While Chevy had Adopted the Fleetmaster
The changes bangkok condo for sales weren’t all cosmetic. Despite this, Plymouth offered much flatter cornering and generally superior handling thanks to Chrysler’s new ball-joint front suspension sprung by long, longitudinal torsion bars, plus a lower center of gravity from the new ground-hugging body design and a switch from 15- to 14-inch wheels and tires. Wheelbase grew to 122 inches on wagons and 118 inches on other models, which enhanced ride at the expense of extra weight.
To find out about the redesign for 1957, continue reading on the next page. Standing 3.5 inches lower and four inches wider than the 1956, it projected the illusion of great length, though the 1957 was, in fact, fractionally shorter. The 1957 Plymouth Belvedere and the rest of the company’s lineup were all-new again for 1957, the second time in three years. Nor, for that matter, had a Plymouth been more beautiful. Ads declared “Suddenly It’s 1960!” And indeed, it seemed Plymouth had leapfrogged the competition by three years. Seldom had a car changed so radically in a single season.
But the idea backfired once good times returned. Still, this was one of the smartest closed Plymouths in recent memory: far less boxy than the rest of the 1951 line and arguably better-looking than its larger Chrysler Corporation cousins, yet practical enough for even K.T. As Chrysler and DeSoto agents did the same, pushing Plymouth wasn’t really anyone’s top priority. Belvedere wasn’t the last low-price hardtop, but it wasn’t the first either. Then too, early postwar Plymouths were as dull to drive as they were to look at. Though enlarged from 201.3 to 217.8 cubic inches for 1942, their plodding L-head six hadn’t changed much since its previous enlargement back in 1934. At 95 horsepower through the early-1949 models and 97 horsepower thereafter, output was competitive with that of the “Blue Flame Six” Chevy but not the flathead V-8 Ford, the traditional low-cost performance leader.
Alas, the revised roofline with its reverse-slant C-pillars was unbecoming, rather like an ill-fitting hat. Included were convertible, two-door Suburban wagon, four-door sedan, and the familiar hardtop, now called Sport Coupe. Meanwhile, Ford sold over 128,000 Crestline Victoria hard tops and Chevy moved better than 99,000 Bel Air Sport Coupes. For 1954, Belvedere replaced Cranbrook as Plymouth’s top-of-the-line, thus emulating Chevy’s pattern with the 1953 Bel Air. More modest price reductions attended other models ($61 on the Cranbrook sedan, for instance). Price came down $172 but demand stayed about the same, model year production totalling 35,185 units. Cambridge was retitled Plaza, though two- and four-door sedans, Suburban, short-deck club coupe, and business coupe were retained.
