My grandmother had this car, and as a kid, I was fascinated by the dashboard and all the automatic push buttons It had so many buttons and gauges and things to look at.
Hello from New Zealand. I remember back in the 1960s my aunts bridal cars were two of these Plymouths in black with a white roof. They were stunning. Im going back 60 years ago now , so its a good memory from a long time ago.
That car is absolutely spectacular! Love the fact that it is all original, and the paint (don't know what color was used on that, but it is beautiful). The interior as impeccably clean. Just amazing that it still looks this fantastic after 63 years! I was 7 when that car rolled off the assembly line. I'm 70 now. Oh, and Ward Cleaver drove a similar Plymouth Fury during season 4 or 5 of Leave it to Beaver!
I'm delighted to see my first pro-1961 Plymouth review I can ever remember. It is G R E A T to see someone who appreciates the terrific aesthetic of these cars.
I always loved that style /year Plymouth. When I was 7 years old my upstairs neighbor bought one brand new. The exterior was like a coffee with cream in it color and the interior was white and red. Sounds like a crazy color combo but it was stunning. I thought it was the most beautiful car I had ever seen.
This car is in amazing condition. It is a work of art on wheels. My parents bought a brand new 1962 Chrysler Newport. I remember my dad replacing the windlace in ours back in 1972. Our car had the famous Astra Dome instrument cluster, and that music to my ears gear reduction starter that is famous in older Chryslers.
My late father would love this Plymouth, he had several as I was growing up. I didn’t appreciate them at the time, but certainly do now.. Thanks Charles, you’re an old Soul, I always enjoy your taste in yesteryear. 🌈
Charles i have to tell you, when i was in my mid teens i thought this car was hideous. But now in my 60s i absolutely think think is a beautiful piece of machinery. How times have changed. 👍👍👍👍👍🍻
@@joycerichardson1810 And give us his colorful weather report for Naples, FL! 😂 Then mention the corona virus whiskey. His latest video is of the red & white Porsche tractor (Yes!).
It is painful to ponder after viewing the sacred dedicated effort of the designing team to bring every aspect of this automobile's DNA into existence that humans are extinguishing other humans all over the planet instead of sharing this joy of technological high achievement.
Being a 1961 model myself, I have an affinity for the space age designs from that year. The Space Needle in Seattle, a local monument of the atomic age, was sketched and began construction in 1961. I see it almost daily and have spent many hours at the top, and I feel a kinship with it. The 1961 Fury, Dart, Imperial, the awesome 300G, Desoto,Thunderbird, Starliner, Continental, Cadillac... Fantasy dream cars from a time of bold vision, optimism, and enthusiasm.
I ALWAYS THOUGHT WHEN THE CAR WAS DESIGNED THEY SAID OH WAIT A MINUTE, WE FORGOT THE TAILIGHTS AND SAID LETS JUST PUT THEM HERE! LOOKS LIKE AN AFTERTHOIUGHT BUT TODAY IT'S COOL!
The Fury is mechanically the same car. Plymouth never got the longer wheelbase chassis which the Dodge Polara/Matador used in 1960-62. The 1961-62 Dodge and Plymouth cars were what got Virgil Exner fired as their sales dropped drastically compared to their predecessor Forward Look models. Elwood Engel was hired away from Ford to replace him.
If I had the money to buy it, I'd snap it up in a heartbeat (no Chevrolet pun intended!). It's that beautiful. This would make a great weekend cruiser to take yourself and five good friends in. Just remind them "NO FOOD OR DRINK AND NO SMOKING IN THIS CAR!"
The original spindle grill; my 2022 RX 350 chanels that grill to the endth. This generation of Mopar iron was prevelant in my neighbrhood driveways, often being towed for repair. Looked great, reliable as a brother-in-law
OMG... my mom's was identical to that! Except she had a white fuzzy steering wheel and mirror cover... lol Sadly, being from upstate NY, by the time she got rid of it, swiss cheese had less holes.
