On September 11, 1978, Michigan Governor Bill Milliken slid behind the wheel of a Chrysler New Yorker that had just rolled off a Detroit production line. Surrounded by other dignitaries, Milliken was given the honor of driving the first production R-body, Chrysler’s new full-size sedan, off the assembly plant’s floor.
It didn’t start.
Factory workers rushed in and diagnosed a faulty battery – after a charge, the New Yorker started. While that immediate diagnosis of a drained battery may have been correct, the R-body in general suffered from chronic malaise. If a car model was ever a non-starter, this was it.
I hadn’t seen an R-body Chrysler in decades, so when I came across this example for sale along a rural Newfoundland road, I had to stop. These cars were never common, and by the end of the 1980s had largely faded into oblivion. My fascination with R-bodies isn’t just due to their rarity, however – the whole R-body story is a tragic tale of high hopes that never stood a chance of being realized. Ultimately, the car flopped worse than even pessimists could have imagined. We’ll take a look here at why the R-body was developed, and then examine our featured car, a unique blue New Yorker.
Throughout the 1960s, Chrysler’s share of North America’s full-size car market hovered around 15 percent. Helped by elegant styling, an image that suggested quality and (at the upper echelons) prestige, Chrysler churned out hundreds of thousands of full-size cars annually by that decade’s end.
The 1970s, however, were unkind to both Chrysler and the full-size car market. Chrysler’s revamped full-sizers debuted in late 1973, just in time for the Arab Oil Embargo to shock global economies. Suddenly, North American customers pivoted towards compact and imported cars, leaving Newports, New Yorkers and other big Chryslers sitting on dealers’ lots.
By the time buyers regained interest in full-size cars, Chrysler’s offerings were a few years old and growing stale. Importantly, General Motors debuted its own new full-size cars for 1977. Smaller and more efficient, these models redefined the full-size category. Suddenly, Chrysler’s entries – designed for an earlier era – seemed like mastodons.
Chrysler needed to revamp its full-size car line. In the late 1970s, however, Chrysler Corporation was driven to the verge of bankruptcy by a combination of 1970s’ troubles – gas price spikes, recessions and high interest rates. That meant the company didn’t have the funds to swiftly develop new models. Mixed with rapidly shifting consumer demand, that led to tumbling sales. Which, of course stifled revenue, making it harder to develop new products to compete in a changed marketplace. Time was running out to jolt the company back to life… and many observers thought that new, full-size cars were key to making that happen.
GM dealers had no trouble selling full-size cars in the late 1970s.
Though shrinking in overall market share, full-size cars still accounted for one-fifth of total US vehicle sales in the late 1970s. Depressingly for Chrysler, its portion of this still-lucrative market dwindled during that rough decade. In 1978, Chrysler captured under five percent of the full-size market – paltry compared to what it was just ten years earlier.
Chrysler’s full-size ambitions weren’t just about sales numbers. Equally important was that big cars yielded more profit per unit than smaller cars. A strong rebound in the full-size segment would help Chrysler reach profitability more than similarly strong sales of, say, Omnis and Horizons.
Enter the car range that would be known as the R-body. As might be expected from the era of recessions and downsizing, Chrysler’s main objective was to slim down its full-size cars. This was accomplished. The new cars weighed in at 800-900 lbs. lighter and about 9 inches shorter than their predecessors, without sacrificing much interior room.
Given Chrysler’s financial situation, this had to be accomplished as cost-efficiently as possible. One manifestation of this thriftiness was to use a slightly stretched version of the existing intermediate B-body platform (Dodge Monaco & Plymouth Fury) for this new full-size car.
St. Regis was Dodge’s R-body variant.
With such a priority given to frugality, it came as no surprise that the new car featured no innovations. From the outset, industry observers knew this would be a conventional full-size car… just a bit smaller.
Lynch Road Assembly Plant, circa 1980.
In June 1978, Chrysler retooled its Lynch Road plant in Detroit for the new R-bodies, a process that took 13 weeks. An indication of just how important Chrysler considered the R-bodies can be found in its expenditures. For a firm teetering on a fiscal precipice, $57 million for the Lynch Road upgrades, and another $15 million for its Windsor, Ontario plant that also produced R-bodies, illustrates just how critical Chrysler executives viewed R-body success.
Incidentally, while the car itself featured no innovations, its production line did. Chrysler installed 14 computer-controlled automatic welders, capable of making 450 welds on each assembled car. This was cutting-edge technology for its day. Costing $65,000 each, they made most of the body welds on the Lynch Road cars.
C.O. Hurly, president of Chrysler Canada Ltd., poses with a New Yorker while it was still something to smile about.
With production about to get underway, things seemed as rosy for the R-body as they’d ever be. Chrysler executives predicted annual sales of 175,000 units, or 7 to 8 percent of the full-size market. William Bivens, Chrysler’s Vice-President of US Automotive Sales, said that the R-bodies “are completely redesigned to provide a combination of roominess, improved fuel economy, comfort, fine riding qualities, and luxury in a new-generation transportation package.” Industry analysts hoped this model would reinvigorate Chrysler’s presence in the full-size segment.
Press reviews were (of course) positive, focusing on the late 1970s phenomenon of downsizing and on the car’s comfort. Like other downsized cars of the time, the R-body’s passenger room remained relatively similar to its gargantuan predecessor. The car’s comfortable ride was unquestioned. However, a nightmarish series of events followed the car’s introduction; Governor Milliken’s dead battery was just the beginning.
Problems with production cars emerged immediately – at the factory, on dealer lots, and in customers’ driveways. The cars leaked, had poorly-fitted hardware, rattling windows, loose plastic components, and so on. Even by late 1970s’ standards, this was bad. Shipments to dealers were halted, and cars only trickled out to consumers during the fall of 1978. While the public was tantalized with pictures of classy New Yorkers, dealers had little inventory, and those few cars in stock had long punch lists of maintenance needs. According to Chrysler officials later, early R-body cars averaged 11 “quality control defects”
Iacocca, left, and Chrysler chairman John Riccardo.
