1973 Ford Mustang

Mustang had morphed from a trim, lithe pony car into a beefy muscle machine for the 1971 selling season. The resulting look made the adrenaline of any red-blooded Canadian surge to dizzying heights. Sales climbed from 5,140 units delivered throughout Canada in 1970 to nearly double that figure as deals were inked for 9,604 fast Fords in the 1971 calendar year.  Things got even more exciting as 10,292 units were sold in 1972. 

 Captured in chrome, the Mustang expressed the freedom owning a Ford muscle car was intended to bring.

With a new body style unveiled only two years ago, there was little to do but sell these hot babies and reap the rewards. Models stood pat for 1973. Just like last year, the consumer could chose among five sweet ‘Stangs. The Hardtop, SportsRoof, Convertible, Grande and the Mach 1 were each individual Mustangs in their own right. No two were meant to be alike. “You’ll see how easy it is to design more luxury, convenience, performance and styling into your Mustang to make it an even greater driving experience. Mustang 1973: still designed to be designed by you.” This season the sales slogan billed Mustang as “The Beautiful Experience." Advertising waxed eloquent for the quintet of Mustangs.  

The ragtop promised “road romance” and bragged that it was the only convertible produced by the Ford Division. This Mustang came with a unique interior that boasted its own deluxe knitted vinyl upholstery, moulded door panels and wood-like inserts splashed throughout the cabin—all designed for “class and flash.”

The 1973 Ford Mustang convertible weighed in at 3,202 pounds and listed for $3,686 f.o.b. Oakville.

The Mustang Sportsroof boasted a “whistling crisp profile.”  The fastback, with its vast expanse of rear glass, resembled its kin with a honeycomb grille and those nifty colour-keyed bumpers made of urethane. All of this sleekness was folded into a package that promised to deliver “control, balance and style.” 

The Mustang hardtop was “popular, practical, roomy and rugged with sport action to spare.”  Here was the Mustang for the purist; the Mustang that offered “the original beautiful driving experience.”  The hardtop promised it had captured the classic styling touches and classic Mustang features “all over again.”  

One could get behind the wheel of a 1973 Ford Mustang for as little as $3,135.

The Mach 1 was “smoothly rambunctious with marvelous road and ride manners.”  The fast Ford boasted special black tape and paint treatment. “The standard NASA-styled hood scoops and colour-keyed dual racing mirrors add sports car flavour for people who love sporty cars.” It came with a Sports Interior option that included a woodtone centre Instrumentation Group made up of a tachometer, a trip odometer, oil pressure, water temperature and an ammeter housed in a special triple pod.

The 1973 Ford Mustang Mach 1 came with the 302 V-8 as standard equipment. It cost $3,250, making it the most expensive Mustang in Ford’s stable.

Finally, there was the elegant Grande. This refined offering was  “a matter of grace, touch and taste.” It promised to be “an exceptional escape from the ordinary: by combining “quiet luxury with a beautiful driving experience.”  The upscale Lambeth cloth upholstery made the Grande “a carefully dressed sophisticate.” 

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Standard power under the hood was the same as last year. The modest 250-cubic inch, 1-barrel carb mill moved the Mustang. Once again, the Mach 1 was the lone exception to that rule; the Mighty Mach I started life with the 302 V-8 at no extra cost. The 302 was optional in lesser ‘Stangs and there was a 351 option with 2- or 4-barrel carb setup were also available. In accordance with Ministry of Transport rules, all engines now operated on regular octane gasoline. 

The horse could be dressed in any of 26 colours this year. For an even brighter sheen and more glamour than Pamela anderson, Ivy Glow Metallic, Metallic Blue Glow and Metallic Gold Glow were the hottest of colours, all three were available at extra cost and emphasized by sales personnel as being the way to go. 

Racy and sleek, the instrument panel of the 1973 Ford Mustang was an empowering experience for the driver.

There were nearly as many optional accessories for Mustang as there are potholes on the Number One Highway in March. For extra money one could have a centre console, SelectShift Cruise-O-Matic Transmission or a four-speed manual transmission with a Hurst Shifter. The centre console contained an integral electric clock. There was a Convenience Group that included a headlamp reminder buzzer, glove box lock, an automatic seat back release, courtesy lights and a parking brake reminder light. There were lights for the trunk, glove box and under the hood as well as a map light. One could order the SelectAire Conditioner, power steering and the five-way adjustable Tilt Steering Wheel. AM Radio, AM/FM Stereo with or without the StereoSonic Tape System. power front disc brakes, power windows, vinyl tops, rear window defroster, body striping, several décor groups, numerous tire and wheel cover options including Magnum 500 chrome wheels. 

