AutoRevu Crap Cars Day 2: Chrysler Cordoba

 

  

My uncle had one of these beasts back in the early 1980's. It was exactly as pictured above, except he didn't have the ubiquitous chain link license plate frame. He did have the full luxury package which included A/C, power windows, locks, rear defrost, and deluxe radio. The thing was a lumbering beast of a car. The Lanuda roof was the key identifier with any late 70's car in North America. Who could miss the vinyl and tiny opera window?

This car reeks of the 70's and I'm sure my uncle smoked a ton of dope in this one. The one good thing I remember about the Cordoba was it was very comfy. The front and back seats were like couches in your grandma's basement: Ugly, but holy shit were they comfy. My uncle had the 2nd generation Cordoba with a 318 V8 engine. I think the white one above looks so much better than the shit-brown color.

According to Wikipedia, the Cordoba became one of Chrysler's few genuine hits of the 1970s, at a time when Chrysler was teetering on bankruptcy. Built in Windsor, Ontario, demand actually exceeded supply for its first couple of years, when production was over 150,000 annually. Half of Chrysler division production during this period (and occasionally more) was composed of Cordobas.

I have fond and sad memories of the Cordoba. In 1987 my father passed away from a massive heart attack on August 3. In my ride to the hospital, my uncle drove my brother and my mom 70 miles in his Cordoba. Much as I want, I cannot hate this car. I actually am quite fond of it.