Beautiful car. My parents bought used one for a temporary car for mom for some reason in the mid 70s. The model had the clear rectangle steering wheel. I don't remember if it was a four door or a two door. It was in good shape. Metallic green with a white roof. We found two concrete chickens under the seats. We had those in our backyard for several years. It was sold to a man for his teenage daughter's first car. It would have been mine. But, I wasn't ready to learn to drive yet. I was old enough.
This car is very special. Chrysler's early '60s styling was more than a bit controversial, and like many cars of that time, they rusted away, so seeing a survivor like this one is a real treat. These were cars you could buy really cheap when I started driving in the mid-'70s, and they were very uncool, but I'll bet it would be the star at any car show today. It's nice to see that somebody really cared about this one. Does anyone else think the front grille inspired the Lexus stylists?
When I was growing up, our family car was a 1961 Plymouth Savoy, which was the base model. Our neighbors across the street had the Fury model - black with a red interior.
Does anyone else remember the TV series "Car 54,Where are you?" This was one of the Plymouth models that were used in that series, although it was most likely a Savoy or Belvedere model. The series was based in New York city..
Why do gay people have to throw their perverted view on everything? Why does the aunt have to be a pervert lesbian? So no, it's not funny. It's actually boring and typical.
Cool car! I am laughing, thinking back to my age in 1961,....a clueless tot, all of the age of 7. I hadn't been awakened to the beauty of the cars yet. However, our family were Dodge buyers. My Pop bought the cars. Mom got the newest one, and he drove the other one. Me and my sister, could borrow Pop's car, on a very limited basis, & we rode our bikes, or car pooled. Indeed that car is amazing, and being in original condition, blows my mind. Excellent presentation.
My first car was a 1961 Belvedere in the same color combination.Mine had been modified by the previous owner and had the square steering wheel and the front seat from a 2 door hardtop.Parking brake never worked right...had to keep a chunk of wood to block the wheels
I was in my Uncle’s showroom with Grandpa, where there was a two-tone purple unit parked (probably a Belvedere). I told Grandpa, “You should get that!” No reply from Grandpa, but next thing I knew, it was in his driveway! He used it on his rural mail route. I was only 10, so I do not know how it was equipped. Would love to have, but would be a shame to bring it to the midwestern weather cycles.
A unique and spectacularly bizarre car, with a steampunk owl face that only a mother could love. Indeed it is in excellent condition - and it looks to be as weird as it was when it came off the assembly line.
This is such a beautiful car. It's space age yet not over the top. Were they considered attractive at the time, or did people think they were too much? Did they sell well?
“Out of this world “ is right. It was one goofy-ass car when it was new and it remains so. One family had one in my home town…we always knew who it was driving along. Yes, the Planet Patrol dashboard, too. After all, Ward Cleaver couldn’t be wrong.
Hideous monster, called "Chrysler's Edsel" by the automotive press in late 1960. Although designed under the Exner banner, the 1961 Plymouth was not actually designed by him, but by his design assistant Cliff Voss in 1960. So what did Exner design on this car himself? The body shell with Unibody construction was developed by him in 1959 for the 1960 models. The instrument panel is pure Exner, and the steering wheel, and the badging. He also approved the design of the wheel covers. Everything else was designed and supervised by Cliff Voss. Here's the story on this dramatic change in style from the magnificent 1960 Plymouth elegant Cadillac era to the chrome dinosaur 1961 model: In spring of 1960, Exner submitted his final design changes for the proposed 1961 Plymouth, which was basically a warned over remodeled 1960 Plymouth with the big fins. Unfortunately, when he presented it to Chrysler executive suits, the consensus was "Lose the fins!" (I think the bean counters won out on this, because the cost of sheet metal for the tail fins for 1960 was probably excessive, so they wanted to cut costs.) So Exner came out of the meeting with smoke in his collar, and was really pissed. He destroyed most of his redesign sketches for his planned 1961 Plymouth (as he had done so well with the 1957-1958 Plymouths), and only a few drawings remain,, and