For model year 1974, Chrysler Corporation introduced its new large car lineup originally planned a year earlier. The timing could hardly have been worse… The Arab oil embargo of late 1973 had Americans waiting in line for gasoline coast to coast, sometimes for hours. Big cars quickly became a glut on the market, despite the fact that Chrysler’s new models were some of the best large cars Chrysler had produced in years. The new styling was a clear departure from the fuselage generation, and appeared to share the proportions and design cues of GM’s 1971 large car redesign. Body sides had a more pronounced tumble home. A-pillars were thin, and beltlines were noticeable lower, yielding significantly more glass area. Energy absorbing bumpers were nicely integrated into the designs, front and rear.
For this generation, full-sized Plymouths and Dodges, excluding wagons, shared more than just body shells. They also shared a common 122” wheelbase, instrument panels, and most exterior body stampings. Likewise, Chrysler and Imperial models shared slightly longer body shells on a common 124” wheelbase, plus instrument panels, and exterior body stampings. And, once again, Chrysler Corporation wagons would share a common greenhouse across divisions… although this time, all wagons would roll on the longer Chrysler 124” wheelbase. All remained large enough to swallow the ubiquitous 4x8 sheet of plywood flat on its floor with the three-way door-gate closed… no evidence of any attempt to follow GM’s clamshell style rear closure, fortunately. The roof was slightly elevated aft of the C-pillar, and a body colored air deflector at the trailing edge remained a standard feature, although it was no longer integrated into the body structure. Fully skirted rear wheel openings and simulated woodgrain side and doorgate panel appliqués remained standard equipment on all Town and Country wagons.
A significant safety improvement was achieved with relocation of the fuel tank from the left rear quarter where it had resided since the 1950s, to under the floor just behind the rear axle. Under floor storage space was reduced on 2-seat wagons, but revisions in the 3rd seat folding mechanism minimized any compromises in seating utility. The space freed up in the left rear quarter panel became a lockable storage compartment.
Although the overall size of 1974 Chryslers was barely larger than the fuselage generation that preceded it, weight continued to creep upward. Additional emission controls, safety features, and growing standard equipment lists were having the same effect on every automaker. The 3-seat T&C tipped the scales at just under 5,000 pounds, about 300 pounds heavier than ’72 fuselage generation T&C. With air conditioning, and a typical complement of power assists, the average ’74 T&C weighed about 5,200 pounds. Standard tires were size L78x15 bias belted on size 6.5x15 inch rims. Steel belted radials were optional.
For 1975, changes were few, and most were shared across the entire US industry, including Chrysler. Those lower rolling resistance radial-ply tires became standard equipment, in size LR78x15 for the Town and Country. Almost every make and model car sold was equipped with an exhaust system catalytic converter for the first time, and required no lead gasoline to run properly. A minor appearance upgrade for all Chrysler models: Lower instrument panels, steering columns, and steering wheels became color coordinated… They had been black.
1976 was a year of product line consolidation for Chrysler. After 20 years of marketing Imperial as a separate marque, Chrysler reluctantly conceded what sales statistics had told them for years… A pair of highly trimmed Chryslers could not compete effectively with Cadillac, Lincoln, or the premium European brands capturing the attention of American luxury car shoppers. Chrysler pulled the plug on the Imperial brand, and recast most of the Imperial’s unique trim… waterfall grille, concealed headlamps, extended rear fenders, vertical tail lamps, and loose pillow seating… as the 1976 New Yorker Brougham. Similarly, what had been New Yorker interior and exterior trim became the 1976 Newport Custom. The Town and Country, unchanged inside and out, soldiered on. It remained as large, elegant, and well equipped as ever, but the market’s interest in giant luxury station wagons was waning.
1977 would be the last year of Chrysler Town and Country as a traditional American full-sized premium station wagon. Both GM and Ford would downsize and continue traditional big wagons, thru the 1980s for Ford, and into the 1990s for GM. But at Chrysler, the beloved Town and Country moniker would take on new rolls in new market segments.
Source: wikipedia.org
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