While modern automakers try to infuse us with computer generated images of brush strokes morphing into luxury cars or show us smarmy future executives happily tossing their light blues and khakis out of the window on their way out of town, they seem to have long and truly forgotten something. Driving is supposed to be wicked fun - and budget performance counts. To think that Plymouth had an entire system of budget minded performance machines in 1970, yet went out with a mere breeze thirty years down the road makes for a sad ending to the once mighty name. Glorious text excerpt from the 1970 Rapid Transit Brochure after the jump.
1970
Those of us at Plymouth who design and build high-performance cars have been inspired to go beyond just offering cars with big engines, good suspensions, great brakes and fat tires.
We now have a System. An integrated program. It's Mathematics rather than numbers. Oceanography rather than salt water. It's a total concept in high-performance transportation which combines the lessons learned in competition, an information network, people who understand high-performance, trick parts, and great products.
The Rapid Transit System is years of racing experience at Daytona, Indianapolis, Riverside, Irwindale, Cecil County. It's the race cars themselves drag racing cars, Grand National stackers, rally and Championship cars. And it's the input (and output) gained from all this racing.
The Rapid Transit System is information — the straight scoop from us to you — on how to tune and modify your car, which equipment to use, and how to set the whole thing up for racing. (The subject matter covers everything from this high-performance car catalog, to Supercar Clinics, to Road Runner decals, to tips on full-race Hemis.) See your dealer or write the Rapid Transit System, P.O. Box 7749, Detroit, Michigan 48207.
The System is people. People like yourself who Like cars.
The System is high-performance parts — special cams, manifolds, pistons, bearings, etc. — which are now more readily available through parts centers strategically located across the country.
The System is even a piece of the action for beginners. Let's say you're still a few years away from a driver's license, but that hasn't dampened your enthusiasm for cars. Your favorite cartoon is Road Runner, your favorite car is Road Runner, and you only wish your driveway were a couple of miles long. Well, maybe you're not old enough to drive, but you sure can wear a Plymouth racing jacket. And you can also pick up or send for a handful of our decals, stickers, catalogs and brochures. And go to free Sox & Martin or Don Grotheer Super Car Clinics.
Above all, the RTS is the product, Everything from a "sleeper" Duster with a 340 cu. in. V-8, to a giant 440 cu. in. Sport Fury GT, all the way up to a Hemi-'Cuda with a Quivering Exposed Cold Air Grabber.
And, in between, there are Road Runners and GTXs available with 6-barrel carburetion, and vacuum-controlled induction systems. And 'Cudas with light-weight, high-winding 340 V8s. Each one is a complete high-performance car. With suspension, brakes, driveline and tires to match, (The system doesn't allow for a car that won't corner or stop or stand up under the strain when you stand on it.)
Finally, the Rapid Transit System is common sense on your part. You know when you want to really turn it on, turn it on at a sanctioned strip.
This year, give the Rapid Transit System careful consideration.
Compare it with mere cars. And, if you come to the conclusion you can't beat it—join it.
Related:
En Fuego! The Plymouth Fire Arrow [Internal]