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| Cordoba was
Chrysler’s first small luxury car. Had it not been for Cordoba’s timely entry into the market,
Lee Iacocca might not have had a company to save. |
Chrysler Corporation
wasn’t in the best of corporate health in 1976.
Luxury Imperial had been withdrawn from the market for lack of interest at the end of the 1975 model year
run. Dodge Dart and Plymouth Valiant
were replaced by Aspen and Volare in 1976.
 |
| Smart looking they were, but Chrysler's compact duo quickly set records for being
the most recalled cars in automotive history--before GM’s X-cars captured the
dubious honour. |
The economy was in a tailspin, inflation was rising
rapidly and gasoline prices were higher than ever before as a result of
deliberate shortages designed by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). To make matters more aggravating, car prices
rose sharply in order to cover the cost of new safety and pollution devices now
required by Washington. Customers
experienced ‘sticker shock.’ While the American
auto industry’s sales were off by eight percent, Chrysler’s loss was an astonishing
19%, leaving it with only 14% of the market.
Ford had twice that percentage while General Motors earned 53% of new car sales.
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Production was
slashed and 18,000 Chrysler employees were laid off. A two-month supply of cars sat rusting in
inventory. Chrysler’s chairman, Lynn
Townsend, hiked prices a second time during the model run and the glut of unsold vehicles swelled even
larger. Finally, Chrysler offered a factory
rebate to purchasers, something no other carmaker had ever done. The
other manufacturers quickly followed suit.
Chrysler’s fortunes
were flagging in the market. Resistance
to building a small Chrysler had finally been overcome and it was hoped that
the new ‘sport size’ Cordoba would revive the manufacturer. Highland Park desperately needed a success
story to run with. The smart Cordoba had
been a brand new car in 1975, although it was
very similar to the mid-sized Plymouth Satellite, Cordoba carried very formal front-end styling.
Cordoba was smashing to look at. The car was perfectly poised on its
2 921-millimetre (115-inch) wheelbase. It looked
personal. In an age of bloat, Cordoba
was only 5 461millimetres (215 inches) long, making it 558.8 millimetres (22 inches) shorter than the New Yorker
Brougham.
Jaguar was the benchmark for Chrysler stylists. Headlights were deeply tunneled into large,
round pods that evoked the wealth and grandeur of classic cars of the 1920s. Turn signals were
housed in smaller inboard pods. The
grille was upright and square with vertical bars, giving it a positively ritzy
air. It was long in the front and
shortened in the rear quarters so that it had a sporty feel. Luxury was evident in the opera windows and
padded vinyl roof. Cordoba was given
the 5.2-litre (318-cubic inch) V-8 engine. Industry wide, all passenger cars got catalytic
converters.
Billed
as ‘the new small Chrysler,’ actor Ricardo Mandelbaum introduced the car
brilliantly in a series of now classic television commercials. Who can forget his exotic, hypnotic accent as
he showed off Cordoba with “…rich Corinthian leather?” The personal luxury coupe was an immense
success and a tremendous psychological boost within the corporation. It was the smallest post-war Chrysler ever,
just 50.8 millimetres (two inches) longer than the very first one made in 1924. It was sleek, sassy and just what the
consumer ordered. Cordoba said “cool”
and “classy. It would give decent gas
mileage without econo-box stigma.
The new Cordobas and
sister Dodge Charger SE were built exclusively in Windsor, Ontario for the
North American market. The only hot
seller for the Chrysler nameplate that year, 150,105 units scooted out the
factory doors during the model year. Cordoba
was fielded in the same class as Ford’s Thunderbird and Buick’s Riviera. It was impressive enough to beat all its
personal luxury rivals except for Chevy’s Monte Carlo--which was much less
expensive than Cordoba. The luxurious
mid-sized Cordoba accounted for nearly 70% of all the Chrysler nameplate’s sales
that year. Calendar year production was
193,587 units. In the first 13 months of
Cordoba production, more Chryslers poured out of the Windsor plant than had
been built there between 1946 and 1966!
Esteemed automotive historian
R. Perry Zavits wrote, “A factor contributing to the high acceptance of the
Cordoba was the fact that was Canadian-made.
Many people believed the car’s quality was better because of its Canadian
origin.” It was common knowledge to industry insiders in the 'Seventies; Canadian-built cars were picked for auto executives and
VIPs because of the superior build.
In 1976 things just got better in Windsor,
calendar year production broke a record as 200,986 units were shipped.
Chrysler’s
new warranty with unlimited mileage for the first year of ownership was good
news but there weren’t a lot of takers. When
preparing this story, the author went to a photocopy shop for a laser copy of
the Cordoba. The man behind the counter
said he almost bought one but changed his mind at the last minute because he
was afraid that Chrysler would go bankrupt and he’d be left with an
orphan. He opted for a Chevrolet Monte Carlo
instead.
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| Chrysler ordered seven Cordoba convertibles from Emess Coach Builders in 1977. |
In 1977
sales jumped up 25% for Chrysler.
Cordoba got a T-top and sales were helped immeasurably with the
introduction of luxury compact Chrysler LeBaron on the Volare/Aspen body.
 |
| 1978 Chrysler Cordoba |
In
1978 square, halogen lamps came to the industry and Cordoba got a mild restyle
to accommodate the new lights. While North American automakers enjoyed a great year, Chrysler
slipped badly.
 |
Chrysler sold all of its
European subsidiaries in 1978 to Peugeot-Citroen in order to stay afloat. |
Cordoba
was the right car at the right time for Chrysler. More than 650,000 units were sold during the
first generation which spanned five model years. Automotive folklore tells the breathtaking
tale of how Lee Iacocca and the K-car saved Chrysler’s bacon, but there might
not have been any bacon to save had it not been for the brave management team
who put the junior edition Cordoba into production.
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Copyright James C. Mays 2000 All rights reserved.
