To horn in on this one, the Custom, Crown and LeBaron were considered series
of the Imperial. When looking at the VIN, there was a number or letter for
the car line and a second letter or number for the series. The series was
the L, M, H, etc from 1966 (numbers before that) and this is what
differentiates a Custom from a Crown from a LeBaron on the VIN. Also on the
model number.
As the Imperial came only as a "Y" carline, the Imperial came only as one
carline. If Imperial had offered a second carline, it would have used a
letter other than "Y". Take the 1979 Chrysler lineup for example. That
year Chrysler came in three bodies (M, B and R) with a carline letter for
each body (F, S, and T). The M-body F carline was the LeBaron, the B-body S
carline was the Cordoba and the R-body T carline was the Chrysler
(confusing, as no individual name was given to that carline).
So your Imperial Crown converttible would be an Imperial (brand / carline),
Crown (series) and convertible (body style).. Not sure what sure what
year you have, but that would be represented by YM-27.
Bill
Vancouver, BC
----- Original Message -----
From: "Mark McDonald" <tomswift@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Thursday, December 04, 2003 10:30 AM
Subject: Re: IML: The Alphabet Soup of Designations
> Dear Chris,
>
> Thanks for that clarification. I thought the terms "A body," etc. were
> something that magazine writers or enthusiasts came up with because I
> personally have never seen any reference to these terms in any factory
> issued literature. But I assume you are right. Also, in one of my
> books, forget which one, I thought I had seen "C = Chrysler," but maybe
> that is just coincidence, since, like you say, a Dodge is also a C.
>
> ANYWAY . . . you say one thing that I'm not too sure about. Yes,
> Imperial was both a brand and a carline, but aren't there different
> models within the Imperial carline?
>
> Wouldn't the LeBaron and Crown be considered different models? Yes,
> they are different trim levels too, but they have different names on
> 'em . . . I've always thought I had an Imperial (carline/brand) Crown
> (model) convertible (bodystyle). Yes? No?
>
> Thoughtful people want to know. :)
>
> MM
>
> On Wednesday, December 3, 2003, at 10:17 PM, Christopher Hoffman wrote:
>
> > Since you mentioned my name...
> >
> > A "carline" exists within a brand. It is also known as a model series.
> > For
> > example, Chrysler Newport is a carline. Within a carline there are
> > usually a
> > number of trim levels, such as Newport (base) and Newport Custom. New
> > Yorker
> > is generally considered a separate carline from Newport. Imperial was
> > both a
> > brand and a carline because there were no other models within the
> > Imperial
> > brand (during the years that Imperial was its own brand, or make, or
> > marque). For Imperial, the distinction between carline, model and trim
> > level
> > is a bit blurry. (Then again, so is "New Yorker Brougham" for 1975-77,
> > since
> > all NYers were Broughams... officially, it is a three-word model name
> > with
> > no trim level. My '78 Salon would be the only NYB trim level ever
> > offered...
> > St Regis was just an option package... essentially a vinyl roof
> > treatment,
> > not a trim level.)
> >
> > A body designation indicates the platform upon which a model or
> > carline (or
> > several carlines) was built. The C in C-body does not stand for
> > Chrysler, it
> > was simply the largest Chrysler Corporation platform (fullsize Dodge
> > and
> > Plymouth, too), with the B-body for the midsize (Charger, Coronet,
> > Satellite, Belvedere, Road Runner, Cordoba, Magnum, etc.), and the
> > A-body
> > compact (Dart, Valiant, Barracudas through 1969, Demon and Duster). By
> > the
> > way, the C in the VIN only began in MY1965.
> >
> > That C-body and Chrysler begin with the same letter is coincidental.
> > After
> > all, Dodges were also C-bodies (though they had D VINs), as were
> > Plymouths
> > (and they had P VINs). The fullsize cars' VINs, however, DID represent
> > their
> > make, a holdover from when there was only one size of Dodge, Plymouth
> > or
> > Chrysler (up through '59). Most of the other Chrysler VIN series
> > similarly
> > did not match the first initial of their names. (For example, Valiant
> > was
> > launched as a separate make--not as a Plymouth--in 1960, but Valiant
> > VINs
> > didn't start with V until 1964, by which time they were badged and
> > marketed
> > as models within the Plymouth line.)
> >
> > To address Mark's point, the body designations were indeed from
> > Chrysler,
> > not affixed after the fact by enthusiasts, but they were used only
> > internally, and in an age where such information rarely became part of
> > the
> > consumer's vernacular. Chrysler still does this, although they tend to
> > give
> > an all-new platform generation a new series designation. For example,
> > the
> > original cab-forward Dodge Intrepid, Eagle Vision, and Chrysler
> > Concorde and
> > LHS were the LH platform. The current ones are the LX, and I honestly
> > cannot
> > remember what the new RWD 2005 300-Series (yes, that's officially the
> > name,
> > with "300" base, "300 Touring" and "300C" being the trim levels in
> > ascending
> > order) and Magnum (wagon only but expect a sedan to follow soon after
> > when
> > the sales figures don't pan out) are...
> >
> > GM did the same thing, starting in the 1940s or even earlier, but in
> > reverse
> > order. Cadillacs, top-line Buicks and top-line Oldsmobiles used the
> > A-body.
> > Chevys, Pontiacs and low-line Buicks and Oldses used the B-body. By the
> > 1970s, they even made hybrids: Bonnevilles and Grand Villes used the
> > B-body
> > wheelbase but an A-body roofline. But this is not a GM list, so enough
> > about
> > that!
> >
> > As for VINs, it was not until the standardized 17-digit VINs were
> > introduced
> > in 1980-81 that any manufacturer's VINs became uniform across the
> > industry.
> > In this system, the first digit indicates the country of manufacture
> > (1=US,
> > 2=Canada, 3=Mexico, W=Germany, etc.), and the 2nd and 3rd indicate the
> > automaker. But prior to this system, every automaker used their own
> > system.
> >
> > Many all-Mopar shows tend to lump all fullsize models under C-body,
> > including pre-'67 Imperials, even though they did not share their
> > platform
> > with the Chryslers, Plymouths and Dodges from 1957 through 1966. It's a
> > sloppy error, again, probably of convenience. Many shows do separate
> > the
> > Imperials, of course.
> >
> > Anyway, that's the world's longest answer to a question about one
> > letter.
> >
> > C ya!
> >
> > Chris in LA
> > 67 Crown (C-body, Y VIN)
> > 78 NYB Salon (C-body, C VIN)
> >
> >
> > Mark McDonald (tomswift@xxxxxxxxxxxxx) wrote:
> >
> >> I think Chris Hoffman could probably explain the breakdown better than
> >> I as to what precisely "carline" means.
> >>
> >> But-- if you go to a show (at least this is true of all the ones I've
> >> been to)(all two)-- an Imperial is classified as a "C body," like it
> >> or
> >> not.
> >>
> >> But again, the "C" in "C body" stands for "Chrysler" -- meaning the
> >> carline. They didn't use "I" for "Imperial" presumably because an "I"
> >> can be confused with a "1."
> >
> >
> >
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