The Dodge Regent was an automobile built by Chrysler Corporation of Canada Ltd

Chrysler

Chrysler Group LLC is a multinational automaker headquartered in Auburn Hills, Michigan, USA. Chrysler was first organized as the Chrysler Corporation in 1925....

. The low priced line built with a front end similar to the U.S. market Dodge

Dodge

Dodge is a United States-based brand of automobiles, minivans, and sport utility vehicles, manufactured and marketed by Chrysler Group LLC in more than 60 different countries and territories worldwide....

 attached to a Plymouth body.

The first Dodge Regent appeared for 1951, basically a Plymouth Cranbrook, and replaced the Special DeLuxe name used from 1942 through 1950. As with all Canadian Plymouths and Dodges from 1938 to 1959, the Dodge Regent used Chrysler big block (25") flathead inline-six engine. While the American Plymouth used the 23" block 217.6-cid engine, the Canadian Plymouth and Dodge used the 25" 218.1-cid engine. Body styles were club coupe, 4-door sedan and a new for 1951 model, the Mayfair hardtop.

The Regent continued for 1952 with minor trim changes while the 1953 models received new bodies. As the U.S. Dodge now shared bodies with Plymouth, the Canadian Dodge Regent and Crusader, as well as the export Kingsway

Kingsway

-Canada:*Burnaby—Kingsway, a federal electoral district in British Columbia between 1988 and 1997*Kingsway , a road in Edmonton, Alberta *Kingsway , a road in Vancouver, British Columbia...

, used the Plymouth body with a Dodge front clip. In April, 1953, Chrysler of Canada introduced Hy-Drive

Hy-Drive

The Hy-Drive was a Chrysler Corporation transmission introduced in August 1940 in Chryslers and DeSotos, Dodges in 1949, and Plymouths in 1953. It was a hybrid manual transmission with a torque converter like an automatic. Although Hy-Drive cars had a clutch pedal like a traditional manual...

 mated to a larger, 228.1-cid engine. As well, the Mayfair hardtop was spun off into its own series along with a 4-door sedan. 1954 models received grille, trim, taillamp and interior changes and very late in the model year Powerflite

PowerFlite

PowerFlite is a two-speed automatic transmission produced by the Chrysler Corporation and used in their passenger cars from 1954 to 1961. Production began in late 1953; despite the launch of Chrysler's three-speed TorqueFlite automatic in 1956, the simple and durable PowerFlite remained available...

 automatic transmission became an option.

New styling for 1955 appeared across the Chrysler Corporation makes, and Dodge Regent continued to be a Plymouth Savoy with a Dodge front clip. Chrysler of Canada imported polyhead V8 short blocks for use in Canadian Plymouth Belvedere and Dodge Mayfair models. The lower-priced series, Crusader and Regent, came only with the flathead six, either 228.1-cid if mated to the 3-speed manual

Manual transmission

A manual transmission, also known as a manual gearbox or standard transmission is a type of transmission used in motor vehicle applications...

 or 250.6-cid with the Powerflite automatic

Automatic transmission

An automatic transmission is one type of motor vehicle transmission that can automatically change gear ratios as the vehicle moves, freeing the driver from having to shift gears manually...

.

For 1956 new fins graced the rear fenders and Chrysler Canada opened a new engine plant for V8 production. The plant produced 277-cid engines for Plymouth and Dodge and 303-cid engines for Canadian Dodge Custom Royal and Chrysler Windsor models. The Regent was available with either the flathead six, now 250.6-cid, or the V8, except for the new 2-door hardtop which came only with the six. 1956 would prove to be a high water mark for Canadian Dodge production, breaking the 50,000 mark for the first time.

Completely new ForwardLook bodies appeared for 1957 - lower, wider, longer. But due to the rush to get it into production, the bodies were plagued with tooling errors, parts mismatch, and poor body engineering. For 1958 the Regent continued on as in 1957, adding a 4-door hardtop.

1959 was the final year for the Dodge Regent, and as Plymouth placed the Fury on top and bumped the other series down a rung, so did Dodge in Canada. The new top series was now Viscount, while Mayfair moved down to the middle series and Regent to the bottom. The Crusader name was dropped. Body styles available were 2-door and 4-door sedans and Suburban wagons. Engines were the 251 flathead six and 313 poly V8. For the third year in row, Canadian Dodge production was down although the Regent remained the most popular Dodge series in Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

.

Dodge introduced the Dart for 1960, and the new Dodge Dart Seneca replaced the Dodge Regent in Canadian Dodge-DeSoto dealer showrooms.