53 Years Later – Mopar Fans Are Still Tickled Pink!

Aimed with vibrant paint colors with catchy names, Chrysler Corporation muscle cars caught a lot of attention both on and off the street.

On the street, Dodge and Plymouth muscle cars were a force to be reckoned with. Thanks to big horsepower engines like the legendary 426 HEMI and 440 SIX PACK, Mopar muscle cars were feared from stop light to stop light. But when it came to those times between races, hanging out at the local hamburger stand, those crazy colors usually meant you would have a crowd around your car.

Called the “High-Impact” colors, both Dodge and Plymouth branded muscle cars featured a number of these eye-catching colors from 1969 to 1973. 

For one of those colors, today’s date holds a special meaning. 

On January 28th, 1970, a bulletin was sent to Plymouth dealers announcing the addition of paint code FM3 to its lineup with production to start in February 1970.

The vibrant pink FM3 was only available in the spring of 1970. While it wasn’t a popular choice at first, many dealers ended up repainting the cars just to get them off of their lots. However, in recent years, these FM3 cars have become some of the most highly sought-after Mopar muscle cars on the planet.

Dodge opted to call the color ‘Panther Pink’ after the named 1963 movie, “The Pink Panther” featuring actor Peter Sellers. Plymouth on the other hand, called the color ‘Moulin Rouge’, a reference to the infamous French cabaret in Paris.

While Dodge has offered many modern takes of the classic High-Impact colors on its modern-day Dodge Challenger (LA) and Charger (LD) models, they have never made a true homage to the iconic color on either model.

The automaker did come up with a Furious Fuchsia Pearl Coat wearing paint code (PHP) in 2010 for a limited edition model of the modern Challenger. That color was a much darker color than FM3. 

While FM3 only lived for a very short time in 1970, it was offered again in 1971 but only as a special order color.

Source: Hamtramck-Historical