I had not looked through the Cohort in awhile, but am I glad I did. There to greet me was this gorgeous 1964 Chrysler New Yorker shot by Mike Hayes.
I am on record as being a fan of the 1963-64 Chrysler. The 1963 Chrysler (along with the Plymouth Valiant and Dodge Dart that were also new that year) marked the final stage of Virgil Exner’s vision for how a car should look. The 64 is not quite as pure as the 63 – who doubts that Elwood Engel saw a need to square-up the smooth Italian-inspired behind with some little fins.
What grabbed me though is not just a 1964 Chrysler, but the 1964 Chrysler in its very best body style – a four door hardtop.
Let’s compare. The Chrysler buyers who survived the customer-cull undertaken (if inadvertently) by the company in 1957-61 tended to be conservative folks who preferred the four door sedan by a wide margin. In my eye, though, the thick, clunky window-surrounds were as bad as those on Studebakers. Oh wait — Studebaker got rid of those after 1962. Virrrr-gellllllll!?!?!?!
And unlike most other cars of the era, the two door versions of these Chryslers looked like four door models with longer front doors fitted. Which they were, as they shared a roof. Gone were the sleek two door hardtops that had been a bright spot through a challenging era of Chrysler styling.
My first relationship with a Chrysler of this generation came via some high school friends who drove the family ’63 Newport four door hardtop. That hardtop roof cured every problem I had ever noticed on these cars, making the design light and airy instead of something for Lutheran dairy farmers like my mother’s Aunt Clara who chose a Newport sedan. But either way you got the fabulous dashboard I fell in love with.
The styling of this car both inside and out demanded the kind of lightness that the hardtop provided. Just look how happy this driver of one was? Or was that smile just put on by an artist. (“What’s the matter Jane? You look drawn.”)
I noticed one other little detail – that bit of chrome going over the back of the roof. Which means that this is a New Yorker Salon, the model at the very top of the Chrysler-brand hierarchy. Or could maybe kind of possibly be but probably isn’t (thanks to the sharp eyes of our readership) and is just a regular New Yorker with the trim for the two tone paint or vinyl roof. This one seems to have lost its partial vinyl roof (or was ordered without that feature to begin with). This design may have been the only really successful way to add a vinyl roof to a car without a natural break between the C pillar and the lower body.
Anyway, thanks Mike Hayes for lobbing this softball my way so that I can look with satisfaction on one of the most uniquely attractive cars of its era. It reminds me of the sign-off of a radio DJ who hosted a Saturday morning big band jazz program on a local public radio station. “This music isn’t for everybody” he would say, before adding “it’s too good.” A four door hardtop ’63-’64 New Yorker is in the same category.
Note: a rerun of an older post.
Beautiful car! The ’64 was a perfect break between the 2 designers; I was never a fan of the linear lines of the ’65+.
I respectfully disagree! Of course I’m a fan of The GREAT AMERICAN LAND YACHT. I loved Exners fabulous finned fantasies, especially 61 DeSoto and 61 Imperial LeBaron. My mantra has always been *Too MUCH is NEVER enough * For me, the entire 63 and 64 Chrysler line (except Imperial) was a total disaster and a sad ending for Exner. That being said, 😉 I’m on to VERSAILLES in my Town Car!
Completely agree. Pleasantly attractive stem to stern, and IMHO, so much better looking than the other 1964 Mopar offerings. I say this after “suffering” through years of my childhood (and later hand-me-down-hood) with this car’s poorer cousin, a 1964 Dodge 330 4-door sedan.
I had a ‘64 New Yorker Salon, dark metallic blue with light blue leather interior. Gorgeous car. I rue the day I sold it.
I don’t see ac vents – probably not a salon but it is beautiful. I too am a fan of the 63/4 chrysler sedans.
I too prefer the ’63, will never forget going to Dulaney C-P back ehind Hutzler’s in Towson with Dad and seeing a ’63 Newport in cream white in the showroom, it was so sophisticated and classy looking after the clunky “plucked chicken” ’62s and made a real impression. To this day I too prefer it to the ’64s and ruler-designed ’65/66s.
’63
I still think these look awkward and ungainly. It feels like the different parts of the car will try to go in different directions when you drive down the road. The square steering wheels didn’t help.
