If you’ve always wanted to own a personal luxury coupe, it makes sense to start with one of the most iconic models ever made. The Chrysler Cordoba to this day is synonymous the era in which you wanted to measure your car in acreage, not feet, and have more leather on board than your neighbor’s cattle farm. The seller of this example claims he’s priced his at the bottom of the market, asking $4,995 here on craigslist. He notes some cosmetic issues that will need sorting, but that the 360 V8 and automatic transmission run smooth and strong.
That 360 was the least of your worries if you were shopping the personal luxury coupe space in the 70s. While the language on the marketing brochure certainly made it sound like your land yacht was powered by a segment leader in performance and efficiency, we all know now that wasn’t the case. At the end of the day, however, it didn’t matter – driving a car like this was about the statement it made regarding your personal style, not a measuring stick for performance or fuel efficiency. And with that polarizing nose design, the Cordoba indeed made a statement.
1975 marks the first year for the Cordoba, and the first Chrysler product built on the B-body platform. It was a big seller at the time, and while jokes are often made about the marketing gimmicks surround the Cordoba (rich, Corinthian leather, Ricardo Montalbán, and all that), over 150,000 new owners found one in their driveways that year. The seller notes that his car has a genuine 42K miles from new and really just needs minor details sorted out for it to be perfect; this includes repairs to the half-vinyl roof, the interior, and an overall cleaning/detailing.
It’s impossible for me to look at a car like this and not think of iconic films like Goodfellas or Casino, as every wise guy in town drove a car like this and the huge trunks were particularly useful when it came time to transporting your enemies who didn’t deserve to be swaddled by such luxury. This example of one of the most recognized personal luxury coupes of all times strikes me as a car that would respond exceedingly well to a good detailing, and likely bring a bit more cash in a few months after it’s all cleaned up. Which big, 70s, luxury coupe is your favorite?
Great find. Would like to own one. But God Almighty, everything can’t be “iconic.”
Iconic, awesome, epic, impact, issue…. a lot of our words are becoming hideously misused. How can a car few even recognize be “iconic?”
It refers to a thing being instantly-identifiable as a product of its time, as are the Ford Model As of 1930 and the tailfins of 1960.
Here is what I find most interesting:
Imagine you had been asleep since the 70’s and just now woke up. You head to the local Chrysler (or Ford or GM) dealer to purchase a new car, something like what was very popular ‘back in the day.’ You ask for a two-door full-size coupe, big V-8, vinyl roof, yellow with a creamy white interior, whitewall tires, full wheel covers, etc. The 22 year old sales person would not only look at you like you had two heads, you would have to explain what all of those things mean.
Nice car.
Funny! Tell the 22 yr old you want a Landau roof and his reaction ” ya mean a rear spoiler’. Or ask for a AM FM 8 track stereo and 22 yr old says ” ya mean a AM or PM stable track”.
There was one of these that used to come to shows here in Tampa, and I gotta say, the car has presence. I would not have given a Cordoba a second look back in the day, but after seeing the one down here, I had to admit to myself that I like big boats and I cannot lie!
It was that Cordoba that had me turning the page on all the Euro 4-bangers I enjoyed, and got me back to my Detroit roots. The Europeans make great cars and I love them, but this car is my cup of tea all day long.
Beautiful cars you have
Its that Rich Corintian leather?
I went to high school with Rich Corintian…
AT least it doesn’t have the “belt buckles” that were in the seat cushions. That when you parked the car in the sun, the steel buckles in the seat cushion would heat up to thermonuclear temps…then you sat on them with your shorts on…and branded a large belt buckle shape into the back of your leg.
http://www.2040-cars.com/_content/cars/images/76/365476/005.jpg
Ask me how I know that one!
Funny thing is Ricardo Montalban told Johnny Carson that his Cordoba had cloth interior
I owned a Cordoba back then, I thought it was a design on par with the Mark IV & Eldorado, but for the life of me, I cannot understand why Chrysler built the base models with roll up windows & non power options, and then had the nerve to call them “personal luxury cars”.
Basic Luxury man
To advertise a low base price. The idea was to bring personal luxury to the common man. Ford did the same thing with the Thunderbird a couple years after this to great sales success.
“Corinthian leather” was a PR term invented because it resonated when spoken by Ricardo Montalban. I ordered a new solid silver-grey one in 1977 with a delete option on the standard vinyl (ugh) roof (saved me $1,000 right there), Firestone whitewalls (slightly wider), leather, 400 c.i. “Lean Burn” engine” (big mistake”, rubber bumper strips, radio, air and rubber-finned wheels … $6,000 even.
Correction. His had cloth interior
Look for the You Tube video.
Ah now I’m singing in my head.
What kind of “personal luxury” car doesn’t have A/C?
A car with rich Corinthian leather🤒
I’m somewhat surprised that this one has no AC. Back in the late 70’s I saw dozens of these roll through the wholesale auctions and can’t recall ever seeing one without AC.
I hate electric cars, but if I were going to do an electric conversion it would be something like this. Electric cars are heavy, silent, automatic transmissioned deprivation chambers with lots of torque (Teslas). 1970’s sleds are heavy, silent, deprivation chambers with automatic transmissions and lots of torque. You’d hardly be altering the character of the car at all. It would also be fun to see this pull up to a Tesla charging station.
My 400 Lean Burn wouldn’t pull a hair out of your head. It knew how to drink gas, though. I should have opted for the 318.
A non-lean burn carb and distributor did wonders for those. Getting rid of the EGR and heat crossover did more. The 400 was a great engine!
I liked my 75 Mark IV better. Besides the Córdoba there was a Dodge that looked just like it. Choices, we always have to make choices.
God bless America
That was the 75 Charger
A lot of Corinthians gave up their hides for that “Rich Lather”!
I had a 1977 this color but it had the brown Landau roof which was the color of what you find in a baby’s diaper. I actually became an adult in the back seat, which is a very limited area. I am 6′ 3″ and I must of been a contortionist. I’m 57 now and. would have a tough time getting behind the wheel let alone the backseat. I guess where there is a will there’s a way. Good memories in the ‘Doba.
I like the Charger version of this car better.
These early ones looked so much better than the later models with those god awful stacked square headlight s !
I bought a new Cordoba with a 318 in the spring of 1975. No catalytic converter on the 318 so it could run on “regular” (meaning leaded) gas. The 318 was supposed to get good mileage and “regular” gas was a few cents cheaper than unleaded. Unfortunately only got about 14 MPG anyhow. Engine developed a ticking sound at 1800 miles. Loose wrist pin they said. Warranty installed a new short block. I still think it was a beautiful car and wish I had kept it.
My ’77 400 “Lean Burn” lived up to its name; all the valves were burnt from a lean mixture due to a porous manifold. It also drank gas, but what a pretty car it was. I saved the “doubloon” off the steering-wheel hub.
The Cordoba was my dad’s dream car. He finally bought a used one in 1980. Green with green velour interior. Beautiful car. Even my high school friends wanted me to drive them around in the ‘Doba. Repo man took it back in the recession of ’82.