Flashback to some classic cars: The 69 Plymouth Fury

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1. All told, Chrysler Corporation entered the Seventies in far better shape than it had in the Sixties. Chrysler ran neck-and-neck to archival Cadillac. When Chrysler first introduced its fuselage styling on the full-sized C-Body one could argue that this design approach represented Elwood Engel’s biggest gamble during his time at Chrysler. The Division proudly announced in its 1969 advertising as “Your Next Car.” “The affordable dream. Now a dream closer to you than ever before. A dream you can reach out and touch. The great new Chrysler Newport. Chrysler luxury. And Chrysler prestige. Yet, its price is surprisingly low.”
   These Chrysler models were designed with curved side glass that leaned in at the top of the greenhouse, coupled with body sides that bowed inward at the rocker panels, created a subtle cylindrical shape that reminded stylists of an airliner fuselage in cross-section—hence the name Fuselage Styling. These models were free of creases, wrinkles, tail-fins and asymmetrical humps, making them appear very smooth and sleek. Perhaps, 1969 would be a good year for Chrysler.
   By 1969, chairman Lynn Townsend had re-centralized the corporation, with major directives coming straight from the Highland Park headquarters. At the corporate level, chairman Lynn Townsend would endeavor to maintain profits for the company. On the production line, quality control became and end in its self for the first time in Chrysler history, and judging by public responses by the mid-1960’s was sorely needed. Production of Chrysler cars had been settling records just a year before in 1968 production hit an all-time high at 263,583, but high volume was often achieved by compromising build quality. A 1969 Road Test magazine had this to say about the Newport Custom two-door Hardtop that it was atrocious had sloppy trim, unfinished seams, messy finishes. Road Test thought that surely Chrysler’s quality would improve on later cars (the test car was apparently an early build unit), but sadly that would not prove to be the case, as all Chrysler Corporation cars gained notoriety during this period for poor workmanship.
   The 1969 Chrysler didn’t just look that much bigger but it actually was. The interior’s also had a new instrument panel that stretched across the dashboard; the panel was tilted towards the driver for easy reading and fewer reflections, and was covered by a heavy chrome brow to minimize sun washout. Numbers were white on black; at night, the entire cluster was externally lit. Gauges included an alternator gauge, gas level, and trip odometer. Compared to the previous year, length was increased by 5.5 inches, width grew a half an inch and weight went up from 90 to 150 pounds, depending upon the model and body style. The Chrysler, which had been the size of a Buick LeSabre, was now as large as an Electra 225. This was apparently done in response to Chrysler’s shift upmarket. For 1969 the list price of an entry-level Newport four-door sedan was $3,414, meanwhile, a New Yorker two-door hardtop listed for $4,539 which was outsold 16,075 to 7,537 by the Three Hundred series. The Newport Custom cost $170 more then the comparable base Newport. From the rear, a Custom could be identified by its vertically segmented tail-light panel.
   Imperial lost its slow-selling convertible, but gained its first pillared sedan since 1960. It wore hidden headlights like the Chrysler 300 and employed sequential turn signals. Vent-less side glass was installed in coupes with air-conditioning. In 1969, Imperial saw its third best year since becoming its own marquee in 1955, it’s production jumped to 14,821. An Imperial it was said, “bespeaks trim, uncluttered formality.”
   The Non-Letter Chrysler 300 Series was produced by Chrysler from 1962 through 1971. The Chrysler 300 Sport Series was positioned below the letter series and served as a replacement to the Windsor. The exterior appearance was identical to the Letter Car, except for minor differences including the tires, hubcaps, and an absence of ‘H’ on the rear deck. The 300 Sport Series also added a 4-door hardtop which had never been offered on the Letter Series. Powering the 300 Series was an overhead valve V8 engine displacing 383 cubic-inches and offering 305 horsepower. The Chrysler 300 included many body-styles: coupes, sedans, and convertibles. Since 1965 it has shared the New Yorker’s long, 124-inch wheelbase, but it was carefully positioned about $300-$400 short of the New Yorker’s price. For this, the buyer received a larger engine (the reliable 440 from 1967 on), luxurious trim, and clean styling that traced its influence to the original letter series. The 300 also featured the most expensive convertible in the line-up, since the New Yorker convertible was discontinued in 1961.
