“Hard-eyed Townsend caught the industry with its pants down in 1962 when Chrysler suddenly offered its customers a five-year or 50,000-mile warranty on principal engine and power-train components on new cars. Industry practice at the time was two years or 24,000 miles. G. M. and Ford sniffed at Townsend’s audacity but had to follow suit.
Actually Townsend wanted a quick restoration of the public confidence which had withered following Chrysler’s bad product performance in 1957. In 1967, Chrysler quietly changed the warranty so that it benefits only the first two owners of a new car, and in 1968 had the gall to cut the new-car warranty on 1969 cars to one year.”
— Nick Thimmesch, Esquire magazine (1969)
RE:SOURCES
- Thimmesch, Nick; 1969. “What’s Good for Chrysler is Good For Lynn Townsend.” Esquire (subscription required). Published March 1.
ADVERTISING & BROCHURES
- wildaboutcarsonline.com (Automotive History Preservation Society): Dodge Charger (1969)
- oldcarbrochures.org: Plymouth (1963)
One would have thought that with Chrysler’s full-size models’ visible declining quality in 1967 and 1968, that Townsend would not have touched the 5-50 warranty program. Maybe the warranty claims were getting too large for the board of directors and the banks to ignore !
From roughly 1962 through 1966, Chrysler Corporation had the best overall quality and reliability among the domestics, judging by the results of the annual Consumer Reports survey and the Popular Mechanics “Owners Report” series. But quality began declining in 1967, and by 1970 Chrysler Corporation had the worst quality and reliability of the domestics.
In 1970, Consumer Reports commented that the Chrysler Corporation vehicles it tested had more numerous defects – and those defects tended to be more serious – than the competition from GM, Ford and even AMC.
Townsend did oversee a major improvement in quality and reliability in the early 1960s. It’s a shame that he allowed the corporation to slide so far in that regard. The failure of the 1969 fuselage C-bodies to gain traction in the market was partly because of their styling, but I wonder how much bad word-of-mouth played in their lackluster sales performance.
It was during 1966 that Townsend introduced the now-infamous “Sales Bank,” which resulted in cars being produced and then stockpiled around Detroit until the dealers could be cajoled or threatened into ordering them. That had to have hurt quality, as the cars often sat outside for weeks, exposed to the elements (and Michigan winters). Those cars were also often rushed down the assembly line (and with some odd combinations of options), which also hurt quality.
In retrospect, Townsend should have left in 1966. He had gotten Chrysler’s styling back on track, and quality did initially improve under his watch. Chrysler’s collection of drivetrains was probably the best in the industry. The corporation did hit a new market share peak in 1968 – 18.9 percent, or almost double the 1962 figure! – but it was downhill from there.
The 5/50 warranty covered only the cars’ powertrain. If I recall correctly, the coverage for the rest of the car reverted to 3 months/4,000 miles, which was standard coverage for all domestic cars before 1961. However, I’ve not been able to confirm if my memory is correct, and I rankled a Mopar fan on Curbside Classic for repeating the above.
Does anyone know the true story?
Per this link, the standard 1963 warranty was 12/12,000.
https://www.hamtramck-historical.com/images/dealerships/DealershipDataBook/1963/63-Plymouth-comparisons_0013.jpg
Ford made a big splash in 1961 when it upped the new Lincoln Continental’s warranty to 24 months or 24,000 miles. I don’t believe that warranty only covered the powertrain.