Today’s adventure in the parking lot of the local supermarket confirmed what pretty much all of you know: every car looks more and more like each other. Black full-size SUV. Silver mid-size crossover. Dark blue mid-size sedan that’s a few years old. Dirty white diesel pickup that’s five times louder than it needs to be, on awful wheels. And a dark red minivan here and there just to spice things up. Twice this week I have actually heard the same conversation starter: “I’m sorry, I thought that was my car!” No, there really isn’t much in the way of new styling. You can still pick a Challenger, Charger, Mustang, Corvette or Raptor out of a parking lot, but for the most part they all look alike. Twenty years ago it was green SUVs and Toyota Camry as far as the eye could see. Forty years ago it was earth-toned cars with chromed railroad ties at each end. It takes effort to stand out from the crowd, and normally that does not translate well into sales for a manufacturer. Blending in moves cars.
Which leaves almost no explanation for this 1962 Dodge Lancer 770. It does have an excellent card to play, it’s A-body platform that was introduced in 1960 and lasted through 1976 in the States and 1980 in foreign markets. It’s also got Chrysler’s anvil of an inline six mill, the just about immortal 225ci Slant Six (though, in this car, the engine is from about 1980.) Any good thing you’ve heard about a Dart or a Duster fits here. What doesn’t fit is any description that attends to the looks department. You either love it or hate it, but you’ll never lose it in a parking lot and short of pure abuse, you will have to apply concentrated effort to kill it. So, for the $4,500 you’ll spend on this particular car, you’ll end up with a classic that can drive away and, with minimal input, be ready for whatever you want to do with it. Sounds like a deal to us.
My Dad had one of these,slant six,pushbutton automatic and unit body.In Canada the were called the Valliant. It was even the same color as the one you have depicted!
Love it or hate it? Easy… Hate it.
Just because its old doesn’t make it cool. These weren’t good when they were new (I was there) and they’re not any better now. There are better ways to be different.
We had them downunder as the S-Series Valiant (and earlier R-Series). Different grill, but otherwise pretty much the same