite the name, the Touring Edition was not a typical Detroit sport edition of the St. Regis with a heavy-duty suspension and bigger tires; if you wanted those, you had to tick the option box for the Open Road package. Although the distinctive, 10-spoke aluminum road wheels (keyed in either red or gold) suggested sportiness, the Touring Edition was really just a luxury edition of the St. Regis. Other Touring Edition exterior features included a padded vinyl roof, pinstriping and badges; it wasn’t quite as fussy as the New Yorker, but it was more distinctive than the base St. Regis.
Where the Touring stood out most was inside. All Touring Editions came with leather-and-vinyl seats in either red or cashmere, Featherwood appliqués, power windows, leather-wrapped steering wheel and more luxurious trim on the doors. The cost of the Touring Edition package was $1677, a pretty hefty sum considering the St. Regis’ base sticker price was $6724. However, a Chrysler New Yorker was still $2k more. It appears that as with the regular St. Regis, Touring Edition powertrains were limited to the 225 cubic-inch slant six and 318 (2 or 4-barrel) and 360 (2-barrel) cubic-inch V8s.
Despite their proven mechanicals – the R-Body platform was heavily based on the 1962-vintage B-Body platform – the new full-size Mopars had a rocky launch due to various build issues. Thus, deliveries to dealers were delayed and 1979 sales figures likely disappointed a corporation already in some of its darkest hours. If the ’79 sales figures were underwhelming, 1980 sales figures were an unmitigated disaster. Blame Chrysler’s corporate woes, blame the economy or blame the effects of the oil crisis: 1980 St. Regis sales figures sunk to 17,068, almost exactly half the 1979 figures. There weren’t many takers for the Touring Edition, and it did not return for 1981 when St. Regis sales dipped another 4000 units. That year would prove to be the St. Regis’ last: Chrysler was embracing front-wheel-drive, and K-Car-based models would proliferate through the model lineup during the 1980s. After all, there was plenty of talk that gas prices would continue to rise. Alas, this did not happen and Chrysler missed out on a resurgence in full-size car sales.
Chrysler Newport Cordoba
Years produced: 1970
Total production: 3741
The Chrysler Cordoba personal luxury coupe was launched in 1975 and was immediately successful. Originally planned as the Plymouth Grand Era, Chrysler decided its titular division could offer a “small” car despite promising to never do so. Up until then, Chrysler had only offered full-sizers (or what were once standard-size cars, before the arrival of compacts and intermediates). The Cordoba nameplate wasn’t new, however. In 1970, it had been used on Chrysler’s full-size Newport.
A spring special for 1970, the Newport Cordoba was only offered as a two-door hardtop or four-door hardtop; regular Newports could also be had as a convertible or four-door pillared sedan. Initial impressions are that this just looks like a big, plain, brown Newport, one of the most visually bulky cars of the era albeit cleanly-styled. However, the Cordoba had numerous attractive additions.
The brown vinyl “Espanol” roof actually had a distinctive pattern to it, albeit one far more subtle than the contemporary “Mod Tops” offered by the Chrysler Corporation. Parts of the wheels and grille were color-keyed to the Cordoba Gold paint job. The hood was decorated with an Aztec eagle medallion. The side mouldings had an Aztec pattern. Inside was even more desirable. Where fake wood would generally be in a Newport, the Cordoba had shiny gold, patterned inserts. A similar pattern appeared on the vinyl seating.
With the standard 383 cubic-inch V8 and three-speed manual transmission, the 2-dr Newport Cordoba’s list price was $3,769. It’s unlikely that many Cordoba buyers would have settled for the standard transmission; with the three-speed TorqueFlite automatic, power steering, white sidewall tires and AM radio, the price was $4,241.65. Overall, the package didn’t cost much on top of the standard Newport and it offered a distinctive and yet surprisingly subtle aesthetic.
Chrysler Newport Mariner
Years produced: 1973
Total production: ?