I have only seen one. While walking out of the meeting, Exner turned to Voss and said, "You design it! It's all yours now!" and said he was going home to relax and recover from his anxiety, being on heart medication since his July 1956 heart attack, brought on by birthing all five new 1957 Chrysler Corp. car lines, and the Chrysler Norseman concept car, lost in the sunken ocean liner Andrea Doria around the same time as his heart attack. What Voss did was thumb through his entire department's design sketches for Forward Look concepts, and draw from them for his project inspiration. He had only 3 months to pull this off, since the components had to be retooled over the summer to make the October 1960 debut. He actually reworked a rear end design into the front end design, substituting headlights for the tail lights, and robbed Imperial of its planned 1963 tail lamp pods for the Plymouth side-mounted units, and had to drop his 3" vertical rear deck lid tailfin design down to a 1" chrome molding in center of deck lid, and remove the plans to put the "toilet seat" spare tire motif on the trunk lid, as the execs wanted this to be exclusively 1961 Chrysler and Imperial models only. Cliff Voss had done well designing the 1960 Dodge Dart line adapting from Exner's superior 1960 Dodge Polara and Matador lines, and had continued work on the 1961 Dodge lines as well. A postscript: Cliff Voss was not received well by Chrysler execs for either of his 1961 Dodge Dart or Plymouth designs. In fact, he got in trouble for costing Chrysler nearly a million dollars in the spring of 1961, when the new Dodge Darts were criticized for their small top of rear bumper tail lights, which often fell below the view of many drivers following the Darts on the road, so there were many accidents reported because the follow drivers did not see the Dart's brake lights in time. Chrysler had to do a massive recall of the 1961 Darts to install new round tail-brake lights in the states complaining of Voss's tail lights design. He was fired in April 1961.
Beautiful automobile Charles! Just curious…was your video filmed in the Indian Canyon Country Club area on Camino Real? My husband and I were married there and I thought I recognized some of the landscape. Thanks for sharing!
I remember that when I went to the Meadowbrook Concours d'Elegance in 2010, as part of their Space Age Coupes theme, they had a '61 Fury 2 door hardtop as part of the exhibit. How did you find something like this, and how much cleaning was needed?
am more a GM guy, but being a weirdo I LOVE this 61 Fury. Much more than the 60 and every Fury after 61. Of course the 58 and 57 are also absolutely stunning cars. I also love four doors. Having a big family for me four doors are more practical. Try to open the door and get out of my 65 Pontiac Bonneville with a vehicle beside is a pain in the ass. I have a 2d hardtop as well.
Now that the future is here. I wanna go back to when we thought the future would be cool
Palm Springs 1961
Ok let's go!
My grandmother had this car, and as a kid, I was fascinated by the dashboard and all the automatic push buttons It had so many buttons and gauges and things to look at.
Man, you would have to be one of the luckiest men alive, to be able to procure and drive these absolutely stunning mid century pieces of rolling art.
That was sarcasm right???
Hello from New Zealand. I remember back in the 1960s my aunts bridal cars were two of these Plymouths in black with a white roof. They were stunning. Im going back 60 years ago now , so its a good memory from a long time ago.
That car is absolutely spectacular! Love the fact that it is all original, and the paint (don't know what color was used on that, but it is beautiful). The interior as impeccably clean. Just amazing that it still looks this fantastic after 63 years! I was 7 when that car rolled off the assembly line. I'm 70 now. Oh, and Ward Cleaver drove a similar Plymouth Fury during season 4 or 5 of Leave it to Beaver!
Fantastic find, Charles. Behold the glory.
I'm delighted to see my first pro-1961 Plymouth review I can ever remember. It is G R E A T to see someone who appreciates the terrific aesthetic of these cars.
I always loved that style /year Plymouth. When I was 7 years old my upstairs neighbor bought one brand new. The exterior was like a coffee with cream in it color and the interior was white and red. Sounds like a crazy color combo but it was stunning. I thought it was the most beautiful car I had ever seen.
Don't even THINK of eating an ice cream sandwich in this fine ride !
No eating....😊
Boy where they ugly when new, but they are very cool now. So unique and outlandish.
