FEATURE - 1960 Chrysler New Yorker
Words Mike Ryan
Photos: Classic Motor Studio
Compared to all other automotive styling features, the tailfin had an impact out of all proportion to its time as a design element. While they were used on cars for little more than a decade, tailfins came to symboilise an era.
Cadillac’s 1959 offerings were the biggest, while the Chevy and Buick fins from the same year were arguably the most daring. General Motors weren’t alone in expanding and exploiting this styling feature, though. Just about every automaker got on board to some degree, and the Chrysler Corporation were in the ‘fin game’ just as deep (or should that be high!), as evidenced by cars like the 1960 Chrysler New Yorker.
It'd be wrong to look at the New Yorker, particularly the 1960 model, as just a styling exercise. The 1960 New Yorker was the embodiment of an abundance of engineering and mechanical advancements that Chrysler had managed to pack into the preceding decade, from the renowned Hemi V8 and the corporation’s first automatic transmission, to torsion bar front suspension, the switch to monocoque construction and even a rudimentary form of cruise control.
There was just as much going on outside the engineering works, too, with 1960 proving to be a pivotal year in terms of management at the Chrysler Corporation. The New Yorker was a constant through this period and beyond, remaining on the market until the 1990s. While it was an undoubted success for Chrysler, the New Yorker was born from failure.
Special, then Standard
The first New Yorker wasn’t a New Yorker at all. Chrysler introduced a model they called the ‘New York Special’ for 1938 as a replacement for the Airflow model that had debuted for the 1934 model year. The modern, streamlined Airflow was a stylistic leap forward but a sales disaster for Chrysler and DeSoto, who also offered the model.
While DeSoto went all-in on the Airflow, changing their entire range to the new style, Chrysler retained an ‘Airstream’ group with conventional styling. It proved to be a smart move, as buyers overwhelming favoured the familiar over the new.
Despite its failure in the marketplace, the “two tier” offering that the Airflow and Airstream represented was seen as having some merit, so when the Airflow was dropped at the end of 1937, something was needed to replace it. What Chrysler came up with was the New York Special.
Despite being badged and sold as a Chrysler, the New York Special was essentially an Imperial, as it used that model’s LWB chassis, straight eight engine and trim. Only available as a four-door sedan (a two-door Business Coupe was listed but never went into production), the New York Special featured a unique grille, cloth upholstery that was colour-matched to the exterior and fully carpeted floors as standard.
Curiously, the New York Special cost more than the equivalent Imperial four-door sedan, despite offering nothing extra in terms of equipment or appointments. Regardless, the model proved popular enough to retain its place as the premium Chrysler-badged offering for 1939, by which time the ‘New Yorker’ nickname many had condensed the Special’s moniker to would be formalised.
Chrysler split their range into two series for ‘39: the lower Royal and Royal Windsor which were only available with a six-cylinder engine; and the upper Saratoga and New Yorker with an eight-cylinder engine as standard. But as in 1938, the New Yorker for 1939 was considered part of the Imperial line and production counted toward Imperial’s numbers.
While the Saratoga and New Yorker were virtually identical externally and mechanically, the two differed markedly inside. With its two-tone fabric trim, the New Yorker was plusher and more elegant, while the Saratoga was pitched as a “sportsman’s car” with a combination of leather and cord cloth trim. The Saratoga was only available in two body styles, while the New Yorker could be had in five, including a low-volume ‘Victoria Coupe’ that was also available on the Imperial, DeSoto and Dodge in 1939.
The pattern of “luxury” and “premium” that the New Yorker had established in its first two years would remain as the model cemented itself in Chrysler's lineup and came to be regarded as the next best thing to an Imperial.
The Forward Look
Chrysler entered the 1950s with arguably the least exciting cars available from the Big Three manufacturers. GM had restyled most of their range for 1948, with Ford doing the same for 1949.
Chrysler’s 1949 offerings were completely restyled, too, but you wouldn’t know it. They bore a strong resemblance to the 1948 range, which in turn were barely changed from what Chrysler had offered for 1942. Things were about to change, though, largely due to the arrival of stylist Virgil Exner.