During this period when the Lynch Road plant’s production was paused in order to sort out its myriad problems, Chrysler hired its most famous executive since Walter P. Chrysler. Lee Iacocca joined the company on November 2, 1978 as president and Chief Operating Officer, after 32 years at Ford. Shortly afterwards Iacocca specifically mentioned the R-body’s significance, pointing out that big cars are important “because that’s where the money is.”
A Chrysler ad executive promised that New Yorker ads would showcase “sophisticated New York, elegant New York… not the Mets.” On this point, Chrysler delivered.
Unfortunately, the New Yorker and its brethren just consumed Chrysler’s money without making any. In addition to tens of millions of dollars for design and tooling, Chrysler spent one-third of its fall 1978 advertising budget on the R-bodies. That money was wasted; dealers had few cars to sell.
Source of data: Standard Catalog of Chrysler, 1914-2000
1979’s production total of 138,974 R-bodies may not seem horrible, but this was well below Chrysler’s prediction of 175,000 units. More ominously, most of that production struggled to find customers, as the car’s early troubles and defects gave the car a poor reputation. After New Year’s 1979, it became clear that demand for these cars was exceptionally soft.
During this first year, the two Chrysler models accounted for three-quarters of total R-body production – about 61,000 Newports and 44,000 New Yorkers. Dodge’s St. Regis accounted for the remaining sales (no full-size Plymouths were offered for 1979). These disappointing numbers were nothing compared to the next two years. R-body sales fell 64 percent for 1980 and then another 52 percent for ’81.
When our featured car rolled off the Lynch Road production line during the 1980 model year, the R-body was already marked as a failure. Dealer inventory was often heavily discounted, and in May, 1980 – just 21 months after R-body production started – Chrysler announced it would shut down the Lynch Road plant at the end of the model year. Lynch Road’s 1,900 workers got somewhat of a reprieve when Chrysler delayed those plans for one year (in order to accommodate Dodge and Plymouth fleet sales). But the fact that Chrysler committed to eliminating a virtually new model range illustrates how much of a disaster this car was to its manufacturer.
With that long and sad introduction out of the way, we can focus on our featured car – one of 10,166 New Yorkers produced for 1980.
The Chrysler brand sold two R-body sedans, the modestly-equipped Newport and the more lavish New Yorker. Despite sharing a brand, these two sold at much different price points. Newports started at $6,849 for 1980, while New Yorkers added 50 percent to that, starting at $10,459.
For that extra $3,610 buyers received a standard V-8 engine, air conditioning, equipment such as power windows and AM/FM stereo, and copious other interior upgrades. Most noticeable, however, were the New Yorker’s standard padded landau vinyl roof, upgraded wheel covers… and its signature feature, concealed headlights.
While the New Yorker’s design affectations may have gone over well with some traditional buyers, this was a retrograde look. The concealed headlights, upright grille, vertical parking lights and vinyl roof resembled a Lincoln Continental – a design which was already several years old. Fender louvers added another curious throwback, and another visual cue to Lincolns, since these were likewise used on the Mark V.
The overall design was in keeping with the times, similarly boxy to General Motors’ full-size B-cars and Ford’s own downsized full-sizers. However, the heavy-looking trim and design features gave the car a slightly ponderous look that went against the grain of downsizing. The full-width tail lights, heavily padded carriage roof with “frenched” rear window, padded trunklid section, and protruding bumper don’t exactly make this car look svelte.
New Yorker’s most unique design element was likely the opera windows built into the rear doors. This did present a distinctive visual statement, though it materialized into weirdness when the rear door was opened. The chunky opera window looked oddly out of place with otherwise frameless door glass.
On our featured car’s opera windows proclaim Fifth Avenue Edition. That indicates this car is equipped with the $1,120 option package ($4,500 in 2024 dollars!) that bought a padded landau roof, wire wheel covers, additional interior equipment, and the like.
Fifth Avenues also came in special paint combinations. 1980’s brochure indicates a choice of Cream/Beige two-tone or Black Walnut Metallic. This car, which appears to be painted in Nightwatch Blue, is of course neither of those, and the blue interior suggests this was an original color. Other blue 1980 Fifth Avenues appear to exist as well, so maybe customers could order additional colors if desired.
On the inside is another deviation from the norm. While leather upholstery came standard with the Fifth Avenue package, this car features the cloth and vinyl of standard New Yorkers. This may well be the only Fifth Avenue made with this exterior/interior combination.
Further examining the interior, we see the driftwood applique that was a Fifth Avenue exclusive – apparently a rarer species of applique than the “featherwood” used on standard New Yorkers. Overall, the highly-traditional interior looked on target for the car’s mature target audience, yet was still modern enough to look like a car of the ’80s.
Chrysler described the Fifth Avenue’s rear seating area as “lush,” which is certainly appropriate. This was a great car for enthusiasts of door straps, as there are two to choose from, right next to each other – the “door assist handle” and the “assist strap” hanging from the framed opera window.
R-body Chryslers were offered with three engine choices – which ended up being a confusing assortment of varieties based on US, California and Canadian emissions standards. Newports came standard with a 225-cu. in. slant six, and New Yorker buyers had a choice to two V-8s. While a 318-cu. in (5.2-liter) V-8 was New Yorker’s standard powerplant, our featured car came equipped with the optional 360-cu. in. (5.9-liter) alternative. Emissions equipment had taken their toll by this point, with the once-powerful 360 now developing only 130 horsepower in US models’ 2-bbl. form, making it tough to justify the $457 premium. Canadian models such as our featured car were more robust since Chrysler fitted its Canadian 5.9’s with a non-catalytic exhaust system. This engine developed 150 hp and 280 lb-ft of torque. New Yorkers equipped with the Heavy-Duty Trailer package received a higher-output 4-bbl. 5.9 with 195 hp, but there’s no indication this car is thus equipped.
No amount of power, though, could have saved this car from its demise. Even if the car had been launched smoothly and without quality defects, it still would have struggled to find an advantage in 1980’s competitive and quickly-changing auto market. In discontinuing the R-body, Chrysler exited the full-size segment and committed itself to offering smaller cars for the 1980s. Iacocca opined that the V-8 was headed “into oblivion” – a premature obituary, but understandable for the times.
