Better be glad he bought the olds bet it lasted and was a good car. My dad bought a brand new chrysler lebaron in 1978. It was a pretty car almost identical to this diplomat. Before 20000 miles transmisson screwed up. Dealer said 1800 and they wouldnt guarantee it. Friend traded a 77 cutlass for a 78 dodge magnum partly because it was a new type car and richard petty drove it. Well my friend as did richard petty find out the car was junk. My friend had it 6months transmisson screwed up. I was a deputy sheriff from 1981 to 2017 put many miles and hours in fords and chevrolet cruisers. Twice my department had plymouth gran furys around 1985 and then starting around 2012. The conclusion same thing with both very different eras. If its a chrysler product live by this motto stay away JUNK DODGE

@@robtans5042 it was a GREAT car...he kept it until about 1982 when his third wife made him sell it for no good reason, in my opinion. They divorced a couple years later. Hope that wasn't too much information!

I love Dodge Diplomat 1977 that was sold for about $5,075.00 on special deal in Fall 77. I sold my parents 1974 Duster for $1.9k in October 1977 and my mom went to shop for a newer car in Philadelphia. We ended up with Buick Regal instead and we love these old Americans cars. I remember the gas was 65 cents a gallon back then.

@@bannedheretic2971 hopefully she didn’t make him have to come out of retirement 😀

@@bannedheretic2971Did he re-marry again??

When I was a lot boy at one of Chrysler's larges company owned stores, we use to prep the Executives in the zone office cars. They always had a competition inside about their clout. When they would individually order their car, they would go out of their way to get features or colors that weren't offered to the public. I remember one guy, ordered a 1978 Chrysler LeBaron four door, it was the Top of the line LeBaron and it was dark green metallic, with a red leather interior and white padded vinyl roof. I honestly thought that combo looked awful, but the guy loved it, he bragged about how he got it that way. We all said it looked like a Christmas Tree at the time. I always wondered what happened to that special order car. If you look at a Lebaron brochure, you'd see that that combination wasn't offered. I loved the Forrest Green color...a few years later, i special ordered a Dodge Aries Coupe in that Green with a Tan interior in the SE level trim, oh, I loved how sharpe that car looked. Today, I own a Forest Green Oldsmobile Toronado.

You are one lucky person. I remember when the LeBaron/Diplomat cars came out in the spring of 1977. I thought they were the most beautiful cars on the road. I was taking a photography class in high school in the fall of 1977. I went down to Century Chrysler/Plymouth in San Jose, California and took pictures of a brand new 1978 Lebanon Medallion 2 door in the showroom. The optional interiors of these cars were second to none as far as beauty and comfort without being overdone. I once saw a 1977 LeBaron with a 318 three speed manual with overdrive on KZfaq.

Boomers really ruined things for us Gen Z

@@UnionPacific1997 AWWW, it's okay, we really don't care

The good old days of 145hp from a 5.2L V8 getting 14mpg, and quality craftsmanship that you could drive for literal hundreds of miles before falling apart. Hard pass! Cool video though; thankful for how far we've come in the power output, quality, and features for dollar we get nowadays.

Coupes were the most distinguished from their Aspen/Volare counterparts, they shared the 112" wheelbase with the sedans and wagons, the 2-door Aspen/Volare had the 108" wb inherited from the Duster.

So did the women.... what happened 😢

@@billmason2785 Now they're covered with tattoos, froot loop colored hair and look like men!

You caused tears in my eyes I laughed so hard!

For sure. I would have said Herb Tarlek, but he already has a Cordoba.

Nah... he thought he was so cool. I'm thinking more like a Nash Metropolitan for Mr. Furley.

Actually in one episode it was revealed that Mr. Furley was driving a 1958 Chevy that he thought was a 1957 because he bought it in late 1957.

