Chrysler Sunbeam

A little history

In poor financial state during the Sixties, the Rootes group was taken over by Chrysler, eager to build for itself the same kind of global empire its main rival General Motors and Ford already had at their disposal. Alas, as we already discussed earlier, Chrysler was soon moribund itself. Furthermore, the American giant multiplied mistakes in its management of its European subsidiaries: throwing away the old Rootes nameplates to which the British drivers were attached in order to make space for the lone “Chrysler” name, sacrificing the traditional Rootes quality on the altar of cost... you can check here for a few additional idiocies perpetrated under American “direction”. By the mid-Seventies, with its coffers desperately empty, the former Rootes group’s production was limited to the old Imp, the old Hunter and the not-so-old-but-rapidly-becoming-older Avenger. See the picture?

Chrysler’s big shots got an idea to insufflate new life into the dying body of the old firm. They approached the British government and blackmailed it: if public funds would not support the company – in other words if the taxpayer’s money would not pay for the American management’s blunders – the factory would be simply closed. The economic circumstances were perhaps more problematic in Britain (and yet more in Scotland where the factory stood) than they were in the rest of the world at this time, so the government, eager not to send more people to the dole, signed the check. The financial effort was certainly a large one for the government, but was still insufficient to alleviate Chrysler’s disaster. If it allowed to introduce a new model, simply called the Chrysler Sunbeam, this car was nothing more than a stopgap.

The Sunbeam was a compact hatchback, only available with three doors. Though the body was brand new, under the skin virtually all components were carried over from previous models. The platform was a shortened version of the Avenger’s one, which meant rear-wheel-drive was retained at a time when most popular cars had turned to FWD. Surprisingly, it would have been easy to draw parts from Chrysler-Simca as Chrysler’s French subsidiary then had most of its models powered through the front wheels, though this wasn’t the company’s choice. Base engine was the small 900cc already provided by Coventry Climax for the Imp, and a larger 1.3-litre block.

The Chrysler Sunbeam was ready for the 1978 model year, a precious addition to a range from which the Imp and the Hunter were now absent. Despite its limitations (anaemic base engine, limited range, unpractical rear hatch) the new car appeared fresh enough to sell in decent numbers. Nonetheless it would probably be forgotten today if not for its performance versions. In early 1979, Chrysler applied the Volkswagen Golf’s methods and introduced a Sunbeam Ti, fitting into the small car a 100-hp, 1.6-litre engine lifted from the Avenger. An even more potent version of the Sunbeam was just a few weeks away: the Sunbeam Lotus. Chrysler had secured Lotus’ help to design a very special version of its car, aimed at rally racing. Lotus squeezed its own 2.2-litre engine, good for 150 hp under the bonnet.

As it turned out Chrysler would never see its Sunbeam race in rally racing. Before the development of the car was over the whole European subsidiaries were turned over to PSA. They were not even sold, considering their extremely poor state, but given instead, the only requirement for the French group being to shoulder their huge debts.

By mid-1979 Peugeot revived the old Talbot name in order to replace the Chrysler badge on all the products it inherited from the American company. The British models were condemned, though they were kept in production for the time being. Peugeot made good use of the Talbot Sunbeam Lotus, which after initial successes during the 1980 season went on to win the whole world championship for manufacturers in 1981 (Ari Vatanen got the driver’s title at the wheel of a Ford). Nonetheless the car was now in its very last year. All the remaining “genuine” British models, the Sunbeam and the Avenger, were removed from the range at the end of the 1981 model year. Production of the Sunbeam stood at 200,000, with about 2,200 of these being of the famed Lotus variant.

About the model

Model: Talbot Sunbeam Lotus
Year: 1981
Event: 1981 Rallye do Brasil, driven by Guy Fréquelin, navigator Jean Todt (finished 2nd overall)
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.20 of its Voitures de Rallye de Collection press series
Acquired: brand new, in December 2004, in Souillac, France

A very average job from Ixo for Altaya. The all-red rear lights of this version are particularly annoying. I'll give a 9/20 to it, no more.

Chrysler Airflow

A little history

Up to the early Thirties, the pace of change for automobile look wasn’t a fast one. Then engineers and designers discovered aerodynamics, known at first as streamlining: an empirical form of the former, a simple gimmick aimed at appealing customers in an era which was constantly projecting itself into the future. Within a few years though, the approach to aerodynamics applied to automobiles became more scientific, at least for a handful of carmakers.

The period certainly astonished many a motorist. Cars were becoming outdated within a few years due to constant innovation, which along the way brought some odd designs. Among those, the Chrysler Airflow was surely the most forward-looking. Equally certain was the fact that when it first appear in 1934, it looked like nothing else on the road.

