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Yes, the article did say that the salon used the smaller rear window. In fact there are beautiful pictures of the 1978 New Yorker Brougham with the salon package and special wheels. I have never heard of or seen one…ever. Great Article on these full sizers. -Anthony Bianchini 1966 LeBaron-refuse to give up!
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The article that you discuss is the first place I have seen any mention of the Salon Package that was available on the '78 cars. That particular version of the car looked more like the last Imperial than anything else. Didn't it also say that the Salon used the smaller rear window which had disappeared with the '75 Imperial?
Paul W. The Collectible Automobile article is actually on the Œ74-78 Chryslers and only includes the Imperial as a sidebar, but since the Œ74-75 Imperial became the Œ76-78 NYB, it¹s an integral part of the story.
The design saga reveals how the Imperial almost never made it past Œ73 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 Œ74 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 Œ74 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 Œ78 and Œ67 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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