Plymouth Fury

Some cars leave a paper trail; the Plymouth Fury left a name, a year — 1958 — and a place in Plymouth's list. What follows is what can be said with a source behind it.

The story

The Plymouth Fury is a model of automobile that was produced by Plymouth from 1955 until 1989. It was introduced for the 1956 model year as a sub-series of the Plymouth Belvedere, becoming a separate series one level above the contemporary Belvedere for 1959. The Fury was a full-size car from 1959 until 1961, then a mid-size car from 1962 until 1964, again, a full-size car from 1965 through 1974, and again, a mid-size car from 1975 through 1978. From 1975 until 1977, the Fury was sold alongside the full-size Plymouth Gran Fury.

In 1978, the B-body Fury was the largest Plymouth, and by 1979, there was no large Plymouth. This product gap was filled in 1980 with the R-body Gran Fury, followed by the M-body Fury in 1982. Production of the last V8, RWD Plymouth Fury ended at the Kenosha Main assembly plant in Kenosha, WI, on December 23, 1988. Unlike its sibling brand, Dodge, Plymouth would not live to see the resurgence of the large, V8/RWD sedan.

Under the skin

The record carries the layout — and the layout: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The engine, output and weight have not yet reached the open record, and MotorJury does not guess at them.

Its place in the line

Its family tree is legible: it took over from the Plymouth Belvedere / Plymouth Plaza / Plymouth Savoy; its successor was the Plymouth Gran Fury (full-size for 1975 through 1977, and 1980 though 1989) / Plymouth Gran Fury / Plymouth Caravelle (Canada); assembly was at Lynch Road Assembly in Detroit. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Dodge Challenger, the Mini Mini, the Nissan Patrol — show what else the money bought that year. Nearby in the Plymouth catalogue sit the Plymouth XNR and the Plymouth Laser.

What it costs now

MotorJury scores cars on the United States complaint and recall record, and the Plymouth Fury has none: too old, too rare, or never sold there. Its value today is a collector's question, decided by provenance and condition rather than by a class average.