(first posted 4/27/2013) I was on my way home after work this past Friday evening with an arm full of groceries, when I spotted a classic, early 1980’s American luxury car at an intersection near my house. That other car was not this Cordoba. The stoplight had been kind and had given me a chance to speed-walk up to the crosswalk, set my groceries down, and wait for the light to change so I could photograph that other car. Turning my head just to look around in impatience (as that light seemed to be taking forever to change), I caught a glimpse of this and my jaw dropped. Helloooooo, gorgeous. At that point, I was in the most serious conundrum a car-fanatic photographer could be in…which of these two classics should I focus on within what would be a window of probably less than ten seconds?
I chose the ‘Doba, temporarily forsaking the other car (which will be written up at another time). I apologize for the blurry, subpar quality of the above shot, but the clock was ticking and I had to do something. Had I not been so focused on that other car, I might also have gotten a shot of the LS’s defining feature: that Dodge Mirada-esque, body-colored front nose cap. Our own Brendan Saur has written up a different ’81 Cordoba LS in a great piece posted several years ago. There’s not much I can really add to the comprehensive detail in which Brendan covered this automotive footnote to the “old”, pre-Iacocca Chrysler Corporation. All the same, I felt my example was too rare not to share. This is, literally, the first second-generation Cordoba I have ever photographed in the wild.
Researching just a few facts, I discovered our featured example was one of only 7,315 LS submodels produced for ’81, out of just 20,293 total Cordobas that year. I identified this one as an ’81 by the owner’s custom license plate, though the LS was available from between ’80 and ’82. The LS’s base price that year was $7,199 (about $19,700 / adjusted) with the 85-hp 225 Slant-Six, while the 130-hp 318 V8 cost $64 extra (about $200 more in 2016 money). Given this car’s starting weight at around 3,400, the extra premium for the V8 would have been well-spent. Shockingly, the better- and more athletic-looking LS cost about 10% less than the non-LS Cordoba, and even undercut its Dodge Mirada sibling by $500 – no small change now, and certainly less so in 1981’s economic recession which had started that July.
I have always loved these second-generation Cordobas. My dream-‘Doba would actually be a first-generation model (perhaps a ’77) in a dark color, fine Corinthian leather, and t-tops (with a garage to store it in to make those leak-prone roof panels less of an issue). I do prefer the very first iteration of the Cordoba but, to me, the linear, elegant looks of the downsized, neo-hardtop second-generation trump those of just about any other car in its segment offered in the early 80s. Visually, these cars seem more Mark V than Monte Carlo.
I had spent a not-insignificant amount of time at Chinonis Chrysler-Plymouth when I was growing up in Flint, Michigan, riding along with Mom or Dad to take our hapless, ’77 Plymouth Volaré for one of its many trips back to the dealership for recalls or repairs. I would be just as excited to go to the dealership as they would be disgusted. These new-style Cordobas would be sitting in the showroom next to impressive Imperials, boxy Reliants, and sporty Horizon TC3’s – outshining all of them to my young eyes with their near-perfect aesthetic qualities.
Like the redesigned R-body full-sizer (covered here by Tom Klockau), I felt the downsized Cordoba (and its Dodge Mirada twin) looked fabulous and should have sold much better than it did. It had lost weight, gotten stylish, new threads, and should have been a hit at the personal-luxury party. It’s a sad fact, though, that even the best-lookers seem less attractive if lacking in confidence. With Chrysler’s ever-increasing concentration on its smaller, front-drive models at that time, it seemed to have given up on its original (and originally successful) personal luxury car long before the last of the just-under 13,500 final-run ’83s rolled off the line.
Edgewater, Chicago, Illinois.
Friday, April 22, 2016.
More related reading:
- From JPCavanaugh: Curbside Classic: 1981 Imperial by Chrysler – It’s Time For You. Or Not.;
- From Gerardo Solis: CC Capsule: 1976 Chrysler Cordoba – The Stuff Dreams Are Made Of.;
- From Mr. Tactful: Classic CC Capsule: Dodge Mirada CMX – Loveable Orphan; and
- An update, from Yours Truly: CC Capsule, Part 2: 1981 Chrysler Cordoba LS – Introducing Darlene.