@@Thomas63r2 Are you sure? I recall the Ropers having a late 50s Chevy. Mr. Furley thought we was so cool, I can't imagine he would drive a frumpy car. I found this: What kind of car did Mr Roper have? Wagstaff has arrived at the Ropers and tells Mr. Roper what a “classic” he had let slip through his fingers-a '57 Chevy is a car buff's dream. When he reveals that Roper could have gotten $1200 with some haggling, he finds himself in a tight spot, but Roper schemes to get the car back from the kids despite Mrs.Apr 23, 2018. Then I found this: Q: What kind of car does Mr. Furley drive? ---------- Opening line Mr. Furley gives to Lana when they first meet. Ralph Furley: “You may not know it, but I have a Porsche.” Lana Shields: “Well, why don’t you go get under it?” Pretty sure that was the only time Mr. Furley’s car is ever mentioned.

Well, they didn't market the car with Corinthian Leather, that was exclusive to the Cordoba by Chrysler......but the leather in the Diplomats wiere breathtaking. I worked for a dealer and LOVED these cars, particularly the Medallion edition with the Leather Seating

The leather was the same as used in Cordoba, but was not marketed as. "Corinthian".

Recardo Montaban

My Mom had the Olds Cutlass Supreme, an 80 or 81 I think. I cried when the parents traded it for an 85 Chrysler 5th Avenue!

Olds cutlass and Monte Carlo and the T-Bird all rode much better than the dodge. I know

exactly

@@eugenepiurkowski6026 they did have some plush seats

Thanks and more to come.

An old 340 would bolt right up.

More manners less road rage.

That 78 with the 360 had to be a rocket compared to some of the other cars of the day. Had a 77 Medallion from 91-93 that I added a 4bbl to a 318, was pretty decent once it was rolling.

@@JrGoonior for its time it wasnt that bad, only 155 hp but once she got to rollin it went along pretty good & cruised nicely at 70-75 mph! I love hearing those 4 barrels opening up on all those old cars, I always flipped the top of the air cleaner over, it left a small opening which sucked in more air & made that carb sound even better! I wished it had the same 360 that was in the fastest vehicle in 1978 the Lil Red Express truck which I wanted really bad but couldnt afford!

Hope you got to pork mom and daughter! Bonus points if both at the same time. It was the 70s after all!

@@edpoe4622 haha I wished it could have been at the same time but after daughter found out that I had went out with mother it ended all that...at least I can say I banged mom & daughter {I was 20 she was 38 & daughter was 19}

@@johnmaki3046 Dude, be gentle! I love my Volare! I'd love to have a Diplomat too, though.

My brother had one heavy car very nice to drive

I remember the 721 s, seven around two wrapped by one

Yeah its pretty but they were damn junk

it was, but then again at the same time, the TBird had seen some price cuts and reductions of options....that;s why they sold a million of that series of car....The TBird was down graded in price, the Chrysler was an upscale car...price wise....the diplomat was close to the lower price range of the tbird.

yes, and unfortunately after decades of promising customers “full size models only”, Chrysler finally was forced to succumb to market conditions and introduced the Cordoba which thankfully was an enormous success and was dubbed “the new small Chrysler” in company sales literature

The Cordoba was. The LeBaron/Diplomat were supposed to be a cheaper, much cheaper substitute for those who wanted a Cadillac Seville or Lincoln Versailles but ran out of money at about the 6 to 7 thousand dollar mark. I know people will think I'm stretching things, but for those who doubt what I'm saying just take a look at the April 1977 copy of I think, it's been awhile, Car and Driver or Motor Trend magazine. All these cars were based on other cars. The LeBaron/Diplomat was based on Aspen/Volare. Versailles was based on the Granada/Monarch and the Seville had Nova underpinnings. Technically the Diplomat/LeBaron could be competitive, but the Cordoba, Monte Carlo, Grand Prix, Thunderbird, Cougar were marketed as personal luxury cars back then and the Diplomat/LeBaron were semi luxury cars. When purchasing a base Diplomat/LeBaron, it rally looked very plain pretty much like a plain jane Aspen/Volare. The upgraded velour and or leather which was a $258.00 for leather option transitioned this into a luxury car with the looks to match.

​@@rickloera9468That makes sense.

That. and the other favorite place to film in Palm Springs.

I thought that looked like the Westlake/ t.o. area! I lived in Westlake 1975-1980.

