Close your eyes and imagine the smell of plastic "wood" and plush Corinthian leather. You're sitting in a 1985 Chrysler New Yorker, and a digitized, robotic voice just told you that "your door is ajar." It's 1985. Lee Iacocca is the king of Detroit, and Chrysler is riding the wave of the most improbable comeback in automotive history. This car shouldn't have been a hit, honestly. It was basically a stretched Reliant K-car with some extra chrome and button-tufted seats, yet it defined a specific era of American aspirational luxury that we just don't see anymore.
People often joke about the K-platform. They say it was cheap, buzzy, and unrefined. But for Chrysler in the mid-80s, the E-platform version of the 1985 Chrysler New Yorker was a masterclass in "faking it until you make it." It gave buyers the prestige of the New Yorker nameplate without the gas-guzzling guilt of the old V8 land yachts.
The Digital Dashboard and the Voice of the Future
One of the most polarizing features of the 1985 Chrysler New Yorker was the Electronic Voice Alert (EVA). It used a speech synthesis chip to literally talk to you. Some owners loved the novelty of their car saying, "A life-threatening situation exists," while others found it incredibly annoying and eventually unplugged the module under the dash. You’ve got to remember that in 1985, having a car that talked was straight out of Knight Rider. It was high-tech. It was cool. It was also a little bit creepy when it glitched in the middle of a rainstorm.
The digital instrument cluster was another hallmark. Instead of sweeping needles, you had glowing green vacuum fluorescent displays (VFDs). These screens showed your speed, fuel level, and even a "trip computer" that calculated your average MPG. Compared to the analog gauges in a Cadillac of the same year, the Chrysler felt like it was from the next century. Even if the electronics were prone to flickering, they looked spectacular at night.
That 2.2 Turbo Punch
Under the hood, things got interesting. Most people associate these cars with the sluggish 2.6-liter Mitsubishi engine, but the 1985 Chrysler New Yorker featured the 2.2-liter turbocharged four-cylinder. It wasn't a race car, obviously. But the turbo gave it enough pep to merge onto the highway without feeling like you were dragging an anchor.
The turbocharging was a necessity. Because the car was front-wheel drive and built on a compact chassis, Chrysler couldn't just shove a 318 V8 in there. They had to innovate. The turbo provided a surprising 142 horsepower, which was actually decent for a mid-sized luxury sedan back then. You’d feel that slight whistle, a bit of lag, and then a surge of torque that felt very "modern" compared to the lazy power delivery of a carbureted engine.
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The Aesthetic: Velvet, Vinyl, and Fake Wood
Step inside a 1985 Chrysler New Yorker and you are transported to a world of absolute 80s excess. The "Mark Cross" edition was the one everyone wanted. It featured genuine leather, though "genuine" is a flexible term in the 80s car world. The seats weren't just seats; they were overstuffed pillows. You didn't sit on them; you sank into them.
The exterior was equally distinctive. The 1985 model year maintained the formal "limousine" look.
- Landau vinyl roofs were standard.
- Padded pillars.
- The iconic "Pentastar" hood ornament.
- Hidden headlights that flipped down (or sometimes stayed halfway open, looking sleepy).
It was a boxy design. Very boxy. But those sharp lines and the chrome "waterfall" grille gave it a presence on the road. It looked like a car for a bank manager or a successful grandmother. It didn't care about aerodynamics because fuel was getting cheaper again and the speed limit was still 55 mph.
Reliability and the Real-World Experience
How does a 1985 Chrysler New Yorker hold up today? Honestly, it's a mixed bag. The K-car mechanicals are actually quite robust. Parts are dirt cheap because Chrysler used these same components in everything from the Dodge Aries to the Caravan. You can find a water pump or an alternator at any local parts store for thirty bucks.
The problem is the "lifestyle" stuff. The power windows, the vacuum-operated headlight doors, and that talking computer? They fail. Constant heat cycles inside the cabin make the plastic clips brittle. If you're looking to buy one now, you have to be okay with a few things not working perfectly.
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Experts like those at the Allpar forums—which is basically the holy grail for Mopar fans—often point out that the 1985 models were right in the sweet spot before the electronics got too complicated in the late 80s. They’re relatively easy to wrench on. The biggest issue is rust. If the car lived in the salt belt, those floor pans are probably gone. Chrysler didn't have the best rustproofing in the early 80s, though they were improving.
Comparing it to the Competition
In 1985, if you weren't buying a New Yorker, you were probably looking at:
- The Buick Century (Reliable, but boring).
- The Oldsmobile Cutlass Ciera (The New Yorker's biggest rival).
- The Cadillac Cimarron (A total disaster that ruined Cadillac's reputation).
The Chrysler was arguably better than the Cadillac Cimarron because the Chrysler didn't pretend to be something it wasn't. It was a luxury K-car, and it owned that identity. It offered more gadgets for less money than the GM J-cars. It felt more "special" than a Chevy Celebrity.
Why Collectors are Starting to Care
For a long time, the 1985 Chrysler New Yorker was a "disposable" car. They were driven into the ground, handed down to teenagers, and eventually scrapped. But nostalgia is a powerful drug. Gen Xers and older Millennials are starting to look at these cars with genuine affection. They represent the peak of the Iacocca era—a time when Chrysler was the scrappy underdog taking on the world.
Finding a clean one is getting harder. Most have 200,000 miles and shredded interiors. But a low-mileage survivor? That’s a conversation starter at any Cars & Coffee. People will walk past a row of Porsches to look at a mint condition 1985 New Yorker simply because they haven't seen one in twenty years.
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Practical Advice for Owning a 1985 Chrysler New Yorker
If you're actually thinking about buying one of these, don't just jump at the first $1,500 Craigslist find. You'll spend more on shipping parts than the car is worth.
First, check the turbo. If it’s a Turbo I model, look for blue smoke on startup. Rebuilding these turbos isn't impossible, but it's an added expense.
Second, test every single button. The 1985 Chrysler New Yorker has a lot of them. Power seats, power mirrors, the digital clock, the voice module. If the voice doesn't work, it might just be a blown fuse, but more likely, the speaker in the module has rotted away.
Third, look at the vacuum lines. These cars rely on a spiderweb of vacuum hoses to control everything from the idle speed to the HVAC vents. Old rubber cracks. Replacing all the vacuum lines with silicone hoses is the single best thing you can do for the drivability of a 1985 Chrysler New Yorker. It smooths out the idle and makes the car feel ten years younger.
Lastly, enjoy the ride. It's not a sports car. It's not a precision German instrument. It’s a soft, quiet, somewhat kitschy piece of American history. You drive it with one hand on the wheel, the AC blasting, and the digital dash glowing. It’s a vibe that 2026 cars simply cannot replicate.
Keep an eye on specialized auction sites like Bring a Trailer or Cars & Bids. While they usually host high-end exotics, every few months a pristine "time capsule" New Yorker pops up. When they do, they usually sell for surprisingly high prices—sometimes over $10,000—proving that the 1985 Chrysler New Yorker has officially transitioned from a "used car" to a legitimate classic.
Stay away from the 2.6 Mitsubishi "Hemi" engines if you can help it; they had notorious issues with the "Jet Valve" system and cracked heads. The 2.2 Turbo is the one you want for both performance and long-term parts availability. Once you get the quirks sorted out, you'll have a car that turns more heads than a brand-new Tesla.