although opinions vary by person, the 68 Barracuda fastback was pretty sleek looking.
if we were to go back a few years, then the 57 fury's, belvederes and coronet /custom royal lancer were pretty awesome with the fins on the rear. the old 300's then too.
I prefer the '66 Charger body style, though they only made it for a couple of years:
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Was never crazy about the looks of the Barracuda. It looked too pretentious, while Charger pulled off the fastback style with elegance. Best colors: lemon yellow and robin's egg blue.
Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')
Lloyd, I find myself in the unusual state of generally agreeing with you :-)
I think the BEST looking Chrysler ever was the 57 and 58 300 C and 300D, personally. I'd also have to put in at least one of the 'Fuselage' years, and sentimentally the 65 300L.
I agree that the '66-67 Dodge Charger (the fastback Charger for those who don't immediately visualize it) is the most singularly futuristically styled Mopar (no, make that 'full production vehicle') EVER- but its mostly the interior that grabs me. I don't hate the exterior like some people do, but overall I have to say the '68 Charger is my favorite Dodge from the outside. Its odd to me that they stepped up the exterior styling for all the b-bodies in '68, but REALLY dumbed-down the interiors of all the Dodges and Plymouths the same year- the first step toward the plastic and fake woodgrain of the 70s, I guess. But even by pre-68 standards, the Charger was in a class of one. Electroluminescent gauges and front/rear buckets with a full-length console. Wowee.
For Plymouth, its gotta be the 71 Satellite/Roadrunner/GTX body.
And I wouldn't put ANYTHING past '73 on the list at all.
Ford- 62-66 T-birds are in a close tie. Basically still the Elwood Engel "banana nose" styling, but modified as the years progressed (especially since Engel moved to Chrysler in '63 and started guiding the design of some of the favorites on the Mopar list, like the 300L and your 67 Fury).
GM- I don't really care, although I wouldn't throw an early 70s Firebird
Those are before my time, so I can only rely on pictures for the most part.
That would be my 3rd choice for Plymouth.
Yeah, I considered those. They'd probably be my Ford runner-up. And speak of futuristic interiors!
A mid-late 60s Continential 4-door convertible is pretty nice too.
See, I think the Firebirds were overdone -- too many spoilers and scoops (although I must admit, in 1970, the Firebird Trans Am was a shocking vehicle in its styling and its audacity). But for the most part, I think GM did a better job on the B bodies in the 60s-early 70s than the F bodies.
The 1960 300, especially the convertible, is simply the most beautiful car I've ever seen. It's drop-dead gorgeous (of course, all the full-size 1960 Chryslers are really nice, but it works particularly well with the 300 grille).
The '66-67 Charger styling was... quirky. It definitely grows on you with time, but not many people would have a good first reaction to it. Steve's right, the interior is pssibly the nicest ever made.
You didn't say production car, so all-time favorite (or at least in the top
5) ....Chrysler Chronos. And since I was born in '63, the first time I saw that black and gold Plymouth Arrow...it was love.
'Best Looking', like 'Most Favorite Song' has certainly changed for me over the years. From the Arrow to the Chronos, with a 'little red express' truck thrown in.
This is, bar none, the best Chrysler vehicle that was never made:
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Look at each of the pics on this page and drool:
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A V-8, RWD, LH-based 300 that was ready to go into production and probably be at your dealer in the fall of 2003.
But it was too classy for Chrysler, who was given orders by their German masters to kill the car lest it compete with some Mercedes models. Instead the abortion known as the LX platform was born.
Surely you know all makers produce heaps of concept cars, most of which never get into production. Recently, Chrysler Firepower, ME12, Chronos, and all the turbine cars come to mind.
Chrysler had no rwd drivetrains suitable for a passenger car in 2003. The only ones were truck ones. Further, every maker was starting to copy cab forward, meaning the Chryslers were becoming less distinctive and not standing out.
Further, I assure you, nobody cross shops Chrysler and Mercedes, any more than they would a Ford Taurus and a Jaguar.
The Hemi-C concept shown during the 2000 auto show circuit was practically production ready. It wasn't one of those crazy, blue-sky concepts like the ones you just mentioned. Look at how similar it was to the 300m.
Remember that the 300m "concept" was shown just 2 or 3 years earlier (January 1998 Detroit auto show if I'm not mistaken) and it went into production with minimal or no modifications.
Sure they did. They had the 5.2 liter V8. They were already building the RWD Viper for how long?
So? What are you saying - that just because they were putting the 5.2L in the truck, that they couldn't also put it in the Hemi-C ?
That's a lot of bullshit.
It was the interference from Daimler that had Chrysler scrap the LH line and delay the introduction of a completely new vehicle line for 2 years
- a time when Dodge / Chrysler dealers were really hurting for sales.
That 300N hemi-C concept was classy enough to break through the glass ceiling and threaten Mercedes sales in North America. After all, Chrysler now had the "prestige" of being essentially a sister-brand to Mercedes.
Which is why I said a Firebird, and not a T/A. The bandit can have his screaming chicken on the hood, give me Rockford's gold Firebird. A pre-75 model. Round headlamps.
Even that one was a bit overblown, but in a kitchy kind of way that wasn't as over the top as, say, a godawful 78 Z/28 Camaro.
Viper drivetrain is way too expensive for a $20k-$30 passenger car. Plus no automatic.
And the rear suspension? Transmission? Oh, and how about a smooth, quiet, fuel-efficient engine? Where is that 5.2 L engine now? And what did it put out? Around 200 hp, wasn't it? In a V8? Heck, some
4s beat that.
So was Jaguar to Ford.
I never liked the 300M styling. The Intrepid, Concorde, LHS, and Vision were all good looking, but the 300M had about 5 different shaped openings in the front (headlights, grille, fog lights, lower grille), none of which blended with any of the others. Plus the deck was too short and the grille too little.
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