You know in an 1980s sort of way, this is a very attractive car, a significant update on the first-gen car, and a design that has aged quite well over the last 35 years. This is a car from that era that I wouldn’t mind having in my garage, providing one could find a driver-quality car that wasn’t a total rust bucket at an affordable price. It certainly would be a rare sight today at a Cars and Coffee type event. And I’m betting finding one with the base Slant-6 would be very rare as I suspect that most were equipped with the V-8.
I remember installing upgraded stereos in these Cordobas and the companion Dodge Mirada in the 1980s when I owned a mobile electronics store back in my native New Jersey. I wish I had photos that I could share but those albums are long gone due to a storage unit fire.
Love the reflective effect of this rear three-quarter brochure shot from the 1980 Cordoba brochure.
My uncle had the same trim package as that (wire wheel covers, landau top with full windows) in white over burgundy with maroon crushed velour pillow-type seats. It replaced a ’77 Delta 88 Royale. He was fond of his broughams.
I like these Cordobas very much, especially the non-LS model, because of it’s more formal waterfall grill.
That brochure car is an absolute stunner – there is nothing I don’t like about it. The wide-whitewalls, landau roof, color, wire wheel covers, even the opera lamps. What I find especially interesting is that the vinyl roof provides some continuity to the line of the greenhouse, before sweeping up at the trailing edge of the C-pillar. Normally I go for the sporty machines, but that black Cordoba was personal luxury done right. Must have made its chief stylist truly disappointed that this beautiful machine didn’t reach its full sales potential.
I agree. The brochure showed the best combination of features and camera view. The styling still holds up today and it is a beauty, IMO. For the time period, it should have been more successful than it was, but the economy by this time was sending buyers to less expensive and more fuel efficient alternatives. The typical late 1970’s flaws of Chrysler products may also have hurt its potential.
My, my, my these are beautiful cars. And the one you found is simply right visually due to the wonderful dark color and those fabulous wheels.
A couple years ago I saw one of these for sale at a classic car dealer just west of St. Louis. It was in a horrible shade of beige and, if I am remembering correctly, it was NOT equipped with a/c. Despite both of these demerits I would have happily taken it home with me.
Your analogy about the good-looker lacking confidence is a good one. It sums these up quite well.
$19,700! —- Where do I sign?!?!
I’ve seen 2, maybe 3 of these in the last 10 years. One was that “300 inspired” model (white? in and out?) while the other looked like that “faux convertible” model. These are sharp looking cars and the styling, IMHO, has held up well.
HOWEVER, I could be wrong, but aren’t these basically a Volare/Aspen underneath? I remember some less than stellar road tests in magazines that derided the front suspension on the V/A, and by extension the Cordoba/Magnum.
But since most potential buyers probably never saw those road tests, you have to chalk up lackluster sales to Chrysler’s rep during this time period. (Ford sold nearly 4 times as many Thunderbirds in 81 as Chrysler sold Cordobas.)
Yes, these are on the F-body Volaspen chassis which was as versatile in Chrysler’s “parts-bin engineering” sort of way as the 1962 “shrunken” Dodge-Plymouth chassis, which survived to the 1979-1981 R-body. The F-body underpinnings lived on to the 1989 Chrysler Fifth Avenue, Dodge Diplomat and Plymouth Gran Fury and were good enough to have been under most police cars from 1981 to the end.
Chrysler had a lot of that kind of practice before the ubiquitous K-Car.
It’s funny – to your and Howard’s point, if someone were to have told me as a kid that our ’77 Volare coupe was based on the same platform as the shiny, new Cordoba on the showroom floor, I would have bet my entire allowance money for a month against it! Such an effective repackaging.