Oakville’s muscle car was alive and well. When the figures were tallied up at year’s end, the Mustang broke records as it racked up 11,175 sales across the country. If the boys in marketing had contacted a psychic they would have been ecstatic to know that sales for Mustang would increase by nearly a third in 1974 but that is a story for another day.

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 Copyright James C. Mays 2007. All right reserved.

 

1955 Chrysler

Few automobile companies have ever fielded products that were as dramatically different as the entire 1955 Chrysler Corporation’s line. From the lowliest Plymouth to the most majestic Chrysler Custom Imperial, these cars were downright breathtaking. No longer could the Chrysler’s vehicles be thought of as conservative or dowdy in styling. Touted as “The Forward Look” in the States, the term was downplayed considerably here at home. Regardless of the jingles and names, Canadians flocked to dealerships to see all of the glittering jewels in the Chrysler crown on November 22nd, 1955. There were three Chrysler beauties to ogle: the Windsor, the New Yorker and the Custom Imperial.



The 1955 Chrysler New Yorker and Windsor shared massive foot-long “twin-tower” taillights that could be seen for a country kilometre.

After a 40-day layoff at the end of the 1954 model year run that included ten days of holiday time and plant setup, production of the 1955s got under way in Windsor, Ontario on October 11, 1954. A total of 5,175 Chryslers were built during the model year run that ended on August 10. All but the convertibles and station wagons were built in Canada. Prices ranged from $2,150.50 to $2,582.00.



 The low bucks Chrysler Windsor series boasted this tasteful convertible in 1955. It weighed in at a hefty 3,915 pounds and listed for $3,672. Like an ugly windchill factored into the temperature, taxes, dealer preparation charges and delivery were all tacked onto the base price.



The Chrysler Custom Imperial was not listed as a separate make in Canada as it was in the US. The ultra posh luxury liner was portrayed in the Canadian Chrysler line folder right after the Windsors and New Yorkers. Built in the Jefferson Avenue plant in Detroit, the imported flagship cost a cool $5,123 for the four-door sedan and $5,495 for the Newport two-door hardtop coupe.

The distinctively elegant face of the 1955 Chrysler Custom Imperial impressed all.

The most distinguished Chrysler of all was readily identifiable from its lesser kin. It boasted a large eggcrate grille, parking lights and turn signals wrapped in chrome and partially tunneled into the front bumper. Then there were the love ‘em or hate ‘em gunsight taillights mounted high atop the rear fenders. Chrysler bragged that they were “unique and daringly different.” Fred Hudson, the rookie stylist who dreamt them up, told this author in an interview that he still hates them to this day.

The 1955 Chrysler Imperial Newport hardtop coupe cost $5,495 and weighed in at 4,490 pounds.



Promising that it was “as carefully crafted as a fine watch, as beautifully designed as an expensive gown, the Imperial is a car apart.” The mood of its interiors is one of “richness, comfort and relaxation. The leather, the highly textured fabrics and discrete chrome trim certainly gave it a well-deserved air of refinement. Imperial’s classic proportions and exquisite appointments promised to “proclaim your discriminating taste.”

 In all its glory, the 1955 version of Chrysler’s famed hemi was likened to the custom-built engines in the world’s fastest racing cars.

Standard for the Chrysler Custom Imperial was the 331-cubic inch, 250-horsepower FirePower V-8 engine with its hemispherical combustion chamber. The mill was mated to the two-speed PowerFlite automatic transmission. Power brakes and power steering were included in the base price. Extra cost equipment included the heater, Airtemp air conditioning, electric window lifts, four-way power seats, a signal-seeking radio and white sidewall tires.

 The 1955 Chrysler New Yorker Deluxe Estate Wagon tipped the scales at 4,430 pounds and listed for $4,709.94 for the two-seat version.



Downstream from the Imperial was moored a quartet of Chrysler New Yorker DeLuxe models, comprised of a distinguished and superbly streamlined four-door sedan, a hardtop coupe, an estate wagon and a convertible. The New Yorkers shared the same engine and transmission as the Custom Imperial.



