why didn't we buy em when they were new....

[DAYTONA]

...several posts on here have made me wonder why some MOPARS are so rare....I know many of you are too young to be there the first time around, buy WHY did only a handfull of people buy a triple black AAR or T/A....why did so few order HEMI CUDA convertibles etc etc....how is it these cars were a sales flop....I understand the extra $$$ for a HEMI and insurance premiums slowed things down in general, but it just seems hard to believe only a dozen people out of 150-200 million would buy one of the cars that are considered the most cherished of our hobby today.....why were they such slow sellers then....

...my story, I was into GM stuff....Chrysler had a reputation for being rust buckets and you could hear the starters crank a block away....GTO was king of the street....I am still dumfounded to think only a few of this or that was sold...poor marketing, poor product, poor timing....what are your opinions ....less than a thousand people in the whole wide world wanted a Challenger RT conv ?

[Chryco Psycho]

no story for me , I was 9 when the 70s were introduced my allowance wasn`t enough to make the payments , I did have some Cool hot wheels though
 Oddly my dad also bought a 69 Polara Demonstrater for a cheap price , but he was never into cars so a E body or Charger would not have been considered an option 

[GoodysGotaCuda]

I wasnt even a thought....  ....or when they were dirt cheap. 

[Andrew]

....less than a thousand people in the whole wide world wanted a Challenger RT conv Huh?

Its really quite simple why there are so few challenger R/T and 'cuda convts.
Most R/T and 'cuda buyers were buying them because they were performance cars (e.g. they wanted to go fast) but convertibles were not only heavier than hardtops, but they flexed more too.

Also, I think many of you can agree that the convertible roof kills the lines of the car.

[Robert1050]

My parents were in a local Dodge dealer in early 1970, trading in a '64 Polara for a left-over '69 Polara.  I was 14 years old and was bored by the wheeling & dealing, so I went outside to wander the lot.  A transporter pulled in loaded with Challengers.  I stood there transfixed as the driver unloaded the cars one-by-one.  They were mostly 318's & 383 R/T's.  There was one yellow 440 R/T that really sticks out in my mind - black interior, 4 speed and console.  My jaw dropped.  They were the most beautiful piece of automotive workmanship I ever laid my 14 year old eyes on.  I drooled.  No amount of talking, begging, pleading (or promises to do the lawn for the next 10+ years) could change my dad's mind about buying one of those newfangled 2-door things.

After that, I would make a point to stop by the dealership on my way home from school at least a couple of times a week.  I remember a Daytona sitting in the showroom for almost a year - I asked a salesman about that and he said that no one wanted to buy it becuase it was just to darn expensive & looked to outragous.  Back in 1970, a $2500 car was very expensive - Hemi cars were always much more expensive than other engine options, so most people just steered away from them.  This may sound funny to say now (when gas back then was like .25 - .38 cents a gallon), but a lot of people were appalled by multi-carbs because of their lack of perceived fuel economy.   Plus, unless you were a decent tuner, they were a bear to keep running in peak condition.  Another problem was that it was almost impossible to get a hemi motor over the parts counter, so a lot of racers (both drag-racers & boat racers) would just buy a hemi car - strip the motor out - and install it into their race machine.   That left quite a few original cars without their original motors.....

[Alaskan_TA]

I was not quite 3 years old when the T/As came out, so that is my excuse.

One of the zone reps I talked to from back then said the E-bodies sucked. They leaked, rattled and vibrated like crazy when brand new. He remembers seeing power steering pumps seize on cars as they exited the assembly line. That might have had something to do with poor sales....

Some things you either love or hate, not many loved these cars back in the day. Man, has THAT changed.  

[Lunchbox]

I wan't born yet but my Dad told me about how in the winter time he would have to put some black steel rims on the car with some knoby snow tires on it just to get out of the farmyard. Remember that almost half of the country is in the winter belt and a convertible or a high torque motor in the winter time isn't the best things to have with below zero weather and icy roads. Unless of course you can afford to have another daily winter diver. 

[71340RT]

I grew up in Nebraska and they were far and few in between and I was only 15 years old in 1971. I never even seen a Superbird or Convertible Cuda or Challenger while I lived there. I moved to southern IL. just southeast of Saint Louis, Mo. in 1976 and that is when I realized all the cool cars Chrysler had built. I watched a local plum crazy 70 Challenger Rt convertible being run into the ground and ended up being hauled to the salvage yard in 1977. I always liked the hardtops best and that is why when I started buying Mopar cars in 1979 I stayed away from convertibles and bought hardtop mopar muscle cars. I think the price of the convertible Cuda and Challenger cars kept many from buying them when new as they cost more and adding a Hemi even drove the price up that much more. If I would of been a little older and knew what I know now things would be different around my house for sure.