I concur!!! Ugly girl is now hot!!!
This car is in amazing condition. It is a work of art on wheels. My parents bought a brand new 1962 Chrysler Newport. I remember my dad replacing the windlace in ours back in 1972. Our car had the famous Astra Dome instrument cluster, and that music to my ears gear reduction starter that is famous in older Chryslers.
You are not overstating how wonderful this car is. Thank You 😊
Simply BREATHTAKING! Thank You Charles! I LOVE ❤️ your Videos!!!! Please make more of them!!!!!! 😉
Charles, that is an absolutely gorgeous original RARE iconic Space Age Treasure! I KNOW!
Mom and Dad had a 61 Fury station wagon. same as this. Memories. Mom drove that thing like a bat out of hell, 90-100 plus an the freeway all the time.
Love the rocket taillights. 2:25
My late father would love this Plymouth, he had several as I was growing up. I didn’t appreciate them at the time, but certainly do now..
Thanks Charles, you’re an old Soul, I always enjoy your taste in yesteryear. 🌈
Charles i have to tell you, when i was in my mid teens i thought this car was hideous. But now in my 60s i absolutely think think is a beautiful piece of machinery. How times have changed. 👍👍👍👍👍🍻
I'm willing to bet that Bill of Curious Cars would love to review this unique piece of Detroit history!
He'd tell you everything that happened in 1961, too!
Oh, for the love of God!!!
@@joycerichardson1810 And give us his colorful weather report for Naples, FL! 😂 Then mention the corona virus whiskey. His latest video is of the red & white Porsche tractor (Yes!).
I'd rather not hear his bitching about the weather and the wild birds.
It is painful to ponder after viewing the sacred dedicated effort of the designing team to bring every aspect of this automobile's DNA into existence that humans are extinguishing other humans all over the planet instead of sharing this joy of technological high achievement.
Being a 1961 model myself, I have an affinity for the space age designs from that year. The Space Needle in Seattle, a local monument of the atomic age, was sketched and began construction in 1961. I see it almost daily and have spent many hours at the top, and I feel a kinship with it. The 1961 Fury, Dart, Imperial, the awesome 300G, Desoto,Thunderbird, Starliner, Continental, Cadillac... Fantasy dream cars from a time of bold vision, optimism, and enthusiasm.
She's a real dreamboat. Same vintage as me too!
Love 4dr.sedans. The perfect 1960s grandma car. Absolutely beautiful!!
You must be 70!!!
Absolutely Beautiful . Charles ,,, You always give us some thing special to feast our eyes on . Priceless !!!
Fierce and fabulous ❤ Remarkable treasure and all original?!? Love it to the moon and back!!!
I ALWAYS THOUGHT WHEN THE CAR WAS DESIGNED THEY SAID OH WAIT A MINUTE, WE FORGOT THE TAILIGHTS AND SAID
LETS JUST PUT THEM HERE! LOOKS LIKE AN AFTERTHOIUGHT BUT TODAY IT'S COOL!
I'm reminded of my 1961 Dodge Dart Pioneer I owned briefly during the late 1970s. The Fury depicted is an excellent example.
The Fury is mechanically the same car. Plymouth never got the longer wheelbase chassis which the Dodge Polara/Matador used in 1960-62. The 1961-62 Dodge and Plymouth cars were what got Virgil Exner fired as their sales dropped drastically compared to their predecessor Forward Look models. Elwood Engel was hired away from Ford to replace him.
Those late 50's-early 60's Chrysler products had spectacular dash designs.
So much attention to detail Chrysler designers even physically AND visually offset the driver's portion of the front bench seat. Amazing.
❤ That front bumper!! Everything just so pristine & the gorgeous color in champagne!! It is amazing!! 🤩❤️
So very true!
A car exactly like this car was featured in a movie 1967 (Dana Andrews) called Hot Rods to Hell. The one you have is so pristine.
oh yeah hot rods to hell with Dana Andrews. I "think" his was a station wagon?
@@inkey2 it was a four door sedan I believe.