@@bannedheretic2971 @2:48 (and throughout) You’ll see the El Torito Restaurant at 449 N Moorpark Road in T.O., as well. It closed in 2012 and the site is now a Chik-fil-A restaurant. Many memories of date nights after movies at Janss Mall...

Also, @8:33, Triunfo Canyon Rd. at Golden Leaf Dr., Westlake Village. This stretch of Triunfo Canyon appears repeatedly in late ‘70s Ross Roy work for Chrysler, as preserved so excellently by @OsbornTramain

@@legalisquestae OMG! Ate several times at that great El Torito restaurant...And I worked at the Vons grocery store in the Janss mall 1978-1980 during and just after graduating from NPHS. Small world 🌎

Sound issue is from the factory. This film was in it's original plastic wrapping, never played on a projector until creating this electronic version.. most likely due to age. It's the best we could do....a few more coming with the same issue......I think it's best to upload them and let folks see them as they are and hear it as it is......rather than hiding them for no one to ever see......I doubt anyone who's viewed this film on youtube has ever seen it before.

I swear y'all think Hellcats are the fastest cars on earth. Those motors aren't even top of the pony class. The voodoo 5.2, trinity 5.4, and even LS motors are better motors.

Just enjoy the car for the coolness!

In

Not to mention getting expensive

I never saw any lack in the cars.

Honestly, people memory is incorrect. 76 was the bad year for both the Aspen/Volare and lean Burn. 1977 saw corrections in the Aspen and Volare and also Lean Burn series two, totally redesigned. Lean Burn in 1976 wasn't even offered on Dodge or Plymouth, only on the Cordoba and full sized Chryslers as an option and not in California. It was slowly rolled out to the other cars over time. The Diplomat had series II Lean Burn and it worked fine, like you say, "you were lucky.." No, you were typical, Lean Burn functioned fine. Over time, it would ware out and you'd get hack mechanics non dealers the didn't know how to work with them......then they start to fail, but they weren't failing on new cars.

@@OsbornTramain what a smart ass response. Were you even referring to my comments? Did you read them? It was a positive response. You 've lost me from your channel. Would like to teach you some manners one day in person.

@@michaelatkins9780 I think he's tired of the people that don't know what the hell they're talking about. And trust me, he knows his stuff.🐶🐶🐶

@@davidgarris2513 do you deny my comments as incorrect sir?

I am a mopar man. Owned them from 76 to present. I was employed by Chrysler when it was Chrysler. I ve been certified mechanic for over 42 yrs. If he has knowledge, hands on, let him defend his attitude. I have personally converted lean burn to electronic ignition throughout the entire 1980s, because it was necessary. He questioned my own memories. His arogance is so obvious, that you can smell it. I bet he's under 40 and never got his hands dirty.

Almost gave you thumbs up til you said "junkyard" sorry man, I just can't

I have done so four times. I agree. The Thunderbird is the better driving car.

Yeah they would be epic allright as all their other J U N K

@@johnmaki3046 the late 70s american cars were junk except the trans am, trust me , i was a gear head back then and the monty carlo were still pretty good, bad time for US cars period and it was the disco area

they really had a nice shine to them....I worked for a dealer when this car was launched...the interior was impeccable...the only problem was the pull strap would come loose at their ends....you can even see in this video how much nicer the Diplomat's dashboard was vs the others.

@@OsbornTramain You ate not wrong about the dash. The April 1977 Car and Driver said that the Diplomat/LeBaron had the best looking fake wood grain to ever come out of a test tube.

Part of the charm of this car. At least its not a black or grey interior. :)

Yes, I agree, i didn't mention that in the description, but I do believe that it's Wink Martendale doing the voice over narration

The 77 Diplomat Brochure is actually a very nice brochure. I have one from the days of working for a Dodge Dealer

what I got is what's uploaded....i upload when I find the stuff, no hidden stash

Plymouth? Was it Canadian?

@@johndrake2729 yup

@@ericbrule4465 Thought as much.

Comical in what way? The Cutlass Supreme was in it's final year, very dated, extremely cramped on the inside and not as luxurious as it had been....and frankly over the years, cheapened....they rotted out quick......why is it Comical? They sold a Ton of Diplomats, it performed well in the market. If you bought the Olds or Chevy, you instantly had a old car one year later with the 78 Monte and Cutlass being totally renewed as smaller cars....the Diplomat would be around for 11 more years.