A large corporation in the absolute but a minor contender when compared to General Motors and Ford, Chrysler had no other option throughout its history than challenge its competitors on the field of innovation. The company had just been able to adapt to its own cars the low silhouettes of front-wheel-drive models pioneered by Cord and Ruxton when it presented a truly ground-breaking automobile, the Airflow, brainchild of Chrysler engineer Carl Breer, helped by chief stylist Oliver Clark and fully supported by Walter P. Chrysler himself. A patient study of the evolutions of a car through air, thanks to a purposely-built wind tunnel, was the first step in the Airflow design. Yet the futuristic character of the new Chrysler wasn’t only on the outside. The car was among the very first to adopt all-steel monocoque construction, decades ahead of rivals GM and Ford, and weight balance was carefully studied, ideal distribution being attained by moving the engine over the front wheels.

The Chrysler Airflow was unveiled in 1934 to an amazed public. The new car was low and sleek. The rear wheel arches were skirted, while its windshield was of a new “V” type made of two panes of flat glass. Headlights were mounted flush in the front wings, while the upright front end had given way to a rounded one, ornate with a large “waterfall” grille. The first road tests revealed a safe car, with a handling far superior to any of its rivals, thanks to the good weight distribution mentioned above. Next to the Chrysler Airflow range sat its smaller relative, the DeSoto Airflow, while Dodge and Plymouth had to content themselves with conventional models – on the long run, they had nothing to regret.

Potential customers were surprised, curious, even interested, but then came to their mind the fateful question traditionally brought by automotive projects too much ahead of their times: “Do I want to be seen driving such a thing?” All too often the answer was “no”, and initially sales were slow. The people at Chrysler weren’t alarmed. They knew their car was revolutionary, and expected its success to come progressively. Unfortunately, it never did.

Nineteen thirty-four proved disastrous for Chrysler and DeSoto. While the former had retained a limited range of conventional cars, the latter only relied on the new Airflow, and saw its sales take a plunge, a debacle from which it never really recovered until the brand was discontinued a quarter of a century later. For 1935, a new Airstream was introduced by both divisions. It was a fairly conventional car, but featured apparent streamlining. This shier approach attracted the public back into Chrysler’s showrooms and dealerships, at the expense of the Airflow which, despite a 1936 facelift mostly aimed at removed the criticized grille, saw its production numbers sink ever deeper. The DeSoto Airflow was retired after the 1936 model year, while its Chrysler counterpart survived for one more year. They had nonetheless paved the way for more successful imitators, which ironically had begun to appear even before the Airflow project was put to death. Among those who copied the Airflow outright, the most obvious are Volvo (with its Carioca), Peugeot (the 402), Toyota (the AA) and, seldom mentioned but indisputably Airflow-esque, Nash (the Ambassador).

About the model

Model: Chrysler Airflow Imperial Eight
Year: 1936
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.49 of its Voitures Classiques press series
Acquired: brand new, in November 2007, in Souillac, France

To my utter disbelief Ixo and Altaya didn’t choose the revolutionary 1934 Airflow to include in their classic cars series, but the tamer 1936 version. This little disappointment set aside this Airflow is rather good, though two-tone paint is surprising as most Airflows, should they be original cars or restored ones, are painted in simpler solid colours. My main remark would aim at the “chrome” parts (grille and louvres in particular), which are much too plastic-like in appearance. My rating is 12/20.

Chrysler LH

A little history

Around 1990, it seems that Chrysler was heading straight to bankruptcy. Timely introduced, a radically new design would pull the company out of trouble – at least for a few more years: the Chrysler LH.

LH was the generic name for the platform Chrysler studied in order to replace its various upper mid-range sedans of the late Eighties. Oddly enough, Chrysler drew a lot from the ill-fated Eagle Premier and Dodge Monaco, unfortunate cars that had been inherited from the AMC takeover. Based on a Renault 21 chassis, but borrowing many mechanical parts and a few body elements, such as the doors, from the Renault 25, the Premier and Monaco’s careers ended in utter failure. Nevertheless, Chrysler found this base was reasonably modern to be used as a starting point for the LH, which most notably carried over its uncommon front-wheel-drive, longitudinal engine combination. A more noticeable particularity of the LH was its so-called “cab-forward” design, with its four wheels pushed to the corners of the car, allowing for good handling and spacious passenger compartment. Along with its modern appearance, the cab-forward design would be one of the main selling points of the LH.

The LH was launched in 1993. The range included the Chrysler Concorde, the Eagle Vision and the Dodge Intrepid. A Plymouth Accolade was considered and almost made it to the market, but the low-end company within the Chrysler group was already doomed, and the rebadging scheme was ultimately cancelled. On the other hand, two other models joined the initial three in 1994: the Chrysler New Yorker, aimed at slightly older, more conservative customers, and the Chrysler LHS, which offered a blend of luxury and performance which positioned it as a cheaper alternative to European imports, most notably German ones. All cars received V6 engines of 3.3- and 3.5-litre displacements, while transmission was solely through an automatic gearbox.

