Uncovering Harry Truman's last Chrysler

It’s a 1972 Newport, with less than 19k on the odometer.

1 Like

Uhg… it’s green. 1972 Chysler green…

I hate green cars. Lots of my high school friends drove hand me down green cars because that was what their parents or grandparents bought. Mine included although it was a blue-green color.

I think that’s the same shade of green that most of the Mavericks seemed to be painted.

But, I’ve seen worse shades of green, as well as really nice shades of green. If my NX hadn’t been available in the Atomic Silver color, I would have bought one in Nori Green.

I handed down a dark green 1998 Buick Regal to my daughters. While they weren’t happy about driving an Old Man Sedan, it was a car and they didn’t complain much.

A friend of my middle daughter got a new BMW 3-series convertible from her mother as a gift. Shortly after that someone keyed it on the high school parking lot. Mom took the car back and gave the daughter something far less controversial. Yes, mom was a medical doctor and could afford it.

1 Like

I guess you were not a Harry Gant
fan.

My father and uncle both had green 53 Hudsons, I thought it was their best color/ Of course I lusted afyer a 55 Studebaker Speedster in lemon and lime when I was in high school.

1 Like

Yes!

I never had a hand me down car. But our 61 merc was metallic green that I drove a lot.

My friends dad owned the ford/merc garage. The car the kids were given to use in 65 was a 53 ford. We’d get a ride downtown in it. Everything worked except for the heater. Made his kids work fjor everything. Nothing free.

At the end of his second term Harry and Bess got into their DeSoto and he drove (she didn’t drive) back to Missouri - no Secret Service. They ate at diners. Harry liked cottage cheese.

1 Like

I was Harry’s fan… but not a Skoal Bandit fan, color or product. Harry was a class act with serious skills!

1 Like

I recommend this book. While it’s definitely not great literature, this detailing of Harry & Bess’s cross-county drive in their new '53 Chrysler New Yorker is entertaining and informative:

In the articles of the day, Harry spoke about the “amazing” advanced features on his new car, and joked that he would have to educate himself about how to work them. I’m not quite sure what those “advanced” features were, but it’s interesting to note that he seemed to look forward to using them, rather than cursing and dreading anything that was new and different.

Edited to add… I dug-out my copy of the book, and it is somewhat short on details regarding the car, except to say that it listed for ~$4k, and that it had a 331 c.i. Hemi, 2-speed Powerflite, chrome wire wheels, PS & PB, and that it was painted black with a tan velour interior.

Harry said, “It’s got so many gadgets that I’ll have to go to engineering school to handle it”. Luckily for him, Chrysler sent one of their engineers to Missouri to instruct him.

3 Likes

Me had to Google Harry Gant.

Here’s a couple more new fangled features:

AM Radio
Dash Clock
Pull door handles

1 Like

OMG, look at those needless new features!
Real men would just hum a tune, and look at their pocket watch instead of using those sissy features. :smirking_face:

And, who needs door handles?
Just one more thing to break!

2 Likes

I’ve been cross country a few times so I’ve already started my book. The pages are all numbered. (Sheesh, stupid computer changed pages to ladies. Why would anyone number ladies?). Gotta go.

Did you make one of those trips with John Waters? He wrote a book about it too. :grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes:

So did Hunter S. Thompson!

Easier than remembering their names? ie— wife number one, wife number two like The Lincoln Lawyer.

1 Like

$4K in 1953!! Thanks for correcting the car.

That’s a little over $48,000 today. A Toyota Crown XLE is similar and its MSRP starts at $41,440. The top trip Platinum starts at $54,990. That seems equivalent to me.

2 Likes

+1
Yes, it does seem to be roughly equivalent, but when you factor-in all of the additional equipment and technology on modern cars, they seem like a bargain in comparison with a '53 New Yorker. I really liked the Chryslers of the '50s, but even a modern econobox is safer than cars of that era, in every way–including handling. And, in addition to being far, far more economical, some of them are even faster than that old Hemi.*****

On a totally-different note, it’s interesting to see what Harry kept in stock for distinguished guests at the Truman Library, where he was in attendance every day. Because he was a Bourbon guy, he ordered two cases of Heaven Hill Bourbon, and for those who didn’t want to be served Bourbon, he ordered two cases of Gordon’s Gin.

***** I just checked, and the 0-60 time for a '53 New Yorker was 14.6 seconds–which was fast for its day. But a “base” 2025 Hyundai Elantra does zero-60 in only 8.4 seconds.

1 Like