History of the Valiant 1969-1981 - Part 2
When the Valiant was launched it carried quite a premium over its rivals. This all but vanished in the mid 1960s and it seems likely that Chrysler lost a marketing edge in the process, its car being seen as no longer half a cut above a Ford or Holden. The VF range was announced on 27 March 1969. Far and away the biggest news was the introduction of the Pacer sedan, predecessor to the legendary Charger -- but these two hot models are each worth their own story. Also introduced with VF was the up-spec Regal 770, which carried echoes of the old '77 Sunset Strip' in its name and replaced the VIP. The 273 cubic inch V8 made way for the 318. In May the new VIP arrived with the pretentious title of 'VIP by Chrysler'. However, this one was built on a longer wheelbase like the Fairlane but unlike the Holden Brougham.
The VF Hardtop, built on the VIP by Chrysler's 111-inch wheelbase, was on offer for the spring. This was not aimed at the Monaro and Falcon GT but at the luxury market. It was, arguably, the closest thing the Australian industry had yet come to the Ford Thunderbird. The Hardtop was actually longer than the VIP, extending beyond 5 metres, but still with a comparatively small cabin. If the VF rang big changes there was still more in store for 1970 and the VG. Stirling Moss was hired to spruik the merits of the new Hemi engines (named for their hemispherical combustion chambers). Moss declared that this latest model was 'the right car for all the right reasons'. The 1971 VH was a bigger car again. It may have been a little too big when compared with its forthcoming rivals, the clean HQ Holden and the more radical looking XA.
But the interior was still too small in relation to the car's sheer bulk and all-round vision was poor. By 1973 it seemed that the Valiant was losing more ground to its rivals and that Chrysler Australia had produced a car too big for the public taste. The VJ facelift brought no substantial changes and in July 1974 a rise in equipment levels was announced, including standard front disc brakes on all models except the utes. Even smaller changes marked the 1975 VK, of which just 20,555 were produced before the arrival of the CL the following year. The Radial Tuned Suspension revolution at Holden brought responses from Ford and Chrysler. In April 1978 the Valiant range got a major suspension upgrade. New, too, was ELB (Electronic Lean Burn) which brought major gains in fuel economy. Silver with a matching vinyl roof, the limited edition Le Baron with its 265 Hemi, ELB, alloys and suchlike was a minor hit in an otherwise quiet spell. Last of the Valiant line and still using the basic shape of the 1971 VH was the 1978 CM. The final car was built in August 1981. One factor that drove the Valiant to the end of the line was the success of the smaller Sigma in an era when fuel economy mattered more than ever.
