Video: 1954 Chryslers on the New Jersey Turnpike

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Learn why the New Jersey State Police chose 1954 Chryslers to patrol the brand new New Jersey Turnpike in this original Chrysler reel.

 

This marketing campaign for the 1954 Chryslers carries us back to the day when law enforcement duty was a powerful selling tool for the Detroit automakers. If a car had the performance and reliabilty for police service, the reasoning went, then surely it would more than hold up to ordinary civilian use. Here the setting is the New Jersey Turnpike, opened in 1951 and then nearly brand new, and before the Interstates were built the state turnpikes were the closest thing Americans had to superhighways. Here was a truly rigorous test of speed, handling, and dependability—that’s the sales pitch here, anyway. Note that every car on the Turnpike seems to be a Chrysler.

In truth, the 1954 Chryslers really were as hot as anything on the American road at the time. The mighty 331 cubic-inch FirePower V8 was standard in the New Yorker,  available in 195 hp (two-barrel carburetor) and 235 hp (four-barrel) versions. In four-barrel tune the hemi V8 was indeed the most powerful production engine from the Motor CIty that year, edging the Cadillac V8 by five horsepower. However, the low-priced Chrysler Windsor continued to offer the trusty 264.5 CID flathead six with 119 hp for one more season, and it remained a solid seller. Video below.

 

 

5 thoughts on “Video: 1954 Chryslers on the New Jersey Turnpike”

  1. Passing on the right? Setting a bad example?
    Probably a plot to get people to do said same, then write them up to plump the buy new cruisers fund.

  2. In my jurisdiction, city cops can ticket you for speeding on the part of the interstate that passes through town limits. So the state police go by you doing their usual 90mph and disappear over the hill. The motorist, thinking that the danger is over and the left lane has been cleared, speeds up.
    The city cop is just over the hill. They repeat this several times a day. The state cops don’t want the hassle (and possible danger) of writing people up but they are happy to set them up.

  4. This reminds me that when the Massachusetts Turnpike opened in 1957, the Turnpike police had a fleet of Chrysler Town & Country station wagons, probably with the 392 cid hemi.

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