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Location: North Australia |
Does anybody know why the Imperial seems to be the least favorite Marque of the FL cars? Is it because they were the lowest production numbers, so not many in circulation? Is it because they were targeted at the Older/ mature generation?
I have a 60 2 door Southampton myself, but also love the look of the '56 model 2 and 4 doors. Never seen one (56) in real life. I recon if and when I do, it will take some time for me to walk away from it!
Love to hear the theories.
Steve. |
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Expert
Posts: 3402
Location: Chestertown, NY ( near Lake George) | For me they are just too big, and lack style, the tailites where ugly also, just my opinion. |
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Expert
Posts: 2788
Location: USA - KY | 
Were the Imperials the most expensive model? If so, that might have had something to do with it.
I like the look of the Imperial, the huge-ness of them (if that's a word), and I like the late '50's space age tail lights that look like they are orbiting the fins (I like the '61 tail lights too). The front bumper/grille almost has a toothy look and I like the heavy "brows" over the front lights.
The Southampton is a nice model IMHO.
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Posts: 3155
Location: NY & VT | Absolutely the most expensive, and for some maybe not as clean styling as, say, 57/8 Chrysler and DeSoto, for some just toooo big! Wonderful cars, and the absolute best to ride in! |
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Expert
Posts: 2490
Location: Kansas City, KS | For me, the Imperial is the best combination from the Forwardlook era. They're elegant, have the power of Hemi engines, styled with huge fins, and every single option available.
I too have always wondered about their low popularity. I think most nostalgia (value) relates to memories of the masses. Most people want the cars they had as teenagers or the cars their parents drove. The Imperial was the most expensive Forwardlook vehicle and was out of reach for the average person.
Another factor to consider is the lack of interchangeable parts with other Chrysler products. If I am restoring a 300 or Adventurer, I can use body panels and mechanical components from lower line models. Imperials can only use Imperial parts thus limiting their ease of service.
The bright side to their low popularity is that I can afford to have as many as I want. |
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Location: Parts Unknown | I think the Imperials are cool, but just find them to be too formal for my tastes to own one.
I suspect many old car buffs are drawn to cars they "relate" to ... owned previously, maybe
Dad or Uncle Bob had one, etc. Imperials were off-the-charts expensive and fancy and comparatively
few people were exposed to them than say, a Plymouth or Dodge, creating a much smaller
interest base.
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!
Posts: 19146
Location: bishop, ca | The imperials, clearly, have the simplest, most elegant, conservative, stately styling of all the FWDLK'ers.
They also are the rich man's car, that our wealthy fathers (not mine) drove.
We enthusiasts tend to migrate toward our formative years' associations, and most of us were not catting around in IMP's.
Right now, I happen to be jones-ing for an IMP Crown, if only to try to find out what it was like to be a wealthy owner back
in the day.
There may have been Hot Rod Lincoons, but not many H.R. IMP's.
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 520
Location: Colorado Springs, Colorado | I like the imperials, and they had the best tech that the era offered, at least among the other mopar makes, The curved side glass, higher build quality, nice appointments. They are huge though and are tough to find parts for, still i would own one. I really like the 58 through 60 2dr imps. Very very cool cars. |
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Expert
Posts: 2524
Location: Houston | I'm not sure why you would think they are less popular....after all Imperials have their own hardcore club and no other FL car has that.
My opinion....why I don't own one....is they are the most complex of all and therefore the most expensive to restore properly. Plus, they are big, big cars and big cars often do not enjoy the collector status of smaller cars. |
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Expert
Posts: 3588
Location: Plymouth Spaceport | To start with let me state that I dont hate the Imperials,but the Imperial line has always been my least favorite Forward Look model because they are the most "formal" looking and tend to have too many superfluous,overly ornate styling flourishes,which I suppose were meant to appeal to the wealthy buyer,but make the cars appearance far too cluttered and heavy handed for my tastes.
