Police using 43-year-old Plymouth Satellite to patrol Seattle streets
#1
Police using 43-year-old Plymouth Satellite to patrol Seattle streets
Police using 43-year-old Plymouth Satellite to patrol Seattle streets
Gallery:
http://www.autoblog.com/photos/1970-...photo-5847275/
It's like throwback uniform days at the ballpark, only this happens every day and it's at the police station. A story and video by the Associated Press takes a look at Seattle police officer Jim Ritter and his 1970 Plymouth Satellite police cruiser (the Satellite was renamed Fury in 1975) – and yes, that's him above with the car, Ritter in his period-correct police uniform. As you might guess, this is one of those community relations efforts, but it's no show pony – the Satellite is Ritter's daily driver and he'll ride in convey with Crown Victorias to answer any kind of police call.
Ritter started the Seattle Metropolitan Police Museum 15 years ago, and there are 14 cars in its collection of automobiles. This one was offered by a retired Seattle city worker living in Nebraska, and after it was determined that it was indeed part of the King County Police Department in 1970, the museum restored it with the help of local businesses. It hasn't been made modern, though – it's got no air conditioning, no computer, and 43-year-old ride quality.
http://www.autoblog.com/2013/04/29/p...ol-seattle-st/
#2
Lexus Fanatic
Ah, yes.....I remember them well. Like most Chrysler products of that vintage, they had durable iron-block Slant-Six/V8 engines and equally durable 3-speed Torqueflite automatic transmissions (but the manual three-on the tree and, to a lesser extent, the four-on-the-floor s**ked.......unless you had the Hurst 4-speed in the Satellite's muscle-car Road Runner/GTX versions). Nicely designed for visibility and interior room, too....important when police have to patrol and carry prisoners in back. Notice the high roofline, large windows, low beltlines, and low trunk-lid height that make it easy to see out. It was when sedans forgot about this type of design and tried to start looking like space-ships that visibility, space-eficiency, and other problems arose.
Of course, in some areas, these cars were far from ideal. The Push-N-Pray, Fade-O-Matic non-power drum brakes s***ed...just like the manual trannies that didn't have synchros in first gear (power front discs were an option on some models). The baked-enamel paint finish was full of orange-peel and was appliance-grade at best (Ford generally had the best domestic paint jobs back then). General overall build quality (apart from the engines and automatic trannies) was often atrocius. The doors shut like tin cans. Rattles, squeaks, and water-leaks were legion. The AM radio (FM was an option), for '67-'69, had vertical metal thumbwheel adjusters on the dash that heated up with the set and felt hot on your fingers....but, fortunately, went to conventional round plastic ***** in 1970. The front-torsion/rear-leaf suspension rode more firmly than the typical Ford/GM coil-springs, and transmitted road noise like a drum (you sometimes had to turn up the radio to hear it), but that type of suspension paid off with somewhat better handling than its competitors. The grind-away one and two-barrel Carter AFB carburators sometimes cranked forever on a hot or lukewarm start....and stumbled, stalled, and iced-up when cold, even before the emission-choked models started to come out in 1971. Consumer Reports (I remember its test of the 1970 Satellite well) remarked that the one they tested had an all-time record number of defects in a new car (52), and that Chrysler products, in general, were especially sloppily-built. In those days, though, assembly defects were noted (and counted), but did not necesssarily affect their product ratings....the ratings came mostly from road-tests, and a lesser amount from product reliability.
But, if you simply kept the oil and fluids changed on these cars (and sometimes even if you didn't) and could put up with the lousy undersized drum brakes, road noise, and rattle/squeak construction, they would run virtually forever, especially with the TorqueFlite automatic. These cars, like the competing Checker Marathon, were a favorite of taxi-drivers for years. The fact that this police officer still uses one daily over 40 years later (and apparantly likes it) testifies to its sensible design.
This was typical, in the mid-late 1970s, as domestic vehicles began to downsize. The (former) full-size Fury's name was transferred to the mid-size Satellite. GM did the same thing.....so did Ford. The Ford LTD's full-size title was transferred to its mid-sized Granada, and The Pontiac Bonneville's full-size name went to the mid-size LeMans. There are many other examples as well...I won't list them all here.
I've already mentioned the torsion/leaf suspension.....that, compared to most standard Ford/GM sedans, it gave up some comfort for handling. But it must be remembered that most of these older cars also had significantly longer wheelbases (and MUCH longer lengths/overhangs) than today's cars, which helped to smooth things out a little.
Of course, in some areas, these cars were far from ideal. The Push-N-Pray, Fade-O-Matic non-power drum brakes s***ed...just like the manual trannies that didn't have synchros in first gear (power front discs were an option on some models). The baked-enamel paint finish was full of orange-peel and was appliance-grade at best (Ford generally had the best domestic paint jobs back then). General overall build quality (apart from the engines and automatic trannies) was often atrocius. The doors shut like tin cans. Rattles, squeaks, and water-leaks were legion. The AM radio (FM was an option), for '67-'69, had vertical metal thumbwheel adjusters on the dash that heated up with the set and felt hot on your fingers....but, fortunately, went to conventional round plastic ***** in 1970. The front-torsion/rear-leaf suspension rode more firmly than the typical Ford/GM coil-springs, and transmitted road noise like a drum (you sometimes had to turn up the radio to hear it), but that type of suspension paid off with somewhat better handling than its competitors. The grind-away one and two-barrel Carter AFB carburators sometimes cranked forever on a hot or lukewarm start....and stumbled, stalled, and iced-up when cold, even before the emission-choked models started to come out in 1971. Consumer Reports (I remember its test of the 1970 Satellite well) remarked that the one they tested had an all-time record number of defects in a new car (52), and that Chrysler products, in general, were especially sloppily-built. In those days, though, assembly defects were noted (and counted), but did not necesssarily affect their product ratings....the ratings came mostly from road-tests, and a lesser amount from product reliability.
But, if you simply kept the oil and fluids changed on these cars (and sometimes even if you didn't) and could put up with the lousy undersized drum brakes, road noise, and rattle/squeak construction, they would run virtually forever, especially with the TorqueFlite automatic. These cars, like the competing Checker Marathon, were a favorite of taxi-drivers for years. The fact that this police officer still uses one daily over 40 years later (and apparantly likes it) testifies to its sensible design.
the Satellite was renamed Fury in 1975
and 43-year-old ride quality
Last edited by mmarshall; 04-29-13 at 04:52 PM.
#4
Lexus Fanatic
No offense, BTW, but the St. Regis, like many other Chrysler/GM products of that vintage, and even some Fords, clearly had what I would consider subpar build-quality. This was a serious problem for American manufacturers in the late 70s-early 80s, and led to the huge gains made in the American market by Japanese manufacturers in the 1980s. Fortunately, though, your St. Regis (probably) did not have as many engine/transmission problems as the FWD Cyrysler products that followed it.
Last edited by mmarshall; 04-29-13 at 06:00 PM.
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