Alternate History C-bodies

[Carmine]

To amuse myself I decided to create a "what if" C-body during my lunch hour. I have fairly limited internet (no FCBO!) and the world's crappiest photo editor, MS Paint. Sometimes I look at '73 NY'er tail lamps and think they had to be an evolution of the '71 300 theme. That gets me wondering "when" they canned the 300... Probably well after initial '72 sketches were done.

For example, I've seen what most people would call a '74 Monaco badged as a Polara. The "Royal Monaco" was supposed to just be a Monaco, with Polara in its usual lower-price role. Anyway, here goes:

Feel free to post your thoughts.

 

[Wildaugust]

I like what you did with the grille for the '72 300. These styling cues could have worked, if they would have built a 300 in '72. I think they started planning the demise of the 300 well before '71, which is why the Newport and 300 shared a front bumper and some other pieces in '71.

 

[polara71]

Always interesting posts Carmine

 

[Carmine]

So what Chrysler really should have done, 'round about 1966, should have been to recognize the emerging "personal luxury car" market, which had really been going since Ford kicked it off in 1958 with the 4-seater T-bird. Recognizing this, GM replied with the Rivera in 1963.

Meanwhile, Chrysler's planners were busy diluting the Chrysler 300 by adding 4dr versions... Which either stole Newport or New Yorker sales, depending how you looked at it. While we all know there was a 426 Hemi letter series planned for '66 (300M) this plan, which might have revived the 300 franchise, was scuttled at the last minute.

But the writing was on the wall for full-size performance cars. The smart move would have been to create a PLC that observed some key rules...

• Upscale and Unique body. That's the whole reason for purchasing such a car... There shouldn't be a version available with blackwall tires or 4drs. When Chrysler Coporation finally caught on, they tried to use the Monaco 500. Didn't work.
  
• Premium Branding. Granted this wasn't the case with the (Ford) T-bird, but it was practically a brand by itself. Using an upscale brand means you get to charge an upscale price for sheetmetal and labor that costs the same price as a cheap car.
  
• Sized between mid-size and full size.
• Image. The 300 still had it in 1966.

As it really played out, Chrysler didn't get in the game until 1975 with the Cordoba. They made a ton of cash. In fact, this is really the car that saved Chrysler after the heavy losses in '73. Unfortunately the PLC market ran out of gas around 1980. Imagine if they'd really been smart and gave a version to the Imperial line around '68? In the early 70s, the Eldorado and Mark III/IV/V made money for GM/Ford like Escalades and Navigators circa 2005.

So here's my attempt to put some money in the imaginary bank. This is the best I could do with some Paint magic. I don't think the final product looks great, (It's pretty tough to compete with some of Bill Mitchell's best work) but it's at least as good as the '66 T-bird, and mine comes with a single 4bbl Hemi tuned for more torque (and the better driveablity it would yield).

I stretched a Coronet slightly, pulled the fast top roofline ahead. Hidden lights from the Charger, but slightly canted forward. Obviously, the Coronet, Charger and Fast Top cars would have had to find their own looks. The real money would have been made in Gen II when these cars really got going.