Plymouth Savoy

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Plymouth Savoy
Production period: 1954-1964
Class : Full size
Body versions : Sedan , coupe , station wagon
Previous model: Plymouth Cranbrook
Successor: Plymouth Satellite

The Plymouth Savoy was a passenger car that Chrysler sold under the Plymouth brand from 1954 to 1964.

Model history

Full-size Savoy
Plymouth Savoy (1956)

Plymouth Savoy (1956)
Production period: 1954-1961
Body versions : 2- / 4-door sedan , coupe , station wagon
Engines: Gasoline engines :
3.6 - 6.3 l
75 - 246 kW
Length: 4813 - 5321 mm
Width: 1886-2032 mm
Height:
Wheelbase : 2896-2997 mm
Empty weight :

1954-1958

For the 1954 model year, Plymouth replaced its entire model range with new vehicles. The Plymouth Savoy was located between the entry-level Plaza and the top model Belvedere . The names of the new models had been taken from well-known hotels, in this case the Savoy Hotel in London .

The name Savoy had already been used by Plymouth from 1951 to 1953 for an equipment line of the full-size models. Both the Concord Savoy and the later Cranbrook Savoy were station wagons with better equipment than the cheaper Suburban station wagons.

From 1955, the Plymouth Savoy wore the brand's so-called forward look from the late 1950s, which was also best known for the Plymouth Fury from the film Christine . This design style was created by Virgil Exner and enjoyed great popularity. Special features of this style are tail fins and the front sloping front.

The Savoy was always available as a sedan with four doors or as a two-door called Club Sedan . There was also a station wagon and in 1956 a coupe could also be ordered. Technically, Plymouth relied on a conventional frame construction with a front engine and rear-wheel drive. Flathead in-line six-cylinder engines were initially used as the drive . V8 engines followed later.

1959-1961

In 1958 Plymouth discontinued the Plaza, the affordable entry into the full-size class was now the Savoy. Both hardtop models were abandoned, as were the side decorations and better interiors that it originally owned as the mid-range. However, the sales figures did not decrease and it was used so often for taxi fleets that in 1960 a completely new model, the Plymouth Taxi Special, emerged from the Savoy series.

From 1960, the old in-line six-cylinder was replaced by the much more modern Slant-Six, with which the output of the basic model increased to 145 bhp (108 kW). A welcome addition to the now much larger Savoy. It stayed with the sedan with two or four doors, a coupe was only available in 1959.

The models of the late 1950s were still praised for their design, the revisions of the early 1960s were heavily criticized. According to edmunds, the 1960 and 1961 Plymouth models are the 12th and 13th ugliest cars of all time.

"Most beholders would agree ... it was hit with the ugly stick"

"Most viewers would agree ... that it was ugly as the night"

- J. Kelly Flory : American Cars, 1960-1972: Every Model, Year by Year

1962-1964

B-Body Savoy
Plymouth Savoy (1964)

Plymouth Savoy (1964)
Production period: 1962-1964
Engines: Gasoline engines :
3.6 - 5.2 l
75 - 246 kW
Length: 5131 - 5245 mm
Width: 1920 mm
Height: 1364 - 1400 mm
Wheelbase : 2946 mm
Empty weight :

When the rumor arose that the competition was planning smaller vehicles for 1962, Chrysler wanted to follow this step and also downsize its full-size models. However, this rumor was only partially correct. Work had been done on the introduction of the new middle class , the Chevrolet Nova and the Ford Fairlane were located between the compact class and full-size.

The new, smaller Plymouth, paired with a design that is still unpopular, was poorly received by buyers. The new B-Body platform was modern, with a self-supporting body that offered identical interior dimensions as its predecessor despite its smaller external dimensions. In addition, there was a significant weight reduction of around 400 pounds in total, the equivalent of around 180 kg. The body versions continued to offer sedans with two or four doors and a station wagon .

A major revision followed in 1963. A new front section with four headlights of the same size replace the old, unpopular front. With a straight sideline and a higher rear, the car should appear longer. These measures ensured better customer acceptance.

Another revision followed in 1964, before the name Savoy was removed from the Plymouth model range. The Plymouth Fury was the entry-level model in Plymouth's great class in the USA . Only in Canada did the Savoy still exist in 1965.

Suburban

During the entire construction period, the Savoy was also offered as a station wagon . From 1954 to 1957 it was called the Savoy Suburban . In 1958, the station wagons were spun off from the series, the middle class station wagon was called Custom Suburban . Since the Savoy became the entry-level model for the Plymouth brand in 1959, the corresponding entry-level station wagon was now the Deluxe Suburban . With the change to the smaller B platform, the station wagons were reassigned to the respective series, the name Savoy returned to the station wagon for the rest of the production time.

Trivia

In the film, Christine of John Carpenter Savoy- and were Belvedere- models to represent the evil 1958er- Plymouth Fury used.

gallery

  • Plymouth Savoy (1954)

  • Striking tail fins from model year 1958

  • Stylistically questionable: Savoy from 1960

Web links

Commons : Plymouth Savoy  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

swell

  • Gunnell, John (editor): The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1946-1975 , Kraus Publications, Iola (1987), ISBN 0-87341-096-3 .
  • Don Butler: The Plymouth and DeSoto Story , Crestline Publishing (1979), ISBN 0-912612-14-2 .
  • Motor Vehicle Data Book , Sanford-Evans Communications Ltd., various editions 1955–1966.
  • Ben Deutschman-Owner: Plymouth Savoy Limousine 4 Doors (1960) http://www.benscarpage.com

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ 100 ugliest cars of all time edmunds.com.Retrieved March 5, 2017.
  2. ^ J. Kelly Flory: American Cars, 1960-1972: Every Model, Year by Year . McFarland, 2004, ISBN 978-0-7864-1273-0 , p. 123.