It was introduced in 1979. It was also Chrysler’s Fifth Avenue and it started as a sub-model of New Yorker and the nameplate was shifted to the Chrysler R platform. The New Yorker used a 318 V8 engine and the 360 engine was optional. Cars on this model year were lighter and shorter than the previous year although they still had the big car ‘look’ in appearance. The New Yorker was unique from all the other Chrysler models since it had hidden headlamps and full-size taillights.
In 1980 a fifth avenue ‘Limited Edition’ was introduced and it was characterized by a stainless steel roof car and smaller rear window, this was to solve the problem of rusting and tearing of the roof. There were minor changes this year such as the exterior colors and fabric options were available. The New Yorker in 1981, gained zesty grille and simple vertical ribs. In Fifth Avenue, the Chrysler upscale model launched in 1979 was made. The redesigning gave the New Yorker a squared-off body and retained the original V8 engine and introduced a model that had a rear-wheel drive. It also had a two-tone finishing, leather trim interior, opera windows that would open along with the rear doors, and a landau vinyl roof.
The New Yorker and the Fifth Avenue trim were now produced in the M-body style and it made use of Chrysler’s 318-inch engine for 1982. The New Yorker moved to its eighth generation in 1982 with the M-body which used Chrysler’s slant-6 engine. The 318inch engine was optional. The eighth-generation mostly concentrated on two models; the Fifth Avenue trim and the base. The base model had cloth seats and the Fifth Avenue had pillowed Corinthian leather seats. The taillamps had a red reflector panel between them and were similar to the Diplomats. The New Yorker model was dropped in 1984 and became New Yorker Fifth Edition Avenue this was due to their resemblance to each other yet the Fifth Edition had a higher consumer demand.
