“Hop in my Chrysler, it’s as big as a whale, and it’s about to set sail
I got me a car, it seats about 20
So come on and bring your jukebox money”
Lyrics from the B-52s’ 1989 smash “Love Shack” about a secluded place where lovers can meet to get it on. That’s the song that immediately came to mind when I spotted this 1978 Chrysler New Yorker near an airport I drive by because it is “as big as a whale,” although, by the looks of it, it’s been a while since it set sale.
This is a perfect example of a land yacht. It’s the car you rode in that your parents or grandparents might have had, with cavernous back seats with window switches we fiddled with, and the cigarette lighters built into the rear-seat ashtrays. The Chrysler New Yorker is unique because it holds the record as one of the longest-running American car nameplates, serving as the company’s premier flagship luxury model across 56 years and 14 generations from 1939 to 1996.
This 1978 New Yorker hails from the full-sized ninth generation built from 1974 to 1978. It was the last of the giant models before Chrysler began a downsizing program, over 230 inches long! Try parallel parking with this beast. It boasted expansive space with legroom, headroom, and elbow room to spare. The cabin of this four-door hardtop was furnished like a conversation pit from that same era, with a thickly cushioned couch of a bench seat of tufted leather front and rear that lacks only a couple of throw pillows.
A top-of-the-line New Yorker Brougham, this car has the optional 195-hp, 440-cid RB wedge engine and four-barrel Carter carburetor matched with a 3-speed TorqueFlite automatic. Combined with thick rubber bushings and Chrysler’s trademark torsion bar front springs, pavement imperfections — potholes, what potholes — were never noticed by its passengers. All this for around $7,715, about $39,511 today. Name one 2026 car that gives you this much for that amount. Right, none!
OK, you want one now, don’t you? No ninth-gen New Yorker is particularly expensive. This one is listed at 15 grand, while ones minus the rust of this one might go in the mid-20s most of the time, a bit less than its rivals from Lincoln and Cadillac. 1978 marked the final production year for Chrysler’s legendary C-body platform. Sales started slipping due to rising fuel costs, tightening emissions regulations, and competition from the new wave of downsized vehicles entering the market. “Love Shack” rose to #3 on the Billboard Hot 100—it’s remained a classic just like this 78 Chrysler New Yorker.
Thanks for stopping by and checking out my latest find. Feel free to Like, Comment, Share this article. Come back next Sunday for another one of my finds along with its story. Have a great week ahead.
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