TBT: Chrysler 300 Through the Ages!

"A 15-year veteran of Chrysler in 1953 and only at age 37, Robert MacGregor Rodger was the chief engineer of the Chrysler Division. He proposed that Chrysler build a special car, a two-door hardtop, for the Hemi. [Since] there wasn't any budget for new sheet metal, he bolted the top-of-the-line Imperial's nose onto a New Yorker hardtop two-door body shell with Windsor model rear quarter panels to produce the 1955 300. Chrysler's chief designer, Virgil Exner, tweaked the design by excising the Imperial's massive front bumper in favor of the less ornate one used on the base Chrysler, and the 300 went into production."

(Bob Rodger with the twin-inline carbureted engine in the 300E, a vehcile he formulated as Chief Engineer at Chrsyler (Chrysler PR image). Source: Mopar Max)

"Since then, Rodger's inspiration (or at least its namesake) has gone in and out of production several times. At first, it was offered as a high-performance, well-appointed sibling to the lavishly luxurious Imperial atop Chrysler's lineup. Later, it wasn't much more than a heavily optioned Newport, and a few years after that, it was a redecorated Cordoba. Some two decades later, it became a high-performance version of the corporate front-wheel-drive LH sedan platform. Today, it's the herald of a new rear-drive future for Chrysler and the most spectacular home yet for an all-new Hemi V8. It's amazing how Chrysler came back to Bob Rodger's basic idea nearly a half century later."

Now for some history on the different Generations of the Chrysler 300! Hope you enjoy it! 

First Generation: 1955-1956

Officially offered for sale on February 10, 1955, the first Chrysler 300 offered 300 horsepower aboard, making it among the quickest cars of its time, getting to 60 mph in just 9.8 seconds!!! But beyond being the most powerful production car of its time, the first Chrysler 300 was also among the best handling thanks to a heavy-duty suspension. However, even by the standards of the mid-'50s, the entire Chrysler range of cars looked a little dowdy. If the 300 were to prosper, it had to get looks to match its performance.

(1955 Chrysler 300)

Second Generation: 1957-1959

Virgil Exner, then Chrysler's design chief, called his new styling direction that was seen on all the 1957 Chryslers "Sweptline," in reference to the upswept tailfins that adorned the cars' rear flanks. And the car that best exemplified the new look was the new 300-C. This car wasn't just gorgeous, but glamorous. From its Ferrari-like grille to the plump rear fins, the 300-C exuded sex appeal in a way no domestic car had before it. The original 300-C is still considered by many to be the most beautiful and desirable 300 of them all.

(1957 Chrysler 300)

Third Generation: 1960-1962

The all new 1960 Chryslers looked different, and they truly were as the corporation adopted unibody construction techniques for all its full-size cars. So the 300-F would be the first 300 to lack a traditional ladder frame underneath it.

The tail fins were now razor-thin and ended in a point that looked ready to impale pedestrians. The flat trunk lid between the fins featured the impression of a spare tire. And up front, there was a spectacular, yet tastefully simple, grille with just two thin chrome bars intersecting at the grille's center.

(1960 Chrysler 300)

Fourth Generation: 1963-1964

A major restyling came to all Chryslers for 1963, and the Letter Series 300 was no exception. However, the company decided to skip over the letter "I" and named this car the 300-J. And it was available only as a two-door hardtop with a 390-hp version of the 413 Wedge under its hood.

(1963 Chrysler 300)

Fifth Generation: 1965-1966

For 1965, the 300s got a sleeker body. For the first time, dual carbs weren't available and output of the 413 dropped to 360 hp on the 300-L. 

(1965 Chrysler 300)

Sixth Generation: 1967-1968

A new roof and pointed grille distinguished the 1967 300 from the '66 model, and the four-door sedan was gone from the lineup. But the biggest change was a move up to Chrysler's 440-cubic-inch (7.2-liter) V8 which, inhaling through a single four-barrel, was rated at 350 hp.

(1967 Chrysler 300)

Seventh Generation: 1969-1971

The 300 had always been a big car, but in 1969 it grew even larger with a new slab-sided body it shared with the lower-line Newport and luxury-leader Imperial. The available engines and body styles stayed the same, and sales dipped slightly to 32,472 cars.

Nothing was new about the 1970 300, except for revised taillights. The 300 would limp into 1971 shorn of its convertible model and selling just 13,939 units. There was no 1972 Chrysler 300, and practically no one mourned its passing.

(1969 Chrysler 300)

Eighth Generation: 1979

By 1979, Chrysler's midsize personal luxury car, the Cordoba, was four years old and beginning to fade in the marketplace. So midway through the model year Chrysler decided to redecorate the Cordoba using white paint, some phony front fender vents and red, white and blue pinstriping, and called it the "300." That sounds bad, but it gets worse. The only engine offered was a 195-hp, 360-cubic-inch (5.9-liter) V8 which, when combined with the three-speed automatic transmission, produced less than thrilling performance.

No wonder that the 300 went into a 20-year hibernation after that.

(1979 Chrysler 300)

Ninth Generation: 1999-2004

Every 300 produced between '55 and '79 had a V8 engine, rear-wheel drive and at least one two-door body style in common. The all-new 1999 300M was an altogether different beast: a four-door sedan with a V6 engine in its nose driving the front wheels. Yet by most measures it was the best 300 yet.

Based on the second-generation of Chrysler's "cab forward" LH platform, the 300M used a 3.5-liter, SOHC, 24-valve V6 making a commendable 253 hp (that's net horsepower, a far more conservative standard than the "gross" rating used in the '50s and '60s) and mounted longitudinally in the engine bay. It drove a four-speed automatic transaxle that featured "AutoStick" manual shifting using the floor-mounted lever. Much of what one would expect on a "Letter Car" was in fact standard, including leather seating surfaces, power seats, power everything else and, for the first time on a 300, four-wheel disc brakes with ABS.

The 300M would finish out its life in 2003 and 2004 with the open secret of the imminent return of a rear-drive, V8-powered 300 haunting it. The anticipation for what came next was almost overwhelming.

(1999 Chrysler 300)

Tenth Generation: 2005-Present

The current Chrysler 300 is nothing short of sensational. Except for the fact that it's built in the same plant and can be had with the same 3.5-liter V6 engine in lower-end models (there's also a base model with a 2.7-liter V6), the new 300 shares practically nothing with the outgoing 300M. The new unibody structure mounts a rear-drive drivetrain and incorporates suspension components originally developed for the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. The styling is aggressively American with more than a taste of gangster influence. The best news, of course, is sitting up at the top of the range, the new 300C model powered by the new 5.7-liter "Hemi" V8 engine making 340 hp.

It's still too early to call the new 300 a classic, but it's obviously an exciting development in the nameplate's history. And with a lengthy list of safety features and optional all-wheel drive (for those who face harsh winters), in addition to its stunning performance and styling, we don't see any reason to be anything but optimistic about its future.

(2015 Chrysler 300)

So, with that trip down memory lane, we can visually see and compare the different changes and morphs that the Chrysler 300 went through to get to where it is today. Through the good, the bad, and climbing back into appreciation once more, the Chrysler 300 is truly an American classic in our opinion!



(Article Source: Edmunds.com)