Without any true rival among the rest of the American automobile industry, the Chrysler LH soon cut itself an enviable share of the domestic market. Better still: it proved an influential car that showed the way to how American automobiles of the future should be designed. By 1997, competition had learned and was gaining fast on Chrysler, which nonetheless was resolute in staying ahead with a likewise admirable second-generation LH. Though the chassis was left unchanged for the most part, the new LH pushed even further the cab-forward concept, receiving a short, sloppy bonnet almost in line with its impressively large windshield, and an equally short boot. Released for the 1997 model year, the second LH was either built as a Chrysler LHS, a Chrysler Concorde or a Dodge Intrepid. Already dropped from the line by then, the old New Yorker name was nothing more than a piece of Chrysler’s patrimony. The Eagle brand being discontinued, there were no second-generation Vision, though an aborted project for such a car appeared one year later as the Chrysler 300M. This second LH was built with constant success until 2004 when, though still an advanced design by then, it was replaced by a rear-wheel-drive vehicle, the LX – see how surprising automobile history can sometimes be…

About the model

Model: Dodge Intrepid R/T
Year: c.2000
Maker: Hongwell
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Cararama
Acquired: second hand with neither stand nor box, in January 2007, in Shenzhen, China

That it is a Cararama, and not among the most recent ones, means that Minichamps-like quality isn’t in order. Nevertheless this die-cast, positioned half-way between collectibles and toys, still does the trick on a collector’s shelf. True, most details could have been done better, but nothing’s really botched. Furthermore, Cararama’s LH doesn’t have many rivals (who else cares about such a car?), and its price is among the lowest you can find. I’ll give 10/20 to it.

Chrysler 160 / 180 / 2 litres (C-Car)

A little history

By the late Sixties both Rootes in Great Britain and Simca in France were designing new top-of-the-range models. By 1970 both were also part of the Chrysler group, with the immediate effect that only one of their respective projects would proceed to the production stage. This gave the opportunity for their new American owners to discontent both the French and the British. The beautiful mock-ups that Bertone had made for Simca were scrapped, to be replaced by a Roy Axe design which seriously lacked personality. On the other hand, the V6 engine that had been studied in England and had gone as far as being heavily tested was also shelved, only modest four-bangers being retained for production. Furthermore, though the initial plan was to produce the car on both sides of the Channel, the British were virtually robbed of the car, which was ultimately built in Simca’s Poissy plant.

Typically the 160 and 180 models (their names reflecting the 1.6- and 1.8-litre capacities of their engines) were introduced at the Paris motor show in October 1970 – on the British market, the car would just be another import. Initial reactions from journalists were almost unanimous: too soft suspension and tricky handling, inglorious engines though precise steering. For the 1973 model year, Chrysler tried to add some prestige to the range with a “2 litres” variant, only forgetting when making vinyl roof and automatic transmission standard that the Europeans’ motoring taste somewhat differed from the Americans’. Adding such oddities to the car didn’t help, and the already poor sales continued to sink.

When the C-Car had been introduced in 1970, it was supposed to open a long and prosperous era of cooperation between European and American partners. In the end, it was the only locally-made vehicle ever to bear the Chrysler name in the Old World. By mid-1978, Chrysler was nearing a complete financial collapse. So you thought the present situation was never seen before? Well, back in the Seventies, Chrysler still had large assets around the world to get rid off in order to keep itself buoyant – nothing like this right now. Actually, the whole of its European operations didn’t bring so much cash: just one dollar, to be exact... That’s the purely symbolic price Peugeot accepted to pay to take over all of Chrysler factories in France, Great Britain and Spain – which came with huge debts to fill.

Never really developed by Chrysler, the C-Cars wouldn’t be more by Peugeot, which had its own 504s and 604s battling on the very same market, not mentioning the CX built by Citroën, a brand it had also taken over four years earlier. In 1979, the 160 became the 1609, while the 180 was renamed 1610, with little changes other than designations. A few more were built until early 1981, when the car retired at the term of a long but unhappy career. A modern and promising car, the Talbot Tagora, stepped in – deemed to a much shorter but equally miserable life than that of its predecessor…

About the model

Model: Chrysler 180
Year: 1974
Maker: Ixo
Scale: 1/43
Distributed by: Altaya as no.51 of its Nos Chères Voitures d'Antan press series
Acquired: brand new, in May 2006, in Souillac, France

During the Seventies, the 180 certainly was a much bigger success for Majorette in 1/60 scale than it was for Chrysler in full scale. I had many of the former, which brought me to like the latter at an early age. It’s therefore a pleasure to own one today in 1/43. Though it’s far from being Ixo’s most beautiful rendition, it positively above par when compared to other offers by the Chinese company. I’d give a 13/20 to it. Please note that Altaya since then released the “2 litres” version in its Simca collection.