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https://www.ebay.com/itm/164419583619
I was stunned to see a '65 300L convertible bidding stall at $4,600.
Here's the '65 Grand Prix dash and console, totally stock. I'm loved them since my sister's boyfriend's parents had one which was often at our house. Made our plebian Chevelle 300 Deluxe downright depressing in comparison.
Carpeted lower-door panels not on the 300--at least, not the ebay car. I wonder if the white interior ab348 posted might be a '66.
Looking at the '65 300L eBay ad again, I'm reminded of the glass-covered headlights--very elegant touch IMHO.
The Pontiac dash is more squared off and linear. Also a bit bulkier looking, whereas that Chrysler dash seems thinner and less "in your face". All that woodgrain also dresses up the Grand Prix, and makes it seem a bit more modern, whereas the Chrysler has a lot more exposed metal, plus that brushed metal trim, which again harks back a bit to the 50's.
EDIT: I looked at the brochures and you are right that the '65 300 did not have carpet on the bottom of the door panels but the '66 did. The one I pictured had that added later as the upper part of the panel is the '65 style. Of course regarding the comparison to the Bonne, keep in mind that the 300 wasn't the top line Chrysler in '65 as it was supposed to be sporty (hah!). The top of the line New Yorker did have carpeted door panels..
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And I LOVE '65-66 Imperials, especially a LeBaron.
As for hierarchy, at one time the 300 Letter Series was quite a step up from a New Yorker in price, and had a pretty ritzy interior. But by 1965, the 300L hardtop coupe was $4153, eight dollars less than a New Yorker hardtop. The convertible was $4618. There was no New Yorker convertible to compare it to, though. The last NY'er convertible was in 1961.
Interestingly, in 1967, Chrysler jacked up the price of the regular, non-letter 300 by a pretty substantial amount, roughly $350 compared to '66. But, they also made the 440-4bbl standard, which was the same engine as the New Yorker. The previous standard engine had been a 383-4bbl with 325 hp. The 4-door pillared sedan, a slow seller, was also dropped, leaving just 2/4-door hardtops and the convertible. To fill the gap left by moving the 300 upscale, Chrysler brought out the Newport Custom, slotted in above the Newport.
It's also interesting how quickly car prices went up, in the later 60's. In 1965, the cheapest Newport was $3009, for a stripper 4-door sedan. Working back in time, even in 1957 the cheapest Chrysler, a Windsor 4-door, was $3088. But then go forward a few years to 1970, and the cheapest Chrysler was now a $3514 4-door, and for '71 it jumped to $4078.
I think we had this conversation before, and that all the emissions and some safety stuff going into the cars is what jacked up the price so much between '70 and '71. And I think some formerly optional equipment was made standard, although in '71, a 3-speed manual was still standard on the Newport.
Boy, I always thought that about the '63-64 Chryslers, in and out.
Of course, I know that the Imperials still had wraparound windshields through '66, though for some reason that doesn't bother me on those cars a bit.
In some ways, the '63-64 style is one reason I'm glad they discontinued DeSoto when they did...because if it lasted a few more years, it probably would have looked like that!
I like the '62-64 Dodge 880, though. Stylewise, it also looks like it's stuck a bit between the 50's and the 60's, but I overall I think it works, in a conservative, non-flashy way.
Probably one of the last cars where the make had a nameplate down the side, as opposed to the model name. I remember "DODGE" spelled out in the rear quarters.
I liked the taillights on those cars too.
Not my thing.
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(badge at rear)
1962 New Yorker: 219.3"
1963-64 New Yorker: 215.3"
1965 New Yorker: 218.2"
There's really not a huge difference in overall length between the '63-64 New Yorker, and the models that came before or after. But, they still just look diminutive to me.
