Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 57, No. 71, Ed. 1 Sunday, October 25, 1959 Page: 37 of 50
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Family Weekly, Octobar IS. 1959
7
DODGE offers six more inches of hip room in rear
; and 87 lb*, of sound deadener to silence road noise.
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CHEVROLET has toned down last year's controversial
gull-wing rear. Fuel injection offered optionally.
lutionary thinking. It has several unusual mechani-
cal features, notably the rear-mounted, air-cooled
aluminum engine.
The six cylinders, which sit opposed to each other
in sets of three, form a single unit with the trans-
mission and differential. This is designed to trans-
mit the engine’s potential 85 horsepower to the driv-
ing wheels with less friction loss. The weight of the
mechanism on these wheels gives the car good trac-
tion on icy surfaces, and, of course, the air-cooled
engine doesn’t need water or antifreeze. Mechan-
ics will applaud the service accessibility: they sim-
ply open up the Corvair’s rear deck lid and there
are all of the works grinning at them.
The four-door, unitized body (one' which has
been strengthened in construction so that it no
longer requires a chassis or frame for support) is
the lowest in the industry, but it will still carry six
normal-sized adults with a fair degree of comfort.
The floors, front and rear, are flat because there is
no hump for the transmission and drive shaft. Visi- i
bility,'looking forward over your luggage, is excel-
lent, as it is to the rear when backing the engine
end into a tight parking space. Controls are normal
except for a revival of-the floor-mounted gearshift
lever; automatic transmission is optional. The sedan
will be followed later in 1960 by a station wagon.
Like the other two new compact offerings, a bare
Corvair will cost you with taxes and heater about
$1,900 or approximately 80 cents for each of its
2,375 pounds. There is little else to buy besides a
radio, automatic transmission ($135 on the Cor-
vair), and maybe the deluxe trim option. Except for
• Chrysler’s Valiant, which offers power steering, the
usual array of mechanical assists are considered
extraneous on compact cars.
These cars are designed to cruise happily on regu-
lar-grade gasoline at their maximum speed of 85
miles per hour, wherever such a pace is legal. They
have enough power to stay up in the traffic-light
sweepstakes and average nearly 20 miles per gallon
in the city and more than 30 on the turnpike.
The Valiant stands on middle ground with respect
to engineering and styling innovation. While all
compact cars are dimensionally similar with their
approximate 180-inch length and 70-inch width.
. i • . '
Chrysler’s candidate features a water-cooled, cast-
iron engine. To place it under the low, front hood,
it has been’angled about 30 degrees on its side.
Using basically the same six-cylinder, overhead-
valve power plant as standard-sized Plymouths and
Dodges, the Valiant has a peppy performance.
Its standard model has a manual transmission
operated by a stick in the floor; a three-speed auto-
matic unit is optional. The latter, incidentally, offers
the only push-button control in this field. Another
feature borrowed from bigger Chrysler products is
the torsion-bar front suspension on both the station
wagon and four-door sedan models.
The Valiant’s lines seem to come from nowhere
in the Chrysler family. There is a definitely Brit-
ish look to the car’s sharp angles and corners that
may appeal to conservative buyers.
Ford’s Falcon is best described as button-neat
and orthodox tn every respect. Its unitized body,
available in two- and four-door sedans (a station
wagon will follow shortly) has the smooth, flowing
lines that characterize 1960 Fords and Edsels. Coil
springs at each wheel give a soft ride and handling
(Continued)
ciin —
the new compact cars mark the most far-reaching change since the introduction of the Model “T”
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PONTIAC has changed its front-end styling and
■ reduced front floor hump. "Wide-stance" look kept.
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BUICK has brought back portholes and now gives its
product a heavier look, the result of a buyer survey.
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FORD is longer, wider and lower. New razor-edge OLDSMOBILE features new economy engine for
fenders permit easy access to engine compartment. low-priced "88" model for use with regular gasoline.
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Kirkland, Tom. Denton Record-Chronicle (Denton, Tex.), Vol. 57, No. 71, Ed. 1 Sunday, October 25, 1959, newspaper, October 25, 1959; Denton, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1468035/m1/37/?rotate=270: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Denton Public Library.