The Dodge Coronet has seen two lives and some seven generations in the US, with the eighth generation nameplate used on the Dodge Diplomat in Colombia. It has lived long and lived well and many of its versions are still considered classics today.
The first of the Dodge Coronets came out in 1949 in post-war America, along with the Dodge Power Wagon, the latter being the first and the most badass civilian 4X4 truck offered to the good American folk. The Coronet, however, came smooth and could be afforded only by those who had the wherewithal to get one.
At the time, the 3.8-liter flathead straight-six engine managed to make 103 horsepower, taking the rather stately car to top speeds of 90 mph. The crowning glory, and we do not mean just the nomenclature, was the three-speed fluid transmission that needed no shifter and could be operated by a floor pedal.
With a legacy like this, the Dodge Coronet remains a good catch on the classic car bazaar. Here’s the best Dodge Coronet to buy and collect, and why…
The End And The Rise Of Coronet
The Dodge Coronet also comes linked to both of Dodge’s muscle stars of today, the Challenger and the Charger. The end of the first coming of the Dodge Coronet gave rise to the Dodge Silver Challenger in 1959, a nameplate that finally saw its own run in 1970, so there’s a link, right there.
The Dodge Silver Challenger trim of the Coronet was also the last of the first lot, and the Coronet took a break to remerge in 1965 as a better version of itself. The Coronet was now a mid-size car riding on a 117-inch wheelbase and came in three trims: the base Coronet, the Coronet 440, and the Coronet 500, the main difference being in the chrome and the carpeting. More than 200,000 sold in 1965 itself.
There were plenty of choices for a Dodge driver to make. You could get a two-door sedan, hardtop or a convertible, or a four-door sedan, as well as a six- or nine-passenger station wagon. There was a slew of engines as well. A 3.6-liter slant-six could offer you 145 horses and then there the V8s, five in total, ranging from 4.4-liters to 6.7-liters. The last and most ferocious engine that Dodge unofficially offered and did not offer a warranty on was the 6.9-liter Hemi V8 that made 425 horses, officially. All of these engines could be mated with a three-speed column-shift manual or a four-speed floor-shift manual, as well as a three-speed AT.
The buyers of the Dodge Coronet were clearly spoiled for choice but even so, by 1976, the Coronet was retired, with the four-door replaced by the Dodge Monaco. Later, Monaco gave way to St. Regis in 1981, and then the Intrepid in 1992. Finally, in 2002, the Intrepid came to be replaced by the revival of the Dodge Charger. Technically speaking, the Dodge Coronet is one of the forefathers of the Charger.
The Advent Of The 1966 Dodge Coronet
In 1966, the Dodge Coronet was redesigned, and the cars became shorter and wider with bold design cues like a mesh grille with square headlamps. Engine-wise, the 6.7-liter V8 was replaced by the 7.2-liter one and the hitherto unofficial Hemi became official, equipped with dual four-barrel carburetors and hydraulic lifters.
The Dodge Coronet, by sheer sales volume along with a whole host of engines soon came to be altered for racing and as the “funny cars”, where the axles were moved forward to let the front wheels come under the front fender whilst the rear wheels came under the rear seat. These cars would then be jacked up, hydraulically, to ridiculous heights, and the funny car culture came to be.
The Best Of The Last: The 1967 Dodge Coronet R/T
For 1967, the Dodge Coronet adopted many a visual cue of the Dodge Charger including a new single-piece grille. The coolest bit about the 1967 Dodge Coronet was the advent of the R/T trim, which stood for road and track. It came wearing 7.2-liter Magnum V8 that made 365-375 horses depending on carburetors used, or the 425-horsepower Hemi engine along with a beefed-up transmission and an air-intake.
We dub this Coronet the best of all collectors because 1968-onwards, the Coronets were redesigned yet again, for more General Lee like looks, and later came in the Super Bee version as well. Obviously, the 1968-onwards Coronets are super cool but they are very vaunted and already come highly-priced because of their distinctive looks, so prices aren’t likely to rise higher.
The 1967 Coronet was beautiful in design, if simple, and is likely to rise in prices. There are only so many post-’68 Coronets to go around and since saturation point has already reached there, the spotlight is going to turn on the 1967 example.
For now, prices range from $20,000-50,000, depending on a fair condition model to a Concours one. Also, the slew of engines as well as the R/T trim takes prices on a yo-yo ride, so you have to know your Coronet before buying one.
Sources: Hagerty, ClassicCars