While the Newport Cordoba was featured in print advertisements and other press material and the ’73 Newport Navajo is similarly documented, the Newport Mariner appears to have been lost to antiquity. Even many devoted Mopar fans have not heard of this nautically-themed special edition. The only press photographs easily located are in the fantastic book Cars of the Sensational ‘70s (by James Flammang and the Auto Editors of Consumer Guide.)
The Newport Mariner wasn’t the only special edition to follow a nautical theme, but it felt very appropriate on such a large land yacht. The interior was white vinyl with blue/aqua upholstery and carpets. The exterior was similarly colored and topped off with porthole side rear windows. Newspaper clippings indicate this was not just an auto show special and some did find their way to dealers but production numbers remain a mystery.
Chrysler Newport (with Sportsgrain option)
Years produced: 1968-69
Total production: 1,140 (1968)
In 1968, Mercury offered its range-topping Park Lane fastback and convertible with “yacht panelling”. This was a similar style of wood applique to the Colony Park wagon, designed to evoke Mercuries past like the ’46 Sportsman convertible. Perhaps by coincidence, Chrysler offered a similar option for ’68 on the Newport. This was known as the “Sportsgrain” option.
Photo courtesy of Auctions America
The cost of this option was $126, and it was available on Newport hardtops and convertibles rather than the more prestigious New Yorker. Production numbers for the Sportsgrain option were a total of 965 hardtops and 175 convertibles, very similar numbers to the yacht-panelled and slightly more expensive Mercury.
Photo courtesy of Paul Balze, aka splatter graphics on Flickr.
Despite these numbers, Chrysler decided to offer the option for 1969 on the completely restyled “Fuselage” Newport hardtop and convertible. There must not have been a noticeable improvement in sales – full-size convertible sales were trending downwards, after all – and 1969 would be the option’s last year, and the Newport convertible’s penultimate. Indeed, Chrysler did not release production numbers for the ’69 Sportsgrain Newports. Although the larger, plainer body made for a better base for such an option, its arguable whether such a throwback feature suited the Fuselage body’s modern, minimalist aesthetic any better than it suited the ’68.
Chrysler has always offered variety when it comes to special editions. This week, we saw everything from monochromatic white paintjobs to wood panelling to an Aztec gold theme. What was your favorite?
N.B. Considering the obscurity of the vehicles featured in this series, it is sometimes hard to source free-use or press photographs. If any photograph owners wish for me to take down their images, I will happily do so.
Related Reading:
The Most Obscure Special Editions and Forgotten Limited-Run Models: Mopar Edition, Part I
Am I the only disappointed the Chrysler Newport Cordoba didn’t come with “soft, Corinthian leather?”. Also did the majority of the 75-77 Cordobas come in that Brownish-gold color that the Newport’s in? Certainly seemed like it from the pictures I’ve seen on the internet. Either way, I’m glad when I learn about special editions I’ve never heard of.
Sadly, the Sebring TSi will be really hard to find in the future with the dreadful 2.7L–I’ve been hearing that Chargers, 300s, Magnums and some of the newer 2007+ Sebring/Avengers with the 2.7 have started to have issues within the past couple of years, and this was when the issue was supposedly fixed. There was also a not-too-common Walter P. Chrysler edition, which I believe had the 2.7 as well. The Walter P. Chrysler edition was also branded on the 300, the PT Cruiser and the Town and Country (I think).
I do like that Stratus in that firey orange color. I’d lose that spoiler, or at least get one that’s a little more obscure and “fitting”. It creates a whole different perspective on what might as well be the modern version of the plain-jane Plymouth Acclaim or a Toyota Camry à la Mopar (before the Camry started to take on the look of jellybeans or angry creatures). The coupe was more exciting, however, it was nothing more than a rebadged Mitsubishi.
On the other hand, every time I see a ’70s Newport, I confuse it for a Chevy Impala. And then you have what looks like a Chevrolet bowtie emblem to the unknowing eye.