Exner had worked under Harley Earl, the grandfather of automobile styling, at General Motors and would lead the Pontiac styling studio from 1936 to 1938. From 1939, Exner was part of the Raymond Loewy studio, whose main automotive client of the time was Studebaker. When Exner was brought in-house at Studebaker, it created friction with Loewy, leading to his departure in August, 1949, and arrival at Chrysler shortly after.
It would take some time for Exner’s influence to be seen at Chrysler, not least due to the usual three- to four-year lead time for new models, but also because Chrysler was still a conservative company at this time. The failure of the radically-styled Airflow models was also a factor in Chrysler’s reluctance to be bold with new styling.
Despite his conservatism, Chrysler president K.T. Keller recognised the need for a styling studio led by designers, not engineers, as was the case at the time. Still, Exner’s early work was limited to one-off projects and “idea cars” – the ‘K-310,’ ‘C-200’ and ‘Falcon’ – while the production cars remained the preserve of a team led by Henry King.
After being appointed Director of Styling in mid-1953, the first production Chrysler Corporation cars to gain the Exner touch were the 1954 models, but changes were minor. The 1955 models would be the first to feature nose-to-tail Exner styling – what became known as the ‘Forward Look’.
As well as being longer and lower, the Forward Look cars featured broader windscreens, flatter bonnets and smoother flanks that all but eliminated the rear wheel hips that were already looking dated at the start of the 1950s.
The Forward Look was applied across all Chrysler Corporation marques, from humble Plymouths to plush Chryslers like the New Yorker, as well as the premium Imperial and all-new C-300 performance model. Colour choices broadened, too, with two- and three-tone paint options available in combinations that stretched into the hundreds.
As proof that good styling did sell cars, Chrysler’s 1955 sales almost doubled that of the previous year and their overall share of the US market increased from 12.9 to 16.8 per cent.
Exner wasn’t finished, though. For 1956, all Chrysler Corporation cars gained rear fins, while a full restyle for 1957 produced the famous “Suddenly it’s 1960” advertising slogan referencing how far ahead of the opposition Chrysler was stylistically. The ‘57s saw Chrysler’s market share increase yet again, this time to 18.3 per cent.
Depending on your point of view, Chrysler styling lost its way after this, with the designs for 1958 and beyond appearing less unified and more reactionary to what rival American carmakers were offering. This certainly applied to the 1961 models, and the “decline” in Chrysler’s status as a style leader wouldn’t really be reversed until Exner’s replacement, Elwood Engel, was able to bring his designs to bear in 1965. Before that, 1960 could be regarded as the last great year of Exner's Forward Look - but only for the Chryslers.
Imperials for 1960 appeared as though they were trying to make a Mack truck look like a sportscar, the Dodges couldn’t decide on keeping or losing their fins and the Plymouths were frankly ghastly. The DeSotos for 1960 were little more than rebadged Chryslers and would be gone from the market entirely a year later.
The ’60 Style
The Chrysler range for 1960 captured a big chunk of what had worked so well in 1955 and 1957, with what was arguably only a minor disconnect between the front and rear sections. A trapezium-shaped grille replaced the bluff front end of the 1959 models, while at the back end, the ‘hooded’ tail lights were replaced with striking, boomerang-shaped cutouts in fins that began at the doors and extended a bodyside crease that started as eyebrows over the headlights.
Flanks were devoid of the two-toning and brightwork seen in past years, but the series of small, louvre-like marks first seen on the rear quarters of the New Yorker in 1956 continued for 1960 and helped define that model against the lower-tier Windsor and mid-level Saratoga. Options in the exterior trim include a faux spare tyre in the bootlid; a feature more familiar to Aussies for its application to the very first R Series Valiants that reached our shores in 1962 but had launched in the US for the 1960 model year.
The New Yorker also got a larger engine which the lower grades didn’t, specifically a 413 cubic inch V8 that was shared with the 300-F. This wedge-head V8 had been introduced for the 1959 Chryslers as a cheaper and easier to manufacture alternative to the Hemi that offered the same power – 350hp in the case of the New Yorker and up to 400hp in the 300-F.
