Danville owner keeps 1991 Chrysler for sentimental reasons
Aubin Anguiano of Danville recently appeared with his 1991 Chrysler Fifth Avenue sedan.
I think most, if not all, automobile companies have had their ups and downs, but Chrysler has had a true rollercoaster history. In my opinion, the company has been led by two outstanding men over the years.
The first, of course, was Walter P. Chrysler, who took over the ailing Maxwell Motor Co. (1904-1925), reorganized it, and changed the company’s name to Chrysler Corp. The second was Lee Iacocca, who took over the nearly bankrupt Chrysler in 1978 and agreed to work for a dollar a year after Henry Ford II fired him.
I was there before, during and after the Iacocca miracle. Employee morale improved dramatically almost immediately after Iacocca took over, and everyone willingly took a pay cut to ease the company’s financial difficulties.
Iacocca convinced the federal government to guarantee the loans the company needed to stay afloat, a very difficult sell as members of Congress suggested that Chrysler should be allowed to “die with dignity.” A spectacular turnaround, however, came when new, fuel-efficient K-Cars were introduced.
Due to its sales success – more than 2 million vehicles based on the K-Car platform were sold from 1981 to 1988 – Chrysler paid off the loans seven years early, but also launched some exciting new models based on the K-Car platform. These included the Chrysler, Dodge and Plymouth minivan, the Chrysler LeBaron convertible and even a Chrysler sedan and the even longer seven-passenger Executive sedan.
Chrysler Fifth Avenue was a trim package used on Chrysler’s larger sedans from 1979 to 1993. The model was named after New York City’s famous, upscale Fifth Avenue, which is also just blocks from the city’s iconic Chrysler Building.
A new Chrysler Fifth Avenue was introduced for the 1990 to 1993 model years. It was bigger, longer and fancier than the K-Cars and featured a transversely mounted V6 front engine with front-wheel drive and a four-speed automatic transmission.
This was Chrysler’s luxury car, known for its button-upholstered front seats that looked like sofas and were made of either velour or optional Mark Cross leather. The leather seats also featured a Mark Cross emblem just in front of the stylish rear opera windows, so your neighbors would know you had bought the top of the range model. This model also had hidden headlights as standard.
The featured car in this issue is a 1991 Chrysler Fifth Avenue sedan. The owner is Aubin Anguiano of Danville, but the car was originally purchased new by his now deceased wife.
“She bought it in May 1991,” Anguiano said. “She couldn’t find one in the Bay Area at the time, so she had to drive to Stockton to buy it. She looked at other cars, but she wanted the Chrysler. And it was her favorite car.”
The car’s base price was $20,875, or about $48,135 in 2024 dollars. The 33-year-old car now has 130,000 miles on it and has been repainted once, albeit in the original color, and the sofa-like Mark Cross seats are original.
Not much maintenance or repairs have been required over the years – a new transmission, a new water pump, and a repaired leak in the radiator. The car has a reasonable 147 horsepower, but is not a particularly exciting getaway car. The wheelbase is 109.6 inches, about the same as the average mid-size car today.
This car is now Anguiano’s daily driver. He currently drives mostly locally, but even though he has other cars, he drives the Chrysler for most of his daily tasks. He says he likes the car, but is not a “car nut” or even a huge Chrysler fan.
“The reason I’ve kept it for 33 years is because it has sentimental value because it was my wife’s,” he said. “It was hers. That’s why I like to keep it.”
Have a vehicle of interest? Email Dave at [email protected]. For more of his columns or photos of this and other vehicles, visit mercurynews.com/author/david-krumboltz.
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