By 1975 the final stages of the emissions regulations had kicked in and lower octane unleaded gasoline was in use, with catalytic converters required. High performance was but a memory and Chrysler pinned its hopes on the Cordoba series with 150,105 sold the first year. It was variously reproduced as the Dodge Coronet and Charger, as well as the Plymouth Fury and Road Runner.

Three two-door Furys were available: the Coupe from $3,542 (8,398 sold), Custom Hardtop from $3,711 (27,486 sold), Sport Hardtop from $4,105 (17,782), and the Road Runner was $3,973 (7,183). The front featured a large square grille (blacked out on the Road Runner) and a battering ram bumper, while the trunk featured angled taillights and a trapezoidal embossed design, reminiscent of the Lincoln Continental Mark IV, but squared off. One bizarre option was a huge trunk decal with the words Road Runner projecting into a tunnel, and Road Runners had a wide side stripe that curved over the C-pillar.

The base Road Runner engine was a 145 bhp 318 cid V-8, with a 230 bhp, 360 cid dual-exhaust V-8 available for $202. Other engines were fitted randomly and many were excluded in California, but it’s possible that a 260 bhp, 400 cid V-8 could have found its way into a few cars or even the 280 bhp, 440 cid engine. Base transmission was a 3-speed floor-shift manual, with automatic transmission offered for around $200. It’s reasonable to think a few 4-speeds may be found for about a $200 premium, though not with the 440 V-8.

Once again, options were mostly luxury and convenience, with a few performance extras. These included air conditioning ($408), power disc brakes ($58), sunroof ($296), AM/FM stereo tape ($397), power windows ($138), sunroof ($296), Sure-Grip axle ($52), and tinted windows ($44).

Plymouth offered 25 mostly metallic colors, and six interior shades. The colors and codes were Silver Cloud (A2), Powder Blue (B1), Astral Blue (B2), Lucerne Blue (B5), Starlight Blue (B8), Bright Red (E5), Vintage Red (E9), Jade Green (F2), Frosty Green (G2), Deep Sherwood (G8), Platinum (J2), Avocado Gold (J6), Bittersweet (K3), Sahara Beige (L4), Moondust (L5), Aztec Gold (L6), Cinnamon (T4), Sienna (T5), Dark Chestnut (T9), Spinnaker White (W1), Formal Black (X9), Sunflower Yellow (Y2), Golden Fawn (Y4), Yellow Blaze (Y5), Inca Gold (Y6), Spanish Gold, (Y9). Interior colors included Blue, Gold, Red, Parchment, White, and Black. Vinyl roofs tended to be White, Black, Dark Green, Neutral or Tan.