What's New for 1996

After a short 1996 production run, the New Yorker is cut from the lineup in favor of the more popular LHS.

Review

Since 1939, Americans have been able to enter a Chrysler dealer and order a New Yorker. Not all of the vehicles that have worn this nameplate have been worthy of the premium connotations conjured by the name (the K-Car based iterations of the mid-eighties come immediately to mind), but the latest model is definitely one of the best.

This year marks the end of the line for the New Yorker nomenclature. The current car shares its body, interior and powertrain with a sport-luxury variant called the LHS, and customers have decided that the more subdued look of the LHS is what they want. Seventy percent of the cars sold in this two model series are of the LHS variety, and Chrysler is canceling the New Yorker after a short 1996 production run.

The difference between the models is slight. The base New Yorker can be equipped to LHS standards, but offers a less-expensive alternative to the fully loaded LHS. New Yorkers also have more chrome trim, and standard equipment includes a front bench seat that allows the car to carry six passengers. By moving the bench seat to the options list of the LHS, Chrysler has done away with the need for a New Yorker in the lineup.

For its final year, the New Yorker gets more standard equipment, a quieter interior, revised sound systems and a HomeLink Universal Transmitter for the garage door. Four new colors are also available.

The New Yorker is a large, speedy, luxurious sedan. Styling, like most Chrysler products these days, is attractive and contemporary, with a dash of retro thrown in for spice. Front-wheel drive and V6 power differentiate it from big honkers like the Buick Roadmaster and Ford Crown Victoria, and we prefer the less traditional interior of the Chrysler to those two jumbo sedans. Order a slow-selling 1996 New Yorker in one of the new color choices, and you're guaranteed to take possession of one car that won't be headed your way on the other side of the double yellow every time you get behind the wheel.