The first time I saw a ’73 Newport (this was probably sometime in the early 90’s) I really thought someone had fitted an Impala grille and headlamps to a Chrysler.
Wow, so much choice. Can’t choose between the Fuselage Cordoba, Fuselage woody or 68 woody. And Don Johnson called; he wants his blow dryer back.
Yeah some real nice cars there all pre 1980 you can keep the later stuff, but the old Valiants and Newports I quite like as long as they have a roof.
Another candidate for obscure special edition would be the ’80-’81 Dodge Omni 024 De Tomaso.
http://news.boldride.com/2015/08/1980-dodge-omni-024-detomaso/88450/
I am amazed that I missed the Newport Mariner. That color combo would have been highly retro in 1973.
I remember the silver sister. Actually, silver had become quite popular by 1976 and everyone was offering it. Unfortunately, the paint did not weather well, and every 1970s silver car looked like crap after 3 or 4 years.
The St. Regis makes me sad, it should have been such a nice car.
Agreed. It’s hard to imagine that really coming out in earth-tone dripping 1973. Looks more like 1957. And the porthole…I’m not surprised this didn’t ever see production, or at least on any scale.
That porthole reminded me of a submarine, which was also the shape of that Newport. Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea.
That St. Regis might have been the sleeper full-size deal of the year.
Without CC worthy research, ’80 was the year that GM’s full-size cars were mostly emasculated under the hood and general quality took a nose dive with the CAFE oriented refresh. Ford’s standard biggies without going to a Lincoln price point were making due with a 114 inch wheelbase, and I’m not sure the 351 engine made it to ’80 in civilian duty. The 302 with the AOD tranny was still teething.
This St. Regis Touring Edition:. 118.5 inch wheelbase. New Yorker style luxury with a better price point. You don’t have the New Yorker’s controversial vinyl top treatment. The available 360, hooked to a 727 TorqueFlite? Almost too good to be true already. Second year for this fairly simple car, so some bugs should be worked out and the dealers should be better prepared to handle them.
Possibly the best 1980 full-size American luxury car? And only 438 sold. That really is sad. A shame that the R body didn’t survive to see the full-size revival starting in ’83.
I spent time browsing around a Dodge dealer in 1980 while my mother *tried* to buy an Omni. Salesmen would have been falling all over themselves to sell somebody a St. Regis. But nobody came in looking for them.
And yes, quality was up markedly for the 1980 models. This was Iacocca’s first fire to put out when he arrived in September of 1978 – setting up teams to statistically track problems by frequency and severity, then start tracing them back to the cause and then find and apply a fix. Most of the worst was taken care of by the end of the 79 models, but by then they had an awful reputation and fuel prices had skyrocketed.
Your point on the deals likely to be had is one more benefit I forgot to list. I didn’t realize that the second year was likely improved as much as I guessed it might be.
We were such a strong GM household thanks to the ’77 – ’79 B body that the Mopar R would never have caught our attention in 1980. Hindsight changes things for the ’80 R body.
Here’s my unusual Mopar car – a 1976 Dart Lite. Bought in 1983 after wifey went back to work – she got the 1981 Reliant. Same as the Feather Duster. Overdrive 4 speed stick w/Hurst shifter, 225, economy ratio differential, some aluminum body panels. Slowest car on the road – a VW Westphalia could give it a run for its money!
Still, another car I should have kept far longer than I did, as it was in very good shape, ran well, I actually had fun driving it, and the kids referred to it as the “race car”!
Some light weight Darts/Dusters have been modded into drag racers. Saw a Dart Light version on ebay all hopped up, seller was promoting that it was the ‘factory light weight body’, etc.
Chrysler Newport Mariner – I’d love to find one and the only accessory it would need one of those air horns that sounds like a fog horn. 🙂
Ok maybe one more accessory, for people who have a sense of humor…
Wrong brand though. needs one (or two) of these on the back:
Do they make that in a receiver hitch size?
