1972 Road Runner: How 80,000 Became 7,000 | Rust Remembered

In 1969 Plymouth sold more than 80,000 Road Runners. Three years later, only about 7,000 were built. Emissions rules, insurance companies and the new net horsepower ratings clipped the bird's wings, and that's why a '72 is one of the most interesting Mopars still sitting in the weeds. We'll cover the split grille, the 400, 340 and 440, the strange "Road Runner GTX," the 440 Six Barrel that almost made it, and two '72s that got left behind. CHAPTERS 0:00 Cold Open: 80,000 to 7,000 0:23 The Body: How to Spot a '72 1:03 The Engines: Gross vs. Net Horsepower 2:12 The GTX Twist & the Six Barrel That Wasn't 4:08 The Options: Stripes & the Air Grabber 4:45 In the Wild: Alabama & Idaho 5:17 Summing It Up: Why This Bird Is Worth Remembering 👍 If you like old iron with a story, hit LIKE, SUBSCRIBE and ring the bell. New Rust Remembered episodes come out on Sundays. Got a '72 Road Runner story, or a VIN you found in the weeds? Tell us in the comments. Rust never sleeps. Neither do we. Narration: AI voice (ElevenLabs). Two images are AI illustrations and are labeled on screen ("AI illustration"): the '72 in the weeds during the close and behind the end screen. Photo credits (modified: cropped, scaled, animated; some text added): CC BY 2.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0): "1969 Plymouth Road Runner 383" by Sicnag: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... "1972 Plymouth Road Runner (34279721764)" by Greg Gjerdingen from Willmar, USA: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... "1972 Plymouth Road Runner (8098631131)" by dave_7 from Lethbridge, Canada: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... "1972 Plymouth Road Runner (4261733646)" by JOHN LLOYD from Concrete, Washington, United States: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... "1972 Plymouth Road Runner (5179743036)" by sv1ambo: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... "1972 Plymouth Road Runner (27670174362)" by GPS 56 from New Zealand: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... "1972 Dodge Charger coupe (6337059890)" by sv1ambo: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... "1972 Plymouth Roadrunner in Red and Black" by crudmucosa: https://www.flickr.com/photos/5143478... CC BY 2.5 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5): "SC06 1971 Plymouth 'Cuda 440 engine" by Brett Weinstein (Wikipedia User: Nrbelex): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... CC BY-SA 2.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0): "Mopar 340er Small Block (23947338547)" by Triple-green: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... "440 CID Sixpack (25665979378)" by Triple-green: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... "440 CID Sixpack (39536830211)" by Triple-green: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... CC BY-SA 3.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0): "1972 Plymouth Road Runner 340 in Black, front left" by Mr.choppers: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... Public domain: "'72 Plymouth Road Runner (Les chauds vendredis '10)" (Bull-Doser) https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fi... 1972 Plymouth print advertisement (Chrysler Corp.), believed public domain (published without notice); "Chrysler Plymouth 1972 (sales brochure cover)" (Chrysler-Plymouth Division (1971/72)) https://archive.org/details/ChryslerP... Full image list with source links: pinned comment. #RustRemembered #PlymouthRoadRunner #1972RoadRunner #Mopar #MuscleCars #ClassicCars #CarHistory