Re: IML: The Imperials keep getting printed...

["A. Foster" <monkeypuzzle1@xxxxxxx>]

Chris;
 That is one issue of that magazine that I need to get myself as I happen to
own a lesser Chrysler of that era. One question that I am wondering about is
did they actually use thinner sheet metal and glass on the 77 and 78 cars as
opposed to the 74 to 76 cars? I have been looking over a 78 NYB for parts
and it seems to use the same glass as my 75' Newport.
  What I found extraordinary is how may of these final C body Chryslers they
sold. It looks like they consistantly sold over 100,000 cars a year from
1974-77, it's true that they were outsold by the Cordoba but they were
hardly a failure. I am guessing that the downward spiral in 1978-79 had more
to do with the bad name that the electronic lean burn system, the
Aspen/Volare, and other poor quality problems gave them then the large cars
that they selling. 1978 was the year that the CAFE standards kicked in, and
there were no full sized big block cars available for 79 so I don't think
that the large cars can shoulder all of the blame.
Best Regards
Arran Foster
1954 Imperial Newport
Needing A Left side tailight bezel and other trim parts
1975 Chrysler Newport
Needs the heater repaired.
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Christopher H" <imperial67@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "IML (main)" <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, May 29, 2006 9:21 PM
Subject: Re: IML: The Imperials keep getting printed...


The Collectible Automobile article is actually on the O74-78 Chryslers and
only includes the Imperial as a sidebar, but since the O74-75 Imperial
became the O76-78 NYB, it¹s an integral part of the story.

The design saga reveals how the Imperial almost never made it past O73 save
for the desire of a certain design chief who fell in love with the waterfall
grille idea and wanted to see it brought to life. This was the first time I
had heard of a connection between the O74 cars and my favorite car designer,
Elwood Engel. Turns out he even personally picked up a knife one day in the
studio and carved the little bevel on the ³spare tire hump² (a la 1964) on
the trunk lid, so I guess I own more Engel-supervised cars than I thought!

There are a few small reproductions in the CA article¹s sidebar of the
design sketches leading up to the O74 Imperial, but they¹re too small (and
too few in number) to reveal how much of Engel¹s earlier Imperials is in
this car, and how the design continuity was carried through. (I¹ve always
thought my O78 and O67 look quite related when parked side-by-side.)

There is a much better place to see these sketches and more: our own
website! A reprint of a fantastic article from the WPC Club News from what
seems to be 1979 or '80 is at:

http://www.imperialclub.com/Articles/74-75WPC/index.htm

Interestingly, Chrysler seemed to think at the time of Imperial's 1975
demise that moving its body to the New Yorker combined the best of both
worlds: The name recognition and appeal of "Chrysler New Yorker" and the
design of the Imperial. When Chrysler let the New Yorker name die in the
late 1990s, it was the longest-continuously-running car nameplate in the
industry. (Funny how they couldn't make Imperial as marketable a name.)

Oh, by the way, if you happen to get the new (August 2006) issue of
Collectible Automobile, you can also see the first-ever mass-printed photos
of the 1978 New Yorker Brougham Salon Package, a model that did not appear
in any brochure or PR photography during its one model year. Twenty-eight
years later, a Salon has finally appeared in print!

Chris in LA
67 Crown
78 NYB Salon


On 5/24/06 8:14 AM, Christopher Middlebrook at delamothe@xxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> Hello Imperialists,
>
> Well, the fine folks at Collectible Automobile magazine have done it
again.
> Their latest issue features a great article on the 74-78 Imperials and
NYB's.
> Keep your eyes out for it at the newsstands, it just arrived.
>
> Chris Middlebrook
> 1962 Custom Southampton
>




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