When it comes to my cars, I like my cars as manly as the manly men I identify with. Big, bold, powerful. Not overly flashy either; I'll substitute superficial flash for real performance any day. Just give me meat. No need to cook it. Now, when it came to combining manly men and manly cars, no man and car came together better than the combination of Ricardo Montalban and the Chrysler Cordoba.
The Cordoba in this ad does not have Corinthian Leather despite the notation.
As an impressionable nipper growing up in the concrete and asphalt jungle of suburban New York City, I thought that guy in those Cordoba commercials the coolest guy since Captain Kirk. He could tell me to smear peanut butter on my chest to grow hair and I'd do it. While the car he was hawking was nothing more than a castrated Dodge Charger/Chevrolet Monte Carlo wannabee, with this cool guy was selling it had to be cool. Such the power of an effective pitch man. Keep in mind, this was two to three years before he put the white leisure suit on that made him a household name.
Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino died in 2009 at the age of 88.
When it came around for me to get my first car at the tender age of 17 in 1982, naturally, I bought a Mercury Comet instead of a Cordoba. I couldn't afford a Cordoba. Lord knows what I was thinking when I purchased that squeaky piece of crap Comet but I did have the good sense to ditch it quickly and with no replacement in site. That's when you know the hatred is pure, white hot and honest; when you dump someone or some thing with nothing waiting in the wings. "Oh, it's not me, sweetheart; it's all you. Literally, nothing is better than you." Isn't that what manly men do? Cut their losses then figure out what they're going to do? Fire, ready, aim. That's me. Or, that was me. Being a responsible husband and doting father can change a manly man.
This is a '77 Cordoba. Mine was a '75.
After weeks of fruitless searching and finding Cordobas that were two to three times north of my price range, I found a family in my neighborhood selling their 1975 Cordoba, with just 50,000 miles on it, for a mere $750. They were selling it so cheap because they had gotten it as a gift from a family member who dealt in stolen and repossessed cars and they didn't feel right about reaping a huge payday just because they didn't want the car anymore. Nice people! I didn't ask any questions as I jumped, sorry, more like pounced on it. While it needed a paint job and some suspension work (the family's son had beaten on it considerably) all in all, it was a fabulous deal. And best of all it was the car that Ricardo Montalban made famous.
The 1975 Cordoba was Chrysler's second "Cordoba". The first one was a one year only (1970) optional trim package on the Newport. It was only available on two door models.
Compared to that crappy six cylinder Comet, the step up in power and performance was formidable. Although saddled by a soul crushing catalytic converter, teeny tiny Holley 2 barrel and a 2.4 rear end, the big 360 V-8 did its best to entertain. Silver lining, for a two ton, carbureted, mid '70's American, it got decent gas mileage.
The rich Corinthian leather was quite nice, not that my car or the car Ricardo Montalban pitched actually had it. Softer and way more supple than the industrial leather offered by General Motors, Chevrolet did not offer a leather interior on the Cordoba's arch nemesis, the Monte Carlo.
I dug just about everything about the Cordoba (except the vinyl roof) but that car did have an Achilles heel, poor winter weather traction. When it would snow or it would be icy, watch out. Here comes Connolly in his Cordoba; bad things happened. Snow tires were no help when the back end comes swinging around like a baseball bat.
The problem with these cars was traction in bad weather. There wasn't any.
I can't tell you how many times I spun out in my Cordoba but it had to be at least a half dozen major spills in the near five years I owned it. The front to rear weight bias on this car was just ridiculous. I wrecked it three times because of bad weather, the final time being that infamous December morning in 1987 when I slid under the business end of a Town of Babylon maintenance vehicle crushing the roof down on top of me. A manly death for a manly car. Rest in peace my friend.
Me and 1978 Dodge Magnum restored in the spirit of my Cordoba.
I searched for years for a comparable Cordoba to replace it and finally bought the Cordoba's cousin, a 1978 Dodge Magnum. I restored it to look like my long lost, oh-so-manly Cordoba and I hot rodded it too. That car was fast. Quite fun. To this day, though, when asked what my favorite car was that I've owned, I never hesitate when I say, The Cordoba.
That car still is the greatest automotive purchase of my life. Ricardo Montalban was proud of me.
No comments:
Post a Comment