(first posted 8/2/2013) Our Chrysler Dream Car series is drawing to a close, and we’ve hardly given them all due respect. It’s kind of like waking up in the morning: wow, I had so many dreams last night, but I can only remember…
Of the three we showed in yesterday’s Dream picture, I was particularly drawn to the yellow Dodge Firearrow. Turns out I wasn’t the only one. After the Firearrow was (surprise) not put into production, a certain Eugene Casaroll, who owned Dual Motors, bought the rights and did what so many have done and broken their hearts and bank accounts trying to do: put a dream car into production.
Needless to say, it was an expensive undertaking that never seemed to quite fully take off. But having one’s name attached to such exotic machinery keeps people going, and going.
Given the over $100k (adjusted) price of a Dual Ghia, its buyers were celebrities and such. Many of the Hollywood glitterati had them, and one source claims that Ronald Reagan lost his in a high-stakes poker game with then-President Lyndon Johnson. True or not, I would not have played high stakes poker with LBJ.
The Dual Ghia sat on a Dodge chassis and used the Dodge 315 CID “baby hemi” engine. The engineering to make it all happen was done by Paul Farago.
Supposedly, 117 were built, and 32 still exist. It’s mighty toned down from the original, especially that headlight placement. I liked those bulging fish-eyes on the original concept.
The 1962 Ghia L 6.4 started out as a Dual-Ghia, but Casaroll stepped out due to failing health, and Farago put this together with Ghia, utilizing Chrysler’s torsion bar suspension and the new 383 CID (6.4 L, hence the name) V8. This one is mildly customized with wire wheels.
The front still shows its Firearrow origins, but the back is a whole new fishbowl altogether.
That rear has lots of resemblance to the 1961 Plymouth Fury coupe indeed.
A few of these were built before their makers finally woke up and asked themselves what they were really doing. Having fun; what else.
Glory days… pass me by, glory days.
I never understood why Chrysler didn’t build a limited number of these in house as Imperials? I know they would have been money losers (as the Conti Mark II and Eldorado Brougham were) but… wishful thinking.
What about the DeSoto Adventurer?
What year and model is the car in your post?
That’s the first DeSoto Adventurer, which Exner often said was his favorite of the idea cars.
Ah! The retrospective look. Does make you wonder considering at the time (up through 1956 anyway), Mopar was building very low volume Crown Imperial Limousines at the time and from ’57 through ’66, pulling low-volume coupes and ragtops off of the line to bundle them together as partial knock-down “kits” to be sent to Ghia in Italy and come back to America as Crown Imperial Limousines.
Also makes you think in retrospect, why perhaps Mopar didn’t farm these out to Ionia (Michigan) manufacturing, who did low volume specials (Packard Caribbean) and wagon bodies for just about everyone . . . .
I can think of Sinatra, Dean Martin, Jerry Lewis, Debbie Reyonlds as Dual Ghia/Ghia 6.4 owners . . . .
Also Gary Morton, and Peter Lawford. Some behind the scenes film of the 1964 film, “Dead Ringer” (available on DVD) shows Lawford arriving at the Beverly Hills,Greystone mansion filming site,in a convertible DG, and ugh, having a fender-bender.
Some people definitely wanted to, unsurprisingly including Exner. From a business standpoint, I think they were right not to. Ghia didn’t have the capacity to build more than few cars at a time and building them in the U.S. would have been prohibitively expensive. (The whole point of having the show cars built by Ghia is that it cost something like a tenth what it would have cost to have them built in Michigan.)
Sadly, the only one I think would have had any kind of real value to Chrysler as a production model probably would have been the Falcon. If they could have sold it at a semi-palatable price and sold 10,000 of them, even at a modest net loss, it might have been worth it as a traffic-builder. Building a few hundred $10,000 specials wouldn’t have done much in that regard.
Sadly, too, I have to agree with this analysis. Although there is one intriguing unexplored alternative: Chrysler could have financed a small run body plant for Ghia. From what I’ve read, they didn’t have a body plant or stamping facilities, unlike Frua, Bertone, and of course Pinninfarina. Everything was hammered our over wood dies, with many, many welds.
Could have done that for the Falcon. Investment would have been much less than in the US, and labor per car would be much lower, and still at Italian rates.
Ironically, Chrysler would essentially do just that years later with the Connor Avenue Viper plant. The plant, not the labor part at least.
I’m surprised that only 32 out of 117 are survivors (if the numbers are correct). You would think that more would have survived on their uniqueness, like Tuckers, for example. Especially since they were based on conventional (and excellent) Chrysler mechanicals.
