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Dodge Polara
The Dodge Polara is an automobile introduced in the United States for the 1960 model year as Dodge's top-of-the-line full-size car. After the introduction of the Dodge Custom 880 in 1962, the Polara nameplate designated a step below the full-sized best-trimmed Dodge model; the Polara that year had been downsized to what was in effect intermediate, or mid-size status. In its various forms, the Polara name was used by Dodge until 1973, when its position in Dodge's line-up was replaced by the Dodge Monaco.
The name Polara is a reference to the Polaris star in a marketing attempt to appeal to the excitement surrounding the Space Race during the early 1960s.
The 1960 Polara and other full-sized Dodges featured styling cues carried over from 1959 models, itself an evolution of Virgil Exner's "Forward Look" cars introduced in 1957. The 1960 model year also marked the first year that all Chrysler models, except for the Imperial, used unibody construction.
The top-of-the-line Polara and Dodge Matador continued to use the 122 in (3,099 mm) wheelbase of their predecessors, while a new line-up of still full-sized Dodge Darts rode on a shorter 118 in (2,997 mm) wheelbase shared with Plymouth. The Polara was available as a two-door convertible, two-door hardtop, four-door hardtop sedan, four-door hardtop station wagon, and conventional (pillared) four-door sedan.
The 1960 full-sized Dodges continued with the make's styling hallmarks of stacked "jet pod" tail lights. However, the size of the lights was significantly increased compared to the previous year's lamps, with the lower lights set into the rear bumper. The design also incorporated Dodge's trademark shortened tail fins, which, on the Polara, included small vertical tail light lenses placed on the vertical surface at the back of the fin. The clipped fin tended to visually exaggerate the length of the "jet pods" that housed the taillights.
The fins on the Darts were shorter both in length and height because unlike the full-sized Dodge's, the Polara and Matador, the Darts were based on the Plymouth and utilized much of the Plymouth's sheet metal form. The Plymouth back door did not include any part of the rear fin, whereas, on the full-sized Dodges, the fin started on the rear door (on the four-door models) and continued to the back of the car. This allowed the fin to start on the door and end sooner, relative to the tip of the round tail light, and still appear as long or longer than on the Dart. The front end featured a small grille of eight stacks of anodized aluminum rectangles nested in a massive chrome front bumper assembly. As the top model in the line-up, the Polara featured better interior fabrics and trim treatments. The Polaras also received more exterior trim that included chrome stone guards aft of the rear wheel housings, a full-length chrome spear, and a broad chrome base to the chrome spear atop the headlight housings.
For 1961, Dodge dropped the Matador, leaving the Polara as the sole "senior" Dodge model. Darts on the shorter wheelbase continued. For 1961, Exner's styling department reversed the car's fins, making them taller as they flowed toward the rear window. As the fins sloped towards the rear of the car, they cut slightly towards the center (to allow the single tail light housing on each side) of the rear of the vehicle, wrapping downward and then back along the side fender to form a C-shaped line accentuated in chrome. The overall effect made the car's rear seem to "pucker" from the angles the design created. The massive front bumper treatments that had been a Dodge hallmark since 1957 were replaced with a simple bar design, above which was a massive concave grille shared with the Dodge Dart.
The 1961 styling overhaul of the Dodge line-up was different from anything else on the US market at that time (save the 1961 Plymouth) and consumers turned away from the 1961 restyle. Sales of full-size Dodges plunged to their lowest levels since the firm's founding in 1914, with only 14,032 units produced in the United States. For the second straight year, the Dart carried the make, with sales of 142,000 units. However, Dodge sales for 1961 were down 53% compared to 1960, dropping the make from sixth in the American market to ninth place.
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Dodge Polara
The Dodge Polara is an automobile introduced in the United States for the 1960 model year as Dodge's top-of-the-line full-size car. After the introduction of the Dodge Custom 880 in 1962, the Polara nameplate designated a step below the full-sized best-trimmed Dodge model; the Polara that year had been downsized to what was in effect intermediate, or mid-size status. In its various forms, the Polara name was used by Dodge until 1973, when its position in Dodge's line-up was replaced by the Dodge Monaco.
The name Polara is a reference to the Polaris star in a marketing attempt to appeal to the excitement surrounding the Space Race during the early 1960s.
The 1960 Polara and other full-sized Dodges featured styling cues carried over from 1959 models, itself an evolution of Virgil Exner's "Forward Look" cars introduced in 1957. The 1960 model year also marked the first year that all Chrysler models, except for the Imperial, used unibody construction.
The top-of-the-line Polara and Dodge Matador continued to use the 122 in (3,099 mm) wheelbase of their predecessors, while a new line-up of still full-sized Dodge Darts rode on a shorter 118 in (2,997 mm) wheelbase shared with Plymouth. The Polara was available as a two-door convertible, two-door hardtop, four-door hardtop sedan, four-door hardtop station wagon, and conventional (pillared) four-door sedan.
The 1960 full-sized Dodges continued with the make's styling hallmarks of stacked "jet pod" tail lights. However, the size of the lights was significantly increased compared to the previous year's lamps, with the lower lights set into the rear bumper. The design also incorporated Dodge's trademark shortened tail fins, which, on the Polara, included small vertical tail light lenses placed on the vertical surface at the back of the fin. The clipped fin tended to visually exaggerate the length of the "jet pods" that housed the taillights.
The fins on the Darts were shorter both in length and height because unlike the full-sized Dodge's, the Polara and Matador, the Darts were based on the Plymouth and utilized much of the Plymouth's sheet metal form. The Plymouth back door did not include any part of the rear fin, whereas, on the full-sized Dodges, the fin started on the rear door (on the four-door models) and continued to the back of the car. This allowed the fin to start on the door and end sooner, relative to the tip of the round tail light, and still appear as long or longer than on the Dart. The front end featured a small grille of eight stacks of anodized aluminum rectangles nested in a massive chrome front bumper assembly. As the top model in the line-up, the Polara featured better interior fabrics and trim treatments. The Polaras also received more exterior trim that included chrome stone guards aft of the rear wheel housings, a full-length chrome spear, and a broad chrome base to the chrome spear atop the headlight housings.
For 1961, Dodge dropped the Matador, leaving the Polara as the sole "senior" Dodge model. Darts on the shorter wheelbase continued. For 1961, Exner's styling department reversed the car's fins, making them taller as they flowed toward the rear window. As the fins sloped towards the rear of the car, they cut slightly towards the center (to allow the single tail light housing on each side) of the rear of the vehicle, wrapping downward and then back along the side fender to form a C-shaped line accentuated in chrome. The overall effect made the car's rear seem to "pucker" from the angles the design created. The massive front bumper treatments that had been a Dodge hallmark since 1957 were replaced with a simple bar design, above which was a massive concave grille shared with the Dodge Dart.
The 1961 styling overhaul of the Dodge line-up was different from anything else on the US market at that time (save the 1961 Plymouth) and consumers turned away from the 1961 restyle. Sales of full-size Dodges plunged to their lowest levels since the firm's founding in 1914, with only 14,032 units produced in the United States. For the second straight year, the Dart carried the make, with sales of 142,000 units. However, Dodge sales for 1961 were down 53% compared to 1960, dropping the make from sixth in the American market to ninth place.