1953 Chrysler Windsor Deluxe Newport

Selasa, 27 Mei 2014

1953 Chrysler Windsor Deluxe Newport



"America's First Family of Fine Cars offers for 1953, not only the finest engineered, but also, the most beautiful Chryslers ever designed. And it is this rare combination of fine engineering and exquisite beauty that makes the Chryslers the finest cars America has yet produced."
The indicator light pods suggest that this pretty battered looking Chrysler from Sancti Spiritus is a 6-cylinder powered Windsor Deluxe Newport. You won't find many Chrysler cars of that period on Cuban roads and among them, hardly ever you'll find a Newport 2-door hardtop.

Regrettably for the company, the conservatively styled Chryslers of that era weren't very popular. Just about 170.000 Chrysler left the factory in 1953. Put it into perspective: in the same year, 488.805 Buicks, 341.264 Oldsmobiles, and a whopping 1.1 million Chevrolets, including 300 Corvettes, were produced. Chrysler was a profitable company, but the big business clearly belonged to GM and Ford.

This sure wasn't the fault of Chrysler's engineers, as Chrysler engineering used to be the envy of the whole industry: the newly launched "Hemi" V-8 engine with its hemispherical combustion chambers, for instance, made the Windsor's sister model Chrysler 300 the most powerful American car of the time. In the quality department, too, Chrysler continuously excelled with a solid and long lasting construction. Yet, in a time when fancy styling ruled over quality, strong inner values alone weren't a good argument to win over prospective customers.