Talking about great cars (and discussing what makes them great) is always fun, but we at Gear Patrol also enjoy looking back at the vehicles that were downright weird. Not the worst cars –though that can be fun, too — but rather, the strangest, most eccentric vehicles that carmakers actually went to the trouble and expensive of developing and selling. Many of said cars remain absolute headscratchers, even with decades of hindsight.
Earlier in this series, we looked at the oddest offerings from General Motors and Ford. Now it’s time to round out the Big Three and unearth some strange gems from the Chrysler and Jeep lineage. Below are seven of the weirdest we found.
Dodge La Femme (1955-1956)
Back in the 1950s, Chrysler noticed the seemingly obvious fact that women also drove cars — then began marketing to them in the most ham-fisted way imaginable. The female-targeted car was called the “La Femme” (because…women like French things?), and came in varying shades of pink. Feeling patronized enough yet? No? Well, how about if we told you it also came with a matching purse?
Jeep Forward Control (1956-1965)
The Jeep Forward Control, or “FC,” was a 4×4 pickup based on the CJ-5 — and, for the smallest iterations, its tiny 81-inch wheelbase. It was able to offer a decent-sized bed by using a cab-over body style. The FC was versatile for commercial applications, but a bit out there for regular folk. Jeep eventually phased it out for the more conventional Gladiator pickup.