@@OsbornTramain The Diplomat ultimately had another two years on the A/G Body...being discontinued in 1989...when the G's were being phased out in 87/88 for the front drive W bodies. With the downsizing GM started in 1977 many cars were instantly dated but the Diplomat seemed to be perfectly timed and sized for this trend..

Yes the gm cars had more comfortable seats, and a more comfortable (and sophisticated) suspension. Crude vs classy. With the torsion bar suspension and rear leaf springs, the diplomat caused head bobbing over bumps. Monte Carlo drivers loved their car back in day. True the diplomat had better rust protection, the ac lasted longer, and the 318 and the standard 225 were more durable.

The Olds Cutlass was the single biggest seller in the ‘76 - ‘84 timeframe. The Chrysler RMJ bodies were popular as fleet cars - probably why they survived until the late eighties. Believe it was stupid to discontinue any of the Big 3’s fleet cars - they was a need, and a purpose.

@@OsbornTramain the gm cars may have been dated but the were way better cars than what CHRYLER was building at the time, my dad bought Chrylers untill his 77 NYer fell apart on us , i loved his 69 impearal and 70 440 cuda but buy 1973 there products were junk, except for the power wagon

Actually the plugs could last longer than 30k that was the recommended change interval. A good set could last 50k

@@richardbutton1179 I'm not sure what would have qualified as a "good set" in 1977 - not one single manufacturer of spark plugs at that time had anything special. Even Tune Up Masters only guaranteed their work for a maximum of 25,000 miles. Everything still had carburetors and the carbon fouling that came with that. Maybe there was an efficient production engine out there at that time - but I don't know,

You lucky bastard !

I worked for a dealer and just as the 1977 Models were coming out, I talked my Mom and Dad into buying a beautiful Brown and Cooper Four Door Diplomat. It was a left over 1977 model, two years old. It didn't have air conditioning and I'm sure that's why it was on the lot so long. We got it with my Employee Discount for 4700 USD. It had the 318...I loved that car, really took care of it for my Mom. I'm still pissed my brother sold it with out telling me....oh, I get so mad at that.

At the time, I always felt the Diplomat and LeBaron Coupes were inspired by the Grand Prix

I'm assuming you're gas mileage went down and so did horsepower too by removing Lean Burn. Most folks think Lean Burn is an Emission system, but it's the opposite, it pollutes more but increases horsepower and also increases gas mileage. I didn't hear about many folks with LeBaron's and Diplomats having lean burn issues, ours always ran fine. Particularly on the 225 super 6 and the 318. The problem Lean Burn Cars were the 1976 Chrysler Cordoba powered 360 cars., the Series I lean burn system. That was very troublesome. The LeBarons all had the 2nd series Lean Burn System which stayed in production until 1989.

A guy named Mopar Jeff in Virginia helped with this batch...he found them at a Hershey Meeting In PA...this one never even opened up or used. They are Super8 film too, not video

I got one 3 yrs ago for $300 from my grandfather pretty rusted out but ran smooth as hell, real grateful for the deal he gave even with the condition it was in. Great guy

Considering how many they sold, I agree. They were for the Hip 35 year old executive type.

it's not crazy, it's progress, things improve....The Model T is a bit old fashioned or simple compared to cars, but in the day it was amazing.....it's called progress, 100 years earlier, a spark plug didn't even exist.

Best of luck getting those plugs out without stripping threads in the head!

no, I mean Winter of 1977 as a 1977, sometimes. they would call the car the next year very early in the current year.....this is a 1977

@@OsbornTramain Oh...early Winter 1977, sorry for the confusion on my part. I was thinking along the lines of December 1977 :-D

ill take the GP

The 1969 GP is one of my dream cars

Sales numbers are irrelevant to which car is better. Sales numbers are relevant to who's doing a better job at marketing

my Dodge Challenger and my Chevy Corvette seem to be made with a whole hell of a lot of Pride....love driving them! My Chevy Bolt too!!!