Chrysler Cordoba

After vowing for years that "there would never be a small Chrysler", the company was forced to rethink its position after the first fuel crisis of 1973-74 that severly crippled big car sales, Chrysler in particular taking a huge hit. So for 1975, the new "small" Chrysler Cordoba was born (if you can call an 18 foot car with a 115" wheelbase weighing nearly 4000 lbs "small", but compared to Chrysler's other mastodon-sized cars of the day, it was). An interesting bit of trivia about the Cordoba is that it was originally destined to be a Plymouth before ultimately becoming a Chrysler model. It was Chrysler's first foray into what was called the "personal luxury car" group. Its styling was clearly inspired by General Motors (the Chevy Monte Carlo in particular), but it was also a good looking car in its own right and it was initially a huge hit (and a much needed success for Chrysler). Some may remember Spanish actor Ricardo Montalban hawking the Cordoba in TV commercials, stating "THIS... is my kind of car" - and who could forget the "fine Corinthian leather" (whatever "Corinthian" was supposed to mean is still a mystery).

1st Generation 1975-79

• 1975 Cordoba's premier year, based on the B-body Dodge Monaco/Plymouth Fury (formerly Coronet and Satellite) platform. Available with front bench or bucket seats and a choice of column or console automatic. 400 cid V8 is standard, but the smaller 360 and 318 V8s were available as credit options.

• 1976 Cordoba's sophomore year (and its most successful in sales), the year was a virtual rerun of 1975.

• 1977 Unleaded gas becomes mandatory for all models this year (some 75s and 76s required it, some didn't - depended on the altitude and if it was a California model or not). Some minor body alterations included a slightly revised grille and a squared off chrome strip surrounding the side rear opera window instead of rounded on previous versions. T-bar roof (T-Tops) became available this year.

• 1978 While GM downsized their "personal luxury cars" (Chevy Monte Carlo, Olds Cutlass Supreme, etc) this year, Chrysler went the other direction and actually upsized the Cordoba slightly this year, even though it rode the same 115" wheelbase as before. The most obvious change was the stacked quad headlights (a la 1976-77 Chevy Monte Carlo) and new larger, more flush taillights. Interior dimensions remained as before. Some applauded the change, some thought the changes made the Cordoba look bloated and more boat-like. Either way, sales started to slip quite a bit this year, no doubt partly to GM's new downsized car lines and another looming fuel crisis on the horizon surely didn't help either.

• 1979 This was a virtual rerun of 1978 save for very few body trim alterations and the 400 V8 no longer being offered (the 360 V8 was now the top offering). One interesting model was the 300, based (obviously) on the Cordoba. All were Spinnaker White with red interiors. The instrument panel had the unique "engine turned" design, much like the current Pontiac Trans Am. The 300 also had red white and blue nameplates that were like the legendary 300 letter series cars back in the 50s and early 60s. Most (if not all) had the 195 horse 360 4bbl V8 with either column or console automatic transmissions, and they gave decent performance for the day. These have now become a minor collectible. This was also the last year for the B-body Chrysler line.

2nd Generation 1980-83

• 1980 An all-new redesigned Cordoba debuts this year on Chrysler's new J-body platform. These were based on the Dodge Aspen/Plymouth Volare chassis. This was also the first time a 6-cylinder engine was offered in a Cordoba, being the legendary near-indestructible 3.7L 225 cid Slant-6. The 318 and 360 V8s remained optional. The new Cordoba was about a foot shorter and about 500-600 lbs lighter than the outgoing 79 model, but overall the buying public was underwhelmed as sales dropped dramatically. Performance was also down - aside from those very few with the 360, the Slant-6 and 318s were no tire squealers by any means. It wasn't much of a sales threat to GM's personal luxury coupes, but it did compete more on an equal footing with the newly redesigned Ford Thunderbird and Mercury Cougar XR-7 this year.

• 1981 Other than solid instead of horizontally slatted parking lights, the 1981 Cordoba was a virtual rerun of 1980. To make things further depressing, the 360 V8 engine option was dropped, making the 318 V8 the top engine option. An LS version became available with year with a unique crossbar grille much like the 1979 300 had that separated it from the other versions.

• 1982 No news or changes to speak of.

• 1983 About the only news was that the 318 V8 was your only engine choice this year (which is what most people chose anyway). By this time the Cordoba (and its Dodge Mirada twin) had become outclassed by the competition from GM, and this year Ford and Mercury redesigned both the Thunderbird and Cougar XR-7, so the fact that it now lost its major sales competition was certainly another nail in its coffin.

Some have mourned the Cordoba's passing, others claim it didn't pass soon enough. These are still currently very cheap on the used car market (if you can find one in good shape). If you desire an older rear-drive Mopar that doesn't cost an arm and a leg like an E-body Challenger or Cuda would, a Cordoba might be a cheap attractive alternative if that's your desire, especially a 2nd generation model.