Maybe it’s just me, but I can’t stand the turn signals located right next to the dual headlights Chrysler used for ten years, beginning with the lowest-trim 1974 Gran Fury (i.e., fleet/rental/cop car), the 2nd gen Cordoba/Mirada, all the way through the 1984 Aries/Reliant. ‘Someone’ at Chrysler’s design studio must have really liked this particular styling feature since they kept plastering it onto some Chrysler product (my guess is pure penny-penching) but, to me, it just looks like hell, and it makes no difference whether the headlights are round or rectangular. It’s not just Chrysler, either, since Ford had a base trim, downsized Crown Victoria that used the same styling gimmick and those cars look every bit as bad as the Mopars.
The upright, ginormous rear taillights don’t do the Cordoba/Mirada any favors, either. A real shame since the cars were otherwise very clean and nice looking. The Mirada, in particular, wears the Cord-inspired grille very well.
That was a common arrangement for the era though. Besides the Mopar uses and the base-trim LTD you mentioned, that setup was used by GM on the Malibu, Century, Regal, Cutlass, LeMans (sort of, the indicators were behind the grille), Citation (also behind the grille), Skylark Monza Town Coupe (though the indicators were smaller)…and I may be forgetting a few.
Doesn’t bother me, but opinions may vary.
Massive taillights were common back then as well, at least with Ford.
There’s a big difference between how GM and Ford/Chrysler handled the side-by-side turn signal/headlight arrangement. With Ford and Chrysler, they just slapped a turn signal right next to and ‘flush’ with the headlight. It just doesn’t mesh with the grille.
GM’s stylists actually tried to get the turn signal to have a proper transition with the grille. For instance, the front turn signals on the Malibu are slightly separate and have a forward slant that coincides with the Malibu’s grille with the headlight is set back. As opposed to the ‘just slapped in their look’ of the others, the Malibu’s front end actually looks cohesive.
Simply put, the front turn signals on the GM products look three-dimensional and styled. Chrysler and Ford look two-dimensional and, uhm, ‘not’ styled. I can understand the Ford and Gran Fury since they were the base trim and they weren’t too interested in a high-line look. But the ‘Doba/Mirada were personal luxury cars. The flush, turn signal/dual headlight doesn’t look appropriate in that application, and all they would have had to do to fix it was move the turn signal out a bit and have it at the same angle as the grille.
Good point. (I own a ’79 Malibu so I’m quite familiar with that layout, LOL.) You’re right that the Mirada/Cordoba would have looked better with a more pronounced bezel between the headlamps and parking lamps, but I’m not sure about laying them at the same angle of the front fenders. Probably would have worked but I’d have to see it.
Oddly, the non-LS version of the Cordoba basically does what you’re talking about; the indicators are farther inboard and at an angle. The Mirada, and the Cordoba LS with its Mirada-derived front clip, handle it differently. (I hadn’t quite realized until now how different the two nose treatments are…)
I loved these when they were new and I love them now. I always believed that they should have sold better than they did, and never understood why they were such failures. OK, Chrysler’s death-stench and completely terrible quality reputation might have been factors.
I have also long-maintained that these might have sold fairly decently into maybe 1985 or 86 when the bottom started to fall out of the 2 door market and the number of aero Thunderbirds on the road finally made it look very last-decade. The Cutlass Supreme held on for awhile, though, and I think these could have too.
The stench of death was already surrounding Chrysler in the summer of 1979, just before these debuted. Whether the federal government should extend some sort of bailout to the corporation was already being debated, and the debate was covered extensively by the media.
The second gas shortage hit in the spring of 1979, and domestic car sales, with a few exceptions, were hammered for the remainder of the year. Chrysler was literally on the ropes, and even Ford was reeling. What gas prices didn’t do to car sales, double-digit interest rates for people with GOOD credit did.
In that economic environment, buying any brand-new car was viewed as a risky proposition by the fall of 1979, let alone one from a company on the verge of the abyss.
