Origins
| Model years | 1962-1965 |
|---|---|
| Engine | 361CID 265 hp (198 kW) 265hp OHV V8 |
| Transmission | 3-speed manual 3-speed Torqueflite automatic |
| Wheelbase | 122 in (3,099 mm) |
| Length | 213.5 in (5,423 mm) |
The Custom 880 was a quick solution to consumer demand for a full-size Dodge passenger car during the 1962 model year.
The 1962 Dodges introduced in the fall of 1961 had their origins in a rumor heard by a Chrysler executive that Chevrolet was planning to downsize their full-sized automobiles for the 1962 model year. Not wanting Chrysler to play catch-up, and wanting to beat Chevrolet at its own game, Plymouth and Dodge designs were placed in an emergency downsizing program that took the previously approved full-size designs and shrank them to smaller vehicles that would compete head-to-head with the rumored smaller Chevrolet.
But to Chrysler's shock and dismay, Chevrolet's 1962 full-size lineup emerged slightly larger than the 1961 models, with the mid-range Chevrolet Bel Air (on a 119 in (3,000 mm) wheelbase) growing a .5 in (13 mm) longer in its body, although the car weighed 45 lb (20 kg) less than its 1961 predecessor. The rumored "small Chevrolet" turned out to be the new and Chevy II compact, which was intended to bolster Chevy's position where the Corvair had faltered in that segment of the market.
The "full-size" Dodge Polara and Dart that emerged for 1962 were built on a 3 in (76 mm) shorter (116 in (2,900 mm)) wheelbase and were 7 in (180 mm) shorter overall than the comparable Chevrolet, placing Dodge in the precarious position with consumers of not offering a true full-sized automobile. Ford also brought their new intermediate- or mid-size Fairlane and Mercury Meteor to market for 1962 with a 115 in (2,900 mm) wheelbase. They were roughly the same size as the new standard-size Dodges, which made the new Mopars intermediates by default.
Compounding the size issue were the designs themselves, which did not translate well from their full-size origins to what amounted to intermediate size. In the rush to shrink the cars, the proposed curved side glass was deleted in favor of flat glass, which blunted the effect of the graceful curve of the body sides. They also reduced the total glass area, which made the cars look smaller as well.
An unpopular design for second year in a row — the 1961 models had awkward-looking "reversed" tailfins and a pinched grille, among other unusual features — combined with the cars' smaller overall size, threatened Dodge's viability enough that Chrysler was forced to move immediately to stem Dodge's financial and market share losses.
Read more about this topic: Dodge Custom 880
Famous quotes containing the word origins:
“Compare the history of the novel to that of rock ‘n’ roll. Both started out a minority taste, became a mass taste, and then splintered into several subgenres. Both have been the typical cultural expressions of classes and epochs. Both started out aggressively fighting for their share of attention, novels attacking the drama, the tract, and the poem, rock attacking jazz and pop and rolling over classical music.”
—W. T. Lhamon, U.S. educator, critic. “Material Differences,” Deliberate Speed: The Origins of a Cultural Style in the American 1950s, Smithsonian (1990)
“Grown onto every inch of plate, except
Where the hinges let it move, were living things,
Barnacles, mussels, water weeds—and one
Blue bit of polished glass, glued there by time:
The origins of art.”
—Howard Moss (b. 1922)
“The settlement of America had its origins in the unsettlement of Europe. America came into existence when the European was already so distant from the ancient ideas and ways of his birthplace that the whole span of the Atlantic did not widen the gulf.”
—Lewis Mumford (1895–1990)