The face of the 1955 Chrysler New Yorker. The Newport hardtop coupe sold for $3,772.



New Yorkers differed from Imperial by featuring a smaller, split eggcrate grille underscored with a massive chrome bar that held turn signals and parking lights in chrome end pods. New Yorkers carried one-foot tall “twin-tower” taillights that rose upward from the fenders’ crests. The fin-like assemblies were meant to “emphasize the feeling of motion in the car’s design.”



The New Yorker’s interior could be upholstered in a choice of sturdy woolens, patterned nylons or new milled broadcloths, each accented with pliant leathers or vinyls. No matter what fresh and vibrant combination was selected, they all promised to deliver “a symphony of colour, texture and sparkle.”

To accompany the tasteful new wraparound windshield that gave the driver a commanding view of the road and opened broader vistas for safer driving, stylists added a deeply- recessed, leather crowned instrument panel that curved around into the door panels.



 Close-up of the 1955 Chrysler instrument panel. Note the gearshift lever’s unusual position.

For folks ready to move up from DeSoto to join the Chrysler family, there was the modestly appointed Windsor DeLuxe. In this entry-priced series one found a four-door sedan, the convertible, the Newport two-door hardtop and the estate wagon. Windsor owners were promised a truly big car, broad and solid, strikingly graceful—all designed to make travelling an adventure. 



The face of the 1955 Chrysler Windsor. The least expensive Chrysler was the four-door sedan, listing for $2,907.50.



Windsor shared a grille with the New Yorker but the heavy chrome bar beneath the grille was deleted in favour of a simple chrome lip. Round parking lights and turn signals were housed in the fender, directly blow the headlights. Its interior was appointed with “miracle” fabrics. Beneath the hood was the 301-cubic inch Spitfire engine.



 Interiors of the modestly appointed 1955 Chrysler Windsors were finished in “miracle” fabrics.



Extra cost items for the Windsor included heavy duty springs and shock absorbers,, electric window lifts, Full-Time Coaxial Power Steering, power brakes, Solex glass, the four-way electric seat adjuster, an exterior moulding package, the cowl vent heater, a cigar lighter for the rear compartment of the four-door sedan, four- or six-ply white sidewall tubeless tires, oversized tires, six-ply blackwall tubeless tires or tires with tubes.



The union and Chrysler reopened negotiations on December 1, 1954 after a Concilliation Board recommended that workers not receive a pay hike. The union had asked for a raise, retroactive to June 17. On the 15th, the union countered with a demand for a $50 Christmas bonus.



In mid-1955, a $41 million, 800,000-square foot factory expansion at the Windsor plant was completed. Now, a half mile long, the facility was capable of producing 600 automobiles a day. Final touches on the new $21 million V-8 engine plant were being made and would be put into production for the 1956 models.



Late in the selling season, the Chrysler 300C was unveiled. The fastest production car on earth, it was mightily impressive on road and track.



Chrysler did very well for its 1955 model year. Production rose sharply to 5,175 units compared to only 3,685 units built in 1954. Still, it had a ways to go to catch up to the competition. Workers at GM in Oshawa built 23,762 Buicks and in Oakville, workers at Ford built 8,567 Mercury passenger cars. Definitely up to the challenge, 1956 would be even better for Chrysler Canada and a banner year for the Chrysler Division in particular.



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Publish Post

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1961 Lincoln

The 1958 Lincoln was mammoth and mighty. There was certainly nothing like it on the road. The automotive press had a field day faulting virtually everything about the enormous luxury flagship from its odd, gaudy looks to the poor design of the unit-construction bodies. 

Sales of the enormous land yacht throughout the Dominion were only 1,001 units for the calendar year. They didn’t get any better in 1959, dropping to 717 units delivered. Lincoln’s sales slipped again badly in 1960 to only 477 units. It was widely rumoured in the press that Lincoln’s days were numbered; that the once great marque was about to join its ill-fated Edsel cousin on that great Number One HIghway in the sky. 

Canadians bought luxury cars but they wanted them to be small and lean. Alfa-Romeo, Daimler, Humber, Jaguar and Rover fit the bill. Studebaker-Packard dealers delivered 2,153 posh captive import Mercedes-Benz automobiles in 1960. Competing directly against Lincoln and Cadillac, the ritzy, compact Ambassador by Rambler with its price tag running as high as $4,000, found approximately 2,500 buyers. 

