Photos from the CC Cohort by Jerome Solberg.
For those with a longing for the defunct traditional American luxury land yachts of yore, here’s a pair of survivors to attend that fix. And if your needs also crave Brougham touches, these two also fit that bill, in hearty helpings. Particularly in the case of the New Yorker.
So yes, it’s luxo land yacht time here at CC. Let’s take a closer look at these two recent finds and see if we can picture ourselves gliding over the streets of the Golden State, circa mid 1970s.
We’ll start with the rarer of the two, the Imperial. Sorry, meant to say the New Yorker. I would need expert Chrysler eyes to pin this down to the ’76 or ’77 year, as it’s hard to tell the differences between the two. Still, for either date, the New Yorker Brougham was the Pentastar’s peak offering. Of course, it was sporting hand-me-down styling from the now-defunct Imperial nameplate. Should you wonder, sales of the “new” New Yorker shot up for that year, and I’ll leave it to Pentastar fans to debate how much of that came from abandoned Imperial buyers.
In any case, I find the waterfall grille of these fairly attractive. A bit blocky and blunt in its neoclassical baroque language, but to my Gen-X eyes, more unique than the Cadillac. Of course, the latter suffers some from having been far more common over time.
Dual sunroofs? Not a factory option I would guess, but then again, these land yachts were a favorite for customizing. A fairly tasteful add-on to this Brougham package which provides a distinctive discreet touch.
Let’s move on to the Coupé DeVille. On profile, the DeVille looks far cleaner than the New Yorker; as if shaped by wind and feeling like an elegant shapely sword. Not that it looks lithe; it couldn’t. For one, luxury was seen as a synonym of solidity and heftiness. These luxo yachts of the era had that, in spades.
Also, the GMs of 1971 were close to peak “long, low, and wide” (Not quite, but they looked the part). Bill Mitchell’s pursuit of that styling mantra would have to retreat from here on. After all, it probably wasn’t humanly-usable to stretch the idea much more.
Against other neoclassical themes of the period, the 1971 Cadillacs wore them in discreet form. If squinting, one can see the hood dome and radiator opening harkening back to earlier eras but in a not-so-overt way. But unlike some other makes that had discovered a “fondness” for tradition around those days, Cadillac had a habit of reusing older themes from their repertoire by the time these came out.
Let’s move on to the interior shots. Here’s the New Yorker’s, in full 1970s “banker’s desk” plushness. And with 21st Century goodies too! Digital screen, speakers, and gulpie cupholders. Someone is enjoying the 2020s in 1970s Neoclassical style.
Now the Cadillac, which is mostly all there but looking worse from wear. And yes, plastics don’t age that gracefully, though don’t worry. That burgundy steering surround is certainly a repurposed part, not the result of dubious plastic decoloration.
Rear seats on the Coupé DeVille, as spacious an area as an early 70s Detroit full-size 2-door could be. And for a car with over five decades, all mostly there.
However, when it comes to the interior of these two, I’ll take the New Yorker’s plushness, thank you. It does look like quite a place to sit and see the streets go by.
Admittedly this pairing is a bit unusual, a Chrysler and a Cadillac? A 2-door and a 4-door? Not the kind of combo one would see back in the era of brand loyalty, but I guess someone not originally attached to such concepts would be attracted to tasting the various samplings of the genre. Perhaps what’s happening with this pair?
Cadillac was clearly the dominant luxury brand at the time, with Lincoln having closed the gap in those years. Chrysler’s claims at the time were in flux, so in strict terms, one could say these two weren’t direct competitors (2-doors, 4-doors, and so on…). Brand cachet also had much to with that, of course. But that didn’t take away that properly optioned, a New Yorker was quite a compelling package in the luxury arena; the choice for the Chrysler loyalist, or someone wanting the goodies at entry rates.
Still, now that social ideas attached to these models are basically gone, why not enjoy them for what they are? Gobs of torque with tons (literally) of “long, low and wide” presence, all with a good sprinkling of Brougham gingerbread added. And both offering a distinctive way to glide over the roads, just as many aspired to do back in the day.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1976 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham – The Joys Of Getting Lost
Curbside Classic: 1972 Cadillac Coupe DeVille – The First Curbside Classic
Curbside Classic: 1972 Cadillac Coupe DeVille – I’ve Learned A Few Things In The Past Fourteen Years
A Common Myth Debunked: The 1971 GM Big Cars Only Look Bigger Than Their Predecessors
IMO, proof there was NOTHING Malaise about the so called Malaise Era. OTT excessively chromed upscale Luxury at its finest! On one visit to San Francisco (1988) I had a Town Car as a rental. That was the beginning of my love affair with LAND YACHTS. Still Thinkin Lincoln with my 2007 Signature Limited.
