Re: IML: Is it a Old Man's car or Prestiage driving?

["Darrell Smith" <dssmithdc@xxxxxxxxx>]

I agree with most of the assessments in this chain of email, as I
believe the transition of popularity of the premium car market changed
in the late '70s and early '80s to the foreign brands, based on
design, reliability and the prestige factor.  The high end domestic
market was regulated to the 'old people', as younger, wealthy types
migrated to the Mercedes and BMW marques.

What I find interesting now, since owning an 'classic', the very
people who own those BMWs and Mercedes are giving my Imperial the
thumbs up, horn honks and ask questions at the red light about the
car.  It might come down to 'maybe the domestics of those years
weren't so bad after all'?

Who knows?

Darrell Smith
'73 Imperial 2 door hardtop (Blackie)
'73 Imperial 2 door hardtop (Red)

On 11/15/07, Hugh, 58 Imperial <imperial58@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> The Imperial was always a car for the upper echelon.  It's very rare to meet
> anyone who says they actually owned one.  They were cars for bankers and
> doctors.  Because of their high initial cost, I'm quite sure they always
> skewed towards the older, wealthier demographic.  The 300 was once called
> the banker's rocket or something like that, wasn't it?  It was sold as a
> thrill car for the wealthy set.  No one ever said that about the Imperial.
> They were a different kind of halo car.  To be aspired to but only
> attainable by the few.  As "youth" culture became the predominant force,
> those dang baby boomers wouldn't be seen dead in some old fuddy duddy
> albatross, their "betters" had driven.
>
> Hugh
>
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: <mamrom@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2007 5:59 AM
> Subject: IML: Is it a Old Man's car or Prestiage driving?
>
>
> > My Question: When, exactly, did Cadillacs, Lincolns and our beloved
> > IMPERIALS go from being a prestige car to an "old people" car, at least in
> > the eyes of reviewers. Surely the prestigious people that bought them as
> > late as 1974 could not all have reached old age by 1987!?! I cannot
> > believe fuel economy is the cause either, after all the 1980s Broughams
> > can get 20 mpg on the highway, not too shabby for the 1980s! When did
> > successful people switch from Cadillacs to BMWs and Lexuses, and what was
> > it that did it? Because surely a successful 40 year old in 1975 would buy
> > a CaddyImperial or Lincoln , not a BMW. What made him decide that by age
> > 50 Caddies/Imperials were too "old man?"
> >
> > -----------------  http://www.imperialclub.com  -----------------
> > This message was sent to you by the Imperial Mailing List. Please
> > reply to mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and your response will be
> > shared with everyone. Private messages (and attachments) for the
> > Administrators should be sent to iml.webmonster@xxxxxxxxx
> > To UN-SUBSCRIBE, go to http://imperialclub.com/unsubscribe.htm
> >
>
>
>
> -----------------  http://www.imperialclub.com  -----------------
> This message was sent to you by the Imperial Mailing List. Please
> reply to mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and your response will be
> shared with everyone. Private messages (and attachments) for the
> Administrators should be sent to iml.webmonster@xxxxxxxxx
> To UN-SUBSCRIBE, go to http://imperialclub.com/unsubscribe.htm
>
>

-----------------  http://www.imperialclub.com  -----------------
This message was sent to you by the Imperial Mailing List. Please 
reply to mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and your response will be 
shared with everyone. Private messages (and attachments) for the
Administrators should be sent to iml.webmonster@xxxxxxxxx
To UN-SUBSCRIBE, go to http://imperialclub.com/unsubscribe.htm