Stylists in Dearborn were ordered to come up with a replacement Lincoln that would wow the public and sell in decent numbers. It was not an easy task; the project was not going well at all. Using the popular Thunderbird as a benchmark, most of the proposed designs for the luxurious and large automobile were clumsy at best. 

Elwood Engel is the stylist who gets credit for what would become the new Lincoln look. Working alone in Special Projects, he focused on creating an updated look of the fabled 1956 Continental Mark II. His vision was elegant and understated. Top brass got excited about the stately looks of his clay buck and after seeing a four-door version of it, promptly ordered it into production. 

This Lincoln was dressed in a conservative houndstooth-check grille, divided at the mid-section with a chrome light bar that underscored the dual headlamps. Massive bumpers folded effortlessly into the body and raked deeply underneath the grille work. 

The side profile was that of an almost imperceptibly bowed knife blade, running stem to stern on the 123-inch wheelbase. The blade’s raised, chromed beltline was its “sharpened” edge. The subtlest whisper of a kick-up line graced the C-pillar, making Lincoln truly regal. Yet another whisper of elegance was evidenced at the wheel wells, dignified with the slightest hint of a swell. Counterbalanced doors opened on the B-post, a nod to the elegant days of motoring past. 

From the hindquarters, the form was perfectly lean, low and classically daring. The bumper and taillight flowed into a housing that seamlessly completed the edging of the knife blade look. A tasteful recessed cove, fitted neatly between the bumper and the rear deck lid, was emblazoned with the Lincoln crest.

In a rare public acknowledgement that the previous generation of Lincolns might possibly have missed the styling mark, advertising for the new Lincoln Continental noted: “Its beauty is inherent in the design, avoiding excess ornamentation,” and “Here is a luxury car combining full six-passenger spaciousness with a welcome reduction in exterior size.” Another ad noted that it was thanks to advanced engineering that Lincoln avoided excesses in size and bulk. 

Under the hood one loafed the mighty 430-cubic inch V-8 with its rating of 315 horsepower at 4100 RPM, This mechanized Niagara of power responded to the driver’s slightest command “without sound or vibration” and promised to deliver “surging, responsive power, whenever, wherever you want it.” 

The Lincoln cabin was appointed with the finest of nylon broadcloth fabrics, hand-stitched to supple, “Metallic Finish Leathers” in no less than nineteen colours. For those who wished, all leather upholstery in solid or two-tone combinations was just the ticket. And then, by gum, why not go all the way by adding genuine polished walnut throughout the cabin? Windows, door locks, brakes, steering and seats were all of the power variety and referred to discretely as a complete staff of “power servants.” Even the windshield wipers operated on hydraulic motors. 

Lincolns came loaded. Standard equipment included the Dual-Range Turbo-Drive automatic transmission, power steering, power brakes, an electric windshield washer, dual exhausts, folding centre armrests, undercoating, carpeting, power windows, power door locks, full foam-cushioned seats (using nearly three times as much foam as used on “other fine cars”), a heater with seven separate front and rear ducts, a fully transistorized radio and a “full complement of convenience lights.”

Air conditioning was an extra-cost item. Few Canadians ordered it, but those who did paid a cool $100 federal luxury tax for the option.  Six-way power seats, Speed control, tinted glass, extra undercoating and a directed power differential were all on the options list, too. 

Colour choices were Presidential Black, Green Velvet Metallic, Honey Beige, Royal Red Metallic, Crystal Green Metallic, Rose Glow Metallic, Turquoise Mist, Sultana White, Summer Rose, Blue Haze, Platinum Regency Turquoise Metallic, Saxon Green Metallic, Executive Gray Metallic, Black Cherry Metallic, Sunburst Yellow, Sheffield Gray Metallic, Briar Brown Metallic, Empress Blue Metallic, Columbia Blue Metallic and Desert Frost Metallic. Those were just the single colour offerings, one could have the body in tasteful two-tones as well.



A single pair of Lincoln Continentals was offered for 1961; a four-door hardtop, designated as Model 82 and a four-door convertible, designated as Model 86.  The four-door hardtop sedan listed for $7,810 and the open car could be had for $8,650. Canadians registered approval of the graceful lines by purchasing 667 lovely Lincolns during the calendar year. 

