WordFacts To Chew OnThe number of U.S.-based dealerships as of the last day of the following years:
| 1968 6,264 | 1972 5,466 | 1976 4,842 |
| 1969 6,092 | 1973 5,373 | 1977 4,846 |
| 1970 5,744 | 1974 5,193 | 1978 4,806 |
| 1971 5,539 | 1975 4,874 |
During that 10-year period, there was a net loss of 1,458 dealerships for a decline of 23 percent. The driver quarter window is the confirmed location for the MSRP label on a '60 Chrysler 300F two-door hardtop and a '70 Plymouth Superbird. How about other years, makes, models and body styles? According to the salesman's Pocket Price Guide, the C16 console was a no-cost option for the '70 Plymouth Sport Satellite four-door sedans and station wagons (write if you have one).
Where Is...The '71 Hemi 'Cuda featured in a factory color ad? It had elastomeric bumpers, dual painted racing mirrors, Rallye wheels with light argent silver centers, F60x15 Polyglas GT tires, wheel-lip mouldings, FE5 Rallye Red or EV2 Tor-Red body with a black vinyl roof, black billboard stripes, a black shaker, foglamps, black bucket-seat interior, hoodpins, and no antenna on the passenger fender. It was probably built in the late spring or early summer of 1970 and would have a VIN in the single or low-double digits. Does anyone know what happened to it?
Another mystery involves the Canadian data book for '70 Chryslers and Plymouths. The published ratings for the 426 Hemi are 410 hp at 5,000 rpm and 460 lbs.-ft. at 4,000 rpm. Do any north-of-the-border readers know why only the 426 Hemi had a different set of ratings between the U.S. and Canada? Was a surcharge applied over 410 hp?
Did You Know...That the front and rear carpets had small paper tags affixed to their undersides? Carpet from a '60 Imperial was from the Arwick Carpet Mills, while late '60s and early '70s carpets were by J.P. Stevens and Company. Were there other carpet manufacturers during the musclecar era?
Investigating UpdatesAt least one '71 Plymouth GTX has been verified as having the N96 Air Grabber hood and the V8 hood/fender transverse stripes combination. Let me know if any others are out there with supporting documentation. Speaking of the N96 option, what about the handful of '71 Challengers (non-R/Ts) equipped with the 340 or the 383 and any '70 'Cudas that combine the 440 4-bbl, 383 4-bbl, and N96 Shaker? Drop me a line with info on '69 four-speed C-Bodies, 361 and 383 2-bbl four-speeds, Mod Top Dodges and Plymouths, cars with stripes or decals the same color as the body paint, two-tone vehicles, cop cars, '67 Chryslers with blue vinyl roofs, '68 Chryslers with turquoise-and-white interiors, all '69-'72 factory 440 6-bbl cars, and '70 Chrysler Cordobas.
Contact Karl Pippart with your information or inquiries at C.A.R.S., Dept. MPRM, 23 Pueblo Rd., New Britain, PA 18901. He will attempt to answer your questions via this column or personally. Thanks!
Many requests have come in for data plate decoding, which I always perform for readers. As per a couple of inquiries, let us break down VINs for '68 and '73 Dodge B-Bodies while focusing specifically on two-door body styles.
Character one is the car line (W = Dodge B-Body); character two is the price class (low, medium-high, premium, and special), and characters three and four are the body style (in parentheses).