mmcartalk
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Since this is primarily a Lexus forum (and some of you younger persons here might not remember or be aware of this project-car), I thought I'd mention, and post about, one of the most bizarre and interesting Lexus products of all time....the 1997 Street Rod. Chrysler's Plymouth Division (which has since folded), at the time, was attracting attention in the auto press with the outrageous Prowler street-rod......an interesting but slow-selling, modernized version of the classic street rods of the 1940s and 50s. The Prowler was a trip to look at (and had a small matching body-color trailer if you actually wanted to carry some luggage LOL). But it suffered from some design/marketing errors, such as a 3.5 V6 (214 or 253 HP) instead of a classic V8, and a 4-speed side-shift automatic instead of a true manual transmission (at least it had a proper RWD). Despite extremely low sales (which would normally bring prices down), it still carried outrageous dealer mark-ups......I can remember seeing some at 70-80% over list. Lexus considered (and developed) a possible competitor........considerably more well-built, as Chrysler products of that era were of poor quality. To my knowledge, though, only one Lexus rod was ever done........in a classic 1950s-style Candy Apple Red, which is pretty close to the gorgeous Matador Red on Lexus production cars. It was never actually put into production (perhaps because of the Prowler's poor showing in the market), but made some auto-show circuits, though I don't remember seeing it at the D.C. Auto Show. In contrast to the Prowler's gimmicky shark-nose looks and relatively wimpy drivetrain, the Lexus had the much more authentic look of a classic 1932 (Deuce) Ford roadster and a proper V8...a modified GS400 engine with more than 400 HP. Like the Prowler, it was RWD and used a sport-shift automatic, but with an extra 5th gear for more flexibility. Chrysler claimed that the shape of the Prowler's body/cabin restricted space in the footwells for a true 3-pedal manual transmission, but the Lexus didn't seem to have that problem, so I don't know why they chose not to use a conventional manual either...as virtually all of the classic street rods did.
Anyhow, here are the two cars for comparison:
Prowler:
Lexus:
Anyhow, here are the two cars for comparison:
Prowler:
Lexus:
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