On April 3, 1981 Chrysler shut down its Lynch Road plant, and with it went the last of the company’s full-size sedans. Few people lamented this car’s passing. Perhaps more impactful than the car’s cancellation was that the recently-renovated Lynch Road plant closed for good as a result – a crushing blow to the surrounding neighborhood that just two years before was ecstatic that that aging plant got a new lease on life.
For 1982, Chrysler renamed its mid-size RWD LeBaron as the New Yorker, a car which remained in Chrysler’s lineup for the remainder of the decade. By 1989, this car (by then known simply as the Fifth Avenue) was thoroughly antiquated… but even so, it still sold better than the 1980 New Yorker.
Ultimately, the R-body wasn’t a bad car. Granted it wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, but it looked appropriate for the time, was comfortable, roomy, and a decent bargain. However, it was doomed from the start. If circumstances were different, we’d have likely seen as many New Yorkers and Newports as Olds Delta 88s… but reality quashed that hope from the start.
While the Chrysler Corporation survived even though its full-size car flopped badly, the company would have been better off had the R-body never been built. In short, the R-body was a non-starter. But those few that remain are remarkably alluring, both for their rarity, and their connection with the soap opera-like corporate saga that the R-body story became. Hopefully this New Yorker will find a new home with someone who appreciates its interesting role during an unsettled time in Chrysler’s history.
Photographed near Stephenville, Newfoundland and Labrador in July 2024.
Related Reading:
1979 Chrysler New Yorker: The Rolling Coffin by Paul Niedermeyer
1981 Chrysler New Yorker: Failure Can Be Beautiful by Brendan Saur
1979-81 Chrysler New Yorker Fifth Avenue: A Rare Sight by Paul Niedermeyer
If I recall correctly, the R-body’s innovations included stamped aluminum wheels and chromed aluminum bumpers. At least that’s what Car and Driver wrote about in their introductory article. I’m not sure I ever heard of stamped aluminum wheels again, so maybe they didn’t actually reach production.
Yes, the bumpers were chrome-plated aluminum – apparently this shaved off 25 lbs. of weight per bumper over the previous model.
I don’t know much about the optional aluminum road wheels, other than (in my opinion) the design of those wheels seemed a bit off for this car.
The stamped aluminum wheels were not optional aluminum road wheels. They looked much like the stamped steel wheels that you see behind full wheel covers, but they were stamped out of aluminum and weighed something like 9 to 11 pounds. Aluminum road wheels are either forged or cast, and they weighed just as much as stamped steel wheels in production applications according to the article.
I still have an unnaturally strong desire to own one of these. Thanks for presenting this one. I still find these to have been far better downsizings than Ford carried out on the panther cars.
It is important to point out what a managerial disaster Chrysler was in the late 1970’s. Lynn Townsend’s years of penny pinching gave way to a pair of “co-chairmen” who couldn’t stand each other and who often worked at cross purposes.
The launch was bad, but so had been the launches for the prior two generations of big cars – 1974 and 1969. The 1980-81 models were far better. The problem was that 1980 saw the beginnings of a really nasty recession (that got far worse in 1981). Combined with high gas prices, 1980 and 81 were terrible years for the whole segment. Also, by 1980 most everyone was convinced that Chrysler was going out of business. It was one thing to spend $5k on a Volare that would soon be an orphan, but $10k on a New Yorker with no dealer support would be something else.
And Iacocca killed these because he believed that Chrysler lacked the ability to compete across the board, and had proved that it was an also-ran in this segment. I still maintain that if these had remained in production as the economy improved and the big-car market of the 80’s rebounded, that these would have sold quite well. (Please pass the Kool Ade 🙂 )
I think a good part of the reason for the R-body’s production woes was that the whole car was developed in those chaotic years between Lynn Townsend’s retirement and Iacocca’s hiring. From what I’ve read Chrysler was just an organizational mess during those years.
I bet that if these cars hadn’t been killed off after ’81 they would have lasted until the end of the decade, like Ford’s and GM’s full-size cars. It’s interesting to think about what a 1988 R-body would be like.
I remember thinking when these were new that Chrysler wasn’t going all-in on their downsized big cars like GM and Ford did. There were no coupes, no wagons, and no Plymouth versions (the first year). As usual with Chrysler, there was less differentiation between brands – i.e. all R bodies shared a dashboard. Also there was only one size – extra long, whereas GM had both B and C bodies and most Lincoln Panthers had longer wheelbase than the Fords or Mercurys. The Chrysler’s single length was similar to the C bodies and the Lincolns (Mark VI coupe excepted) in length. In retrospect, these were mostly good moves, as sales of big coupes and wagons were about to fall off a cliff. I do think Plymouth should have had a version from the get-go.
I think sales would have picked up after 1981 had they kept building them, but the big car revival of the ’80s was unexpected by GM and Ford as well as Chrysler so I can’t really blame Iacocca for not being able to read the market. I nonetheless consider dropping the R bodies to be one of Lee’s big mistakes at Chrysler. The other was dropping the Jeep Grand Wagoneer rather than redesigning it. That vehicle’s buyers had the highest owner average income of any American car IIRC.
As for how a late-’80s R body would have looked, probably not much different than the ’81s, just like their GM and Ford counterparts. Irony is that the R’s fuel economy was just as good as the much smaller M bodies that Chrysler had to position as “big cars” later in the ’80s didn’t.
My uncle in Montreal had a green ’79 New Yorker and it was plenty reliable and well built – he got lucky with his. Very nice car, felt roomier inside than the B/C or Panther. The frameless glass, thin pillars, and roomy footwells (from no intrusion from frame rails and a smaller center tunnel) all lent an airy feel to the interior.
Yeah, I could imagine Chrysler keeping the R-body with the New Yorker being only the Chrysler R-body model in Custom, Brougham and Fifth Avenue versions while the Newport monicker move to the M-body (hence why a New Yorker custom to fill the gap left by the Newport move) as the LeBaron became a K-car variant.
