It’s hard to believe that CarDomain beat us to the punch on this one, but those guys found a great video compilation on YouTube of a handful of television commercials featuring possibly Plymouth’s more lauded muscle car of the 1960s and 70s, the Road Runner. While Ford and GM kept pouring on the bells and whistles, hunkering down their pony cars and intermediates, Plymouth slammed on the brakes and threw a U-turn. The guys at Chrysler’s Highland Park offices had the idea for a stripped-down, zero-frills street brute bouncing around for a good while. It finally came to fruition with an entry-level 1968 Belvedere two-door post (non-sport roof). Available in a limited array of colors, Road Runners had more “No’s” than “Yes'” on the build sheet.

No convertibles, no bucket seats, and limited interior options, while the inaugural Road Runner was only available with either the Super Commando 383 4-barrel or the venerable 426 HEMI elephant. Backing these plants were a choice of Chrysler’s A-833 4-speed manual or the bulletproof TorqueFlite 727 automatic. Depending on the engine and gearbox selection, your Road Runner came with either a Dana 60 or Chrysler 8 3/4 rear. Take it or leave it, the Road Runner was completely unapologetic. Either you got it, or you didn’t. Thankfully, others got it, because the ’69 Road Runner was awarded Motor Trend’s “Car of the Year.”

This video is a fun compilation of Plymouth Road Runner ads between 1968 and the final production HEMI year, 1971. In an obvious cross-promotional effort between Warner Brothers and Chrysler, these animated cartoon ads feature the iconic cartoon desert bird and his ravenous predator, Wile E. Coyote. Despite his best efforts, the slippery Road Runner outwits him time and again. Despite his arsenal of ACME do-dads and trickery, the Road Runner prevails over the coyote every time.