To honour such restrained classic beauty, the prestigious Industrial Design Institute awarded a bronze medal to the automobile’s styling team. With such a magnificent automobile on its hands, sales of the blue oval’s flagship were finally on the upswing. The automotive press was wowed. Any talk of Lincoln’s eminent death was stilled. From St. John’s to Victoria, Lincoln-Mercury-Meteor dealers reported in with 669 Lincoln sales for the 1961 calendar year. Despite its beauty, it did not do as well as the Cadillac with its 2,957 units delivered but did best Imperial’s total of 330 sales throughout the Dominion. 

-30-

Captions:

The 1961 Lincoln set a new standard of excellence in the luxury car field. The inspired design belied the fact that the four-dour hardtop sedan weighed in at a hefty 4,892 pounds.

Cabin appointments for the 1961 Lincoln included sumptuous hand-trimmed leathers and upscale fabrics. Each automobile was swaddled in more than 200 pounds of felt, sound deadeners and fibreglass pads for an ultra-quiet ride.

Symmetrical instrument panel for the 1961 was as functional as it was elegant and refined.

Centre-opening doors on the 1961 Lincoln were tested with special body gauges to ensure a perfect fit.

The only four-door convertible on the market in 1961, the Lincoln is breathtaking from the rear.

Electrically operated windows were just one of the elegant refinements built into the 1961 Lincoln. They were billed as “power servants.”

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1932 Chevrolet

If 1931 had been grim for Canadians, hopes for a better 1932 were dashed immediately with the change of the calendar. Long lines of unemployed stood in soup lines in urban centres, farm families starved as drought ravished their lands, civil servants took pay cuts or even went unpaid altogether as 10.4 million Canadians struggled to make sense of a world gone awry.

Intense heat, drought, violent dust storms and plagues of grasshoppers wreaked havoc on the countryside. Farm after farm was abandoned, indeed entire towns emptied out as the situation grew steadily worse.

Factories closed as the call for locomotives, refrigerators, washing machines and hats dwindled to almost nothing. From Sydney to Victoria and thousands  of places between, businesses failed. Traditional pillars of the economy, like wheat and pulp and paper, collapsed. Men and women drifted from town to town looking for work. Often they did not find any. More than 25 percent of the workforce found itself applying for relief (welfare).

Hardest hit was the automobile industry. From a healthy figure of 203,307 passenger cars built in 1929, production dropped to 121,337 units built in 1930 and that was nearly halved again in 1931 as workers turned out only 65,072 units. The industry would suffer another blow in 1932 as production slid to a dismal 50,694 units. 

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Ironically, American companies opened subsidiaries in Canada in 1932. Graham, Hupmobile, Hudson and Pierce-Arrow all christened assembly plants in or around Windsor, Ontario to avoid the  40 percent duty on automobiles imported from the United States.

General Motors of Canada closed its passenger car factory in Windsor, Ontario in 1932. There was no need for the extra capacity. Automobiles could easily be supplied to the nation from its plants in Oshawa and Regina. GM Canada’s production had been strong at 104,198 units in 1929—more than half the industry's domestic total—but the following year it plummeted to 55,379 units. In 1931 the company’s total production of cars and truck skidded to 32,719 units and it would drop again to 19,565 units built in 1932.

Against this dark economic backdrop, some of the most striking automobiles in history were built. The 1932 Chevrolet lineup was breathtakingly beautiful—all glitz and glamour. A full baker’s dozen—one more than our American cousins got--all in the Confederation series, was offered to the public. The press noted that this year's crop of Chev's all bore more than a passing resemblance to its ritzy cousins in the Cadillac line.

This year the Chevrolet’s 60-horsepower mill was emphasized heavily in advertising in a bid to compete more favourably with Ford’s new V-8 engine.  The 20 percent increase in power from the bowtie camp wasn’t enough to steal Ford’s thunder—The blue oval’s flathead cranked out an extra five horsepower.

Advertising boasted Chevrolet’s 21 “Points of Superiority for 1932.” These included a smooth, six-cylinder, 60-horsepower engine; 65 to 70 miles per hour of acceleration; silent Synchro-Mesh gear shifting (new this year); powerful, long-wearing brakes on each wheel; an easily adjusted driver’s seat; a non-glare windshield and a variety of beautiful Duco colours but to name a few of the virtues touted.

The marketing department in Oshawa decided to tie Chevrolet's image to fine art and at the same time appeal to the heartstrings of patriotism. A series of full-page, full-colour ads linking Chev to famous Canadian paintings appeared in magazines, including Maclean’s and Chatelaine.