The son of the local Dodge/Chrysler/Plymouth dealer was in my homeroom. I remember, during the first days of 12th grade, that he brought a large brochure on the 1980 Mirada to school. I remember thinking that it was the sharpest car that I’d seen in a long time, particularly the CMX version. But I certainly wasn’t in any position to buy a brand-new car. My parents were GM loyalists, and they weren’t about to consider any Chrysler product, no matter how sharp it looked.
I spent hours in ChryPly and Dodge showrooms in the spring of 1980 as my mother tried to by a new Omni or Horizon. I spent hours daydreaming about these, but other than folks doing just what my mother was doing (shopping for and L body), those dealerships were dead zones.
In retrospect, I’ve wondered how the dealership in our town survived that era. But it did. It remained in the hands of the same family until the bailout of Chrysler in 2009. It then changed hands when it was sold to the family that owned the Chrysler/Dodge/Jeep dealership in the next town.
Beautiful car. Get that Mopar V8 breathing nicely so it puts out something in the 250 – 300 HP range and it would be a fantastic sleeper.
Also like the interior, the high back split bench with the armrest seems like a nice compromise between sporty appearance and space to stretch out.
Used play around these when my father worked in a Chrysler dealership in Edmonton, Alberta. I have been in love with these since then, but i settled on a ’81 Imperial, another striking automobile, as far as styling is concerned. Anyways, i love the LS, but wished it had the side fender vents of the Dodge Mirada, although i like the rear tail lights of the Cordoba though almost similar to the Mirada’s.
No you have me wondering what the other car was… A Deville or Town Car would’ve been too pedestrian for that sort of rush, the Continental, Seville, and Mark VI lack the love for it… perhaps an R body or an Eldorado?
I like this but at the time they were new I’d lost interest in Mopar since the A bodies bit the dust.
While in an ideal world I’d prefer a Mirada with its Cord-esque grille, I really like these Cordobas too. And the LS shown here, with the sporty aluminum wheels, no vinyl, and 300-esque grille, would be just the one. It really is a great styling job, and an appealing package overall, Shame Chrysler’s viability concerns kept buyers away.
Agree with JPC–if Chrysler hadn’t been so all-in on the L and K bodies, I think the personal luxury market which was alive well into the mid 80’s could have supported these cars for another few years.
Your comment reminds me of how I always liked those wheels. They were very unusual for the time, almost reminiscent of the wooden “artillery wheels” on cars of the 20s.
Never noticed that! They are a LOT like an updated take on the ‘artilleries’. Its funny how they give these a lot of attitude with RWL tires like on the feature car. Those same wheels with whitewalls would be pretty ‘meh’.
The moment I saw one new, it struck me they took the ’77-’79 Continental Mark V as the styling inspiration and themes for this series. It has all the same chiseled, hard-edged, ruler-straight lines and shapes, laid out with T-square and triangles, still pleasant however unoriginal.
This Cordoba/Mirada series was the basis for aftermarket convertible conversions before the K convertible appeared. Although they looked great, apparently the engineering work wasn’t quite up to the task, produced something of a ‘flexible-flyer’.
Now that you’ve mentioned it, I totally see the connection.
With a white top and body side moldings, this could be a Bill Blass Cordoba.
Don Delarossa who styled the Mark V at Ford jumped to Chrysler. I suspect that the resemblance between the two cars is not coincidental.
The fronts of the 1974-75 Imperial, and 1976-78 New Yorker Brougham, look like a sedan version of the Lincoln Continental Mark III/IV.
Not surprising, he was probably an Iacocca protege. His designs certainly reflect that much derided American luxury image that Lido was so fond of.
I am almost certain I saw this exact car in the suburbs a few years ago on Lake St. There can’t possibly be two black Cordoba LSs with RWLs in the same region can there?
Count me in as a huge fan of these, one of the most criminally underrated cars of the era. The proportions are perfect, the styling is crisp and sleek, that Crosshair grille on the LS looks mean, and the big triple tailllights look really cool(especially following at night as I witnessed). These really were what Ford should have been building in 80-82 for the downsized Tbird and Cougar replacements, rather than those boxy Fairmont badge jobs, the transition between big 79s and the aero 83s would have been practically seamless.