Every time I see a 64 my mind starts into “Do I like it” or “I don’t like it.” Every single time forever. To be honest I tend to fall on the “meh” side of things. Especially so if put up against my favorite being the 66 300 2dr. followed by the 66 New Yorker 2dr. I am usually not a fan of 2 doors as the proportions seem off when viewed from the side. The Fuselage cars really show that with those rear quarters seemingly to run forever. Yet, the 66 just seems right along with that sharp looking roof line. Although the trunk lid is large enough for a game of volleyball or tennis.
Beautiful-looking car and the lines are clean and elegant. I really liked hardtops – driving with nothing but space on either side – but having to get out to wind up all four windows when it began raining…!
Chrysler played with the square steering wheel at or around that time and not for very long but I don’t recall which years they were featured.
What an absolutely beautiful dashboard.
I’m a fan of these – the ‘63 with its lack of fins, modern proportions, smooth sides and open rear wheel arches was much more progressive than what followed. To me this Exner design has much more in common with Engels ‘61 Lincoln than do Engel’s later Mopars…
Can’t beat a ‘Four Door Pillarless Hardtop’. In almost every case the lack of a ‘B’ pillar makes ALL the difference.
Car makers constantly try hard to cover up ‘B’ pillars with black paint or other styling, but nothing beats the total lack of a centre B pillar with its openness. Few of the more common pedestrian 2 hardtops achieve this.
And ‘yes’ I agree, ‘64 New Yorker 4 door hardtops are easy to look at.
I’m also a fan of these cars, preferring the ’63 over the ’64.
They exemplify best what Exner had planned with the ’62 S car line before the program was cancelled in favor of the downsized Plymouths and Dodge Darts of that year.
I’d be proud to own this pearl. The frosty blue color is attractive, too. Wonderful dash!
We had a ’63 New Yorker that my mom hated with a passion. In her later years, she would deny it even existing, and would insist that she went from her ’60 New Yorker to the ’64 Cadillac that replaced the very short lived ’63. I finally found the pic I had taken of the “rocket nozzle” tailights of it sitting in the garage. It was in some awful too light (weak)turquoise with a blue interior like the car pictured above had. That car was without a doubt the worst received gift my dad ever gave my mother. It was loaded, but she thought the car was “a puke sandwich”, and I don’t think she liked the color much better. She got it as an early 39th birthday present. My dad learned that buying her a car without her input was a bad bad idea. We didn’t have it a year, but I don’t remember if it was closer to a year or 6 months until the Caddy showed up. Mom picked every option on that car, and the not great misty blue, I’m not sure what GM called it, but everyone but mom wasn’t crazy about it.
I like the car but do not favour the hardtop over the saloon in looks, especially if the upper frames were covered in chrome, my favourite is a 56 Lincoln.
I like the solidity of the B pillar and usually prefer US saloons of this period over the coupes which are a pain in the arse to get into for rear passenger.
Admittedly I have only ridden in 2 US hardtop saloons, but the bloody things rattled and flexed like mad to the point where I could never live with it, and the wind noise was awful at any decent speed, this contrasted markedly to B pillared saloons I have ridden in that felt solid and quiet.
Wonder what a hardtop was like when new in terms of body rigidity and wind noise compared to its B pillared saloon alternative
Sorry, place me firmly in the 1965-68 camp for big Chryslers, I don’t even mind fuselages that much, but this…..!
The older couple next door had a ’63 (think) Windsor sedan (Canadian equivalent to the Newport) that I got occasional seat time in. Too weird for me, even as a kid, who was used to riding in FoMoCo products anyhow. Let’s start with the square steering wheel, and the door locks that you twisted rather than pull up and down, let alone the strange to my eyes exterior. When the husband retired , he replaced it with a brand new 1969 Ford Custom, which pleased my Ford-loving self. One of these figured prominently in a very cold missing persons case in Canada, when it was found at the bottom of a lake in BC about 15 years ago.. The woman vanished without a trace in 1972.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bones-from-b-c-lake-solve-38-year-old-mystery-1.920563
I could never call these cars good looking, but they are charming and with that beautiful dash, plus underneath all that early 60s Mopar goodness I love.
Every time I see these I’m struck by how ahead of its time the C pillar and rear window was, it would have looked up to date into the mid 70s.
I too love the clean looks of this beauty .
Sadly, what I remember of hard tops back then after a couple years was : incredible wind noise and freezing cold drafts in New England Winters .
My best friend’s dad bought one of these in 1964 in maroon and it was a beauty plus whisper quiet .
Standard FM radio then was a huge thing ~ FM radio at that time wasn’t for the masses and often had not just completely different (and oft times better) music but the DJ’s were out of this world .
Nice to see this beauty surviving in such good condition .
-Nate