For today, just a couple of vintage images. A trio of Chrysler products from their peak boxy era, out on some kind of trip. I, for one, have developed a certain liking for this period of sober rectilinearity from the Pentastar. They’re stately and unique-looking vehicles. And if properly sorted (and assembled), quite good rides in power and handling as per most testimony.
But seeing three on the road at once? Kind of menacing looking actually. What’s up with this gang? Was this a Chrysler of North America club? Or some government suits traveling together and not worrying about being conspicuous?
(By the way, those with sharp eyes should be able to see that the light blue Chrysler carries Manitoba plates.)
The cars are all Newports, and 4-door hardtops. Chrysler’s entry-level models for that period, just below the Newport Custom.
What could be under the hood of the three in our vintage image? A 383cid V-8 came as standard on these, in 2-barrel form with a 3-speed manual. Other options included 4-barrel carburetion, a 440cid TNT package, and Torqueflite. Plus many other goodies that can be seen on the period brochure.
Maybe today’s posse enjoys a mix of those many options?
Photo number two doesn’t seem to support my theory of this Newport-threesome being some undercover special ops. That guy just looks too relaxed for being on the “job”.
Whatever the case, this group must have truly enjoyed their Pentastar products.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Classic: 1967 Chrysler Newport Custom – Upscale, Downscale
Always a Chrysler fan. True Fantasy for me was 61 Imperial LEBARON with FINS soaring high. ALSO In 61 Chrysler introduced the Newport at $2964 as a value leader and filling the gap for the IMO unfortunately axed DeSoto. Moving years forward, in 82? Chrysler pulled the rabbit out of the hat with the RWD Fifth Avenues. When you think of Stately style and elegance, These were the creme de la creme. My 83 and 85 Fifth Avenues were great cars. Formal roof design made them look like a limo. Spacious, comfortable, reliable and OTT luxury, comparable to Lincolns and Cadillacs I have owned. Sad to see what now wears the Chrysler Corp name 😕
The ’82-onward rwd Fifth Avenues were gussied up Volares, strictly stop-gap pretenders to the throne. WAY too small to be a luxury car… size matters!
I drove one, nope nope nope.
IMO the R-body Fifth Ave was the last full-sized (more or less, though basically it was a modified B-body) quasi-luxury car from Chrysler. it still had the gravitas. Here’s mine, the end of true Mopar luxury:
Love these Newports and the era of these Chryslers. Beautiful lines as well as comfort. A friend owned a ’68 New Yorker. What a car! Smooth ride, plenty of power.
What a crazy sight. Was the 1967 Newport 4-door hardtop the most popular model for that year? If not for the modern license plate, it looks like the photo could have been from the late sixties, especially with what look to be period-correct bias-ply, whitewall tires. Maybe a Chrysler dealership moving some new cars.
And check out what could be a 1967 Corvair convertible photo-bombing.
Yeah, when you check the first photo with the old school telephone poles (or telegraph poles), you could swear it was like from the late 1960s. The old school telephone poles dissapeared here in Quebec in the late 1970s-early 1980s.
Always had mixed feelings about these concave sided Chryslers. Note how power steering is optional, even with the heavy 383 RB engine standard.
I believe those are rental cars.
The lead car has a Manitoba “U-Drive” license plate – I think those were issued to rental cars until the 1980s, and those plates stand out because they’re red-and-white and have a prefix of “U” (regular Manitoba plates were yellow in those years).
My friend Lea, an auto service manager in Canada, spent over 10 years completely restoring his ’67 Newport 4dr hardtop, from a rather tatty car, to near perfection down to every last detail. It may well be the nicest one in the world. Here he is with it 2 yrs ago.
Think that one is a ’68. Very similar to 1967 (mostly identical sheetmetal) but note the side-marker lights and different taillights from the cars in the feature images.
Right on, it is a ’68… brain fart or Olde Age? Take your pick lol
Ooo, turbine bronze poly. A great color.
I remember that color! Looks good, waay good!
The owner isn’t exactly a fashion plate, but what he lacks in clothes’ taste, he more than makes up with that beautiful Newport. That car really checks all the right boxes as an affordable, entry-level luxury car in 1968. I might go so far to suggest a well-optioned ’65-’68 Newport 4-door hardtop for a strong candidate as the last, great, full-size Chrysler.
Good on you, so very nice.
Lea’s Newport is one of the most attractive 4 doors I have ever seen. And that color!!