You can do a custom decal on several websites – many appropriately catering to the boat market.
the sad thing about the Sebring’s interior is that Daimler actually forced them to make it worse partway through that generation. From 2001-2003, at least the dash and door panels were padded/soft touch. When it got a facelift in 2004, those went to hard plastic.
reason #402 I will never in my life buy a German car.
I think I’ve seen about 3 of these cars “on the road”, while a couple are so obscure that even if I had seen them they wouldn’t have registered.
While I understand the (very) tenuous link between the name Cordoba and gold, the car itself is about a 20 on the scale of 1 to 10 for subtle. It looks too much like a run-of-the-mill full-sized Chrysler.
I may have heard of the Sebring Tsi, but never saw one outside a “buff book”. Oddly/funnily, in the mid 70s a 200 horsepower car was pushed by a 5.9 liter engine. 30 years later, a 2.7 liter engine producing the same horsepower is considered to be underwhelming.
Love that Chrysler Mariner, I can’t imagine what made “the powers that be” decide to green light it for production. It puts you in mind of the 50s with that great aqua and white treatment.
While I have seen several 68 Chrysler hardtops and convertibles with that woodgraining treatment, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fuselage version. I sure would like to know how Chrysler AND Mercury both managed to get this same idea at the same time.
Silver Duster….. Probably THE worst/most overused color combination in the mid 70s was silver with maroon. EVERY domestic car company had models in every size that paired those 2 colors, though this Valiant example isn’t too bad. I visited a Ford – Mercury dealership in the mid 70s that had a Bobcat in silver with a HOUNDSTOOTH check patterned vinyl roof and interior where the check was grey/black/maroon……THE ugliest new car I had ever seen up to that point. I’ll gladly take a Valiant in ANY color but that Silver Duster combo.
“Probably THE worst/most overused color combination in the mid 70s was silver with maroon.”
Every bit as bad as a black car with a red interior, especially in the 1960’s. Those made me sick.
U WOT?
Simply disgusting color combination. I might take this sad vehicle off the hands of this unfortunate soul.
Well..
Good grief, the only thing better than a mid-80s BMW 535i in black with red leather is charcoal gray with red leather…
A neighbor has a new 79 Olds Tornonado in dark gray with red leather…loved it!
I already mentionned these regional models of the 1969 Fury like the Snapper and the 1969½ Plymouth Diplomat in part 1. But let’s also mention once again the Bengal Charger. http://www.dodgecharger.com/forum/index.php/topic,32703.0.html
If and when the Cincinnati Belgals will win the SuperBowl, will some local Dodge Dealers of the area will do a new Bengal Charger? How about a Bengal Charger Hellcat? 😉
The benglas do look strong this year…we’ll see how they do after the bye week.
Well, I’ll begin to believe if they beat the Steelers, but they have to actually win a playoff game for a change.
Bengal Impala? Probably not. Mine’s gray.
I’m throwing in my vote for the St. Regis Touring Edition.
I may be in the minority here but I liked the seventies/early eighties full-size Chrysler products. My aunt bought a ’79 New Yorker in ’79 and although I wasn’t a huge Chrysler fan I thought it looked very elegant compared to the new GM/Ford downsized “full-size” cars of the times.
One of my favs, the “Convertriple”, three cars in one!
I remember this ad when I was like 10!
The 74 Imperial Crown Coupe would definitely qualify as a limited run model
It was a special addition Imperial to celebrate Chrysler’s 50th anniversary,
It was available in one color only, Golden Fawn.
Production of this imperial in 1974?
A whopping 57.
I successfully guessed at a fair number of the vehicles featured in part 2. 🙂 From this lot, I’ll take the Mariner or a ’68 Sportsgrain Newport (although if I was buying new in ’68 I probably wouldn’t have bought a Sportsgrain).