Did the quarter windows go down on these? seems like every one I’ve seen has them up even when the door windows are down. They look awfully hardtopish, which would be a notable feature in 80-83
I know the car and it’s actually Navy Blue and the rear quarters don’t roll down. Car is spotless and “better than new” condition.
These are very sharp looking cars whether Cordoba or Mirada.
I remember very well my young wife and i walking back to our apartment in Calgary and passing a white Cordoba parked at the curb. It was certainly one of the better looking personal luxury cars of the era and even she commented on its good looks. Recently, I’ve been asked to appraise an 81 or 82 model stored in a small town. The owner is someone more senior than me. Looking forward to seeing that car.
A car that had no appeal, or even any interest, to me when it was new. Our neighbor had replaced his 4 door Fury with a 1st gen Córdoba and we made fun of its “Reech Coreentian leather” (I actually think his had velour). But this 2nd gen is very attractive to me now; the proportions and of course the sheer scale. It’s hard to believe that a car of this class was still offered with the Slant 6. I wonder if any were actually sold in that configuration.
I worked with a guy in 1985 who owned a Slant-6 Mirada.
Nice! Beautiful black paint job and those wheels make for a sharp looking car. From the care it appears to have had, I’m sure the drive train has been updated so it runs they way it should have new.
It’s navy blue and has a bone stock, original slant 6. Owner thinks about “dropping in” an EFI 360 [5.9 V8] from a later Dodge truck, but leans toward keeping it original.
Had a modded police package Diplomat in his teens.
I wanted a used one of these – or the Mirada – back in the mid-late 80s solely for the purpose of kitbashing those quarter windows to make them roll down, at least part-way – seriously!
That would have been fun, especially if I were able to pull it off. Alas… no money to invest in that sort of thing back then.
This is a friend of mine’s car in Chicago. It was the “little old lady’s car” and it was pristine shape. It has the Slant 6, but you can eat dinner on it. Has a binder of service records and build sheet.
Yeah, it’s not a 1971 Hemi Cuda, but his enthusiasm for the car makes it special.
Met him (and the car) last Sunday, after I had written this… As stated at the end of the article, “To be continued…” 🙂
Great and informative article, Joseph. My dad had an ’81 Mirada CMX back in the day. I liked it so much that I’ve spent the last 8 years with a friend turning one into a modern SRT8 dream machine. You can check out this amazing transformation at:
https://m.facebook.com/SRT-8-Dodge-Mirada-183925705026531/
Enjoy!
Thank, J., and that’s awesome. It looks like you guys have given this car the power and performance its great looks would suggest.
While this is nice, a first gen Cordoba is what I would looking for. I had one as a beater car in school, 1995. It was, for $250 dollars, little short of amazing.
Nice catch! But that third window, in the C Pillar, really isn’t working for me.
Yeah, not much of a fan of those C-pillar DLOs, either, particularly when there’s a quarter window, too. What’s worse is that those rear quarter windows, despite making the car look like a hardtop, don’t retract.
Seems like there was a version of the second gen Cordoba that had a solid C-pillar, but that might have been limited to those cars with a vinyl roof. Unfortunately, I’m not sure if you could get a vinyl roof on the Mirada so you were stuck with the C-pillar window. A pity because a Mirada with a solid C-pillar would have been the sharpest looking version.
There was a “Landau” version with a filled in C pillar. I don’t know the exact name.
You could get a vinyl “cabriolet” roof on the Mirada CMX, which did away with the opera window. Personally I like the window though–it’s one of the unique features of the design.
I kind of agree, but I do like it better than covered on the vinyl top versions this body style had, which look a little too ordinary. I actually think this would be a good candidate for louvers in place or over them, like the ones used on the Volare Roadrunner/SuperCoupes, which with the second uncovered quarter window could give it a pseudo SEC Mercedes vibe. Horizontal louvers would compliment the tail lights well… Damn I want one of these cars to put my stink on lol
Hmm yes, I’m definitely liking this. Gives it a sort of Charger SE throwback admittedly.
