A pet project of Lee Iacocca, the LeBaron Town & Country convertible didn’t sell in large numbers, but it generated publicity for the struggling automaker, as he knew it would.
As chairman and CEO of the Chrysler Corporation, Lee Iacocca firmly established himself as the troubled carmaker’s maximun leader, bringing order to the disarray. When he said, “Do it,” it got done. At Chrysler’s request, Creative Industries had created a prototype LeBaron convertible with wood side trim—a callback to the elegant Chrysler Town & Country convertibles of the ’40s. When Iacocca saw the woody K-car, he ordered president Hal Sperlich to send it straight into production. It was ready for the showrooms in early 1983.
Complete cars were shipped from the St. Louis plant, where LeBaron and Dodge 400 (its corporate twin) convertibles were assembled, to Creative Industries in Southeast Michigan for the transformation. The faux wood components—fiberglass for the fake white ash framing and Di-noc vinyl film for the marine teak panels—were borrowed, with some modifications, from the LeBaron Town & Country wagon, a four-door K-car. Chrysler stylists weren’t happy with the result, reportedly, but the boss was satisfied.
For an added touch of class, the deluxe Mark Cross leather interior, an extra-cost option on the base convertible, was standard on the T&C. Another standard feature was Chrysler’s Electronic Voice Alert, the trendy gadget that, in a robotic human voice, delivered 11 vital messages including “Don’t forget your keys” and the now-famous “A door is a jar.” Beyond that, the LeBaron T&C convertible was a K-car, pretty much, with the same transverse front-drive platform and powertrain components..Quarter windows were added in 1985, adding a little more visibility when the claustrophobic top was raised.
Priced at $15,595 for the mid-1983 introduction, nearly twice as much as a LeBaron coupe, the T&C convertible didn’t sell in any large numbers: 1,521 cars in the first year, dwindling to a mere 501 in 1986, the fourth and final year. But as one of the Motor City’s top product men ever, Iacocca knew the woody K-car would generate publicity, and that it did. When Time magazine featured him as “Detroit’s Comeback Kid” in its March 21, 1983 issue, Iaocca was pictured on the cover as a LeBaron Town & Country convertible.
The stylists mentioned may have been dismayed over the overkill-use of faux wood on the fenders. Only the doors and trunklids of the original Town & Country convertibles were of wood.
This is pure 1980s. This goes in the time capsule.
At the time of the K car T & C convertible introduction I owned a dark green 1950 T & C hardtop, so naturally I wanted one of the convertibles. Luckily I couldn’t afford one!
And Lou Rugani; Yes while the door and trunk lid assemblies were structurally all wood, much of the rear body shell from the doors back was also 100% framed in white ash.
True story…
Back in the ’80’s I was Parts Manager at a small Chrysler dealership in western PA. One day this young (about 17-18) cute blond dropped off her LeBaron convertible (I think it was a T&C) for some repairs. Later that day she came in to pick it up. It was officially out of warranty, so the Service Manager asked her to pay the bill at the cashier window. She was indignant and insisted her car was under warranty. After assuring her that the warranty was indeed expired, she stated “I am Lee Iacocca’s niece and my car IS under warranty.” The Service Manager laughed and said “Yeah, and my great great grandpa is Abraham Lincoln!” At this she stormed out leaving the car behind. The next morning we got a call from the Pittsburgh Chrysler Zone Office asking “What did we say to Mr. Iacocca’s niece?” OOPS! Turns out that her mother was Lee’s sister and they lived in our area. Who knew?! So, we quickly learned that her car was in fact still under warranty as per Uncle Lee’s instructions. From then on we sent her repair/service bills to the Zone Office and they reimbursed us.
Moral of the story…never assume the customer is making up a story!
Great story!
David,
You are sooo correct, people are not always what or who you think they are.
In 1971 I saw an older man in a black 1965 Lincoln sedan, sitting by the side of the road, the hood open. I stopped to help and deduced the car had fuel vapor lock problems. The man looked as if he didn’t have a penny to his name, and likely had not changed his clothes in a month.
Vapor lock was a common problem with Lincoln V8 engines with the fuel pump at the upper forward part of the engine. I used some ice water from my water jug to cool the fuel line & pump temperatures down, then wrapped the fuel line to the carb with an old rag soaked in cold water.
Worried it might vapor lock again, I offered to follow him home [he said he lived only a few miles away], and was amazed when he turned into a well-known luxurious estate with a huge “Addams Family style” mansion. The place was called Kentlands, and the man was Otis B. Kent, the owner of the 400 acre estate and a bit of a recluse/hermit.
When Mr Kent found out I liked old cars and had a small collection of Packard cars, he took me around to the large out buildings where he kept his own collection of vintage fire engines. We hit it off and I used to come visit Mr Kent on a regular basis, and he let me keep some of my Packards in one of his sheds. I also earned extra money working on his fire engines and his 1956 Cadillac & 1960 Buick ambulances.
Mr Kent died about 1975, and the property was later sold off & developed into a large upscale community outside of Germantown, Maryland, known as Kentlands. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kentlands,_Gaithersburg,_Maryland
I visited the town’s offices about 2015, and when the staff heard I actually knew Mr. Kent quite well and had been a frequent visitor, the town’s mayor insisted on us visiting the original mansion, where I was able to correct some historical info on the house and furnishings. It seemed that “No one ever got to see Mr Kent!”
That’s George Costanza’s car !
had one of these I bought at the Salvage auction in the mid 90s, it was a Mark Cross with the Mitsubishi 2.6 and it needed a top and carburetor but it was nice otherwise, I paid a few hundred for it; a new top was about $300 installed which was expected but a new carb was over $600 in a box, which was not expected. I sold it to fellow who fixed it all up and it was his baby. I was happy for him and the car.
Ugly car. Ugly car then, (with or without the faux wood treatment), ugly car now. While I remember the era well, (& even owned a Daytona Turbo Z), & understand & appreciate what Chrysler had to do to survive, the basic K car was fugly. The added faux wood didn’t help matters any.
Who could forget the burned out T&C hulk from Planes, Trains and Automobiles. “The radio is as clear as a bell”…..
He also created the Chrysler TC Maserati by sending Dodge Daytona’s to Milan Italy to be converted to the 2.2 Intercooled Turbo tied to a 413A three speed Transmission. Only the 1989 models were with that set up as 1990-1 were Japan Powered.
A total around 7350
Were made and they sold for $33,500.
Carroll Shelby designed the 1989 Models with Shelby Red and his turbo and fuel injection system.
That was the Pace Cars for the Monico Race where Shelby, Iacocca, and Andriana drove.
I have own one since 2014 and love it.