Billed as the “Queen of Values in Old Quebec,” ad copy read, “In Canada the name Chevrolet Six has always meant, in both French and English the smart type of economical transportation. At the recent Montreal Motor Show, Quebec’s elite—must cultured of moderns—paid liberal compliment to the genuine character and beauty of this fine car and to the certain air of quality which sets it head and shoulders above others in its price class. The highways and charming byroads of Old Quebec offers ample evidence of the new Chevrolet’s great popularity.” Shown side by side with the stylish automobile was the painting Horse Racing in Winter, a scene from a small town in Quebec along the St. Lawrence River, rendered by internationally renowned artist Clarence Gagnon.

"Pioneering Mountain Trails" and “Admired at Smart Resorts,” Chevrolet was noted as being a regular part of life in Alberta. “Along the foothill trails of Canada’s Rockies, where gasoline pumps are few and far between, you notice many Chevrolet Six. Around the lodge at Jasper, too, you’ll find that Chevrolets are very much in evidence. For Chevrolet has definitely proved that Canada’s most economical car is also strikingly smart, quality built and thoroughly modern automobile.” The car with Body by Fisher and the Free Wheeling was paired with Mount Robson from Lake Berg, a stunning landscape by Lawren Harris of the Group of Seven.

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“Proved on the testing ground of a nation’s roads and byways” was another in the  advertising campaign. “A hundred thousand owners of low-priced cars throughout Canada were invited recently to tell what they through was Chevrolet’s most important story. Like a recurrent theme through thousands of entries received was this conviction—Chevrolet leadership is based on the goodwill of the men and women who have tested the Chevrolet Six in millions of miles of driving.” A truly bucolic landscape was featured with the car, one entitled, An Ontario Side Road, painted by Fred H. Brigden.

Each advertisement boldly announced that the Chevrolet Six was produced in Canada. A young man by the name of Foster Hewett began to broadcast a programme called Hockey Night in Canada—sponsored by General Motors of Canada, Limited. At the time, no one knew that the sportcast would become the most popular  programme in history or that Foster Hewett would be the voice of NHL for nearly fifty years.

Despite all the hype Oshawa could muster, Chevrolet passenger car production slipped from 17,867 units in 1931 to an absolutely abysmal 10,832 units built in 1932. Fortunately, the corner had turned and production would increase in 1933.

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Copyright James C. Mays 2004 All rights reserved.

1978 Plymouth Horizon and Dodge Omni

Chrysler Canada hadn’t offered small four-cylinder cars in decades but what goes around comes around and in the 1970s, small, economical vehicles shone as brightly as the midnight sun over the high Arctic.



Chrysler Canada pulled a rabbit (okay, pun intended when one considers the German competition) out of its corporate hat when it introduced the subcompact L-Body car in November of 1977. This was a no-nonsense, four-door Euro-style sedan with a generous hatchback entry at the rear. Unique grilles and badges would allow the vehicle to be sold as both the Dodge Omni and the Plymouth Horizon. Pundits referred to the look-alike pair as the “Omnirizon.”

 Horizon was a box on wheels. It was an attractive little box but it was an econo-box, nonetheless.   The basic package for this vehicle was very similar to that of the ultimate benchmark Euro-sedan, the Volkswagen Rabbit. In fact, Horizon made use of VW mill, bumped up to 1.7-litres, fitted with Chrysler’s Electronic Lean Burn System and then transversely mounted into the engine compartment. It is interesting to note that had the VW power plant not been available, the tiny twins  from Chryco would have been delayed in bowing to consumers for up to another two years. 

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The public would need some education in order to appreciate Horizon. Consumers weren’t particularly familiar with front-wheel drive. As the first of the breed to be built in North America--Belvedere, Illinois USA to be exact--Chrysler dealers would have to get consumers up to speed on how these vehicles differed from ordinary cars.  Learning to accelerate into curves with front-wheel drive took some getting used to for millions who were used to conventional automobiles using the traditional Panhard layout, a.k.a. rear-wheel drive.