The 66-68 Newports and New Yorkers are my favorite full size Chryslers. Among those years my favorites break down to the different tail light treatment. Such as Newport 67, 66, 68. New Yorker 68, 67, 66.
Great authentic pics of wonderful looking mid-century cars, styled to match the era as well as any. Too bad it all went bloated in 1969.
I do love the options list showing you can get “Auto-Pilot”. That brought a smile. I wonder how many consumers were completely confused by the term and let their cars drive into trees. I’m guessing none…the days when people tended to take responsibility for actions before calling a lawyer to drum up a class action suit.
If they are not rental cars, it could be a group of testers for the manufacturer or press cars for the auto magazines? Typically, they would have manufacturers tags if they were as such. However, I do not know the licensing laws for Canada or its provinces for factory-owned cars.
Regardless, it’s quite a sight to see! 🙂
Three Canadian hitmen ready to fan out on assignment for the mob.
Yeah, the victim is just passing by in that Corvair convertible. Being good Canadian hitmen they will possibly just give him a Tim Horton’s gift card.
The “Corvair” passing through the second, group pic got my attention.
What a fine sight! As the owner of a hard used ’65 Newport in the early 1970’s, I’ve always appreciated the ’65 to ’68. Chryslers. If I was permitted to be choosy, I’d take a ’66 300, but any would do.
My ’65 also had the base 383, two-barrel regular grade gas engine. Not a rocket, but it would routinely return 17+ mpg highway with a piggy back CDI ignition box. The ’59 DeSoto Firedome that I owned previously also had a 383, two-barrel engine. That had higher compression and a premium fuel requirement. Fuel mileage was much lower than the ’65. 305 hp gross vs. 270 hp gross. Both two-barrels, same engine. I believe the DeSoto had a bit more aggressive camshaft and a shorter final drive ratio.
Wow, a trifecta of 4 door hardtops! Most 4-door Newports I ever saw were sedans, so seeing all these hardtops together is a treat. I would have a hard time choosing between those colors, too.
Wherever they are, it’s nowhere near Manitoba. Looks like Laurentians or Adirondacks or similar. Also, at first glance, I thought the long antennas were some type of VHF low band disguise antenna, signifying an official agency of some type. A closer look leads me to believe that they are just the standard antennas pulled all the way up, implying the area has bad radio reception. There’s no way in hell that any Canadian law enforcement agency
would have sprung for Chryslers anyway.
Agreed. I live in Manitoba, the heart of the Canadian Prairies, and the closest mountains to here are a full two provinces away, in Alberta. My guess is this is British Columbia, maybe the Okanagan region, just from the look of those mountains. And I do also recall the Manitoba “U-Drive” plates growing up, so those are definitely rental cars.
Once knew of a mother and daughter who together owned a 65 Newport sedan. It was a bare bones car: blackwell tires, dog dish hubcap and 3 speed stick shift. Stick was a factory floor shift! Had to be one of very few made that way.
One of my uncles lived in Wichita, KS. Being a surgeon, he seemed to believe he and his wife should ‘keep up appearances’ so he bought a new car every two years. His choice was always an Imperial. Usually black and optioned.
In 1967, Manitoba issued a special series of license plates to commemorate Canada’s Centennial. These plates began with the letter “U,” which was designated for this special occasion. The use of the “U” series was part of the province’s effort to mark the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, making these plates distinctive and significant for that year.
Always liked the “67-“68 style Chryslers….But my grandfather preferred Imperials and had a “67 LeBaron.The M-body 5th Aves mentioned above were the last of the good old traditional torsion bar Chryslers with their link to the “60s….The R-bodies were cool too but looked out of proportion with their weird back door quarter windows….The M-body 5th Aves really had the limousine look nailed down in a nicely sized package….And being lighter,the 318 could be tuned to run better than the big heavy R-body.Plus the M-body didn’t have aluminum bumpers that would turn to dust and rubber body panels that crack and deteriorate after a few years.Those “67 Chryslers above could be a road test type magazine review going on.
2 of my 4 R-bodies had a 360 and had loads of power. The 318s went quite well once the lockup was disconnected. The Newport, St Regis, and Gran Fury versions all had no back quarter window, just standard back door glass. The M-body had side-to-side torsion bars, not the traditional longitudinal ones that dated back to the early’60s.
Those ’67s are sharp looking cars. I had a blue sedan once. Pretty tight body, but I think the hardtops look so much better. My only beef on the ’67 model was they replaced the classic look of the ’65-66 instrument cluster with a supposedly more modern looking horizontal arrangement.