Would like to have the 1970 Chrysler Newport Cordoba.. I have a weak knee for the fuselage Chryslers from ’69 thru ’71.
There was a article in “Collectible Automobile” magazine a few years back featuring the Newport Cordoba. I just can’t find my copy of the magazine at the moment.
I love everything except for the Sebring Tsi. I do have to say though, surely between 2001-2006 everything was a more attractive cars. The Sebring and Kia Optima/Hyundai Sonata of the era seemed to be duking it out for AnyCar anonymity, the kind of Generic look that appears in insurance company ads.
I had largely forgotten how goofy the ’80s were, and then you realise, the advertisement makes no sense whatsoever. There’s a gloomy, Halloween, autumn/winter forest, then a young man wearing all white, wind blown, opens a door and a dove flies out? Perhaps the car is supposed to change your outlook to that extent? I don’t know. Oh, that rose and teal double layered art, how ’80’s. I miss the ’80’s.
I do not miss most of the ’70’s. Nowadays, cars are all black, gray, silver, or white; back then everything was mud coloured. That awful mustard, or goose poop green, or some look-what-the-dog-did brown.
I do know GM’s full size cars were offered at least through ’81 with the 3.8 v6 and the 4.1 v6, which I assume was why Chrysler offered the slant 6 in the St. Regis; also, no one with any sense would have bought anything that slow, so they could advertise a low list price for a car that would have had the V8 as practically a mandatory option.
Cordoba Gold would make an excellent name for a malt liquor, prophylactic/marital aid, weed, or gun/ammunition. Or all of the above, you could live the Cordoba Gold lifestyle. Chrysler/Ford seemed to be terrible at proportioning their large two door cars; tiny little tops on top of ridiculous overhangs. I do love a large car but it should be large for ME, not to carry acres of wasted space under the hood/trunk.
I think I’ll spend the afternoon thinking about a modern challenger convertible, done up in the Mariner colours with an aqua body and white top yummmmmm.
In my area, anyway, it seems like 90% of the new Challengers I see are black. VERY, very occasionally have I seen one in a “retro” color, but it would be great to see 1 in a two-tone like the 70s models.
I quite like that St. Regis touring edition. I’ll take one with the 360.
Though that Mariner…hmmm. A Newport in aqua and white. With a tiny porthole! Remarkable.
The wheels on that St. Regis may be its strongest selling point–I’ve never seen those.
I think my favorite is the “ur-Cordoba”. That’s a beautiful shade of gold-brown in a sea of otherwise undistinguished browns that were around back then.
I give Ma Mopar credit, most of these specials are actually quite appealing.
The main reason ’76 Duster sales were way down was that the Duster, along with Valiant and Scamp, only had a partial sales year and were replaced by the Volare, which included coupe, sedan and wagon styles.
Chrysler was fairly persistent in its use of Turquoise, Coral Turquoise Metallic to be precise, on the Newport into the 1970’s I recall a decent number of Turquoise loop bumper Newports, usually with a black vinyl top and black interior, running around during my youth. For some reason, I find the idea of a ’72 Newport Custom four door hardtop, in that color scheme, loaded, strangely appealing.
This is the 1972 color chart, Turquoise remains on the ’73 chart as well. It was dropped with the all new cars for 1974.
Sorry Mopar fans, but the R body was a wash. Frameless windows leaked and squeaked. Compared to GM/Ford, they looked like were designed from crayon drawings by kids.
Die hard Mopar fans will go “shoulda woulda”, but overall the cars failed badly.
The 2 bbl 360 was not much ‘faster’ than a 318, btw, or reven the Slant 6. CHP’s were embarrased driving them, and switched to Mustangs as soon as they came out.