@@53doowopbill Right you are....I just checked
If I had the money to buy it, I'd snap it up in a heartbeat (no Chevrolet pun intended!). It's that beautiful. This would make a great weekend cruiser to take yourself and five good friends in. Just remind them "NO FOOD OR DRINK AND NO SMOKING IN THIS CAR!"
Thank you for your APPRECIATION to your subscribers Charles!!😢
Found your channel about 4 days ago and man I can't get enough. Great stuff. 👍🏽
Awesome as usual Charles! I truly enjoy all your videos and fine automobiles. Just wondering if you ever sell any cars that aren't Creampuffs?
What an extraordinary salesman you are!
The original spindle grill; my 2022 RX 350 chanels that grill to the endth. This generation of Mopar iron was prevelant in my neighbrhood driveways, often being towed for repair. Looked great, reliable as a brother-in-law
Great content, great commentary, great entertainment! Excellent 👍😎👌
Hey Charles…. I contacted you a few months back asking for a review on the 61 Plymouth fury, Thanks for posting charles…. Loved it ….😎🤙
OMG... my mom's was identical to that! Except she had a white fuzzy steering wheel and mirror cover... lol Sadly, being from upstate NY, by the time she got rid of it, swiss cheese had less holes.
I always thought these cars had a mean, don’t mess with me face in front. They sure had wild styling back then. A great time capsule!
I always thought it was more of a "Take me to your leader!" kinda face! 🤓
Spectacular condition certainly says it. Beautiful!
Beautiful car. My parents bought used one for a temporary car for mom for some reason in the mid 70s. The model had the clear rectangle steering wheel. I don't remember if it was a four door or a two door. It was in good shape. Metallic green with a white roof. We found two concrete chickens under the seats. We had those in our backyard for several years. It was sold to a man for his teenage daughter's first car. It would have been mine. But, I wasn't ready to learn to drive yet. I was old enough.
Charles- I love your descriptions. You bring automotive style back to life.
Omg WOW Worth Every Penny! You won’t find another like this one!
I agree! WOW!
This car was conspicuously more beautiful than the full size Dodge that year. Nice find!
the interstellar transport of the Andorians...and in mint condition! Charles speaking in an appropriately reverent tone
i hope you keep doing more content. I really enjoy it
This car is very special. Chrysler's early '60s styling was more than a bit controversial, and like many cars of that time, they rusted away, so seeing a survivor like this one is a real treat. These were cars you could buy really cheap when I started driving in the mid-'70s, and they were very uncool, but I'll bet it would be the star at any car show today. It's nice to see that somebody really cared about this one. Does anyone else think the front grille inspired the Lexus stylists?
When I was growing up, our family car was a 1961 Plymouth Savoy, which was the base model. Our neighbors across the street had the Fury model - black with a red interior.
Chrysler products of the Cold war era looked so aggressive they were cool as f.... I drove a 1958 Plymouth.
My Dad had a blue one with the slant six. Its sooooooo perfect. Great video Charles. Cheers.
Does anyone else remember the TV series "Car 54,Where are you?" This was one of the Plymouth models that were used in that series, although it was most likely a Savoy or Belvedere model. The series was based in New York city..
There's a hold-up in the Bronx, Brooklyn's broken out in fights...
Yeh....I remember that. Both Herman Munster and Grandpa played in it. They dumped the ugly Ply. and traded it in on the Munster Coach.😂
The Bronx to be precise.
@@trudygreer2491 That song mentioned every borough except Staten Island, which is where "the scout troop short a child" was assumed to be located.
"Plymouth spelled out in your favorite lesbian aunt's handwriting." I'm dying!!!!
That's something that Bill of Curious Cars would say! 😂😂
I said the same thing I laughed my ass off
Why do gay people have to throw their perverted view on everything? Why does the aunt have to be a pervert lesbian? So no, it's not funny. It's actually boring and typical.
How did you know my aunt is a lesbian ?
In other words, autographed by the narrator.
Detached Retina! Pinkies up for this tall drink of Champagne! ❤😊
Pure perfection,
This one is incredible!
One cool car !!!
