| What's New?
"Delta Wing" styling
with particularly attractive rear fin treatment . . . More
expensive models distinguished from Coronet by different grille
treatment ... Expanded engine choice including four V8s and
a six . . . Torsion-bar front suspension . . . Wide range
of wagons including two with rear-facing third seat . . .
Three-speed, pushbutton TorqueFlite.
Your Choice
Dodge brackets the upper and
lower ends, respectively, of the low and medium Price fields,
probably the most competitive area in the automotive industry
and certainly the most crowded. Ford Fairlanes Plymouth Belvederes,
Chevrolet Bel Airs Ramblers, and Studebaker Commanders all
have luxury models Priced about the same as Dodge's relatively
austere Coronet. Here you have to choose between flashy or
quality interiors and trim.
Then Dodge meets Pontiac and
Mercury head-on across the board.. Luxury or powerpacked D-500
Dodges infringe on the bailiwick of smaller Buicks and Oldsmobiles.
It's a tough sell, as any Dodge dealer will tell you, but
also a spot to look for bargains once the splash of new car
introductions has toned down.
Three basic Dodge series, Coronet,
Royal,. and Custom Royal, offer every normal body type including
a four-door hardtop. The six-cylinder engine can be installed
only in Coronet two- and fourdoor sedans. The Lancer designation
is used for sports models, regardless of series. Station wagons,
both two- and four-door, are listed separately, but graduate
in luxury as above. The super-hot D-500 engine can be installed
in any car at extra cost.
Dodge Power
The husky, 138-horsepower six-cylinder
engine which Dodge calls "Getaway" continued because
of its surprising popularity among fleet owners, and also
wit private citizens, particularly in the East. It can be
combined with either manual transmission or the old-style,
two-speed pushbutton PowerFlite. Overdrive is d longer available;
it just doesn't sell for Dodge any more.
The single-rocker-arm, 325-cubic-inch
Red Ram V8 of 245 horsepower is standard on Coronets and Royals;
two more carburetor barrels and dual exhausts make it Super
Red Ram power for Custom Royals and all station wagons.
For those who want top power
for the price field arid size car, there's the mighty D-500
powerplant. This is the one with double , rocker arms and
hemispherical combustion chambers. Its record for performance
with reliability, as proved last year at Daytona and on countless
race tracks, makes it the most desirable of all Dodge engines.
Symbol of the extra power (up to 310 horsepower) and cost
are the D-500 emblems on your car, and most people will read
the one on the trunk.
TorqueFlite, the new three-speed
pushbutton transmission, is an option with any V8, and two-speed
PowerFlite, a good automatic that costs less, is available
on Coronet sixes and V8s only. Manual threespeed transmission
is standard equipment on all models. No overdrive is offered.
Dodge on the Road
A major reason that forced development
of Dodge's new torsion-bar front suspension system was the
stylists' dictum that the '57 models be five inches lower.
The horizontal bars snuggle out of the way alongside the frame,
and vertical wheel travel is far less than with coil springs.
The result is a ride revelation.
There is none of the harshness noticeable in some European
cars with similar suspension, yet handling and -roadability
are good enough to warrant dropping the D-500 stiffening kit
used this past year. All contact points are isolated in rubber,
and the ball-joint feature permits reduction of grease fittings
from 23 to 8.
Rear springs seem to be conventional
semi-elliptics on the surface, but on closer inspection, you'll
see that the rear axle has been moved forward to a point half
way between the middle of the spring and the front shackle.
Leaves in this area are seven times stiffer than in the rear.
This prevents rear-end rise when braking, and spring wrap
when accelerating.
Inside Your Dodge
The driver's eye is first caught
by an interesting new speedometer that fills with red rectangles
each five mph increment as speed increases. Other instruments
are readable and well-lighted. Pushbuttons for both types
of automatic transmissions are on the driver's left, out of
children's reach.
Seats, in all sedan and coupe
models, are comfortable for four, though the fifth and sixth
passenger might complain about sitting on the tunnel without
benefit of springs. Still, how often do you carry five or
six adults except for short distances.? Legroom is excellent;
in fact, better in some instances than in larger Chrysler
products. Headroom is reasonable considering the high-style
lowness.
Why Buy?
Famed Dodge dependability should
be a Prime consideration . . . Sparkling in teriois, especially
on higher-priced models Excellent Performance on regular fuel
Low, sleek styling that's different ...D-500 power available
in any model . . . Fine choice of wagons, some with rearfacing
third seat. |
