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1956 Chrysler New Yorker

Chrysler crept into the number two position in high-priced American auto sales during the 1950s when its vehicles found favor with the buying public, thanks in part to the wide variety of options, unusual paint schemes for the era, powerful drivetrains, reliability, and a plethora of price points to meet many different budgets. Under designer Virgil Exner's leadership, the 1955 Chryslers were completely restyled, gaining the '100 Million Dollar Look,' with the 1956 Chryslers being christened the 'PowerStyle.'

The 1955 Chrysler's were new from stem to stern, with a low profile that was superbly streamlined and design elements that emphasize the longer-than-ever silhouette. They had bigger glass areas (wraparound windshield), rich color choices, sleek bullet front bumper, hooded headlamps, and bold use of chrome trim. Chrome wheel covers and whitewall tires finished off the classic exterior.

With a major redesign for 1955, the 1956 Chrysler received only minor styling updates, primarily focusing on the grille and integrated taillamps. The grille of the FliteSweep I show car was used as design inspiration for the 1956 Chrysler, replacing the previous two-piece grille of 195 with three horizontal grille bars flanked by a chrome surround. The taillamps were further integrated into the uplifted outer rear bumper ends.

Standard amenities for the 1956 Chrysler vehicles included new safety door latches, safety rim wheels, center plane brakes, independent parking brakes, and Oriflow shock absorbers.

The 'entry-level' Chrysler was the Windsor which came with a 331 cubic-inch V8 engine rated at 225 horsepower, and body styles included a convertible, sedan, Town & Country wagon, two-door Nassau, and 2- and 4-door Newport. On the other end of the price spectrum was the 300B offered solely as a two-door hardtop coupe and was available with automatic or standard shift transmissions and two high-performance Hemi 354 CID V8 engine. With standard compression, it produced 340 bhp at 5,200 rpm; with 10.0:1 compression, output rose to 355 bhp at 5,200 RPM.

If there was any doubt about Chrysler's engineering prowess, the 300B quieted naysayers by setting the World Passenger Car Speed Record at Daytona Beach, Florida, with an average speed of 133.9 mph. With the 300B being America's fastest and highest-powered car in 1956, Chrysler buyers could be assured that similar performance could be found at all levels of the company's products.

Between the Windsor and the 300B was the New Yorker model, a name that the Chrysler Corporation would use for many years to represent its premium automobile, from 1939 to 1996. Until its discontinuation in 1996, the New Yorker made its mark as the longest-running American car nameplate. New Yorkers became a three-model series for 1956 – the New Yorker, New Yorker Newport, and the New Yorker St. Regis.

Distinguishable styling features of the 1956 New Yorker included the eight chromed teeth on the rear fender above the horizontal molding, which would become a hallmark of this model for many years. A finer detailed grille and unique bumpers helped segregate it from its lower-priced sibling.

The 'base' New Yorker included a four-door sedan priced at $3,670, the convertible at $4,140, and the Town & Country wagon at $4,415. Of these, the sedan was the most popular with 24,749 examples sold, distantly followed by the Town & Country Wagon with 1,070 sales and 921 of the convertible.

The Newport designation denoted the hardtop body style on coupes and four-door sedans and was differentiated from the lower-priced Windsor models by slimmer bumpers and a more intricate grille. The St. Regis hardtop was named for the landmark luxury hotel in Manhattan and was distinguished from the 'base' New Yorker by the two-tone paint, extra trim, full carpeting, and a color-keyed two-tone steering wheel.

The two-door Newport was priced at $3,850 and a total of 4,115 examples were sold. Three thousand five hundred ninety-nine examples of the four-door Newport were sold with a base price of $4,000. The two-door St. Regis was priced at $3,900, and 6,686 examples were sold.

Chrysler proved its engineering leadership with the introduction of the hemispherical combustion-chambered FirePower V-8, power steering, and its fully automatic PowerFlite transmission. The 354 cubic-inch V8 powering the New Yorker had a cast iron block, overhead valves, hydraulic vale lifters, 9.0:1 compression, and five main bearings, and produced 280 horsepower at 4,600 RPM. This was a larger engine than the 33.1 cubic-inch V8 which had powered the 1955 New Yorker, and it had approximately ten percent more horsepower. A PowerFlite transmission was standard.

The list of optional equipment included Solex safety glass, instant gas heater, hot water heater, Air Temp air conditioning, electric window lifts, and Highway Hi-Fi record player.

All 1956 Chrysler vehicles rested on a 126-inch wheelbase platform with front coil springs and rear leaf springs (the final year for this suspension setup). The Windsor had an overall length of 220.5 inches, and the New Yorkers were slightly longer at 221 inches (the New Yorker Town & Country was 221.2 inches, and the Windsor Town & Country measured 220.4 inches in length).


by Daniel Vaughan | Jun 2023

Related Reading : Chrysler New Yorker History

The Chrysler New Yorker has faced amazing success in the four decades it has remained in the auto industry. Introduced initially as the New Yorker Special in 1938, the name was eventually simplified to just the New Yorker. Americas longest continuously used nameplate, the New Yorker, has kept this title for 58 years. In 1939, Chrysler began to manufacture vehicles in Mexico and, until the early....
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1956 Chrysler New Yorker Vehicle Profiles

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Performance and Specification Comparison

Price Comparison

$1,070-$3,770
1956 New Yorker
$4,415-$16,795
1956 Chrysler New Yorker Price Range: $3,770 - $4,415

Compare: Lower | Higher | Similar

Other 1956 Chrysler Models
$2,770 - $3,500

New Yorker

Specification Comparison by Year

Year
Production
Wheelbase
Engine
Prices
52,178
126.00 in.
8 cyl., 331.10 CID., 250.00hp
$3,492 - $4,210
41,140
126.00 in.
8 cyl., 354.00 CID., 250.00hp
$3,770 - $4,415

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