Starting in ’49, Chrysler’s interiors and dashboards were usually more elegant than Caddy’s. These fit the pattern. Caddy is better than Chevy but not especially luxurious by ’70s standards.
As has been told before, the move from the 1975 Imperial to the 1976 New Yorker Brougham tripled sales. The way it worked was the the base New Yorker Brougham was essentially a decontented Imperial. If you didn’t want all of the equipment that came with the Imperial, the identical 1976-78 New Yorker was cheaper.
Of course, when optioned up to the same level as the Imperial, the New Yorker was more expensive, but buyers definitely seemed to prefer the a la carte method.
For some reason, the Imperial never sold that well throughout its existance, while the New Yorker always did okay.
May they cruise on for years to come in a climate friendly to automotive preservation, amongst the clutter of lookalike boxes, bereft of character amidst their similarly characterless owners scurrying about on the highways.
@ G. Poon: I’ll second that. When it comes to vehicles today, there’s just little (or zero) to see and look at. Nothing but gas swelling trucks, SUV’s and bland all over.
I used to be painfully brand loyal, I’d by their worst and know it just to be loyal. I don’t care now, I like all old cars. Four brands in my driveway now.
I’m more of a Caddy guy and really love my old Caddy’s. But the latter 60’s and early 70’s (till about 1975), I feel like Cadillac lost it’s way. The interiors in those years for Cadillac were (IMO) quite bad. So of these two, it’s the Chrysler for me. At least for interiors.
Thanks for posting these pictures! I was on my way somewhere and saw these two parked together, and just had to stop and get these pictures. Twin sunroofs! Interesting that the Chrysler is seemingly more luxurious than the Caddy, but the Caddy looks “sportier” somehow, probably the bumpers.
This ’76 or ’77 New Yorker probably has the standard electonic ignition instead of the disasterous Lean Burn computer controlled monstrosity, which IMHO contributed to the beginnings of Chrysler’s downfall. This great looking CC would not not be cruising around today with its Lean Burn engineering mistake, as replacement computers are non-existent.
My parents bought a brand new 1977 Chrysler New Yorker. After three failed computers, which were mounted on the side of the air cleaner, my dad and I spent one weekend converting the 440 to “points.” It ran flawlessly for the next eight years, when he traded it on a new ’85 Dodge 150.
Look like two immigrants to California. The New Yorker in 2012 and the Cadillac in 2023 given their excellent and garaged condition. I’m sure one of my C Body forum guys could tell whether 76 New Yorker or 77 New Yorker but I can’t. That is an interesting dual aftermarket sunroof. Hope it seals well.
This is a nice couple of vintage luxury cars. The New Yorker is surprising in that it’s Brougham-ness exceeds the Cadillac’s more restrained exterior and interior. It looks like the Caddy has a redone upholstery as most were leather, or a more brocade style cloth. For ’71 Cadillac ditched the blade fenders and adopted this very wide front end design, Though it still carried the classic design elements with the large grille opening combined with a nicely contoured bumper. In ’72 the rear bumper gained some rubber pads, and by ’73 the rear bumper was enlarged to meet the 5 mph. standard. By ’74 Cadillac had to conform to the front bumper standards and this type of delicate grille design was gone. Compared to my ’70, this soft edged, CdV looks quite smooth and sleek. It looks quite jaunty in black paint. The New Yorker looks appropriately massive. I think that buyers who fancied Chrysler found it to be at least as satisfying as those that chose Cadillac. I kind of miss cars like this, and I suppose that there’s nothing stopping me from buying one today, but I’ve already been there and done that. Don’t let that stop you!
I’ll take the NYer any day, but not a fan of the dual sunroofs (or any sun roof for that matter), and that interior, so plush and gorgeous when new but now… ewww, grody. The ImpYorker has a far superior instrument panel with, um, real instruments for oil press, amps, &c with LED backups. The biggest loss in transitioning were the 4 wheel disc brakes, the rest mostly floss. You can still find the LB ‘puter if you know where to look.
The Chrysler is a 76 – the tufted seat design was used both years if you ordered leather, but the 77 velour design was quite different from this. This look must have been more popular because the velour got this poofy look again in 1978.
I like the looks of the 71-73 coupe Deville better every year.
I believe this is 1977.