Prowlers and fruit cakesThank you for the great article "The Prowler Meets Its Match" (Oct. '96). It wasn't the purple Plymouth Prowler that caught my eye, nor was it the bright screaming-yellow Boyd Coddington '33/'93 Ford roadster. It was that beautiful plain black, wonderfully understated Doane Spencer '32 Ford "highboy."
That car has a lot of memories for me; my dad is the late Doane Spencer. It's nice to see that his influence is still contributing to the design of beautiful cars. My father lived long enough to know that the '32 Ford highboy was going to be restored, but he didn't live to see its completion. You might be interested to know that my dad sold the '32 in 1958 to a friend of his, Lynn Wineland, for $300 because he wanted to buy my mom new draperies for our house. I wish we would have sold the '49 Ford instead. Oh, well. The car is as beautiful as it ever was, thanks to Bruce Meyer and the hands of Pete "Repeat" Shapuris.Doana Spencer-RaquepoAtascadero, Calif.
After reading the article about the Plymouth Prowler, I've reached the conclusion that Chrysler has finally reached a total and complete resurrection from the near grave of 15 years ago. The automaker has more than proved itself to me with the Dodge Viper, and now the Plymouth Prowler is just the crowning point on its Pentastar. Keep up the excellent work, guys!Matthew KucinskiGrosse Pointe Farms, Mich.via the Internet
I expect the folks at Chrysler probably sent you a couple of extra fruit cakes for Christmas as thanks for your article. Calling a gold-plated, billet, and 'glas Coddington one-off "the real thing" is about as realistic as trying to make an omelet out of a handful of Faberg eggs. The Doane Spencer highboy, on the other hand, is a more realistic example of a true hot rod. But you said it yourself: It just emerged from a ground-up restoration. Very spendy.
The clear implication of your article is that one may as well buy a Prowler as a "real" hot rod. I say phooey! A decent backyard mechanic can deliver two nice roadsters and change for the price of the Prowler. They may not have a designer label, or tons of history behind them, but then neither does the Prowler.Terry GriffithsOregon City, Ore.
OK, Griffiths, if you can build a superstylish, $30,000, mass-produced roadster that meets all government-regulated safety and emissions standards, uses a lightweight aluminum chassis, and delivers respectable fuel economy, several manufacturers would like your phone number.-Ed.
The Plymouth Prowler is a step in the right direction, but I believe it misses the mark. It's aimed at hot rodders. While I'm sure Chrysler won't have any trouble selling the small number of Prowlers it builds, hot rodders are usually in the hobby because they enjoy building their own rides. There's a much larger market that car companies are ignoring: neo-classics. I'm sick to death of strange, weird-looking little cars from outer space. Won't someone build me a new '57 Chevrolet Bel Air or '56 Ford Fairlane? You can even put airbags and ABS on it, and charge me $35K-$40KJohn CasalettoSan Jose, Calif.
You sound like a perfect candidate for Volkswagen's upcoming "New Beetle."-Ed.
I'd like to express my appreciation for your article on the Plymouth Prowler. It was nice to see how the production Prowler compares with custom hot rods from legendary names such as Boyd Coddington. I was confused, however, when you said the Prowler "weighed in at a husky 2864 pounds." Even the aluminum-bodied exotic Acura NSX weighs 183 pounds more than the purple beast.
I feel that the Plymouth Prowler is one of the finest examples of style, value, and performance in an automobile. Please don't give it an inferiority complex by calling it "husky."Mark A. RantashaSt. Cloud, Minn.
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