1969 Plymouth Road Runner. Wes Eisenschenk
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key ingredient still needed was the voice of the Road Runner. Chuck Jones had created the sound after hearing a person outside his office passing by with a stack of paperwork saying, “beep-beep” to get people to move out of the way. Smith was determined to get that sound out of a horn.
He approached three of Chrysler’s horn vendors and one stated they had a similar horn that would cost $45. Smith told them, “No way,” and asked them to remove every unnecessary component that still allowed it to make that sound and pass all the government regulations. One day later the horn vendor came back with a cost just 47 cents above what they were currently paying. Done.
With a fresh identity, a licensing agreement with Warner Brothers in hand, and a cool-sounding horn, Smith wanted one last thing: a Road Runner engine. Starting with Dick Maxwell, of Dodge Ramchargers fame, he suggested putting a 440 cam into the 383 block. After some trial and error, Frank Anderzjak, from the product planning garage, got the car dialed in with a new cam, gearing, and torque converter.
Next, Smith had to convince Bob Steere, chief engineer in Car and Truck Assembly, to add a new engine to an increasing lineup. Upon returning from vacation to find Smith sitting at his desk, Steere asked, “What in the hell are you doing here?”
After a lengthy pitch from Smith, Steere exulted, “Go do it!”
Adorning the air cleaner was a pie tin reading “383 Road Runner Engine” and featuring the Road Runner logo. It was another subtle reminder that the engine was exclusive to the Road Runner.
Here is the “Voice of the Road Runner” horn in purple. Some early 1969 Road Runners had a black horn as on 1968 models. (Darlene Deschambeault Photo)
THE DEATH OF THE ROAD RUNNER . . . ALMOST
Styling director Dick Macadam proved to be the last and final hurdle for Jack Smith and the Road Runner. In a three-way meeting with Smith, Macadam, and Bob Anderson, Macadam stated, “Nobody, but, nobody, will ever put a cartoon bird on one of my cars!” Anderson conceded, as Macadam was an important cog in the machine.
Smith made one last pitch to Anderson, so that a decal could be put in the glove box in case the owner wanted to apply it to the car. Anderson relented and Macadam agreed on the condition that he be able to choose the bird.
So how did the Road Runner bird make it onto the car from the factory? During an unveiling at Chrysler, the dealers came to view the next year’s models. Smith had a co-worker make copies of the Road Runner decals to scale, cut them out, and rubber cement them onto the car. As the group came out of the viewing talking over what they had seen, Smith inserted himself into the group around Bob Anderson.
Smith noted how happy everyone seemed, and asked Anderson if he’d noticed the bird. Anderson said, “I noticed it.”
Smith asked if he could put the bird on the car at the factory and Anderson said, “Yes.” Just like that, the Road Runner was complete.
This back-door scheme by Smith was a calculated and dangerous risk, but it paid off as the car was widely accepted. The dealer principals fell in love with the car and the personality it portrayed. The tipping point may have come about when “Big Bob” Anderson walked out of the showing with a prominent dealership owner from New Mexico, whose state bird was none other than the Road Runner.
As history shows, the 1968 Plymouth Road Runner was a resounding success. More than 43,000 Road Runners went to new owners, announcing to Ford and General Motors that Plymouth had a marketable performance car capable of pulling sales away from their mid-size market. Plymouth was just getting started, though, and its sophomore edition solidified its position as one of the greatest success stories of the muscle car era.
The Road Runner saw subtle cosmetic changes from 1968 to 1969. The addition of a hardtop and a convertible placed the car in direct competition with offerings from General Motors and Ford. Buyers now rowed their Road Runners with Hurst Shifters as standard equipment. A variety of new colors at mid-year paved the way for the abundance of choices to be offered in 1970.
The Road Runner became the mid-size status norm for other manufacturers to emulate. With its cartoonish appearance and a price point starting around $3,000, the no-frills Road Runner had carved out its own niche in the marketplace.
Pontiac responded with the GTO Judge, an option featuring “The Judge” decals in fonts never before seen on an automobile.
Ford created the Cobra, a stripped-down version of Fairlane and Torino offerings. The Cobra came standard with a 428 Cobra Jet engine and a manual transmission.
Dodge, too, had to adjust its 1968 lineup and offered a budget version of the Coronet with the Super Bee.
The Road Runner shook up the mid-size market, something that hadn’t been done since the 1964 introduction of Pontiac’s GTO.
Production numbers soared to 84,460 units as Road Runners nearly pushed Z-16 Chevrolets (86,307) out of the top sales spot while relegating the GTO to third-place in the mid-size muscle market. The Road Runner most likely outsold the Chevelle SS as the El Camino SS sales numbers were added into Chevrolet’s Z-16 sales figures.
Would Plymouth’s budget-oriented muscle car have been as successful with a name like Lamancha? Unlikely. It took the perfect storm of a second-year body style receiving cosmetic and structural upgrades along with riding the wave that was still cresting from the year before. All of these factors, combined with perhaps the greatest marketing scheme of all-time, helped make the Road Runner perhaps the most iconic symbol of the muscle car era.
What more could Plymouth have accomplished with its Road Runner in 1969? Not much. With F8 Ivy Green Metallic, B5 Blue Fire Metallic, (shown) became the most selected color option. A very successful color on a very successful model. (Roy Diehl Photo)
MARKETING AND PROMOTIONAL TOOLS
Fred Goeske makes a pass at Irwindale in his 1969 Road Runner Funny Car with Plymouth Dealers Association sponsorship. “Fearles Fred” later won at the Popular Hot Rodding Nationals in his flip-top bird. (Tom West Photo)
With a successful model in place, it was now time to spread its wings and fly the Road