The Crusher Doesn't Like The Taste Of Corinthian Leather
We make fun of the Cordoba today— hell, we made fun of the Cordoba when it was new— but wouldn’t Fiat be wise to slather at least one 2011 Chrysler with “gold”-plated-plastic medallions and get some smooth-voiced macho man to pitch it on TV?
I’m not talking about that faux-classy plastic stuff that kinda looks convincing after you’ve knocked back 11 French 75s at the Hole In The Mole Club and staggered up to your parked Avenger Brougham Martha Stewart Edition LXXX in the fog. No, I mean pure cheeze, what Frank Zappa called “Cheepnis.” We’re Americans, by God! Just knowing we can roll into a Chrysler showroom and then burn rubber off the lot with a machine dipped in polystryrene heraldic crests, glued-on chrome script, and NearlyOak™ paneling makes us feel better.
Right. These are the thoughts that run through my head when I see a Cordoba— say, for example, a ’78 like this one I found at a Denver self-service yard— at the end of its personal-luxury road.
The Cordoba was one of the many dead ends that Chrysler careened down during the Middle Malaise Era, a car whose semi-strong sales (at first) hid the financial precipice looming not far ahead. A few years later, the K-platform family saved Chrysler’s ass and Chrysler ditched rear-drivers entirely; the Cordoba hung on until 1983.
Sadly, this car does not have the optional Corinthian Leather interior. The Crusher will enjoy its flavor.
It’s not possible to write about the Cordoba without referring to this ad. Here ya go!
Murilee Martin is the pen name of Phil Greden, a writer who has lived in Minnesota, California, Georgia and (now) Colorado. He has toiled at copywriting, technical writing, junkmail writing, fiction writing and now automotive writing. He has owned many terrible vehicles and some good ones. He spends a great deal of time in self-service junkyards. These days, he writes for publications including Autoweek, Autoblog, Hagerty, The Truth About Cars and Capital One.
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Here are some nice looking magnums. I'll take either the black or white one. Back in the fall I saw a magnum painted in primer sitting in a parking lot for sale. It still had all the trim and bits and pieces intact, and the body looked straight. Looked like it would have been a great candidate for a restoration. Unfortunately I didn't have time toi stop that day, figured I would when I was back out that way couple of days later. Sadly it was gone by then. http://hooniverse.com/2010/04/28/could-you-possibly-call-chrysler-cordoba-clones-obscure-muscle-cars/
If I had the money and bought one of these, I could install an Art Morrison Max-G chassis and a 3G Hemi crate engine. Cordoba SRT-8 anyone?