THREE OF A KIND

Plymouth badly needed its 1965 cars to be successful. Following the stunning 1957 to 1959 models that were so good-looking, it forced rivals General Motors into last-minute redesigns; the 1960 Plymouth’s styling rather losing its way. Things got worse in ‘61 with the full-size cars having a bug-eyed monster look and so unnerving was it to buyers that Plymouth was outsold by Rambler. Build quality wasn’t always great either, although Plymouth’s rust-proofing had been vastly improved. So these cars weren’t bad – they just seemed badly out of step.

“I TUNED THE ENGINE AND FITTED ELECTRONIC IGNITION – IT REALLY FLIES NOW!”

Then came the 1962s. They suffered from downsized proportions after Chrysler acted on the incorrect rumours that Ford’s forthcoming mid-sized Fairlane and Chevrolet’s Chevy II meant both rival companies were shrinking their entire car lines. The 1962 Fury styling was love it or hate it, and Plymouth slipped to eighth place in sales terms.