1994 Chrysler New Yorker - Driven Like a New Yorker Would

One of these came roaring past me the other day on 680 west of Youngstown, Ohio doing like ninety  and zig zagging in and out and around slower traffic. I was like, "Wow. I don't know if I'd be going that fast in a twenty-six year old Chrysler New Yorker." I was also like, "That is still a great looking car". 

Chrysler's 1994-1997 "New Yorker" was part of their much ballyhooed "LH" series of cars that first came out in 1993 mercifully replacing a significant amount of K-car vestiges. There was a whole gaggle of them among, at the time, three of Chrysler's then four automobile divisions including Chrysler (the division), Dodge and the late Eagle division. Plymouth didn't get one which probably indicated to anyone working for Plymouth they should get their resume together.

For 1993 Dodge had their Intrepid and Eagle had their Vision; yes that was the literal name of their LH sedan. Chrysler, again, the division, had the Concorde and for 1994 launched the LHS and it's more luxurious twin, the New Yorker. I liked all the LH's but was most fond of the stretched wheel base LHS and New Yorker. While certainly no 1976-1978 New Yorker or some of the more tasteful NYer's of yore, it went along way towards assuaging the pain and angst caused by the "R-body" and "K-car" based models of the '80's and early '90's. Ding dong the yee old literal shit box was dead.

All LH's were surprisingly nice riding and handling cars that in their time and having just a modest V-6, as I saw with that maniac on 680 this week, could really go. What made the LHS and New Yorker special for me was their styling. I usually don't find four door sedans appealing but the rear roof lines and tapered hood on these had me at hello. Me thinks that Ford took an inspiration or two from these cars when they redrew their Lincoln Town Car for 1998.

Compared to the blocky Cadillac's of the time and the oh-so-Taurus Continental, Chrysler had a cutting edge design that they claimed was inspired by the classic lines of the Bugatti Type 57SC. Automobile pundits back then a tad less generous of praise saying that it reminded them of classic Jaguar saloons of the '50s and '60's. Still, not too shabby a comparison. Regardless, it got my attention and the speeding New Yorker the other day got my attention too.

These were unique front wheel drive automobiles in their day what with their engines being longitudinally mounted as opposed to being transverse. The design gave Chrysler the flexibility to make rear wheel drive and all wheel drive models if they so chose. The freakishly awesome and highly flawed Plymouth\Chrysler Prowler was a rear wheel drive retro whatever based on a rear wheel drive adaptation of the LH platform. Chrysler never made a four wheel drive version LH.

The relatively odd engine arrangement, hearkening back to the days of GM's "Unitized Power Package" where the torque was routed out the back of the transmission through a transfer case to the front wheels, first appeared on something called the Eagle Premier. Based on a Renault design, when Chrysler bought AMC back in the late 1980's from Renault part of the deal was that Chrysler had to honor all automobile contracts that AMC was part of. That meant they had to market and sell the sedan Renault was working on at the time of sale with AMC; that car became the Eagle Premier. Chrysler baked up the "Eagle" division so as not to shoehorn another Chrysler sedan into showrooms still clogged with K-cars and their various off shoots. Eagle didn't last long with Chrysler pushing it out of the nest after 1998.

Somewhere along the way someone at Chrysler had the good sense to realize that the Eagle Premier was actually a robustly engineered automobile with a powerful engine and cavernous interior. While its styling left a lot to be desired, it proved to be more than an ample underpinning to an entire fleet of automobiles that would finally put the K-car out to pasture.It also helped Chrysler out of the financial dire straits the company found itself in after the K-car lost its luster. Some things never change.

Chrysler being Chrysler of course, things didn't work out exactly according to plan. Blame economies of scale - had these been GM or even Ford designs they would have popped these out like popcorn . Tiny Chrysler couldn't get enough of them out there to really make a dent in a wobbly domestic luxury sedan market. Also, ill-planned marketing failed to position them properly. They looked nice but lacked the cache of even Buick so who and what buyer were they going after? Bargain basement pricing didn't help either. Chrysler retooled all the LH's after 1997 pulling the plug on the New Yorker nameplate; a brand that hand been around since 1940.

Just as well. Being a "New Yorker" myself, I never quite understood what the nameplate was supposed to imply Yes, I get that it was to co-notate class and "luxury" but honestly, if you're from the area, you know that there's nothing overtly special about "New Yorkers" aside from being lucky and being born there. Then there's the obnoxious stereotype that's hard to tap down. To those who visit perhaps there is some allure but I digress. Nonetheless, it was good to see one of these the other day being driven like a New Yorker would drive one.