You may be right but Chrysler’s target demographic was just as much the bankers as the consumers. And a money-losing plant turning out cars nobody was buying didn’t look good on the balance sheet.
Remember Iacocca didn’t actually get money from the federal government. He got loan guarantees, which meant the government would back the loans if Chrysler defaulted. That made it easier to secure credit from the banks. Keeping the Aspen/Volare platform and its derivatives in production was OK because it was at least pulling its weight. The R bodies were not.
Also remember GM had to dump Pontiac years later to keep its creditors happy.
But another trend was in play. Chrysler was notorious at the time for horribly bad timing. Spend half a billion redesigning your big cars and introducing them in the middle of an oil embargo? Check. Drop your pony cars just as sales of everybody else’s were picking up? Check. Also goes for AMC dropping the Javelin at the same time, by the way.
By the same token, the couple of hits they had kept them alive through the bad times. The Omni/Horizon were a huge hit and well timed. The Aspen/Volare, plagued with problems though they were, produced a product line that lasted a decade and a half. Nobody disputed the rightness of the cars for the time, just the initial quality problems.
Iacocca gave Chrysler the marketing savvy it lacked until then. He also brought in guys like Hal Sperlich whose minivan concept was rejected by Henry Ford II but keeps the Chrysler nameplate alive to the present day. Smartest thing he did was buy AMC not just for Jeep, but for its fresh Renault-augmented engineering that still keeps the operation going.
Besides the Omnirizon, the other sole, shining star of the seventies for ChryCo was the Cordoba. But that car’s success only lasted for a few years, far from enough to stop the downward spiral. That was left to Iacocca.
As to the company’s ills after Townsend left, there was the ‘co-CEO’ concept of Gene Cafiero and John Riccardo. What could possibly go wrong with that? In a word, everything. The R-body’s problems came dangerously close to mimicking the 1957 ‘Forward Look’ cars with the biggest difference being those cars were a big hit. The R-body was just as bad, but no one wanted them, anyway.
One of the more amusing things of the New Yorker is the dual rear door closing straps. It’s like they were saying, “when one of these straps breaks, you have a back-up to close the door, at least until it breaks, too”.
I remember reading in Iacocca’s book where he praised Riccardo’s honesty when he described the company’s problems during the transition to Iacocca. He laid it all out for Lido, which I’m sure was a big help in Iacocca’s righting the ship.
A number of other market segments have been killed lately from manufacturers declining to compete across the board.
“All crossovers, all the time”
I’m with you on that. The buyers taste for full size cars didn’t morph overnight which would be 77 to 80. A slow economy and more gas price shocks, on top of previous ones, would have the greater effect. Had it not been for those factors I also think all new sized full size cars would have made a come back. Today we have vehicles out there that get in the high teens to low twentys for mpg telling me people will adjust. They may bitch about high gas prices but decline to drive a small car and instead opt for “full size” trucks.
The St. Regis has always been my pick of the R-body litter, but these are also quite nice. Like JPC, I have always had a weird desire to own one, with this being a good example to fulfill that desire.
Thank you for the details on these. While none of it surprised me, it is simply good to know. Long ago I found an ’81 Newport and could not find any details about the history of the R-body when I wrote it up. It was too good to not share but the Forest Gump angle I used just wasn’t optimum.
What I have always found odd about the R-body line was the addition of the Gran Fury for 1980. These things weren’t selling, so adding it – even to Plymouth – just made no sense. The cost was minimal (it used a Newport header panel and St. Regis tail lights) but still, there didn’t seem to be a need for it. However, finding one now would be outstanding.
I agree about the St. Regis, though a lot of that has to do with those headlight covers, which always mystified my as a kid (I never knew they actually retracted until much later, which indicates how uncommon those cars were at the time, because I actually looked out for such things).
Regarding the Gran Fury, I think the decision to resurrect the Gran Fury for 1980 was Iacocca’s. He felt that the lack of a full-size Plymouth left a big hole in Chrysler’s car lineup. I’m not sure that ended up being accurate, since I bet most of those Gran Furys ended up being fleet sales, but supposedly that was the rationale.
This is an interesting example of a rare vehicle and in good condition. I believe though that there have been some aftermarket changes applied. The rear window appears to have been made smaller, and I don’t recall any vinyl treatment on the deck lid from the factory. Also the chrome drip rail over the opera window – mitigating a water leak issue perhaps?
I find the Dodge St. Regis to be more appealing in appearance, without the overwrought details of the New Yorkers.
I suspect the deck lid treatment was aftermarket, but I’m not so sure about the rest of the roof treatment.
The 1981 New Yorker brochure lists an optional “Carriage Roof Package” that included an extra-padded roof with small rear window opening, and a stainless steel roof drip rail. I didn’t see that option for 1980, though it’s possible that it existed. So it’s possible the roof may have been a factory option with this car, or it may all have been a dealer add-on… I’d like to know.
I’ve never seen one of these with the small rear window seen here. I think it’s an aftermarket alteration.
I didn’t think about the roof treatment much when I was writing this article, though I did find pictures of other New Yorkers that looked similar. I assumed it was the “Carriage Roof” option I mentioned above, but it could easily be an aftermarket add-on instead. I’d like to know.
Just now I came across this image that I hadn’t seen before. It’s for 1980 “special edition” New Yorkers and LeBarons – the New Yorker seems to have a small rear window (though I’m not entirely certain its quite as small as the one I found). The New Yorker in the ad here also has a stainless steel roof, that our featured car appears to have as well, though I didn’t notice at the time I was taking the pictures.
But I can see a similar roof treatment offered through dealers too.
I’ve seen this flyer before but never noticed the different vinyl roof/rear window treatment until now. This car also has the extra pinstripe on the decklid, so it does appear that the sighted car is one of these special editions.
The LeBaron Fifth Avenue of course became the New Yorker Fifth Avenue and then just Fifth Avenue, and went on to sell much better than the R-body NYer ever did, despite essentially being a three-year-older design.
