170, 198, 225 how many of each?
I always thought it was odd that they dropped 170 and replaced it with a 198.
What's hard to understand? There were enough buyers who wanted a plain-Jane, no-options, no-upgrades, basic-transport car, and enough buyers who wanted maximum possible fuel economy even if it meant slow acceleration, to warrant a small base engine like the 170. By '70, the A-bodies had grown enough larger and heavier than the original '60 models that the 170 was struggling to keep up, especially with the larger tires and taller axle ratios compared to the early cars, so Marketing requested a base engine with better performance than the 170. At the same time, there was always pressure to cost-reduce the cars. So the 198 was devised by destroking the 225 with a different crankshaft and connecting rods. That gave a cost savings worth going after, because it meant no more LG blocks to produce and machine. Just RG blocks, which simplified (and therefore cost-reduced) engine production.
By 1975, the cars had grown heavy enough and the primitive emission controls were taking a big enough bite out of engine performance that the 198 which was not very popular, because by the early '70s the El Strippomobile was losing favour as more buyers were opting for more equipmentcouldn't keep up and was dropped.
It had nothing to do with insurance.
Ma Mopar has thrown curve balls to get around pollution controls and fuel economy mandates. Like when the PT Cruiser came out and it is listed as a truck.
That's not really a curveball, it's Chrysler taking advantage of a giant loophole in the vehicle definitions in the Federal safety and emission standards. Subaru did the same thing with the Brat, and many other automakers have, too.