I think we can safely assume there are more out there. They just haven’t been found…yet.
At the 2010 Pebble Beach concours, there was a very good display of many of the Exner/Ghia collaborative Idea Cars. They were my favorite part of the show. I see the Dual Ghia at Pebble Beach is in one of the photos above.
Dual Ghia customers included: Debbie Reyonlds, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra. Funny that Elvis never had one – the only Mopars the King owned were Chrysler Station Wagons used to haul clothing, extra go-fers, tow wardrobe trailers, etc. etc. Also, John Lennon, once settled into New York in 1972 bought a brand new 1972 Town and Country wagon. Go figure. I somehow don’t see Reagan playing hi-stakes poker – especially with Lyndon Banes Johnson, but, anything’s possible.
Ring-a-ding-ding!
Reagan started out a Democrat and switched parties later on… in fact, at one point he was a Union President (Screen Actor’s Guild) which makes his subsequent breaking of the PATCO union all the more interesting. It is likely that LBJ and Reagan knew each other as Reagan was politically active at the time and didn’t change parties until the 1960’s.
I like the 6.4, have a feeling the open car is the model for sale over here, must look for the ad.
+1 on the 6.4 it’s gorgeous
The DG is pretty, only saw one once cruising in Huntington Beach CA and someone had stuck on 1959 Caddy taillights!!! Semi-Curbside in that I was drinking beer in a curbside bistro as it drove past.
Been waiting almost two years for an announced DG in 1/43rd scale to become available, to add to my collection (already have a 6.4L, IMHO not nearly as pretty).
Is that 1;43rd DG from American Excellence? I might fork over the $85 for that one. They do a great job
True or not, I would not have played high stakes poker with LBJ.
Being a teacher and a student of history, I’d rather play high stakes poker with the current superintendent (my boss) than LBJ. He played congress like it was a fiddle and would bully anybody who couldn’t be bought off with political favors.
I seem to remember I had a “Corgi Toy” Dual Ghia 6.4 when I was a kid!
I saw the Corgi model on Thursday in a shop selling car models.CC effect in miniature!
I have one of those Corgi Ghias. Mine is metallic yellow-gold with yellow interior and a miniature Corgi dog on the parcel shelf. The hood, doors and trunk all open. Very cool!
Whenever I see a Dual Ghia I think Frank Sinatra. I googled DG and Sinatra and found this excellent piece by JP Cavanaugh right here on Curbside Classic!
https://www.curbsideclassic.com/automotive-histories/automotive-history-the-cars-of-frank-sinatra/
I had read about the L 6.4, but the only time I’ve ever seen one was in the basement of the Petersen at one point. It’s an interesting-looking but slightly awkward design, nicely detailed but a little strange in proportions.
I had the eggplant 1958′ I want a fiberglass body to put on a 1970 Chevy monticarlo
Minor quibble from an armchair enthusiast who’s never seen a Ghia 6.4L in person: Your feature 6.4L is the customized Dean Martin one, and to me the custom headlights and skinny white wall tires only add to the awkwardness of the car, which is unfortunate because it’s such a striking car as well. Here’s a better example with round headlights and wide whites:
Good point. I’ve just swapped in that picture. Thanks.
I wonder why Corgy Toys chose this car for a model car?
Got the Corgy model, but it took many years before I saw a picture af the real car.
It was their showpiece like the Ghia was for Chrysler, Corgi’s first model car where everything could be opened, the seats could be tilted, just like a real car.
That is also why the Corgi dog is lying on the parcel shelf.
Danish Tekno did the same thing on a Jaguar E type roadster.
And in that era Dinky only managed to launch an MG B, their first car with opening doors.
Not able to correct my post, but Corgi not Corgy.
When I look at the Ghia 6.4L, I always envision what the original full-size 1962 Mopars might have looked like and how differently things might have turned out if the downsizing debacle hadn’t occurred.
I’ve only once seen a 6.4L. It was at Thursday practice at Laguna Seca 2-3 years ago. The Concourse entrants do a morning exibition lap. That 383 sounded sweet
Interesting cars. Always wondered how many were made and why.
Some really good specials were made thanks to that Chrysler-Ghia connexion. The ’50s stuff was mostly superb. The Duals look a bit too crazy for their own good by comparison.
Still, a cool (almost-) Euro-American hybrid: the body was built by Ghia, but to an American / Chrysler design and engine.