Beautiful! Reminds me of Ward pulling into the driveway on Leave It To Beaver.
Cool car! I am laughing, thinking back to my age in 1961,....a clueless tot, all of the age of 7. I hadn't been awakened to the beauty of the cars yet. However, our family were Dodge buyers. My Pop bought the cars. Mom got the newest one, and he drove the other one. Me and my sister, could borrow Pop's car, on a very limited basis, & we rode our bikes, or car pooled. Indeed that car is amazing, and being in original condition, blows my mind. Excellent presentation.
Ward Cleaver drove a Plymouth just like that for awhile on “Leave it to Beaver”. Circa 1960-‘61.
Uncle Tony sent me here. Looks like I'll enjoy your channel.
Amazing car .How does something like this exist and where do you find it?
My first car was a 1961 Belvedere in the same color combination.Mine had been modified by the previous owner and had the square steering wheel and the front seat from a 2 door hardtop.Parking brake never worked right...had to keep a chunk of wood to block the wheels
I want to open a diner with an interior decor themed in 1961 Plymouth Fury. This cars like one large Root Beer Float! 😮😋
Reminds me of the 61 and 62 Chysler 300 models I used to have but this has it beat in outrageousness department,
My neighbor when I was a kid had that exact car in those colors.
Unbelievable conditon of such an awesome design, I'm surprise your selling it but I'm sure it will go to an excited new owner.
Charles, you appear to be located in the Coachella Valley somewhere. Is your amazing collection available for in-person viewing?
I was in my Uncle’s showroom with Grandpa, where there was a two-tone purple unit parked (probably a Belvedere). I told Grandpa, “You should get that!” No reply from Grandpa, but next thing I knew, it was in his driveway! He used it on his rural mail route. I was only 10, so I do not know how it was equipped. Would love to have, but would be a shame to bring it to the midwestern weather cycles.
Incredible 61 Fury ❤
I bet his favorite bar isn't a Torsion Bar !
The year of my birth.
I'll take it!!!!
My birth year, too! August, 1961
@@john-robert1961Same here. September 1961.
Me too. November 1961
I love your world, my friend. I bet a couple of ‘59 Chevys would also be very welcome in your world. This Plymouth is killer.
Tom Phillips played by Dana Andrews in the 1967 Film Hot Rods to Hell, drove a '61 Belvedere 🤣
...don't forget the lovely Miss Jeanne Crain as the Mrs., and daughter Laurie Mock!
Picture-perfect!
A unique and spectacularly bizarre car, with a steampunk owl face that only a mother could love. Indeed it is in excellent condition - and it looks to be as weird as it was when it came off the assembly line.
Virgil Exner , thank you
Unique! Keep em coming!
That gorgeous car compels me to hear some Stan Kenton.
You, Sir, are obviously a person of excellent tastes! 🍸
Out of this world, lost in glorious space of delectable details of futurious satisfaction!✨💫
This is crazy, just crazy.
Sir you are a national treasure 👍
Love your car. Can’t. Believe. Low. Miles. Amazing thanks
My Aunt owned the same car when we were kids.
Beautiful!!! I'd be afraid to drive it.
Fantastic!! Done very well and presented im a way i can understand!! Thank you..Great Work!! Hope others learn from this presentation!!!
This is such a beautiful car. It's space age yet not over the top. Were they considered attractive at the time, or did people think they were too much? Did they sell well?
There's a guy on Ocean Park Blvd, in Santa Monica, near The Counter, who sells cars like these.
Super looking motor vehicle 🇬🇧
Beautiful car
I want it!! So beautiful 😫
Chrysler went a bit wild with styling in the early 60s
“Out of this world “ is right. It was one goofy-ass car when it was new and it remains so. One family had one in my home town…we always knew who it was driving along.
Yes, the Planet Patrol dashboard, too.
After all, Ward Cleaver couldn’t be wrong.
It's Ward Cleavers car! Wow.
My fave Cleaver car! Remember the Beaver and Gilbert G/Bates playing in it, and it rolled into the street?!