Advertising billed the Plymouth Horizon as the car that “goes anywhere with comfort and confidence.” Front wheel drive was the secret. “With Horizon, you’ll move confidently over mud, snow or rain-slick roads. Its front wheels do the driving. You’re being pulled by the front wheels.” Of course, the four-wheel independent suspension, rack-and-pinion steering, low-rate coil springs, shock-absorbing front struts, rear trailing arms and anti-sway bars both fore and aft made the little car ride like a dream despite its bite-sized 2520-millimetre (99.2-inch) wheelbase. “This contributes to a great road-hugging performance with a minimum of road noise and less buffeting by strong crosswinds or side drafts from oncoming trucks.”

This was a very advanced vehicle, one that delivered “tomorrow’s engineering today.”  Horizon was designed using Metric specifications, giving it clout around the world. It boasted the latest in technological wonders—a diagnostic plug in the engine compartment that made electrical system tests quickly and efficiently.  The fan belt had been eliminated. 

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Designed to be simple to service for the growing do-it-yourself crowd, the distributor cap, spark plugs and oil dipstick were all easy to access. The cooling system featured a single easy-to-reach drain plug. Clutch adjustments were possible without tools, the thermostat was readily replaceable and so was the oil sump pan.

The cabin was surprisingly large for such a small car. Mounting the engine transversely and drastically reducing the transmission hump helped greatly. With the drive shaft eliminated, there was enough room left over to stash the spare tire in the spot where the rear axle housing was located on conventional vehicles.



Stealing a page from American Motors' revolutionary Pacer with its “people first” message, Horizon bragged, “You’ll like its people-room inside.” Advertising crooned sweetly. “There’s room for legs, feet, shoulders and hips-all adding up to seating comfort.”  Bucket seats were adjustable, trimmed in vinyl and headrests built into the seating. Carpeting was cut-pile and colour-keyed to match the upholstery. Custom or Premium interiors could be had in a range of materials including vinyl, cloth and vinyl, porous vinyl and crushed velour.

The instrument panel was efficient with a pod cluster holding gauges and speedometer. White numbers on black-face dials made monitoring easy. A multi-purpose stalk to the left of the steering column contained the turn signals, the headlight beam control and the windshield washer and wiper controls.  While common in European and Asian vehicles, this multi-purpose stalk was new to millions of North Americans and as such, rated its own space in sales brochures and  was given special attention to salesmen in their training sessions.

The Horizon's cargo area was given a great deal of attention in advertising. The space boasted a movable security shelf that acted as a lid to hide the contents in the luggage area. Available cargo space with the back seat folded down came to 1014 cubic decimetres or 35.8 cubic feet (ancient Canadian units of measure).

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Horizon and Omni could be ordered in Custom, Premium or Premium Woodgrain exterior packages to dress up the Unibody design. Exterior colours for the pint-sized inflation fighter were Sunrise Orange, Spitfire Orange, Formal Black Spinnaker White, Yellow Blaze, Light Mocha Tan and then in the metallic family, Pewter Grey, Regatta Blue, Starlight Blue Sunfire, Tapestry Red Sunfire, Caramel Tan, Augusta Green Sunfire and Mint Green. A triple sport stripe was available as a dress-up item. Two-tone paint jobs were available in five self-proclaimed classic colour combinations. If that wasn't enough sass, there were vinyl roof toppings in red, tan, green, blue, silver, black or white.

The optional equipment list was surprisingly modest in length. Extra cost items included air conditioning, tinted glass, dual horns, colour-keyed floor mats, carpeting for the cargo area, a centre console with rear ashtray, a nifty storage compartment with a roll-top cover, a clock, an electric rear window defroster, a rear window wiper, a locking gas cap, a roof rack, remote control left- and right-hand mirrors, power steering, power front brakes, AM/FM radio or stereo, a Deluxe three-spoke steering wheel, a rally wheel, TorqueFlite automatic transmission, undercoating and P165/75R13 glass-belted radial ply whitewall tires.

Horizon, along with the Dodge Omni, was impressive enough that it was promptly named Car of the Year by Motor Trend Magazine. That accolade didn’t hurt sales one bit and even though inflation was 8.9 percent in 1979, the calendar year tally for the Horizon allowed it to claim the 34^th spot in Canadian sales with 10,726 units delivered and the Dodge Omni right behind it in 35^th place with 10,728 units sold.

Those Horizon and Omni sales helped Chrysler Canada to reach 166,677 new automobiles sold, giving the Windsor-based manufacturer 21 percent of the domestic market.

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 Copyright James C. Mays 2006 All rights reserved.