I also dont like the toilet seats on these cars,or any forward look.I find them to conflict with the clean,sleek futuristic lines of the Forward Look design philosophy,but if any Chrysler product could pull them off,the Imperial did it best.
Again,I DONT hate the Imperials.I like the 1961's a lot,but even that model has design features that I feel are at odds with the overall theme of modernism...for some reason Exner kept trying to link design elements from the past,such as free standing headlights,and spare tire covers,to futuristic designs where they just appear strange and out of place.
I would love to have a 1961 Imperial one day.
Edited by 1960DesotoAdventurer 2012-03-21 4:13 PM
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Posts: 3588
Location: Plymouth Spaceport | In the Imperials defense,I have to say that were I in the market for a luxury car in the late 50's-early 60's,I would have taken an Imperial any day in the week over the stodgy,slab sided yawn-mobile Lincoln...the 61's on are especially square,looking at one of them is as exciting as watching a snail race. The ONLY Lincoln I would want to own is the 1957 Premiere,thats one darn beautiful car and it has fins that go on forever!
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Location: Under the X in Texas | You would find the online Imperial owners club is very nearly as active as our group here and we are dealing with all the Forward Looks and they with only the Imperials. It does explain why there aren't many Imperial owners here: they are over there. |
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Expert 5K+
Posts: 7207
Location: Victoria, BC, on Vancouver Island, Canada | Imperial - my favs are 56, and 57 through 59. As Exner said, " Finest Expression of the Forward Look". I'd take a 57-58 Crown 2 door Southampton hardtop any time. Very cool roof line, curved side glass before any other maker, exceptional styling and engineering, and top luxury to boot. |
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Posts: 1493
Location: Jamaica Plain, MA | From a hot rod point of view they are heavy. One of my favorite cars is a 57-58 Dodge or Plymouth 2 door sedan with a big V8 and little else. These cars used to be affordable and are remarkably light. They are also simple. I think Chrysler put the most money into styling the most popular cars because they were the bread and butter. But who knows? I like them all. One surprise was getting out of my '58 Plaza (413 with 4.11 rear) at a car show, and trading a drive with an Imperial guy. We both took them around the block, and that Imperial was so comfortable and quiet. It had real coachwork, not willowy sheet metal. It was exquisite. When the Imperial guy got back, he asked me how he could make his car take off and handle like mine. I told him I'd let him know as soon as he told me how I could make my car feel comfortable, quiet and secure like his. |
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Expert
Posts: 3588
Location: Plymouth Spaceport | Just curious,but since the Imperials were better engineered than the less expensive Forward Look models,did they suffer from leaks are rust out as much as the others?
I've never got to drive or ride in an Imperial before,but from what "JT Vincent" said above,it sounds like they ride like a dream. |
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Exner Expert 19,174 posts. Neil passed away 18 Sep 2015. You will be missed, Neil!
Posts: 19146
Location: bishop, ca | There is a 1959 IMP advertisement wherein it brags about that car being the first FWDLK'er to be color sanded and buffed-out at the factory.
That makes sense, because Andy Jugle used to own a Survivor 57 Crown (Coral), and at a WPC national meet, in the late 80's he pointed out the OEM orange-peel in its paint.
Edited by d500neil 2012-03-21 6:09 PM
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Posts: 2524
Location: Houston | The front wheel opening of that Lincoln is all wrong, IMO. |
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Regular
Posts: 80
| I grew up with Imperials, Dad drove a '58, '60, '63 & '66. Never liked those cars and not sure why, as most of the the other FL cars turn me on. The heavy eyebrows, toilet seat, saturn-ring tail lights, random and excessive trim. Never liked any of it. While other FLs have flow and proportion the Imp seemed to be excess for excesses sake. Keep in mind, this is just me, a kid that grew up around these cars. I appreciate seeing the occasional well -preserved or restored Imp, but I would never own one. |
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Imperial.