This is a car that styling-wise seems to present rather differently depending on the angle at which you view it. Personally, I think that the best angle is at 3/4 from the front. The front end is imposing, but kind of dignified (IMO). On this particular car, the rear is the worst, and that vinyl padding on the trunk needs to go. What was the owner thinking?
Although perhaps long winter evenings in Newfoundland just naturally lead to musings along the lines of “You know, what this car needs is MORE VINYL.”
This is a great find, Eric and a terrific write-up. I love that part of Canada. Definitely the place to go to get away from it all. Although apparently not pretty well preserved 40+ year old Chryslers.
MORE VINYL… ha!
Newfoundland was a great place to visit. We spent two weeks in the province, and every day there was outstanding. It’s a very unique place. I told myself that I wouldn’t spend time photographing cars, and except for a Mercedes 300D I saw at a trailhead once, I largely kept that promise. Until I saw this New Yorker on the last day there… I couldn’t not stop for this one.
IIRC, the right rear window did not align with the weather seal causing a massive leak when it rained. The resolution was to glue an additional layer of weather seal. Also, a news caster (Behind the Wheel) in Miami test drove a New York and encountered many quality errors. Not a good initial impression.
I’m sure GM was thinking along the lines of Napoleon, “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.”
The car would have looked better with the rear doors from the Newport or St. Regis and a taillight treatment similar to the 65 thru 67 Imperial. The full taillight across the rear cheapens the car.
Thanks for the deep dive into these rare cars! I truly enjoyed it despite being no fan of Chrysler.
A friend had one of these. While IMO spacious and somewhat appealing, the quality of materials and build was not great. The next generation of Fifth Avenues was one of the best revisions ever made on an existing platform. I had 83 and 85 Fifth Avenues which easily held their own with other upscale vehicles I have owned. The limo like roof added to the classic style. Plush tufted seats, fully equipped with standard features which were optional on most cars, reliability, comfort, roomy, smooth riding all contributed to a classy car worthy of the FIFTH AVENUE name. Unfortunately, like so many others, Chrysler is really just a memory. Please don’t say Stelantis or EV! 👎
Decent overview of these good but very unrespected automobiles (cue Rodney Dangerfield). I’ve owned 4 R-bodies so can speak from experience. Many like to opine about these cars but have never driven one, much less owned one, only repeating what they’ve read. They deserve a nuanced view.
Mine were: ’79 Newport (318), ’80 St Regis (360), ’80 Newport (360) and ’80 NYer (360). I posted a photo of the latter a few weeks ago. The ’79 was a low mile no rust (in VT!) old lady example but well worn cosmetically, bought to be used by my son in High School – yes, he said it’d lay rubber! (lock-up disconnected) in Low. The other 3 were very low mile examples (30 to 60k) in near mint original condition, bought reasonably, enjoyed for a while then flipped. The ’79 had a trunk leak, but a small hole in the lowest point in the trunk extension wells where h2o accumulated after heavy rain fixed that. The others were tight. All ran quite well, and I can say that the 360 did make a very significant difference. The ’79 had been converted but the 3 360s still had their properly functioning yet commonly ostracized Lean Burn, of which no mention was made. I disconnect lock up on all of them as they went into 3rd too early. The slant 6 must have had glacial acceleration, I can’t imagine driving one.
No doubt an ad price leader special.
They did have their foibles, while the initial quality control was lacking on introduction Lee got onto it fast and it did quickly improve a lot, at least as far as my own examples demonstrated, but the damage was done. The frameless side glass was a bad idea, at high speed the widows sucked out a bit, later rectified somewhat by better/thicker gaskets. In Fall of ’78 I drove a new ’79 NYer and even new this was a problem. That same day I also drove a new ’79 Olds 98 and it was clearly quieter and tighter feeling at that point. The GF was re-introduced to give C-P dealers a venue for fleet sales, almost every one I’ve seen (maybe 3 over the years?) was an ex-goverment or cop car.
But the R-body was a credible effort and it’s B-body foundation was sound. It had as much if not more interior room as our ’78 Electra and handled at least as well, certainly better than Ford’s Panther. It’s small faults were mostly easily correctable. I’d submit that had Lido hung on while the full-size market quickly improved and refined these last fulll-size Mopars as they deserved they may indeed have had a better ending than the most unfortunate start detailed above. The later pretender-to-the-throne Fifth Ave was a joke, merely a gussied up Volare. The Rs were a very decent effort, given the constraints, the last true luxury Mopar in the size they ought to be. It was a pity that Chrysler’s financial situation more or less doomed it from the start, but some of us know that it was better than many of the uninformed give it credit for. All of this is making me nostalgic for another!
One last addition: these cars were quite rust resistant, more so than GM or Ford at the time. Not sure why, but even today they tend to be found in very sound condition. They got that right from the start. Our ’80 Volare was also, but again, not sure why, maybe some lessons were learned from earlier Volare/Aspens?
Definitely the Rodney Dangerfield of cars. I remember seeing the picture you posted a few weeks ago – that’s a great-looking car. Glad to read your experiences with these!
The Lynch Road assembly plant is now the headquarters of The Parade Company, which hosts the Detroit Thanksgiving parade.
I was 8-9 years old when these came out in the late 70s, and I thought they were SWEET. If I could have jumped to age 16 and been given my choice of car I would’ve rather had one of these over a Trans Am, Mustang or Vette. I thought the front end was perfection. G’pa was buying a new Olds Ninety-Eight every couple years at the time and the one thing I thought those cars had over the New Yorkers was the fender skirts. Lending such a long/low look compared to say a Park Avenue. But I recall those skirts were a hassle when he would detail the cars. Sorry, tangent alert LOL
I went on to own a K-based FWD 3.3L New Yorker 5th Ave of early 90s vintage, charcoal gray with fabulous cushy velvet interior and yes, hidden headlights. It was over 10 years old at the time of my purchase and when I say FLAWLESS, it was the nicest used car I ever bought and that includes stuff like the ‘ONE’ year old RAV4 Hybrid XSE we bought when Covid/supply chain meant there were no new ones around.
