1958 Dodge Kingsway Custom

Kamis, 12 November 2015

1958 Dodge Kingsway Custom



„This year Dodge brings you a new fashion show on wheels – fresh-full of styling advances that are a dream away for ordinary cars! New 'safety-made' dual headlamps on every model! New glamour grille! New dashing color sweep! Here’s Dodge Flight-Sweep ’58 beauty . . . fleet-finned, sleek-lined and ready to win a place in your heart!“

Dodge by its badge, but Plymouth by any other name, this Kingsway Custom from Havana is a truly nice looking "Plodge". Easily discernible from the "real" 1958 Dodges by different tailfins and door handles, the Kingsway Custom was essentially a Plymouth Belvedere with a Dodge front clip bolted on. Chrysler built these export vehicles, based on the cheaper Plymouth platform, to give its dealers abroad competitively priced entry-level models.

With the chofer at the wheel you can see how nimble Chryslers "Forward Look" models actually appear, particularly when compared to the bloated GM designs of the same year. No surprise that the first sight of these Chryslers in late 1956 caused quite a dismay among the GM designers and triggered the move towards a leaner and cleaner styling for the whole 1959 GM lineup.