Plymouth 1957

Styling star of the low-price field; some will say of any price field. Top of 235 horsepower with the publicly available racing engine yet to come. Torsion bar front suspension. Wrap-over-the-top windshield on convertible. Rear facing third seat on some station wagons. Three-speed, pushbutton TorqueFlite.

Your Choice

Plymouth brackets the low-price field in the usual manner, with three lines of cars plus station wagons. The smartly dressed Belvedere should be compared with Chevrolet Bel-Airs, Ford, Fairlanes, and Ramblers. Not intended as an economy car in V8 form, only the biggest (3 0 1 -cubicinch) engine is offered unless you specify a six. Any body style including a four-door hardtop is available.

Less luxurious Savoys meet competition from Chevrolet Two-Tens and Ford Custom 300s. This is the car for the average family who is interested in transportation without all the frills. Resale value, however, drops off more sharply than on the most deluxe models. The line includes all body styles but the four-door hardtop and convertible. The Plaza is a car for fleet owners and salesmen, comparable to Ford's Custom and Chevrolet's One-Fifty.

Station wagon choice is unusually complete. DeLuxe, Custom, and Sport models are equivalent to Plaza, Savoy, and Belvedere, respectively. They are on the longest wheelbase (122 inches) in the low-price field. Both two- and four-door models are offered, the latter having the rear facing third seat when set up to carry nine passengers.

Perhaps for the first time, the governing factor in choosing a Plymouth will be whether or not you like the styling. This has been partially true since 1955, but prior to that, Plymouth looks could not have sold many cars. Expect some enterprising accessory manufacturer to come up with a dual headlight kit. Plymouth cut corners on this; the four scaled-beam units were a little expensive, so they substituted a vast parking light.

Plymouth Power

The Powerflow six, still a popular engine in metropolitan areas, is technically standard in all models. Most sales, however, will be to fleet owners, particularly the taxicab field where Plymouth maintains a commanding sales lead. Its popularity here is testimony to the reliability and economy not only of the engine but the whole car. The engine is identical in specifications to the six used in Dodges.

Plaza models for some time will feature a 277-cubic-inch V8 of 197 horsepower. Grab one of these before supplies run out, as it offers practically the same performance with more economy than the next engine up the line, a 301-cubic-inch V8 with 215 horsepower. This is the standard V8 for Savoys, Belvederes, and all suburbans. With four-barrel carburetor, dual exhausts, and a boost to 235 horsepower, it is optional on all models.

Basic transmission is three-speed synchromesh with overdrive optional. Short supply of the pushbutton, three-speed TorqueFlite units temporarily limits their application to Belvederes and Sport Suburbans. Other Plymouths offer the older two-speed version. It is interesting to note that more and more, in fact, almost a majority of Plymouth taxicabs are being sold with automatic transmissions. The reason, in this hard-boiled business, is that slightly poorer gasoline mileage is more than offset by maintenance savings.

Plymouth on the Road

The wallowy, sometimes even wobbly, Plymouth ride is a thing of the past. The new, combination torsion-bar and ball-joint front suspension plus redesigned rear leaf springs and much lower structure (car is only 4.5 feet high) give roadability that under some conditions approximates that of a sports car. Despite this, the ride is still soft.

A major past deficiency has been corrected by adoption of the Chrysler Corp. center-plane brake, now called "total-contact" by the ad men. This is one of the best set of brakes in the business. Optional power steering of a very sensitive variety prevents getting your arms tangled while wheeling the Plymouth around corners. Standard steering requires too many turns from lock to lock.

Inside Your Plymouth

Except for about an inch less rear seat .legroom, Plymouth interiors give you all the space that can be found in theoretically bigger Dodges and DeSoto Firesweeps. There is even more front seat head and legroom.

The instrument panel, if you forget glove box location and design, is attractive and thoughtfully laid out. Padding is an option for the first time. Visibility through the tremendous front glass area is exceptional. Some will complain about the mirror mounted on the panel, but to hang it from the header would really have created a hazard to vision. Quality and appearance of upholstery in Belvederes is on a par with competition; the same in other models can only be described as serviceable.

Why Buy?

Tack-sharp styling job that shows up best in popular two-door hardtop. Advanced chassis engineering that does wonders for car on the road. Only pushbutton transmission control in low-price field. Very easy car to drive.