That was my first thought!
Hideous monster, called "Chrysler's Edsel" by the automotive press in late 1960. Although designed under the Exner banner, the 1961 Plymouth was not actually designed by him, but by his design assistant Cliff Voss in 1960. So what did Exner design on this car himself? The body shell with Unibody construction was developed by him in 1959 for the 1960 models. The instrument panel is pure Exner, and the steering wheel, and the badging. He also approved the design of the wheel covers.
Everything else was designed and supervised by Cliff Voss.
Here's the story on this dramatic change in style from the magnificent 1960 Plymouth elegant Cadillac era to the chrome dinosaur 1961 model:
In spring of 1960, Exner submitted his final design changes for the proposed 1961 Plymouth, which was basically a warned over remodeled 1960 Plymouth with the big fins. Unfortunately, when he presented it to Chrysler executive suits, the consensus was "Lose the fins!" (I think the bean counters won out on this, because the cost of sheet metal for the tail fins for 1960 was probably excessive, so they wanted to cut costs.)
So Exner came out of the meeting with smoke in his collar, and was really pissed. He destroyed most of his redesign sketches for his planned 1961 Plymouth (as he had done so well with the 1957-1958 Plymouths), and only a few drawings remain,, and I have only seen one. While walking out of the meeting, Exner turned to Voss and said, "You design it! It's all yours now!" and said he was going home to relax and recover from his anxiety, being on heart medication since his July 1956 heart attack, brought on by birthing all five new 1957 Chrysler Corp. car lines, and the Chrysler Norseman concept car, lost in the sunken ocean liner Andrea Doria around the same time as his heart attack.
What Voss did was thumb through his entire department's design sketches for Forward Look concepts, and draw from them for his project inspiration. He had only 3 months to pull this off, since the components had to be retooled over the summer to make the October 1960 debut. He actually reworked a rear end design into the front end design, substituting headlights for the tail lights, and robbed Imperial of its planned 1963 tail lamp pods for the Plymouth side-mounted units, and had to drop his 3" vertical rear deck lid tailfin design down to a 1" chrome molding in center of deck lid, and remove the plans to put the "toilet seat" spare tire motif on the trunk lid, as the execs wanted this to be exclusively 1961 Chrysler and Imperial models only.
Cliff Voss had done well designing the 1960 Dodge Dart line adapting from Exner's superior 1960 Dodge Polara and Matador lines, and had continued work on the 1961 Dodge lines as well.
A postscript: Cliff Voss was not received well by Chrysler execs for either of his 1961 Dodge Dart or Plymouth designs. In fact, he got in trouble for costing Chrysler nearly a million dollars in the spring of 1961, when the new Dodge Darts were criticized for their small top of rear bumper tail lights, which often fell below the view of many drivers following the Darts on the road, so there were many accidents reported because the follow drivers did not see the Dart's brake lights in time. Chrysler had to do a massive recall of the 1961 Darts to install new round tail-brake lights in the states complaining of Voss's tail lights design.
He was fired in April 1961.
Beautiful automobile Charles! Just curious…was your video filmed in the Indian Canyon Country Club area on Camino Real? My husband and I were married there and I thought I recognized some of the landscape. Thanks for sharing!
Ward Cleaver had one just like it!
For years, I've thought the current crop of Lexus cars' "spindle grilles" was a cribbing of this Plymouth's design.
I agree!
I remember that when I went to the Meadowbrook Concours d'Elegance in 2010, as part of their Space Age Coupes theme, they had a '61 Fury 2 door hardtop as part of the exhibit.
How did you find something like this, and how much cleaning was needed?
am more a GM guy, but being a weirdo I LOVE this 61 Fury. Much more than the 60 and every Fury after 61. Of course the 58 and 57 are also absolutely stunning cars.
I also love four doors. Having a big family for me four doors are more practical. Try to open the door and get out of my 65 Pontiac Bonneville with a vehicle beside is a pain in the ass.
I have a 2d hardtop as well.
I remember when the Clever family on Leave It To Beaver had one.
Exquisite!!!