‘Mopar or no car’ guys can have them, 😉
To each their own, but unless you have special knowledge that Mopar failed with the window seals on the R body, the frameless door glass was irrelevant. I’ve owned several frameless door glass cars, including full pillarless hardtops and never had any particular problems with them. The R body was a pillared hardtop, very similar to virtually every mid-size and larger Ford product during the 1970’s, and those cars were actually very quiet due to the added stability of the pillar combined with the sleek (compared to framed door glass) greenhouse. Wind noise in my dad’s ’76 Ford LTD was virtually absent compared to his framed sedan based Oldsmobile business cars.
The 360 would have offered quite a bit of torque compared to just about any other 1980 full size car available. I’m not an expert on the topic, but I though it was the 1981 318 only that was the downfall of the CHP cars – and I have no idea to what extent that California specific emissions would have played a part in that issue.
This Allpar article covers the CHP / 318 / California Emissions issue:
http://www.allpar.com/squads/stregis.html
Wikipedia provides this summary………..
Controversy:
There was a controversy in 1980 with the police version of the St. Regis. The California Highway Patrol (CHP) used the St. Regis in 1979 with the 190 hp 360 cu in four-barrel V8 and it was deemed acceptable for patrol use. In 1980 all that was available in California was a 155 hp 318 cu in 4 bbl V8 with the California emissions package, mandated by the California Air Resources Board.
Officers began to complain about the underpowered engine and its inability to pace and intercept speeders. Many officers claimed that the car’s top speed was below 100 MPH with a lightbar and 65 MPH on a steep mountain grade. This issue was so severe that limited modifications were permitted to the vehicle, such as replacing the muffler with a straight pipe, removing the emission control flap, and advancing the timing. In addition, the cars were put on beats to reach the CHP’s 70,000-mile sell-off quota as quickly as possible; some were even sold outright simply to get rid of these cars, before the mileage limit was reached.[citation needed] Because of this problem, the CHP adopted the ‘Ford Mustang Severe Service Package’ in 1982 as a pursuit vehicle.
“Sorry Mopar fans, but the R body was a wash. Frameless windows leaked and squeaked. Compared to GM/Ford, they looked like were designed from crayon drawings by kids.”
Um ,personal experience of this? Please be specific, otherwise I chalk it up to Mopar hate.
Even with frame doors, my Volare leaks in rain from the side windows, it can be only worse with frameless design. Huge gaps between doors make a lot of wind noise at 65mph. And many body panels were really misaligned, the craftsmanship was pretty bad. But many examples were quite well screwed together however, especially those better optioned cars.
Likely the most significant issue with your window and door seals is that your Volare is up to 39 years old.
My 2002 Durango is currently my oldest vehicle. I purchased it new. At about 10 years of age, some wind leaks became obvious, the door seal gaskets have visibly shrunken in a few places.
I generally had very good experiences with my frameless door glass cars. The only one with a problem was my 1965 Riviera – at 17 years of age the passenger front glass had become knocked out of alignment. It turned out to be very easy to work on the alignment, and I fixed it in a few hours on a nice afternoon.
Mid-size and large Ford products mostly all had frameless door glass for most of the 1970s. Those cars were well noted for being very quiet plushmobiles. I can vouch for that as even our fairly simple 1976 LTD was noticeably quieter than my dad’s framed sedan 1974, 1977 and 1979 Oldsmobile 88 business cars. That the comparatively high end Olds products were more noisy than a lowly Ford was a bit of a disappointment to me.
And, that Ford was regularly run through high-pressure car washes with no issues.
The early R-bodies were well-known for having some serious quality control issues at the time. If I recall correctly, it was the first R-body off the line that failed to start at a ceremony in 1978 to mark Chrysler’s investment in the plant that made them. It was a major embarrassment at the time, as several dignitaries were present, including the Mayor of Detroit. One could say that early R-bodies marked the low point for Chrysler in the 1970s. My friend has two 1979 Chrysler New Yorkers, and even he has noted that the early cars were prone to leaks, poorly fitted body panels and other quality lapses.
