No one fooled by common Chrysler Royal

by David Burrell If you happened to be on the outskirts of Adelaide in early 1957, you might have seen car with canvas sheets tied over thei...

by David Burrell

If you happened to be on the outskirts of Adelaide in early 1957, you might have seen car with canvas sheets tied over their front and rear fenders. They were prototypes on their final evaluation run before being approved for production. Underneath the rudimentary camouflage hid the car Chrysler Australia hoped would renew its fortunes in Australia -- the Royal. Back then, Holden’s market share was climbing towards 50 per cent and BMC enjoyed 15 per cent -- as did Ford. But having reached 10 per cent market share in 1950, Chrysler had slipped to 4.8 per cent. This dramatic decline was not helped by the stodgy looking line-up of Plymouths, Dodges and DeSotos that they sold. This trio was really the same car underneath, a 1953 US Plymouth, that had been cynically badge engineered in an attempt to appeal to affluent buyers. Few were fooled. Despite keen pricing, by 1956, they were out styled by the Chevrolet Bel Air, Ford Customline and brand-new FE Holden. To improve sales, Chrysler Australia wanted to make and sell the new designs being released in the USA by its parent company. But, given the poor sales, the US would not agree to provide the funds to develop an all-new range for Australia. So, the local management decided to develop their own new model, based on the existing one. When the Royal was released in May, 1957 to the usual fanfare, it replaced the confusing Plymouth/Dodge/DeSoto models. It was touted as “setting the styling trends” with its “Forward Look”. Yeah, nah. Although the rear window was now wrap around, everyone could tell it was the existing Australian Plymouth on to which 1956 US Plymouth front and rear fenders had been grafted. The six-cylinder engines, which dated back to the 1930s, carried over. A 5.1 litre V8 was added in 1957, and the Plainsman station wagon and Wayfarer ute joined the line up in 1958. But sales continued to slide It was all too obviously the American car you bought if you could not afford a Chevrolet or Ford Customline. It looked out of date and, beyond a small contingent of loyal private buyers in regional areas, it sold mainly to government and hire car fleets. By the end of 1958, market share had hit a low of 2.8 per cent. In 1959 the range was given a minimal styling refresh. Just a pitiful 141 wagons had been sold and it was dumped. More styling changes were implemented for 1960. The roof was lowered, stacked dual headlights added, bullet-shaped tail lights empathised the rear fins and inside a new dashboard greeted occupants. Not that it made much difference. The Royal staggered on, with just 478 sales in 1963 -- its final year. All up, between 1957 and 1963, the Royal sedan, ute and wagon sold less than 2000 annually.  That is less than what Holden sold in a week. What kept Chrysler Australian viable was their truck and Simca sales. Luckily the Valiant arrived in 1962, and Chrysler Australia started to see an uplift in sales and market share. David Burrell is the editor of retroautos

AP3, AP2 and AP1 (left to right)

Outside the old Chrysler factory

Centre-stage

5.1-litre V8

The Chrysler Royal was produced from 1957 to 1963.

Launching the Royal

Camouflaged

Abandoned

Wayfarer utility

Plainsman station wagon

Fintastic

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