First year sales leaves the impression that these cars maybe belonged at the upper end only, the New Yorker becoming Imperial and Newport becoming New Yorker, with no Dodge or Plymouth. The ’81 Imperial coupe would have then fallen right in line, or maybe become the new Cordoba.
This mod flings several ideas to see if anything sticks. I like the skirts but otherwise, would prefer the rear door uppers were Newport’s style. I wish Chrysler had NOT gone four-square in the late 70s. They could have had rounded all to themselves.
Looks similar to the 1980 Bonneville with the fender skirts.
That gives me mid 70s LTD/Marquis vibes.
I remember when Consumer Reports did their test on the 1979 St. Regis, the first one they bought was so unreliable that they had to buy a second one, and between the two were able to complete the test.
A creative way to double sales!
Great find and write-up.
One key issue that wasn’t covered is the R-Body’s size. With its 119″ wb and 221″ length, it was the same size as the 1979 Cadillac, so it was essentially a GM C Body in size and not inconsiderably bigger than a GM B-Body (116″ wb, 212-218″ long). And its styling clearly was designed to make it look BIG. This was one of the many decisions about the R Body that sunk it, in my opinion. The great majority of GM full size sales were B-Bodies, and Ford’s Panther was even smaller yet.
I’m not sure why Chrysler made that decision, but it was not a good one. These cars simply looked obsolete against the tighter, tauter GM cars (even the C Body), and had little or no chance in that stylistic regard, let alone all the other issues you have presented here.
Like GM’s B/C, the Panthers were sold in two sizes – the Lincoln Continental/Town Car/Town Coupe and Mark VI sedans used the longer wheelbase and length that was comparable to the GM C bodies, while the LTD, Marquis, and Mark VI coupes used the shorter wheelbase. Chrysler’s decision to make only a longer version of the R worked well for the New Yorker, but the Newport, St. Regis, and Gran Fury were larger than their B body and Ford/Mercury Panther competitors – maybe a bit too big.
To me (admittedly a Geezer) it looks pointed squarely at the Lincoln .
I like it apart from the cloth seats, I hate cloth seats even more than I did sticking to and being burned by those 1960’s Vinyl seats .
The small & Frenched backlight gives it limo pretensions .
I seem to have missed the asking price .
-Nate
The asking price on the For Sale sign was CAN$5,500.
Back in the day I recall seeing a few of these cars around in private hands, but to me they were police cars. The RCMP used Chrysler Newports and Plymouth Gran Furys with the 360 4 barrel as highway patrol cars. The detachment in our area held on to thiers for quite some time, so even today I associate these cars with speed limit enforcement. Even though it’s been 40 years.
I do seem to recall that the back seat of these was rather cramped compared to, say, the equivalent Impala….
One of my high school buddy’s parents had one of these in that two-tone tan. I’ve always loved the looks of them and wanted to find one. They are certainly difficult to find, even more so than the ill-fated Cadillac Cimarron that I own and love.
The executives thought that this was the car that was going to save Chrysler, but in hindsight, the car that was going to save Chrysler went on sale a year before the R-bodies did.
Not that the L-body cars were brilliant or incredibly profitable (despite selling 400,000 copies in the first 4 years) but what they *did* do was give the Chrysler Corporation practical understanding of how to build subcompact cars with transverse engines and FWD. If it wasn’t for that knowledge, the K-body cars would never have been as good as they were, and Chrysler wouldn’t have survived past the 1980s.
If Chrysler went with a ‘four window’ look and ditched the non opening opera windows on the rear doors, this car would not look so ungainly and so out of proportion.
Ah, the R-body, the downsized 1962 B-body’s last stand. If there’s a car that describes Chrysler’s up-and-down roller-coaster ride for those two decades, it’s the B-body.
Indeed, the best looking R-bodies were the plain, low-trim Plymouth Gran Fury or Chrysler Newport, both of which ditched any of the gimmicky headlight covers of the St. Regis or New Yorker.
Even then, you have to wonder whose idea it was to have frameless rear windows, combined with the fixed quarter windows. Those things seem like guillotines when the rear doors were opened with the windows rolled all the way down. You’d have thought they’d at least have eliminated the B-pillar and continued with the 4-door hardtop style for that.
The whole R-body was just another mash-up of oddball Chrysler styling cues throughout, including the weird stepped taillights to match the ersatz Lincoln-clone trunk lid. Nothing worked on that car, either styling, engineering, or build quality. If not for Iacocca’s magic, it’s quite possible the K-car might not have made it to production, and the R-body would have been the sad, final end to the company.
The Bustleback Seville had the same frameless glass with fixed quarter windows, fortunately without the horrible landau roof, at least from the factory. I believe it was GM’s last frameless glass 4 door.
Wow, what a fascinating little tidbit about a styling feature the 2nd generation Seville had in common with the R-body.
It never ceases to amaze me the small pieces of automotive esoterica CC uncovers.
These cars were even more of a disappointment to law enforcement agencies. In fact, the R-Body’s poor performance did much to inspire the creation of the ‘Police’ 5.0L Mustang LX. The California Highway Patrol purchased the St. Regis in 1980, unfortunately by which time was equipped with a 318 4bbl. in police trim (the ’79 models were still available with the ‘E-58’ 360 engine). The 318 St. Regis was sadly lacking in both acceleration and top speed, so much so that the C.H.P. sought to remove the cars from their fleet as soon as possible. Most of the cars were offered to other law enforcement agencies in Califorina for urban patrol work, where they were better suited. The 5.0L Mustang LX was a great interim solution for pursuit work until better performing police sedans were available like the 9C1 350 Caprice and 351 Crown Vic’s. The 318 4bbl. was vindicated a few years later, with a better tune (and eventually a Rochester Quadrajet carb.) and installed in the lighter Dodge Diplomat. The C.H.P. was once again a Mopar customer.
The climate control panel down at the bottom of the angled-away dashboard seems a long reach for the driver (and passenger) Strange ergonomic choice.
These R-Bodies were the worst cars Chrysler ever made; they were plagued with problems of which the Lean Burn computerized ignition by far was the worst.
