Dodge St. Regis

The Dodge St. Regis is a full-size automobile which was manufactured by the Chrysler Corporation from 1978 to 1981 and marketed by Dodge from the 1979 to 1981 model years. Replacing the Monaco, the St. Regis was the largest Dodge sedan, positioned above the mid-size Diplomat and Aspen. In contrast to both the Monaco and the Diplomat, the St. Regis was offered solely as a four-door sedan. With a production run of three model years over a single generation, the St. Regis is one of the shortest-lived Dodge nameplates.

Deriving its name from a 1950s Chrysler trim package, the St. Regis was the first example of downsizing of the full-size Dodge sedan line. For 1982, the model line was discontinued, with the Dodge Diplomat serving as the largest Dodge; the next full-size Dodge sedan was the 1990 Dodge Monaco (derived from the Eagle Premier, itself a version of the Renault 25). Dodge would not market a rear-wheel drive sedan until the 2006 Dodge Charger.

The Dodge St. Regis was assembled alongside the Chrysler Newport, Chrysler New Yorker, and Plymouth Gran Fury by Chrysler at Lynch Road Assembly (Detroit, Michigan), becoming the final production vehicles produced at the facility.

! style="background:silver;"| Year

! style="background:silver;"| Units

!align="centered"| 1979 || 34,434

!align="centered"| 1980 || 17,068

!align="centered"| 1981 || 13,000

! colspan="2" style="background:silver;"| Total Production = 64,502

Engine comparison

{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

! scope="col" | Performance comparison

! scope="col" | 78 Fury

! scope="col" | 78 Monaco

! scope="col" | 79 St. Regis

! scope="col" | 80 St. Regis

! scope="col" | 81 St. Regis

!81 St. Regis

! scope="row" | Engine (cid)

| 440

| 400

| 360

| 318

|225

! scope="row" | HP, SAE

| 255 bhp

| 190 bhp

| 195 bhp

| 185 bhp

| 165 bhp

|85 bhp

! scope="row" | Axle ratio

| 2.71:1

| 3.21:1

| 2.94:1

|2:94:1

! scope="row" | Weight (lbs)

| 4,413

| 4,369

| 4,530

| 4,100

| 4,086

|3,990

! scope="row" | Wheelbase (in)

| 117.4

| 118.5

|118.5

! scope="row" | Road course lap time

| 91.1

| 93.6

| 91.65

| 91.8

| 93.93

|NA

! scope="row" | 0–60 mph

| NA

| 10.1

| 11.3

| 12.76

|19.79

! scope="row" | 0–100 mph

| 24.8

| 34.4

| 30.2

| 36.7

| 45.72

|DNF

! scope="row" | Top Speed, mph

| 133

| 117

| 122.9

| 122.7

| 114.7

|90.6

! scope="row" | Braking, ft/sec2

| 23.3

| 22.6

| 21.4

| 23.5

| 23.67

|22.95

! scope="row" | 1/4 mi. time

| NA

| 18.4

| 19.63

|22.27

! scope="row" | 1/4 mi speed

| NA

| 77.5

| 74.50

|70.42

! scope="row" | Fuel, EPA city

| 10

| 13

| 12

| 11

| 15.5

|19

Use in law enforcement

Following its introduction, the Dodge St. Regis saw heavy use as a police car in the United States. Outside of California, a 195-hp 360 V8 engine was available as part of the A38 Police Package; the option package was popular by law enforcement of the time. In California, the St. Regis was fitted with a four-bbl 360 V8. For 1980, the 360 was replaced by a 318 V8 4-bbl with California emissions to comply with state emissions regulations; specification sheets provided by Dodge for these cars omitted references to low rates of acceleration and top speed.

The California Highway Patrol (CHP) was a major purchaser of the St. Regis, taking delivery of 900 for $7,091 () each with 318 V8 powertrains. The changed powertrain proved unpopular with the CHP, as the top speed of the St. Regis was reduced to , or while ascending a hill. Nicknamed 'dog cars' by officers, the CHP approved efforts to remove the St. Regis from their fleet at a meeting of California's Little Hoover Commission in October 1980, selling 86, some of which had yet to enter service, by the end of the year for the same price they were purchased, and replacing them with Chevrolets.