dad still lives in Toledo and i drive by the site of the old plant regularly.

 

1957 was the big change over year for Chrysler, with the "Forward Look" styling and all. It was also the first year for their controversial Torsion Bar suspension.
I never really did hear what the actual problem was, (I'm assuming it was because the 1st. batch of bars must have been too hard or brittle) but there were all kinds of horror stories about them breaking. Most of the time though it happened while the car was sitting in the garage, and usually to a Plymouth. (which I couldn't figure out since they all used the same bar I think.
I know 4 people personally who purchased a new 1957 Plymouth, and never bought another Chrysler product the rest of their lives, simply because of the many problems they had with that 1st. year model. I always thought the creator of the movie "Christine" screwed up by using a 1958 Plymouth in the movie instead of the (much maligned) 57. It would have made the Movie sooo much more believable.
At the start of the 57 model year my Dad was selling Desotos, and the dealer he worked for made them purchase their "demos" at a greatly reduced rate. I don't remember him having any problems with it. But in the spring he sold it and started working at a Dodge dealer where they gave the salesmen a car to drive.
I would have loved to had the chance to sit down and talk with your Father and hear all the stories about how things were at Chrysler way back when.

 

+fireamx,
I will say that even then there were a lot of non Chrysler cars in the lots. Even in the 60's some of the workers were disgruntled and drove other vehicles just to so make their point or they just liked the looks of another make of car .

It is a free country and I wouldn't trade it for anywhere else even if sometimes I don't agree with whats happening. The nice thing is we always have the ability to make a change if we as a country don't like what we see.

 

[quote=+fireamx]1957 was the big change over year for Chrysler, with the "Forward Look" styling and all. It was also the first year for their controversial Torsion Bar suspension.
I never really did hear what the actual problem was, (I'm assuming it was because the 1st. batch of bars must have been too hard or brittle) but there were all kinds of horror stories about them breaking. Most of the time though it happened while the car was sitting in the garage, and usually to a Plymouth. (which I couldn't figure out since they all used the same bar I think.

Although I wasn't around in 1957 and I know many things changed by the time I was part of the Chassis Department in about 1968, but at that time there were many different torsion bars for various products. There was no difference between a Plymouth, Dodge or Chrysler excepting some were more heavy duty than others. Of course the usage was based on the overall car, but the brand name had nothing to do with it. Maybe the problems in 1957 told them that a "one size fits all" torsion bar didn't work. The main problem I remember with the torsion bars were what we called Flat Torsion Bars. However flat torsion bars could not get installed because the hex didn't match so they couldn't be pounded in.

 

I remember at the Belvidere plant the employees never minded other US brands in the parking lot. But dare to bring an import and you took your chances at having you car rolled over on its roof.

 

My daughter is a mechanical engineer for Chrysler at Auburn Hills. She arranged a couple of test drives for me last year - one a limited roadster and one an SRT coupe. Proud owner of an '05 Limited red roadster with a stick.

 

I lived in Sylvania OH (a western suburb of Toledo) from 95-98 when Jeeps were still made in that fine city. They built a huge new Chrysler plant there but the old Jeep plant was still across the street. I hope that smokestack is still there. (PS-I owned an 82 CJ7 for road and a 78 CJ7 with double lifts, a 6k Warn winch, and 38" tires for getting into trouble).

When I bought my roadster I was with IBM and working at Visteon (Dearborn MI), a Ford spin-off similar to Delphi. But I was able to get a supplier discount because IBM also supported Chrysler. It saved me a couple grand.

I did meet a Chrysler sales executive at the Woodward Cruise. Still have his card. He has a 2007 silver roadster with only 4k miles and coming off lease this or next month. He emailed that asking price should be around $17k. Anyone interested, let me know. I was thinking of buying it for my son but he wanted a coupe (see #3).

 

Not wanting to hijack the thread, but if there any Chrysler employees able to help me order a spare key for my girl, being an 'export' model - please PM me.

Thanks to Goldwing's efforts, a dealer in the US had agreed to order for me, but got blocked by Chrysler at the last turn as my VIN is registered as an export vehicle

 

i retired in 02 from kokomo, ind. auto. tranny plant.

 

Remember the first push button transmissions, in 1960? I heard that the push button failed due to women breaking their nails trying to push the buttons into gear.

 

1st. Push buttons made their debut on the 1956 models.
The reason they stopped using it after 1964 was because high school Drivers Education instructors wouldn't use Chrysler products in their courses because they said the push buttons would confuse some students.
That's what a Chrysler "factory Rep." told my Dad.

 

Harbor.....Aloha filled greetings from Dayton. You know I'm no Chrysler employee, but I hadn't signed in for months, and hadn't seen you on the forum for ages before I got too busy traveling and quit signing in. Delighted to see you still around and well. Hope all stays well with you. If you have any influence, please don't let Chrysler merge with GM. Couldn't bear that.

 

been with chrysler for 21 years this month at the belvidere assembly plant in the skilled trades

 

True but things sure have changed now.The lot it full of imports.Very sad really

 

If we do merge with GM, the plan is to combine the Hummer with the Jeep and call it a ..................Heap.

 

LOL the way things are going these days that might just be our best seller