The way to fix the Lean Burn on these R- Bodies was to ditch the computer, which was attached to the air breather and change it over to electronic ignition from a ’72 up to “76 model Mopar. The problem with that was most of the “doner” cars found in the junk yards already had their ignition systems robbed; there were no conversion kits marketed as yet.
So, you went to Plan B … old school points and condenser. This required a “new” distributor and the installation of a vacuum advance. If you wanted to ditch the Carter Thermoquad 4bbl, a Rochester Quadrajet would interchange. We switched hers over to a Carter 2bbl BBD and the appropriate intake manifold.
My mom’s ’79 St. Regis had its Lean Burn conk just after the 90 day warranty expired (she bought it used from a Ford Dealer). Of course, it went into what was called “limp mode” meaning it would start, but as the name suggests, it would “limp” you home … the other scenario was it wouldn’t start at all.
Long story short … my dad and I spent a weekend implementing “Plan B” on her car. It ran like a top for another ten years. My dad said it was good that he held on to his timing light.
With that being said, it rattled as the windows never fit up to the weather stripping. When the driver’s window crank (no power windows) stopped cranking the window up and down, she parked it at the barn and the folks bought a Dodge Mini Van from Avis in 1991. That was roughly 30 years ago.
Here it is today … I took this picture about two years ago … it looks bad, but remarkably it’s in pretty good shape. My plan is to refurbish it … and I’ll keep the modified ignition … that part is already done. And, I have my dad’s timing light … he always set the time 2 degrees “high.”
I know one thing … there wouldn’t be another one like it in our little town.
I hope you’re able to get it refurbished! I’ve read that the weather stripping was one of the consistent problems with these cars. The early ones were made with weather stripping that didn’t fit – it’s unclear to me whether the problem was resolved with later models or not.
Well, there definitely won’t be another like it!
Thanks for this well-researched article. I think this car should have compared well with the Olds 98 and Buick Electra/Park Avenue, which were really dominant as the choice of upper middle class families in the late 1970s and powertrain issues aside, got off to a flying start in 1977. Even if the quality control issues had not bedeviled Chrysler, timing would still have worked against the R-bodies, as Audis, Volvos, Saabs, and Peugeots were rapidly gaining popularity during this time as well, which helped to redefine notions of luxury away from the ersatz wood, chrome, and casket-like appointments of this New Yorker.
Btw, I am also envious of your visit to Canada. Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as Nova Scotia, remain on my short list of places to visit, preferably in July or August.
Thanks!
And Newfoundland and Labrador is a terrific place to visit. We were there in June/July, which was a good time of year since there’s still icebergs to see (which was neat). Below is a picture I took of some non-automotive scenery in Newfoundland – there’s some remarkable places to go there.
My brother and his wife inherited an R-body Newport from her father, a retired Chrysler worker. They had it a while, and when they got rid of it it had over 100,000 miles, as I recall. It looked good and was comfortably trimmed and capacious, and rode pleasantly and quietly. They told me, though, that it was a money pit mechanically.
I routinely see an R-body Gran Fury being driven during the warmer weather months in my city in New Brunswick. Looks to be in pretty decent shape too. One day if I even happen to be in the same place as it is, I’m gonna try and talk to the owner.
Wow – a Gran Fury of this vintage would definitely make me stop. If you ever catch up with its owner, please let us know the story!
The styling just never seemed right on this era of Chrysler. I will never understand who bought them in this era, and I am a lover of large cars like this. They had to put a lot of cash on the hood.
A fascinating article. I can see myself coming back to this.
What a peculiar car to be launching at that time. A big car, and seemingly designed to look bigger than before. Retaining so many of the old seventies Brougham-look cues, but with the visual ‘puffiness’ taken out. The basic body shape isn’t bad, just rather bland if you were to remove all the gingerbread. An old man’s car, designed for old management?
Seemingly a step in the opposite directing from what GM did with their ’77s, and yet Chrysler management thought this was what America wanted.
Strange.
The R-Bodies had a high profile, as early to mid ’80’s police cars on TV, and in movies. Besides, in real life. Popular movie ‘To Live and Die in L.A.’, featured them, for example. For me, as a young teenager, it lent them masculinity, and an image boost. I was young, and thought of them more as cool law enforcement cars, than old man luxury cars.
Thanks! Chrysler did have some mighty poor timing with this car (and with its predecessor).
As others have noted, the Dodge version (St. Regis) was less puffy design, though it was also less exciting overall.
Excellent find, research, and sound observations, Eric. Outstanding work all around!
When I was a young teenager, there was a near identical New Yorker Fifth Avenue in my parent’s neighbourhood. So the example you located, brings back many memories. The most notable difference, was the New Yorker I regularly spotted in 1979-1980, had the wide whitewall tires Chrysler offered. I still have vivid memories of that car.
An Ontario man restored a former OPP Gran Fury equipped with the 360, and four-barrel carb. CBC ran a story on its sale a couple years ago. I recall, it sold for $17,000 Canadian. I’d say the William Shatner series, ‘T.J. Hooker’, best popularized the R-bodies as police cars. No question, they made for iconic ’80’s cop cars.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/classic-hollywood-cop-car-for-sale-by-ontario-man-who-spent-20-years-restoring-it-1.6900743
It’s funny because I can’t remember any R-body police cars from when I was growing up, but they seemed to be all over the movies.
I like this guy’s example – one of the things that strikes me about it is the skinny steering wheel. For some reason I just envision a cop car having beefier controls.
This was a terrific Monday read. I’m glad to read in the comments how I’m not the only one who likes the styling. It may have looked big, even for a downsized model, but wasn’t that sort of the point? Better to be a more sensibly-sized large car that looks more substantial than a little car pretending to play dress-up.
It always excited me to see one of these out and about when I was a kid. I still remember seeing one in a Meijer parking lot and wishing my grandparents had *that* Chrysler instead of their 1980 or so LeBaron – a nice car, but dinky-looking by comparison to the R-body New Yorker.
