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Although the 1956 La Femme was a top-of-the-line model, it could still be tarted up even more with scads of power and luxury options.
Practically every comfort option then known was also available, and all of it controlled with the merest touch of milady's gloved fingertips: power steering, brakes, seats, and windows; air conditioning and on and on.
This was a big year for the D-500 power package, and you could theoretically get a "hot-rod" La Femme with Hemi heads, 230 horsepower and lowered suspension. You'd probably make the car even lower, if you ordered a whole raft of dealer and factory options:
4-Way Power Seat
Air Conditioning
Clock
Continental Kit
Curb Feelers
Day/Night Mirror
"Dodge" Script Visor Mirrors
Dual Antennas
Dual Interior Lights
Exhaust Extensions
Fender Skirts
Full-Time Power Steering
Glove Box Light
Heater & Defroster
Hood Light
Map Light
Mopar Seat Belts
Power Flite Transmission
Power Windows
Rear Speaker For Radio
Right/Left Outside Mirrors
Safety Power Brakes
Solex (Tinted) Glass
"Spinner" Full-Wheel Covers
Trunk Light
Undercoating (Gray Crust In Trunk)
Variable-Speed Wipers
White Sidewall Tires
Windshield Washers
Wire Wheels
Wonderbar Radio
Also offered was the ultimate Fifties accessory, the Highway Hi-Fi, an under-dash record player that spun special seven-inch records at 16-2/3 rpm through the radio speaker, good for 45 minutes to one full hour of music and audio stories from each side.
"The addition of Hi-Fi is a significant forward step in the development of the automobile as a home-on-wheels," Dodge noted. Here is a list of every available record... It's not a lot. It was a VERY first and early attempt at audiobooks!
I owned the later model 1961 RCA HiWay Hi-Fi that played 45-RPM records. Upside-down. The joke was that it used so much force to keep the needle in the groove, it played both sides of the record, simultaneously. 😃
This 1956 Dodge is obviously NOT a La Femme, but it is the macho equivalent... The Dodge Custom Royal Lancer "Texan", sold only in Texas, from 1956 through 1959. I include it here because it shows Dodge dealer and factory options such as whitewall tires, wire wheels, dual spotlights on the back of the rearview mirrors, and rarest of all: factory-installed air-conditioning.
Image credit: eBay
How can one tell? Look for the air-scoops behind the rear roof-pillar. Chrysler Corporation's Airtemp units worked the same on all corporate brands from 1953 through 1956. From 1957 onward, the air-conditioning system moved under the dash, forever afterward...
Except for Imperials with the additional, "dual" air-conditioning unit in the trunk. Those might have lasted all of the way until around 1966.
Under the rear-window and inside the trunk is the main condenser and fan unit. Watch the video of how it works.
Image credit: unknown
If you didn't order an air-conditioning unit from the factory, you could always ask your Dodge dealer to install an aftermarket unit. These fit under the dash, and on top of the transmission tunnel.
This snazzy 1956 La Femme has the rare, dealer-installed "Continental Kit", along with the dual rear radio antennas and chromed exhaust extensions. To gain access to the trunk, you had to tilt the hinged spare tire away from the trunk release.
1956 Dodge wire wheels cost $80.00 (each) when new, and the continental kit cost $300.00, so adding both cost $700.00, which would be $7,726.24 in 2022 dollars!
Image credit: Floyd Brereton
A large number of 1956 La Femmes that I have seen have had dealer-installed rear fender skirts. They really complete the look!
Power steering was still relatively new to the options list in the mid-Fifties, so it was not uncommon to make note of it on the steering wheel.
Image credit: Floyd Brereton
A gorgeous angle for a gorgeous car. Spinner wheel covers, fender skirts, dual side mirrors, dual antennas and chromed exhaust tips.
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