The 413, known as the Golden Lion V8, was matched exclusively to a three-speed TorqueFlite automatic in the New Yorker, while the Windsor could be had with a manual, even if almost no-one ordered it.
Inside, the 1960 New Yorker was trimmed in metallic-look vinyl in a range of colours and patterns, with a bench front seat standard and swivelling bucket seats optional. These enabled easier entry and exit, but were more gimmick than practical.
The push-button operation for the transmission that had been introduced for 1956 (replacing a column shift) remained, mirrored on the right of the steering wheel by controls for the heating and ventilation. In between sat a new-for-1960 styling feature – the AstraDome.
Exclusive to Chryslers and Imperials that year, the AstraDome was a 3D gauge cluster that projected up the length of the steering column, with a half-circle speedometer at the rear and gauges for fuel, engine temp, oil pressure and amps in two rows ahead. The neat feature with the AstraaDome was its electroluminescent lighting that bathed the gauges in a greenish-blue at night and made them easier to read than gauges lit by bulbs.
The gauges sat under a clear Perspex dome, with controls for the rear window defroster, power antenna, and interior dome and map lights around the lower edge. Unlike anything else in the industry at the time, the AstraDome remained a Chrysler exclusive feature until 1963.
Speaking of exclusive, while Chrysler is regarded as a volume brand, it was less common than Plymouth and Dodge. This applied even moreso to the New Yorker, given its premium status and pricing. In 1960, just 19,390 New Yorkers were built; less than half the Windsor production total of 41,158, while more than 480,000 Plymouths were built in the same period. Of the total New Yorkers built for 1960, only 2,835 were two-door hardtops like the car featured.
Long Term Love
This 1960 Chrysler New Yorker is currently listed for sale with Classic Motor Studio in South Australia.
While this car’s early history is unknown, it’s been with the one South Australian owner since 1999 and the family are only letting go of it following that owner’s passing. The New Yorker was an SA resident for some time before 1999, too, with the previous owner undertaking a restoration that included bodywork repair, a bare metal respray in Midnight Black, rechromed bumpers and polished stainless trim. The distinctive green interior was retrimmed at the same time, apparently using NOS material sourced from the US.
How long this was done before it was acquired by the most recent owner almost 25 years ago is unknown. What is known is that the 413 Golden Lion and TorqueFlite are original to the car, with parts replaced when required as part of a diligent maintenance schedule. These include shock absorbers and other suspension components, as well as brakes, rubbers and the usual perishables.
Driven regularly, but not excessively until recently, one unverified story claims this particular car was one of a half dozen from the end of New Yorker production for the 1960 model year to receive different and/or additional equipment.
If true, this could explain the swivel front seats, power windows, additional chrome roof trim and ‘Auto-Pilot’ cruise control this car is fitted with, although all were factory options from the period and would likely have been ordered by the first owner.
Regardless of whether this New Yorker is something extra special or not, it’s still a pretty special car. Rarely seen in Australia, a 1960 Chrysler is a nice alternative to the more common Caddys, Chevys and Fords from the same year. And for fans of fins, it doesn’t get much better than a New Yorker.
Thanks to Motor Book World for research material used in this article.
Motor Book World, VIC
Ph: (03) 9830 2644
This 1960 Chrysler New Yorker is listed for sale with Classic Motor Studio in Mount Barker, South Australia.
A low production car when new, few ’60 New Yorkers survive today and even fewer in Australia. This two-door hardtop was fully restored more than two decades ago and has been well-maintained since.
The Golden Lion 413ci (6.7-litre) wedge-head V8 engine is original to the car and includes factory ram air induction to produce 350hp (260kW). The TorqueFlite 3-speed automatic is described as silky smooth and features the novel push button operation.
Power steering and power windows are other features, and while the paint is showing signs of age, the chrome, stainless and badging are all in very good condition. New whitewall tyres have recently been fitted.
The interior is described as being in outstanding condition for its age, although there is some minor cracking on the AstraDome instrument pod and the speedometer, odometer and temperature gauge are currently not working.
Club registered in South Australia, asking price for this rare Chrysler is now $64,900.
See the advert online at justcars.com.au with the ad code JACFD5248896.
For more details, contact Matt at Classic Motor Studio on 0412 052 232.