The 1980 and 1981 models were dramatically improved at Iacocca’s direction, as James Cavanaugh notes. But by then the damage to their image had been done. A bruising recession and customer concerns over Chrysler going out of business further hammered their sales.
Styling is subjective, but I’ve always considered the Dodge St. Regis and Chrysler New Yorker to be attractive. Certainly they are better-looking than their contemporary Ford competition. The Chrysler Newport, however, looks a little bland. It’s almost as though Chrysler positioned it to take the place of the old Plymouth Fury.
What about the Aspen Street Kit? http://oldcarbrochures.org/New-Brochures—October/1978-Dodge-Aspen-Street-Kit-Poster
There’s one at barnfinds as we speak.
Ah yes the Don Johnson edition Dodge Lancer Pacifica.
I have always liked the Dusters and Dodge Dart Swinger 2 door hardtops of that era……I rode in a few of each growing up….If I would have been able to buy a Duster new, I probably would have ordered it with a slant/6 or 318 with the 4 speed overdrive stick…..If I’m not mistaken, the 318 was also available with that transmission.
I would take that St. Regis Touring Edition in a heartbeat – gorgeous car, esp. in red. Never knew Chrysler used the Cordoba name for anything but the 1975-83 personal coupe. That’s why I love this site, ’cause I learn so much!
FYI, the Newport (Mariner) was a one-off show car, not a production model. When show duties were complete, it was sold through the normal Chrysler process, the Lynch Road Marshaling Center. An employee (who was into sailboats) left work early to put a deposit on the car. He still owned it as of 2015 or so. Note the sailboat themed bumper stickers, big trailer hitch and Iacocca-era employee pride sticker. The car was one of three special C-bodies from each division… Almost like 70s SEMA cars. The Plymouth was called “Aspen” and was a ski-themed 4drhtp Fury (white with a big blue snowflake on the 1/4). Pictures can be found on the net. The Aztec-themed Dodge was never shown in public… But it exists. I own it, and the resto will be documented.
Thank you for clearing this up! I was wondering why there was so little info available on these…
I’ve been researching this car myself after seeing it in Sensational Cars of the Seventies.
Here’s a thread I found on another site.
https://www.forcbodiesonly.com/mopar-forum/threads/mystery-of-the-chrysler-mariner-solved.23329/
If I had the money and means, I would definitely buy the Dodge St. Regis Touring Edition. Then I would give it an Art Morrison chassis, a Hellcat engine, and custom versions of the stock wheels. A perfect sleeper it would be, since no one would suspect a thing.
Newport Mariner – for being totally obscure and unknown.
Has to be the 1976 Plymouth Silver Duster, with a nod to the 1974 Dart Sport Convertriple in the comments above from davis.
Nothing says, “we can’t sell these cars!”, quite like those “special editions”.
I used to cringe whenever a car appeared on television that was years old in design and we all knew it had competition beating its butt in the market – so here it is as a “special edition”! Can’t sell a small car? Feather Duster! Can’t sell a hatch? Convertriple! Can’t sell a Duster? Silver Duster! Gold Duster! Sure – everyone was holding back on buying a car that was new six years ago, but just waiting for it to show up with a crazy stripe!
Ugh. Off the top of my head, the only popular “special edition” cars I remembered as a kid were the Oldsmobile “GMO”s in Chicago – their number one market. GMO=Gallant Men of Olds. They were Cutlasses and Deltas with a “GMO” badge on the C pillar, and probably some kind of color based on a Chicago landmark.
Horrible typo in the St. Regis Touring Edition ad, highlights the “smooth Torsison-Quiet Ride”!
LOL, the quality control on the brochures matched the quality control on the cars….. They actually misspelled “Chrysler” in a mid-80s brochure given out at auto shows; it was missing a letter, can’t remember which one.
I’m surprised though that the St. Regis Touring Edition had all-leather seats, as opposed to the usual “leather with vinyl trim” or “leather seating surfaces”.
That “Success Sale” aquamarine ’68 Newport looks more 1963 than 1968.