[Jacksboys]

I wasnt even a thought....  ....or when they were dirt cheap. 

Same here.

[MJS73]

WHY did only a handfull of people buy a triple black AAR or T/A

My understanding is you couldn't order a T/A or AAR, that they were pulled from sales bank cars coming down the line and converted because the deadline for homologation was fast approaching. You bought what was on the lot.  My dad bought a new T/A from Mr. Norm's in '70 - Plum Crazy, white interior, white vinyl top.  He kept it for four years and I can tell you, people did admire it back then.  I was 5 when he got it, nine when he sold it, and I remember peoples' reactions at stoplights.  Lots of compliments.

Mike

[js27]

I feel  old now--I was 15 in 1970. I started playing with cars when I was 13. My brother is 3 years older and natually was intersted in hot cars because it meant GIRLS... I remember going for a test ride in his first car before he bought it. It was a 1964 Black Sport Fury with a console auto and a 413 Wedge. Then he went to a 1966 GTO-389-tri power 4-speed. My first experience with POWER SHIFTING. DAMM !!
I went with him when we went to our local Plymouth dealer and he sat down and priced out a new 70 AAR cuda. I picked up a Cuda sales brochure that day and STILL HAVE IT ! Unfortunately he decided to hold off until he came back from Basic Trainning. When he finished his army duty he got married instead of buying a new car. I can remember seeing all the muscle cars sitting in used car lots-some stock some modified. Superbirds were a laughing stock. We had a few running around the local streets and people would just make jokes about them. I don't think many people bought Black Cudas because the hockey stick stripe was only offered in black and you couldn't see it on the car. To me that stripe was a big reason for buying a Cuda.  As far as convertiables were concerned I think two things killed them. First off simply THEY LEAKED !! In northeast PA where I grew up you had 3 months a year to put the top down and it rained for two of those months and they were cold as hell in the winter months. Second they  weigh more that a hard top so they were slower..We also used to have burnout contest almost everyday at lunch time at my high school and I can honestly say MOPARS always won...May have influenced me into becoming a MOPAR HEAD. They were  THE GOOD OLD DAYS..
JS27

[Super Blue 72]

I was just playing with Hot Wheels when these cool cars came about! 

I was only 4 when my '72 was born.  We had Chrysler Town & Country wagon, before that a '68 Fury wagon.  No performance cars for us yet. 

Although I do remember lying down on the back seat of the wagon when I was a kid looking out the window and seeing a tall red wing go by with a Road Runner logo on it....

  I wonder if there will be a posting way down the road with the same title but refering to 2008 SRT-8 Challengers and convertibles?  I won't touch one of those because of price.  I'll be lucky if I can get one with a 5.7L Hemi in it, if I can get one at all. 

[DAYTONA]

...the argument they were expensive is true.....but there were 10 times more L88 Vettes sold than HEMICUDA convertibles, and they were far more expensive....and multicarbed Vettes were everywhere....GM was running 450-455 ci in Chevelles, GTOs and Oldsmobiles and dumping them out in mass quantities....

.............why not Chrysler Products....what was wrong with them....it just seems odd today te realize so few people in the Muscle Car market back then actually chose a product from Chrysler

...the town I live in is small but always had an unusual amount of Chrysler Muscle due to the fact there was a Chrysler plant here in town....one of the first DC Plants ever....so MOPARS were on the streets more than most places, but still not too many....

...at one time there were 6 winged cars and 17 of the Trans Am cars, not counting HEMI CUDAS, Road Runners etc etc...all in a town of 15K people...probably still more MOPARS here than any town its size....

............a special thanx to the guys who weren't born yet for reminding me I am nearly as old as dirt

...before Uncle Sam hired me (March 25, 1971) I had a new 71 Challenger RT ordered, my first MOPAR....440 SIX PAK....Plum Crazy/blk/blk....the order was delayed till I found out for sure if I was going overseas....I did and the Challenger was never built

[DAYTONA]

I wonder if there will be a posting way down the road with the same title but refering to 2008 SRT-8 Challengers and convertibles?  I won't touch one of those because of price.  

....interesting thought....will the new Challenger REALLY be successful this time.....will the SRT8 be more popular than the HEMI.....my bet, yes.....there is a better marketing campaign these days....but will it ever catch the Mustang/Camaro....going to be an interesting race for sure....I hate getting old(it sux) but it is kinda fun to have lived thru both Muscle Car eras.....doubt I'll be around for round 3....

[IMNCARN82]

I was born 5/31/70,my feet couldn't reach the pedals...