   Chrysler’s 1969 Three Hundred series was offered in just three body-styles: hardtop coupe, hardtop sedan and convertible coupe the production breakdown was coupe 16,075, hardtop sedan 14,464 and convertible 1,933 for at total 32,472. The Chrysler Three Hundred was the only series that had hideaway headlights the grille was done in traditional black, a round “300” emblem was supported by the famous cross bars. But make no mistake the name of the Three Hundred would be spelled out in capital letters. This was common practice when a manufacturer wants to impart more to a product than the product may really have. Perhaps, the Three Hundred was certainly no Letter Series Chrysler, but it was considered a solid, sporty large car that offered good value for the money. One of the best quotations that recalled its heritage was, “It can hide its headlights, but not its heritage.” The Three Hundred was a combination of welded fuselage styling with its adjustable torsion-bar suspension, a subtle reminder of its racing championships.
   The Imperial was given a unique front end assembly with an additional three inches of wheelbase ahead of the cowl. The rear end was distinguished from the Chrysler with its unusual vertical bumpers. Despite the shared sheet-metal, the Imperial actually increased in length by more than five inches from the 1968 models. At almost 230 inches long, the car was now roughly five inches longer than a Cadillac or Lincoln. If you look at raw production figures, 1969 was a pretty good year. The Chrysler brand generated the third-highest volume in its history and was less than 5,000 units shy of the all-time record of 264,853, which was achieved in 1968. Chrysler’s first year production of fuselage styling was 260,773 which was good for 10th place. Chrysler’s production rose a little from 1969, but the company went from a net profit of $99 million on $7 billion of sales to a net loss of $8 million – with a dividend of $29 million! Had they not paid the dividend, they would have retained a profit.
   In the auto industry, as in life, timing is everything. By the early seventies Chrysler seen to lose foresight when its competitors in the medium-price field were beginning to diversify their product lines with compact models, Chrysler defiantly advertised its mission, “Positively No Junior Editions.” That decision was still in force in 1970, when Chrysler issued nothing but full-sized Chrysler models in four trim levels on a 124-inch wheelbase while the Town & Country station wagons rode a 122-inch wheelbase. Base price for the entry-level Newport four-door sedan was $3,514 while the top-of-the-line Town & Country nine-passenger station wagon was $4,824. Newport and Custom Newport models shared a grille and wheel cover designs while the Town & Country wagons and New Yorker models received a different design, while the Three Hundred wore a third combination. Standard power for the Newport and Newport Custom and wagons came from a 290-bhp 383-cid V-8. While New Yorker and Three Hundred models had a 350-horse version of the corporate 440-cid engine which was available with 375-ponies.
   For 1970 the rarest model was again the Three Hundred convertible which sold only 1,077 cars, bucket seats were standard, but a cloth-and-vinyl bench seat was available at no extra cost. Other options included a floor console for the TorqueFlite automatic transmission shifter, power front disc brakes, and a heavy-duty suspension. The price for all this was $4,580 a less expensive Newport convertible was priced at $3,935 but fared slightly better in production with 1,124 cars sold. The best selling New Yorker was the four-door hardtop outselling the two-door coupe and convertible with a production of 19,903 cars finding customers and a price of $4,761. The best-selling Chrysler was the Newport four-door sedan that saw a production of 39,285 cars sold.
   As in 1969, the top-of-the-line LeBaron six-passenger four-door hardtop was priced at a hefty $6,328 was best received, reaching 8,426 buyers versus 1,333 Crowns which was priced less at $5,956 in the same body style. The LeBaron two-door hardtop had a list price of $6,095 which went to 1,803 customers, while the Crown was less expensive at just $5,779 but sold less at just 254 units. Standard features for the Imperial LeBaron included a TorqueFlite automatic transmission, air conditioning, power steering, power windows, fender-mounted turn signal indicators, and cruise control; unusual features included hidden headlights (with manual overrides), rear reading lights, vinyl covered pillows (four door), and power disc brakes. Four interior designs were available: cloth-and-leather bench seat or divided bench seat, and leather bucket or divided bench seats. The bucket seat had a passenger recliner, center cushion, and pull-down center armrest. A new feature for 1970 was the full circle horn switch: squeezing any part of the steering wheel rim would blow the horn.
   In 1970 a recession hit the auto industry hard especially at Chrysler it’s production in 1969 was 260,773 it dropped dramatically to a total of 180,777. In 1971 the recession was still ongoing which saw Chrysler’s production drop even further to 175,118 but in 1972 Chrysler would make a stunning comeback in production with 204,704 and would go higher in 1973 to a production 234,223 which was good for 11th place in the industry.
   No matter how you slice it, the Fuselage Chrysler line-up did the corporation no favors. And the sales gap with rivals would widen in coming years as all its full-sized cars would continued to decline.

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