Nice work – and the rear-quarter window now nicely echoes the tri-bar taillights.
It does look a bit confused. Now, if the second window were able to roll down, hardtop style, itd be a different story. I like Matt’s idea of louvering it though. FWIW, I have a scheme cooking to mod a 300C by shaving the rear door handles, and louvering the back half of the rear windows yet leaving the doors functional thru poppers. A ‘stealth coupe’, if you will. One day….
Anyone desiring to see what louvers might look like on the 2G Cordoba/Mirada C-pillar window need look no further than the ’77-’79 Mercury Cougar. A previous commenter mentioned that the designer of the Mark V (which definitely set the style for the Cougar and LTD II) moved from Ford to Chrysler about this time, so it makes sense that there would be a similarity between the ’80-’83 Cordoba/Mirada and the ’77-’79 Cougar/LTD II.
Honestly, between the four cars, there are styling features I like of each. Unfortunately, they didn’t gel together on any of the four cars in a manner that would have been perfect. Say, the horizontal quad rectangular headlights of the Cougar, the back end and C-pillar of the LTD II (maybe with some nicely styled, original, horizontal louvers), the grille from the Mirada, and the rest of the car from the Cordoba.
Frankly, it’s shame the last Cordoba/Mirada, even in its less-than-perfect guise, didn’t do better in the marketplace. Of the personal luxury offerings from the Big 3 in 1980, only Chrysler seemed to have the ‘right stuff’. Unfortunately, fuel mileage ruled the roost, and the old-school Mopars just didn’t fit the US mood at the time.
Is that Bob and Emily Hartley’s apartment building in the background of the photo?
Eagle-eye! You got it – in the upper-center of the last two pictures.
Here it is! Look at all of the curbside classics on the street!
Jon, thank you for finding and posting that – totally made my day. Makes me want to find the locales of all those spots in the opening sequence.
I was sad to discover “Bob’s office building” has morphed into a generic Walgreen’s on Michigan Avenue.
I’m a big fan of them, and the Imperials – of which I own an ’82
https://www.pinterest.com/ballesco/chrysler-imperial-for-1981-1982-1983/
Great catch, JD. And good writeup. Count me as a fan of these also (surprise). The LS is easily the best looking of the J bodied Mopars, and this one is even a slicktop with alloys and RWLs in a good color. As opposed to many of these sporting the ‘geriatric package’ with wonky colors, doofy vinyl roofs and craptacular whitewalls/hubcaps.
Ive said this before a gazillion times but the LS really should have been the Dodge Magnum R/T all along. This particular example is the poster child for what that could have been. The proper way to seal the deal would have been the ’emissions casual’ 4bbl 360 setup from the Dodge Little Red Express truck and ’79 Chrysler 300. TF 727 trans is a no brainer as well as a 4spd. Could well have been highly sought after car now.
“I’ve said this before a gazillion times but the LS really should have been the Dodge Magnum R/T all along.”
Yup.
Ah, the Cordoba. I actually really like the looks of the second gen Cordobas, and it goes in my book as the ONLY car that I ever thought looked even better with a simulated convertible roof cap (which I think was a factory option on these, unlike most other cars that were fitted with them). My Dad had a ’75, and my grandfather was so impressed with it that he bought a ’76. Both of those gen 1 cars were quality nightmares. Both had transmission replacements under warranty, and my grandfather’s had electrical gremlins that prevented driving it if there was a chance of rain. Dad, whose best friend owned the Chrysler dealership actually went GM for a few years after that ’75, trading it for a 77 Monte Carlo, then going upscale to an ’80 Toronado before returning to the Mopar fold in the early 80’s. The most memorable aspect of our ’75 was the interior. Nothing screamed 1970’s like these seats:
The subject car is handsome, but the LS was a bit of a dip into the Dodge parts bin.
While the situation at Chrysler and the economy doomed this car, the liberal blending of Chrysler and Dodge trims on the Cordoba and Mirada tended to kill whatever differentiation they offered. That probably was not a smart decision, but I’m not sure that anything they could have done would have made much difference.