Eek. Eek, I say. Much eeking. The bent, tweaked, kinked stripe on that Silver Duster doesn’t do the car any favours at all. Looks like an overhead view of an exhaust pipe or something. That downward zag to the lower bodyside line between the trailing edge of the door and the leading edge of the wheel arch is unfortunate in any case, but it’s quiet enough not to stink…until they go highlighting it by plastering this stripe-thing on it. Yechhk! The Spirit of ’76 Dart Sport’s stripe-and-callout treatment, accentuating the straight-shot upper bodyside line, was much, much better.
The ’68-’69 Chrysler Sportgrain is sharp; I’d like it better on a 4-door car.
And that Newport Mariner is funkatronic!
What about the “Western Sport Special “, and “Hang Ten” Darts ?
Those aren’t particularly obscure, though.
I had one of the Plymouth Space Duster cars in the early 90’s. It was nicely equipped with the fold down rear seat, bucket seats, console, floor shifted automatic, an air conditioner that still worked, along with manual disc brakes. The 225 slant six would have been much happier with a Holley 2280 2 barrel instead of the one barrel it had. Once you got it rolling up to highway speed on the interstate, it could keep up with traffic but from a standing start or having a quick lane change in heavy traffic, one would be seriously wishing for more power. I didn’t keep the car as long as I usually do, but sometimes I regret letting it go, and other times think I got rid of it in the nick of time. If my art career had taken off about three years earlier, I would have kept it as a way of hauling my paintings to shows as the fold down rear seat was super handy for that purpose. The car had more bondo in it than anything I’d ever seen let alone owned. It also alarmingly had two VIN numbers with a tag from a 1975 Duster screwed over top of a 1974 tag. The car looked like a 74 but was registered as a 75. Someone went to great lengths to hide the fact that car had been some kind of light blue and covered it in what my dad called red tractor paint. Bought the car from my great aunt who got it from her brother who got in an auto auction just across the river from Louisville,KY. Sold it to a guy who wanted the car for it’s amazingly good interior and the Space Duster package.
I have a ’79 St. Regis. I would love to have the interior of the Touring Edition in my car. That looks a lot more comfortable than what my car left the factory with. The person who upstream complained about the window seals is not wrong. My seals were crappy even when the car was much newer. There is if I remember correctly a review of the St. Regis in Car and Driver that complained about the wind noise from the glass lifting off the window seals when the car was moving fast enough. I’ve experienced that as well. As for keeping out water, my experience has been that the seals keep the water out unless you’re in a high pressure automatic car wash, then get ready to wipe down vinyl from the water getting past the top of the windows. Since NOS seals are made of the finest of unobtanium out there, I’ve had to improvise with generic aftermarket seals. It helps.
If the person who complained in 2015 about the R bodies had actually owned one, he’d have mentioned the tendency of the front door window regulators stripping out near the top and having to grab the glass to pull it the rest of the way up to the upper teeth that were not stripped. This only seemed to happen to cars with manual wind up windows. I’ve never heard of a power window car doing this. Because the window seals were crap, people would over crank the windows and strip the teeth off the regulator. It’s very hard to find good regulators in a salvage yard, and to keep your passenger from ruining the replacement. Both front doors have replacement regulators and both are stripped. I was being careful with the driver’s door and it made no difference.
On my way to my mom’s house yesterday, my speedometer gave up the ghost at 279,330 miles. It’s the speedometer head, the new cable only delayed its demise. Not bad for a malaise era Dodge. That car has saved my bacon so many times when newer cars let me down, that I often wish I could have it fully restored in some ways and restomodded in others. Restomodding in this case would be window regulators that don’t strip out, seals that seal out wind noise and car wash water and a four speed automatic.
The ad for the Dodge Lancer Pacifica…I really don’t know where to start.
Firing the ad firm would have been first of my list.
You can add stick shift Sebring convertibles to the weird and rare club.