The Dodge Regent is an automobile that was built by
Dodge Canada. The low-priced line built with a front end similar to the U.S. market
Dodge attached to a
Plymouth body.
The first Dodge Regent appeared for 1951, basically a
Plymouth Cranbrook
The Plymouth Cranbrook is an automobile which was built by Plymouth for the model years 1951 through 1953. It replaced the Special Deluxe when Plymouth changed its naming scheme and was essentially the same as the Plymouth Concord and Cambridge. ...
, and replaced the Special DeLuxe name used from 1942 through 1950. As with all Canadian Plymouths and Dodges from 1938 to 1959, the Dodge Regent used Chrysler big block (25") flathead
inline-six engine. While the American Plymouth used the 23" block 217.6-cid engine, the Canadian Plymouth and Dodge used the 25" 218.1-cid engine. Body styles were club coupe, 4-door sedan and a new for 1951 model, the Mayfair hardtop.
The Regent continued for 1952 with minor trim changes while the 1953 models received new bodies. As the U.S. Dodge now shared bodies with Plymouth, the Canadian Dodge Regent and Crusader, as well as the export
Kingsway, used the Plymouth body with a Dodge front clip. In April, 1953, Chrysler of Canada introduced
Hy-Drive
The Hy-Drive was a Chrysler Corporation semi-automatic transmission introduced in 1953 in US-market Plymouths. It was a hybrid manual transmission equipped with a torque converter, like an automatic. Although ''Hy-Drive'' cars had a clutch pedal ...
mated to a larger, 228.1-cid engine. As well, the Mayfair hardtop was spun off into its own series along with a 4-door sedan. 1954 models received grille, trim, taillamp and interior changes and very late in the model year
Powerflite
PowerFlite is a two-speed automatic transmission engineered and produced by the Chrysler Corporation and used in their passenger cars from 1954 to 1961. Production began in late 1953 and the simple and durable PowerFlite remained available on P ...
automatic transmission became an option.
New styling for 1955 appeared across the Chrysler Corporation makes, and Dodge Regent continued to be a
Plymouth Savoy
The Plymouth Savoy is an automobile model produced from the 1954 through 1964 model years by Plymouth.
Early history
Plymouth used the name Savoy on several automobiles. From 1951-1953, the Savoy name was used on a station wagon, upgrading th ...
with a Dodge front clip. Chrysler of Canada imported polyhead
V8 short blocks for use in Canadian
Plymouth Belvedere
Plymouth Belvedere is a series of American automobile models made by Plymouth from 1954 until 1970.
The Belvedere name was first used for a new hardtop body style in the Plymouth Cranbrook line for the 1951 model year. In 1954 the Belvedere re ...
and
Dodge Mayfair models. The lower-priced series, Crusader and Regent, came only with the flathead six, either 228.1-cid if mated to the 3-speed
manual or 250.6-cid with the Powerflite
automatic.
For 1956 new fins graced the rear fenders and Chrysler Canada opened a new engine plant for
V8 production. The plant produced 277-cid engines for Plymouth and Dodge and 303-cid engines for Canadian Dodge Custom Royal and Chrysler Windsor models. The Regent was available with either the flathead six, now 250.6-cid, or the V8, except for the new 2-door hardtop which came only with the six. 1956 would prove to be a high-water mark for Canadian Dodge production, breaking the 50,000 mark for the first time.
Completely new Forward Look bodies appeared for 1957 - lower, wider, longer. But due to the rush to get it into production, the bodies were plagued with tooling errors, parts mismatch, and poor body engineering. For 1958 the Regent continued on as in 1957, adding a 4-door hardtop.
1959 was the final year for the Dodge Regent, and as Plymouth placed the Fury on top and bumped the other series down a rung, so did Dodge in Canada. The new top series was now Viscount, while Mayfair moved down to the middle series and Regent to the bottom. The Crusader name was dropped. Body styles available were 2-door and 4-door sedans and Suburban wagons. Engines were the 251 flathead six and 313 poly
V8. For the third year in row, Canadian Dodge production was down although the Regent remained the most popular Dodge series in
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
Dodge introduced the Dart for 1960, and the new Dodge Dart Seneca replaced the Dodge Regent in Canadian Dodge-DeSoto dealer showrooms.
File:Dodge Regent Sedan.jpg, 1951 Dodge Regent 4-Door Sedan
File:1953DodgeRegent.jpg, 1953 Dodge Regent 4-Door Sedan
File:1955 Dodge Regent (35632203583).jpg, 1955 Dodge Regent Hardtop
File:'56 Dodge Regent (Auto classique Laval '11).JPG, 1956 Dodge Regent Four-door Sedan
File:1957 Dodge Regent (5883978005).jpg, 1957 Dodge Regent 2-Door Matador
File:1959 Dodge Regent.jpg, 1959 Dodge Regent 4-Door Sedan
{{Dodge
Regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
Cars of Canada
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles