The 1961 Dodge Polara D-500 Convertible was a fusion of the Matador and Polara . scan on to acquire how this motorcar came to be bring on .
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In the early seventies American Motors ask cable car purchaser , " What ’s a Matador ? " AMC should have learned from Dodge . Or perhaps Dodge should have ask that dubiousness in 1960 when it field its own Matador – and nobody noticed . Less than 30,000 were sold , and it was dropped after one year .
It might have been even more to the breaker point had Dodge asked , " What ’s a Polara ? " This unexampled top - of - the - line of merchandise 1960 Dodge fared even worse – it recorded sales of less than l7,000 units .
Although flying high on the achiever of the new full - size , low - price 1960 Dart , Dodge was n’t about to give up .
So it dug in its dog and consolidated the top - telephone line Matador and Polara , which ride the 122 - column inch - wheelbase Chrysler Windsor chassis , into one six - model Polara line for 1961 .
" This is Polara – the finest of everything Dodge , " exalt , the brochure . " You will respect its masculine authority . You will bask obvious reward in ability flora blueprint , internal roominess , ease of entry and exit , and operating thriftiness Polara has been put together with over-the-top forethought and good - tasting … Above all , Polara is designed for your personal comfort … Yet for all that , Polara does not deprive you of the deepest satisfaction of car possession a man can have – complete and authoritative control of a preciseness political machine . "
The 1961 Polara , billed as the " usage - sizing Dodge , " received an extensive restyling . The new feeling featured a wide , concave grille with low - mounted quadriceps headlights , the entire supporting players cowled by the hood and peaked front wing .
The front end looked much like the less expensive Dart , save for a bold medallion in the center of the lattice .
From the side and rearward , the Polara take on a more exclusive look .
The dominant feature was the rum contrary - slant fins . Their highest point was just aft of the C - pillar , from which they tapered downward , encircle the rocket - like tail lamp , then reverse forward in a sweep of chrome that swell open just enough to house a strip of ash gray or gold anodized aluminium .
The inside featured a new space - age style with a high - mounted speedometer , pushbutton transmission control condition , and " Towerback " driver ’s buttocks .
Optional treat included the " Highway Hi - Fi " disc player , the feather - off " Aerowheel " steering wheel , " Auto Pilot " speed control , and " Safe - T - Matic " doorway locks .
Standard tycoon came from a 361 - cubic inch V-8 that sip regular gas , but the automobile feature here melt with the hot D-500 selection : 383 - cubic column inch , 325 horsepower , 425 lbs / ft torque , four - barrelful carb , 10.0:1 compression proportion .
Dodge establish only 4,361 convertibles in 1961 , DartandPolara – of those , for sure far less than one-half were the upmarket Polara .
The styling of the 1961 Polara was controversial in its day , and it still is . In October 1960,Chilton ’s Motor Agereferred to it as " splendorous . " That seems to sum up it up rather nicely .