That 300 4-door sedan fin posted, has Quebec plates. Wonder if it was Canadian market only?
http://www.oldcarbrochures.com/static/NA/Chrysler_and_Imperial/1965_Chrysler/1965_Chrysler_Brochure/1965 Chrysler-24.html
I also tried googling "1962 Chrysler 300 4 door", "1963..." etc, and every 4-door that showed up in pics was a hardtop. I did see one pillared sedan pop up for '63, but it was actually a New Yorker that had been mis-tagged.
Maybe it WAS just a Canadian-only model?
I just looked online, and it looks like Chrysler in Canada held onto the older names longer. In '62 their lineup was Windsor/Saratoga/New Yorker, which was last seen in the US for 1960. In the States, for 1961 the Saratoga was dropped, and the Newport came in cheaper than the Windsor had been. Then for '62 the Windsor went away, and the non-letter 300 was introduced, at prices just a few bucks more.
In the '65 brochure, they're calling the mid range a "Saratoga 300", and showing a 4-door sedan.
So, mystery solved, eh?
EDIT: Mystery solved! No wonder I never saw one. I was a weird kid, absorbed and could identify years and makes of everything domestic. My parents used to have me show off to their friends from our front porch on a busy street.
I can positively identify every Chevy from '49 on. I know the 'era' of about everything else prior to '55 (like "'53-54 Pontiac", etc.). From '55 on, I can identify every GM car, Ford product, and most Mopars. That is, until the mid'80's or so on non-GM's, when cars went years without styling differentiation except for maybe paint colors.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
I'd be game to show our names here. I think I suggested that once to Edmunds and got a "no, no!" back.
Probably a pain to tie our old posts to a new name though, sigh.
He also had a 20's vintage fire engine as well as a hearse.
Mine: 1995 318ti Club Sport; 2020 C43; 2021 Sahara 4xe 1996 Speed Triple Challenge Cup Replica Wife's: 2015 X1 xDrive28i Son's: 2009 328i; 2018 330i xDrive
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
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And then, facebook happened!
I'd probably pick "Studeguy" now, if I had to.
Overall, I guess it flows better, and sounds a bit more exotic than "andrew1970" would have.
I forget exactly why I got on Edmunds, initially, but at the time I probably wanted to just get on as quick as possible, too. And at some points, I think the servers Edmunds uses had a hiccup, and lost all posts before a certain year, so it would be hard to find out exactly when I joined, or why I first posted a message.
My profile says I joined in June 2000, but I think it's been longer than that. I seem to recall making a post about a used '94 and '96 Caprice I had just test-driven, which would have been around October 1999, soon before I bought my '00 Intrepid.
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As for the clear taillights with the red bulbs, supposedly the elimination of that was just a cost-cutting move. The clear assembly was more expensive to produce, and had a high defect rate in production, so at some point in '65, they just went to the regular red taillight with clear bulbs.
At Hershey a few years ago I looked at a '65 Newport convertible in the car corral. It was a 4-speed! The owner told me he actually met the salesman who sold the car new at a car event! I'm foggy on some of the details, but the dealer had to take it (as opposed to a retail order? I could believe a cancelled order), and they had it a good while before finding a buyer.
It was that sort-of light maroon that a lot of '65 Chryslers were, a nice color.
I wonder how hard it is to find replacements for the clear ones, nowadays? I have a feeling that a lot of people, when they restore them, might use the red ones.
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2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
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2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
2018 VW Passat SE w/tech, 2016 Audi Q5 Premium Plus w/tech, 2006 Acura TL w/nav
On the two New Yorkers I have, the mechanism is electric. If you need to change a headlight, all you have to do is turn the ignition off before you turn off the headlights, and the covers will stay open. Or, if you happen to turn the car off before the covers fully close, they simply stop where they are.
I think the systems Ford used back then, on '77-79 T-birds and Lincolns, used vacuum hoses to open and close them. As they'd age and get leaks, sometimes one or both headlights would fail. I remember back in the day, it seemed especially common on the T-birds, to have one of the covers failed...they almost looked like they were winking at you!