History
In the early 1960s, when other upmarket brands were expanding into smaller cars with such models as the Mercury Comet and Buick Skylark, Chrysler very publicly declared that there would "never" be a smaller Chrysler.
The Cordoba name was used in 1970 on a special version of a Chrysler Newport hardtop (two-door and four-door). This full-size model was a "limited edition luxury car, designed to introduce you to Chrysler" and consisted of an exclusive "Cordoba Gold" paint with matching wheels, wheel covers, and side molding with vinyl inserts. Chrysler described this model's textured antique gold all-vinyl interior, matching vinyl roof cover, and the hood ornament with an Aztec eagle as "quiet Spanish motif". Included in the US$4,241.65 price was the 383 cu in (6.3 L) 290 bhp (220 kW) two-barrel carburetor V8 engine, automatic transmission, power steering, H78x15 fiberglass-belted whitewall tires, and a "golden tone" AM radio.
The smaller Cordoba was introduced in 1975, as a contender in the personal luxury market that was powered by smaller, more economical engines than other Chryslers, and riding on a 115 in (2,921 mm) wheelbase, 9 in (229 mm) less than the traditional models at the time. This single body style coupe was one of Chrysler's few genuine hits of the 1970s. At a time when the automaker was teetering on bankruptcy, demand for Cordobas actually exceeded supply for its first couple of years, with production of over 150,000 units for the inaugural 1975 models, and the most built in 1977, with 183,000 units. Half of Chrysler division production during this period (and occasionally more) was composed of Cordobas, and they helped to revive the division. All Cordobas were built in Windsor, Ontario.
Although Córdoba is the name of a city in Spain, the car's emblem was actually a stylized version of the Argentina cordoba coin. Either way, the implication was Hispanic, and this theme was carried out with somewhat baroque trim inside the vehicle, as well as by Chrysler famously using Mexican movie star Ricardo Montalban as the car's advertising spokesman. Notable was his eloquent praise of its "rich Corinthian leather" interior and his Americanized stress on the second syllable of the car's name. Chrysler Cordoba featuring Ricardo Montalban
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