3rd Jun 2009, 11:08

Handling is irrelevant. People drove and still drive these big Chryslers for a comfortable ride and smooth cruising. For somebody to make comments about cornering ability --- well, they just don't get it, and never well. It's not your kind of car, so move on.

3rd Jun 2009, 12:22

Cars like this had a comfortable ride not only on smooth roads but rough, bumpy ones as well. As for 'handling ability' it is highly over rated.

3rd Jun 2009, 12:32

"Handling is irrelevant."

What??? The review boasts about "surprising" some Camaros & Chargers, but you say that handling is irrelevant?

When people are foolish enough to engage in street racing they should at least understand the consequences.

I don't know about you, but I don't want to see a huge Chrysler careening out of control into the path of my family or anyone else.

You say it's not my kind of car, and tell me to move on.

Yes I'll move on from this conversation, when all of you act responsibly.

3rd Jun 2009, 15:16

Surprising Camaros and Chargers "off the line" is a clear reference to straight-line stoplight dueling, so cornering is not an issue.

4th Jun 2009, 09:02

To the last 2 comments that state "off the line" has no bearing to handling, or as one put it "cornering".

This just goes to show how dangerous the roads are with people who obviously don't care about ANYONE'S safety.

First of all, public streets are not drag strips, they are not perfectly straight and they are not as smooth as a putting green.

Our streets are full of traffic, potholes and pedestrians.

Any one of which could result in someone racing on the streets to lose control and cause injury or death.

Secondly, how many fatalities do you imagine are caused by people who start out "dragging" at a stoplight, and end up carrying over this "race" through the public streets, corners and all?

If it were up to me, ANYONE caught racing on a public street should lose his/her driver's license for a very, very, long time.

4th Jun 2009, 11:41

Interesting how this one commenter has hijacked this review of a harmless old car and turned it into a diatribe against street racing. I see no mention of street racing, nor do I see any claims to handling or cornering ability. All I see is a guy who says his old Chrysler rode nicely on the highway and was kind of quick off the line.

4th Jun 2009, 15:33

What a waste. I wanted to read something about a '68 Chrysler, not read a rant about the evils of street racing. Please, take it somewhere else!

4th Jun 2009, 15:43

A friend of mine in high school also had a 1968 Newport for his first car, a 2-door with gold body and black vinyl top. It was a really nice car, really comfortable and a lot of fun. It was also a really solidly built car. The 383 2-barrel had great torque and would definitely put you back in the seat. The 727 Torqueflite transmission was also really solid, and stood up well.

6th Jun 2009, 08:20

I think the only big deal is that 12:57 and 07:54 felt the need to make unnecessarily snide comments about the car, which 11:08 called them on. There seems to be a component of old-car-haters on this site who like to pillory any review in which the owner dares to say that he likes his old car. After that, it looks like 12:57 felt compelled to try to save face by cloaking himself in the guise of public safety by harping on street racing, which actually has nothing whatsoever to do with the original review. Basically, it's just some guy who either hates old cars, hates Chryslers, or hates everything in general and got mad when somebody dared to challenge his remarks. Hopefully he has, as suggested by others, moved on. Best for all if those off-topic comments were deleted.

Anyway, I also owned a 4-door Chrysler Newport with the 383 2-barrel, and it really did have massive torque. It would spin the tires pretty effortlessly the few times I tried it. The foot pedal had fallen off, so there was only the metal rod with a rubber wheel on it, and unless you were really gentle on that thing, you could really take off!

I let my room mate drive it once, and he was scared to death because it was like piloting a battleship through the Suez Canal!

I don't know what year Chargers or Camaros the guy was talking about in the original review, but I could sure see how somebody in an 80s Camaro would be surprised by how fast a huge Newport would get moving! Mine had only hydraulic drum brakes and manual steering, so it was definitely the policy to maintain a safe following distance to other cars and leave plenty of room for stopping, and it was a bear to parallel park. However, it drove smoothly on the highway and the large diameter steering wheel was easy enough to turn when the car was rolling. I never tried to top it out, and never went much over 55 mph because the 383 would suck gas and I was a poor college kid at the time.

I can confirm the cloud like ride and minimization of the feeling of pot holes, bumps, and expansion joints.

I used to get about 15 mpg doing 55 mph, which I would think was about the best these ever got.

There were some neat little features that I really liked about the car --- the map light toggle switch that said "Map" on it, the dash mounted key, the little green "cold" light up on the dashboard -- just fun little touches for that era. It was a pretty good work car, and started easily, but with shot leaf springs and a leaking gas tank, I didn't make an effort to hang onto it when I no longer needed a second-hand work car.

5th Feb 2011, 13:18

OK, I know this is an old argument of about 2 years. I found this thread when I googled "1968 Newport" review. I'm getting ready to buy one. Pristine with 32k miles. "Pristine" doesn't quite cover it, this car is perfect. Anyway. I've owned a LOT of old cars. I had a 1972 Mark IV that handled surprisingly well. My Porsche buddy drove it and was surprised.

Now, if someone with a land yacht wants even better cornering, you can add a sway bar. It might detract from the "cloud" ride though.

After I drive the new Newport, I'll make the call about whether I want a sway bar or not. Right now my main concern is installing a modern stereo, completely hidden. It will take a clever stereo guy. It can be done though. :)

7th Feb 2011, 13:47

Go to www.secretaudio.com.