Thank you! These also excited me when I was a kid. I was only 7 when this New Yorker was made, but even then I realized they were pretty rare. And I associate them mostly with the cream color.
An excellent exposition on a car I knew little about beyond being somewhat aware of it. And a most unexpected find in a location and condition not being what one might have expected, I certainly would have stopped as well. Good job!
The best finds are those in unexpected locations. Certainly not something I expected to see!
Incidentally, this did produce a bit of good-natured family drama. I saw this car when we were driving to catch the ferry to leave the island. We were (as always) cutting it close on time, and then I see this New Yorker. No way could I pass it by. Stopping prompted my wife to send the text below to her brother. He stood up for my interests. And we made the ferry after all.
Bob Meyer of WTVJ in Miami test-drove one and praised it with faint damns (to borrow a line from The Insolent Chariots);
Thanks for sharing this video – I’d read about that Miami review, and their long list of problems with their test car, but I hadn’t actually seen it. It would have been tough to justify buying one after watching that!
So depressing. $12,625 in ’79 is almost $55,000 in 2024, and those problems in this test car were not insignificant. Such a beautiful car. I suspect that it was engineered well (in theory) and poorly built.
Great write-up Eric. I really enjoyed this read.
I always felt that these Chrysler versions were the best looking of the lot, especially in a dark color like the featured car.
What I recall most about the R bodies though was the fact that the MSP used the Dodge St. Regis version when they were going through their yellow period. I was a fairly new driver (a few years under my belt) when the Maryland State Police adopted these as their cruisers. While I never really liked the yellow livery, it somehow suited these cars.
Maryland then went with the boxy, then whale Caprices for a while and a strange tanish-gold with green stripe livery before returning to the classic look of black and military olive that is on the cars today.
I often wondered what the St. Regis would’ve looked like in the current livery, but these cruisers seemed to disappear as fast as they appeared for whatever reason.
My uncle was successful in business. He always drove Imperials. In 1979 he bought a loaded New Yorker. After owning it for about 6 months I saw it for the first time as we didn’t live close and he stopped by on a trip from Nova Scotia to Florida. I was very complimentary about his purchase but I’ll never forget his reply. That is a $13,000 steaming pile of shit! You all need to know that my uncle was not one to talk about money spent and he didn’t swear. Usually!?!
I assume that was your uncle’s last Chrysler…
I hope he didn’t give Chrysler another try for the turbo New Yorker…
It was his last car. With a history of heart trouble, this car was the last thing that he needed. RIP Uncle George. He was a fine man.
Thanks, Eric … I tried to put this reply under your reply but I couldn’t get it to take … anyway, fixing up my mom’s car is on my “to do” list!
By the way, I enjoyed your article. I have since covered my mom’s Dodge with a tarp, so it’s out of the weather. It was in the barn but we had moved it outside a few weeks before I made this picture. It has the 318 and was equipped with the Lean Burn System. It’s only got around 130,000 on the odometer.
And my dad and I did “modify” the ignition back in 1984 … so it’s been a few years! When he learned the Thermoquad carburetor was part plastic, he couldn’t believe it.! We were lucky and found a ’71 Dodge Monaco with all the parts we needed.
Your article has certainly jogged my memory … my mom bought her St. Regis in ’83. The “run circuit” on the Lean Burn System’s circuit board burned out about a week after the warranty expired, and you couldn’t find a replacement and no mechanic would work on them anyway because they were a “throw away part;” the “fix” was either electronic ignition or points.
That neat Chrysler you found in Newfoundland probably has the 360; if someone wanted a unique car, that would be the one to get … and it looks like a fair price; it appears to be in great shape. I always liked those wire wheel covers. Today, there are conversion kits available which are less trouble to install and maintain than points.
Those Lean Burn computers would conk usualy after 25,000 miles … give or take a few thousand … they were in the worst place they could be … on the air cleaner. But, they were the first attempt at computerized ignition.
I thought the stripped-down Plymouth versions of these looked great — especially the rear view. Simple straightforward tail lights, very no-nonsense. Clearly a car that mean business. Of course the cop car wheels and tires on this one help, too.
Although I have to say to this day even looking at photos like this strikes a little bit of fear in my heart — these were the police car of choice in my town in the very early ’80s, just after I got my driver’s license.
Of course the photo didn’t post. I followed all the rules, but they never do.
If using a lap top left click on your picture. On list of options click resize image. reduce width to 1200 pixels and save picture to where you can find it, I save to desktop, then follow normal procedure to post, should work.
I would be the last person who should ever offer computer advice, but the above works for me. hope it helps.
I agree about the stripped down versions, they make a perfect looking cop car especially with the classic Mopar hubcaps with the punched out ventilation holes.
I could see actor Lyle Waggoner driving one of these, circa 1979. lol
If you see this Eric, you might find this very recent CBC News story from Winnipeg, both bizarre, and interesting.
During a protest in downtown Winnipeg, an R-Body Chrysler New Yorker, attempted to drive through the crowd. The windshield was smashed, as the car later tried to leave the scene.
Absolutely, unusual to see a vintage New Yorker in a modern situation like this. Almost, like a scene from the late ’80’s series, ‘Sledgehammer’.
Wow – that’s extremely strange. Both the overall situation, and the fact that an R-body was involved. That’s probably the first R-body to make the news in about four decades.
Unfortunate, to a see a rare, collectible car, caught up in the middle of a bad situation. This particular New Yorker, may attract some local infamy, from this event. As some local citizens will remember this car, just because of the unique bizarrity, of it being involved. Hard to say, if this would hurt or help, its local resale value.
The owner might be wise, attempting to sell it elsewhere. As local citizenry, would remember it, from involvement in this event. Possibly vandalizing it, if parked around town. It does look like a huge old beast, in modern traffic.
Of course, vast majority of R-Bodies ever seen in the news, would have been representing law enforcement.
Thanks Daniel, I just stopped by to post the same thing – this was carried on CBC Toronto and the first thing I noticed was it was an ultra-rare New Yorker. Sheer idiocy on the part of the driver, but it was sad to see them kick in the windshield in response.