Walter Chrysler
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From: Belle Meade
Re: Walter Chrysler
Back in the late 80's I became fascinated with the late 50's/early 60's chryslers. I read everything. Maybe some here know firsthand but in the fall of '56 when the Chryslers for '57 came out, the entire world went gaga over their lowslung and futuristic design and the other big 3 manufacturers stood there big and bloated with their pants down.... They scrambled all the next year to revamp their entire lines to catch up... IMO, there has been no automotive exterior design revolution as big as that year, since. That modernity exists even today.
Chrysler's interior stylists had to figure a way to lower the seats and raise the headroom in these low bodies 'cause Chrysler did not want any gentleman to have to take off his hat when he got in the car- throughout the 60's.
(wouldn't be prudent to leave out the minor detail that they were totally prone to be rust buckets..and other quality issues)
but cool indeed.
maxwell there may have even been a mcnamara connection to chrysler, though I know he was at Ford. If you had been posting in the height of the vietnam war, you would have been all over that....
Chrysler's interior stylists had to figure a way to lower the seats and raise the headroom in these low bodies 'cause Chrysler did not want any gentleman to have to take off his hat when he got in the car- throughout the 60's.
(wouldn't be prudent to leave out the minor detail that they were totally prone to be rust buckets..and other quality issues)
but cool indeed.
maxwell there may have even been a mcnamara connection to chrysler, though I know he was at Ford. If you had been posting in the height of the vietnam war, you would have been all over that....
Last edited by V-12; Nov 4, 2007 at 11:17 AM.
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From: Akron, Ohio
Re: Walter Chrysler
My father sold Desoto's from 1950 to 1/2 way thru the 57 model year. Then he switched to Dodge. I remember very well the excitement generated by the change over from the stogy 56 models to the 57's "Forward Look".
Even though Ford's were drastically different from their previous years styling, Chryslers seemed much more futuristic. Yet, if you ask most people what the most significant car for 1957 was, more often than not you'll here Chevy. (Which was essentially a 56 with fins).
As V-12 pointed out, Chrysler was plagued with quality control problems during the late 50's, but was at it's peek in 57. Rust showed up sooner than expected, torsion bars broke with great regularity, and if it even looked like it was going to rain, some cars wouldn't start. To this day, I can name 6 different people that I knew, who would never buy another Chrysler product after owning a brand new 57 Plymouth.
Even though Ford's were drastically different from their previous years styling, Chryslers seemed much more futuristic. Yet, if you ask most people what the most significant car for 1957 was, more often than not you'll here Chevy. (Which was essentially a 56 with fins).
As V-12 pointed out, Chrysler was plagued with quality control problems during the late 50's, but was at it's peek in 57. Rust showed up sooner than expected, torsion bars broke with great regularity, and if it even looked like it was going to rain, some cars wouldn't start. To this day, I can name 6 different people that I knew, who would never buy another Chrysler product after owning a brand new 57 Plymouth.
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