This is what I meant by a lost opportunity to create some brand differentiation. They could have locked in on certain trim for the Chrysler and Dodge, and for a Mopar, had relatively unique looks – important in this segment.
The cross hair grill would have looked great on the Dodge, but it was stuck at the time in the Chrysler world due to its heritage with the Chrysler 300. Here, they honor heritage, but otherwise ruthlessly rummage through the parts bin. Go figure.
As brand manager in 1980, I’d have approved these appearances for the Cordoba and Mirada……
Very cool capture, Joseph (as usual)! Even here in California where we have so many old cars running around, I haven’t seen one of these in a long, long time. They are beautiful and it is sad/odd that they didn’t sell better. What would have been their direct competition, though? I’m thinking maybe the Thunderbird/Cougar, although they seem smaller than the Chrysler. Likewise the Cutlass Supreme/Grand Prix/Monte Carlo/Regal, but also, the GMs seem smaller. Although these are much more modern-looking than the first Cordobas, they don’t seem to be any (or much) smaller, but correct me if I’m wrong.
IIRC, these are only on a 112 inch WB. This is one of the few cars that looks a lot bigger than it really is, and the proportions are so right that it all works.
In 1981 the recession on our side of the border was heating up with interest rates on mortgages reaching 20%. The best interest rate on my Cavalier from GMAC was 13% in 1982. Would these cars have sold better (Would any personal luxury car?) have sold better in a more robust economy? Which we had in Canada leading up to 1980. Or is it simply larger Chrysler cars were no longer relevant to the buying public after a second so-called “Energy Crisis” and the rise of the K car?
My childhood consisted of two Cordoba’s… My mom had a 75. We went from a 71 pinto to a 75 Cordoba and it was like “we made it”. I thought we were rich. It was a base model, white with a burgundy top and burgundy interior with manual windows. I do remember the AC being a huge upgrade as well as the stereo. I think that was when we first started listening to FM stations.
Then came my stepfather… He drove an 80 Cordoba. It was “black” depending on the way the sun hit it. Corinthian edition. I remember looking at lesser Cordobas back then without the “Corinthian Edition” text in the opera window… “ours was better” I would think. (snobby I know). That car indeed had the “Corinthian” leather. Beautiful. I remember my stepfather driving my mom’s 75 ‘doba one time and he immediately noticed how much more power it had than his ’80. Mom’s had the 360 bbl, his the 318. My father wrecked the 75′ before he left… It had this nice 3 foot dent in the front fender. (I think on purpose… lots of drama going on) My stepfather sold it to a guy who worked for him and he drove it for years. I remember red tape on the taillights and other anomalies he didn’t fix, but just kept driving it. I ended up working with the guy years later (late 80’s) and he told me he had to sell the ’75 because he got too many speeding tickets but how much he loved that car. My stepfather rarely kept a car for more than 2 years, but the 80 became my mothers and she complained it started to fall apart after about 3 or 4 years. (so this was record). I remember the door panels and handles cracking and getting loose. They traded it in on an 84′ tbird which my mother despised because she broke a nail on the door handle. She was (is) a real tool. The tbird became his car and she got an 84’ berlinetta. I remember when I was 15 “stealing” the 80 ‘doba with my brother. We took it out on the road and back home. A 2 minute trip max. I remember my heart pounding. The car was gone the year before I could drive but I do remember during my delinquent excursion how smooth it rode and the power steering being so finger light. We put mulch chips by the tires so we could park it EXACTLY how we left so my stepfather wouldn’t notice. He was quite the observant bastard. Great ‘doba memories I thought I’d share!
Funny story — Wow, you’re parent/stepparent went through cars quickly, but I guess everyone did back then! I’m around the same age so it’s fun to hear your experience with those cars at almost-driving age. I hope you never got caught “stealing” the Cordoba! What did your first car end up being?
No, never got caught or I wouldn’t be repeating it 🙂 my first cat was a 74 monte and I still own a 73.
