Here’s a surviving ’60 Dodge Dart found Down Under by Cohort contributor johnh875. While shot from a distance, this Exner-era Mopar looks relatively solid. Thanks for sharing, John!
CC Outtake: Expatriate Exner
– Posted on May 21, 2012
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Curbside Classics Archives
It must have been really hard work to come up with so many unattractive permutations of the same basic car in 1960-61, but Chrysler somehow managed to do it. I think that the 1960 Chrysler is the only one that really looks good from all angles, particularly one of the 2 doors. As for the rest, DeSotos got screwed-up front ends, and the Plymouths and Dodges, well, the less said the better. I don’t think that Chrysler got this car really right until the 1963 and 64 Dodge Custom 880s, but by that time, the design was so old and had been through so many bad trips that everyone just wanted to forget about them, so they hardly sold any
Still, they fascinate me. And yes, I would be happy to have a really nice one in my garage, just because they are so over-the-top. And, of course, because they are torsion bar Mopars.
Was it the 61 Dodge’ that had that awful Front End That Looked Defeated overheated.., and the Fish gill like Tailfina… with the lights oval from a side angle in the gill.
I would have guessed This Was a Pioneer.
No La Femme Model of This Anymore after 57?
Speaking of “Expatriate Exner”, we could also mention the export-only DeSoto Diplomat who for 1960 used Dodge Dart body instead of Plymouth body like this one.
http://www.nzmoparregistry.com/default.aspx?page=934
Comment #1: funny. Some of these cars had my favorite car clock of all time – they called it the Satellite clock. I was able to pull one of these babies out of a ’60 Polara that was sitting in a pile of scrap metal at my favorite recycling yard literally a few minutes before it got smushed & hauled off.
See this picture I robbed off the forwardlook.net forum. Google 1960 Dodge Satellite clock & you’ll find the thread…it’s a good quick read.
Honorable mention should go to the ’52 Oldsmobile clock that was housed in the steering wheel hub and could be taken with you when you parked the car.
Good call there. Did those clocks wind themselves when you turned the steering wheel? I thought I read/heard that they did but don’t know for sure. I think it’s a genious design, especially when back in that period few if any of the clocks were self-winding.
That reminds me of a couple of pieces that ran in the WPC News a couple of decades ago – it seemed that a good many of the Chrysler products that were sold in Hawaii up to the mid-1950’s were export models. Interestingly, not all of them were clones of the Canadian “Dodges” that were Plymouths with Dodge front clips – I seem to remember at least one DeSoto Diplomat.
True. In Mapunapuna I saw a ’54 Dodge Mayfair – a Canadian style “Plodge”.
THat seems to be whats called a 61 Dodge Pioneer in NZ a once popular car but getting thin on the ground now.
I actually like the 60 Dodge Dart Pioneer and Phoenix. I’m not so find of the larger Dodges that year–the Polara and Matador, which had the fin rise up behind the tallight, not integrated with it like on the Darts. The 61 Dodges had that droopy face and bizarre reverse fins. And the less said about the 61 plymouths, the better (I know they have their fans, but I am not one of them).
This is a Dodge Phoenix, which I gather is an Australian-only model name (used as a trim level in North America?) The badge on the rhs of the trunk lid is Dodge, on the rear quarter is Phoenix, in case they aren’t legible. Unfortunately I can’t remember exactly where this was taken now, it was roughly 4 months ago.
Phoenix, Seneca and Pionner was used as trim levels in North America for the 1960-61 Dart. Someone else got the rights on the Dart name in Australia at the time, so Chrysler used the Phoenix name. From 1965 to 1973, the Aussie Dodge Phoenix was a rebadged Plymouth Fury III
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodge_Phoenix
I wonder if it was Daimler, although I have always known their sportscar as the SP250. Many of the US cars had different names down here, eg Pontiac Laurentian.
There was a paddock of Exners in Parkes NSW right hand side heading north they never moved in 20 years that I saw them and likely still there.
Ahh, never mind, these were the first Darts.
The taillights on these look a bit Like a Drive in Speaker/Speak into The Mike!
Yes the 61 Was Horrible. There were even 2 Seperate Wimpy Taillight styles.
they were both unique from the other and all other makes I will say that.
I suspect the 99 Intrepid Has days Where It Too Looks like a styling mistake.
No one ever talks about anything but The 2.7 engine, Which seems to just need synthetic oil always to keep it flowing and not sludging up. God Help Me anyway.
These Remind me of The Sinclair Green Dinosaur of the time-the taillight pods I mean