[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

The 225CID Slant Six was rated at 110hp in 1979, and the car weighed in at 3602 lbs, so it's a pretty fair chance that if you ever lined up next to an HT4100 deVille at a stoplight, you'd be seeing his tail lights, as long as it was the RWD kind. If it was the FWD kind, you'd definitely see his tail lamps.

By 1980, the Slant 6 was down to 90 hp, and in '81 it was 85hp. The K-Car's optional 2.5L I-4 made more hp in '81 than the Slant 6.

However, I think it'd be neat for someone to find and buy a St. Regis just because they're so hard to find nowadays! That, and the interior looks really comfy and it has those cool glass headlight covers with the horizontal slats in them.

What was the St. Regis's biggest competitor? It looks a little nicer inside than a Caprice Classic. Maybe like a Delta 88 or a Parisienne?

 

[orconn]

The Chrysler Corp slant six was a good engine for powering Dodge Darts and Plymouth Valiants back in the 1960's, but as motive power for a 3600 lb family sedan that had pretensions of a degree of "up-scale" momentum that engine was sad indeed! Just another example of Chrysler trying to make do with out moded components like the
'70s Aspen/Volare chassis ending up under the pitiful Chrysler New Yorker 5th Avenue.

 

[Aron9000]

The Chrysler Corp slant six was a good engine for powering Dodge Darts and Plymouth Valiants back in the 1960's, but as motive power for a 3600 lb family sedan that had pretensions of a degree of "up-scale" momentum that engine was sad indeed! Just another example of Chrysler trying to make do with out moded components like the
'70s Aspen/Volare chassis ending up under the pitiful Chrysler New Yorker 5th Avenue.

Yeah, the slant 6 was a great motor for 1960's/early 70's economy cars. They just ran forever and didn't break, good fuel economy for the standards of the day. However cars like the VW Rabbit and Honda Civic totally turned people's perception of what an economy car should be upside down, and cars like the Nova and Dart looked really old fashioned.

 

[Jesda]

Likewise, the 250hp SOHC 3.5 carried on for far too long. Some things never change.

 

[I~LUV~Caddys8792]

 

[Bro-Ham]

A slant 6 in a St. Regis was probably rare. Remember, the 250 cu in straight six was standard in the Caprice/Impala from 77-79, and the 3.8 2bbl V6 was standard in Delta 88, Catalina, LeSabre from 77-85. Of course, most of these cars were ordered with the V8.

 

[ted tcb]

Yeah, on second thought, it probably wasn't so bad, if it really got 23. Considering how loosely the EPA ratings were back then, 23 really meant 19. I'd still rather have the 318 or 360 and get probably 13/17 instead.

Chad hits the nail square on the head!

No one ever saw anything remotely close to 23mpg back in ’79 with a full size Chrysler and a slant 6 motor. That government figure was based on steady cruising at 55 (double nickel) speed limits.

Hell, just getting that barge up to 55mph would’ve sucked the life out of that fairytale 23mpg.

The 225 slant six was rated at 100hp, or 80hp in California trim.
The optional 318 was 155hp, and the California highway patrol hated the cars … they topped out at only 100mph with a light bar, and maxed out at 65mph on steep grades.
California troopers ended up removing the cat converters, emission flaps, and advanced the timing in an effort to try to keep up to speeders (thanks to Wikipedia).

I owned a 1974 Plymouth Satellite with one of these 100hp wonders.
I had to drive up hills with the accelerator floored, losing speed the entire way.
In the process, I never saw more than 15mpg.

23mpg in a two ton, woefully underpowered St. Regis. Not a chance in hell!

 

[Jesda]

Well, my old 90hp Sentra doesn't seem as awful now.