Chrysler's Royalty

[Bill Watson <wwatson5@xxxxxxxxx>]

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Although Windsor may be the name of the city Chrysler's Canadian operations
are located, the name does have some fancier connections.

For 1937 Chrysler named it lowest priced series, "Royal".   When they
decided to introduce a fancier version for 1939, it was called the "Royal
Windsor".   This was two years after King Edward VIII abdicated so he could
marry the American divorcee, Wallis Simpson.     He was named a Duke, the
same name as one Britain's castles, and also his family name - Windsor.
And given the press the Duke and Duchess of Windsor received at that time,
how could anyone miss the connection between "Windsor" amd royalty.
Besides, very few Americans outside of the Detroit area know of Windsor,
Ontario.

So "Windsor" did have a strong connection to royalty, while names like
Saratoga, Newport, New Yorker, Belvedere, Plaza, Saovy, etc. invoke a
connection to a type of American royalty - the very wealthy.    "St.Regis"
is also a common name for hotels in Western Canada.  However, the name does
not bring up images of the Savoy and the like.

By the way, Belvedere is an upscale community in Marin County, near San
Fransico.   Chrysler first used the name on Plymouth's first 2-door hardtop,
just as Chevrolet used Bel Air, a snooty area by Los Angeles.  "Belvedere"
has no connection with the town in Illinois, as Chrysler began using the
Belvedere name about thirteen years before the assembly plant in Illinois
opened.

LeBaron was a name chosen by two American auto designers, Tom Hibbard and
Ray Dietrich, to give their firm a classy European image.  At the time,
1920, France was the leader in auto design and thus "LeBaron, Carrosiers"
was born.   (Carrosiers the French term for coachbuilders.)   Briggs
Manufacturing purchased LeBaron in 1926 and, over the next six years, moved
LeBaron's operations from Connecticut to Detroit.  Chrysler gained the
rights to the LeBaron name when they purchased the U.S. body operations of
Briggs in December 1952.

And Savoy and Plaza were chosen as car names in  the early 1950's when both
hotels were at their peak.   As usual, the names were chosen because of the
upscale image they evoked.  Which is why you will never see a Chrysler Love
Canal or a Chaika Chernoble.   And why few remember the Henry J.

Bill
Vancouver, BC

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