Too cool! I have a ’76 Monte Carlo 😉 First car was an ’80 Granada. Not an experience I wanted to repeat, although a friend has an amazing one.
No way! What were the odds of that? I also have a 68 Mustang that I inherited. Been having fun with it lately too. Would love to see your 76.
+1 – Great stories, and beautiful ’73.
Thank you!
One of my high school friends had a tan 1981 Mirada version of this car with the same wheels and lack of vinyl top. It was the Slant Six with vinyl bench seat just like in the pic with the armrest. Despite having only 85 HP it didn’t feel all that slow at the time in city driving and was fairly reliable the time he had it. Where it really fell flat was in highway passing maneuvers where it was clearly winded and anything above 75 MPH took an eternity to get to. The first thing we did to that car was change out the granny AM radio with a Kraco cassette deck.
Poor cars forced to pay for the sins of its stablemates like the New Yorkerport/St. Regis and Volaspen twins.
I owned s 1980 Cordoba LS. Black on black and red Corinthian leather?
I own a 1981 Bill Blass and it’s a remarkable automobile…I get asked to pull over so people can view the Cordoba because most have never seen the color combination.
It’s truly a head turner…don’t know where others get off saying these cars got bad fuel mileage. My stock 1981 with a 318 2bbl gets around 24 to 25 miles per gallon on the interstate with cruise set at 75 even with the original smog package still in place. I have owned 5 Cordoba’s in my 40 years of driving and every one of them were a pure pleasure to own and drive…it’s Mopar or Nocar with me.
Hello,
Here is my 1983 Chrysler Cordoba, she is running the 360 Magnum and more. I think these cars are gorgeous, they are super nice inside.
Thanks
Bruce (New Zealand)
Another pic
Inside Photo
Just great work Joseph. Always enjoy your photography and articles. This was/is an outstanding find. Like you and others, I was a big fan of the 1980 Mirada/Cordoba. One of the cleanest domestic designs that model year. Though there was so much attention focused on the Big Four downsizing their fleets during this era, I thought the F Body and M Body platform-based models still had lots of appeal. Specifically, the Diplomat, LeBaron and Mirada/Cordoba. Especially for those not attracted to the Fox-based Thunderbird and Granada.
I remember being surprised how little trunk space a Dodge Mirada had.
The owner is a Lambda car club member who I know well. I wish you would join the club Joseph, you would be a fantastic addition!
Car was sold last fall, then appeared in ad for ‘Classic Car’ dealer with higher price in February. Lambda club member who had sold “Darlene” was annoyed to say the least, since the buyer claimed “I will take care of it and not try to flip”.
Now, car is who knows?
I had a 1980 Cordoba Crown with a 318 that I bought in 1993 to replace my recently deceased ’67 Sport Fury. It was a beautiful car that had also been completely neglected by its original owner and then traded in just as it needed everything. It was a beautiful car, but the rust and the electrical gremlins were just too much by the time I traded it in on a 1989 LeBaron coupe in 1997. Other owners of second gen Cordobas I knew had rust free and very reliable cars. For a time, I tried finding another one to swap all my good drivetrain and interior parts to, but people who were still driving these in the 90’s wouldn’t sell them and couldn’t find any for sale anywhere in the usual local sources of the time. Couldn’t say that I blame them. I’d happily drive another one now.
Were I to have bought one new, I would have bought one very close to the featured car. Especially sans vinyl top and any colour other than Light Cashmere which was what my Cordoba came from the factory with.
By the time I let go of the car, I had peeled away the padded vinyl top to fix the rust underneath and removed probably 80 pounds worth of hubcaps. By the time of this photo, it had received and engine transplant from my deceased Sport Fury getting a 1970 318 my dad and I rebuilt together. That car would fly after that in between the moments that smog version of the Carter BBD wasn’t giving me trouble. Wish I’d known, I could have swapped it out for a Holley 2280 and had a much happier reliability experience.
Good looking car. Too bad about the engines.