Doris Day '69 Ragtop

Jim 68cuda said

Thanks for the update. Glad to hear you now know the car's history. I do have one question though. What did you find out about the ownership of the car during it's time on TV? Was it loaned by Chrysler Corp? Was it leased by Chrysler to the studio? Was it owned by the studio? Was it loaned or leased through Glendale Dodge? (Okay, yes, I know I worded it as more than one question.) Just curious, as the answer could provide clues for the next car that turns up with a similar television history.

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My knowledge now consists mainly of who owned it and where it was, but I'm still lacking some details.

After the time on the show, the car was purchased from Barish Chrysler Plymouth Dodge in LA. The only pieces of documentation with it related to the show were the plates, and a mention of the show by the salesman.

Based on the sales ad from '04, I believe more documentation was gathered in the period between '98 and '04, and I'm still working to track that down through the widow of the guy who had it in Chicago after '04. I'll probably never know for sure unless I take a road trip to Chicago and help clean her clean out her garage.

I'm pretty sure the car was "contracted" to the studio by Chrysler through the Herman Hadler PR Group, who are still in existence handling Mopar TV placement, but aren't able to help much with records going back that far. I'll post if I get anything further.