Quality Control After 1966-and Before

[RandalPark@xxxxxxx]

This is so subjective. We can probably all sit here and come up with examples 
of problems with a 1968 or 1969 Imperial all day long. The fact is that this 
can be done about any other car as well, including our older Imperials. They 
were cars, for heavens sake. 

Frankly, I find it difficult to believe that if someone bought a new Imperial 
that they would even drive it home if they hated the paint job. This leaky 
trunk thing is utterly amazing. That problem was not unique to any one 
particular year or style of car, let alone the Imperial. 

I wasn't there so I can't verify the story, but an old friend of mine who had a 
wonderful collection of old cars had bought a new Imperial every few years from 
1956 up. When I met him in 1973 he had a collection of old cars, but his 
everyday car was not an Imperial. His story was that he had bought a brand new 
'66 and because it had a leaky trunk, and they could NEVER fix it, he sold it 
very soon after. He swore that those cars weren't any good from the factory. As 
a matter of fact, he didn't like the '67 or '68 models either.

I guess my point is that if quality control problems killed the Imperial, one 
certainly didn't have to wait until '67 and '68 (or '69) to find them. I still 
stand by my original statement that they were very good cars. I think that 
earlier Imperials were very good cars, too, but they were not without their 
share of problems, and certainly no less so than others.

Paul

In a message dated 1/24/2004 3:47:35 AM Eastern Standard Time, ChiPieAlandPaula 
writes:

> Hello All,
> From personal experience, I can attest to the fact that the very early 69's 
>were a great disappointment. After driving a 66 for 3 years and some 150,000 
>miles, my dad eagerly traded his magnificent 4 door Crown for a 69 Crown 
>sedan. Here is a partial list of it's problems. Paint that was so thin, the 
>tops of the rear fenders were visible. Broken a/c vents and other inoperable 
>dash related switches. Periodic failure of electrical equipment. And, yes the 
>trunk leaked terribly. This compared to the overall superior quality of the 66 
>really was a disappointment.
> I realize that all carlines can produce lemons. I had a 81 Electra that was 
>at least as bad. But, the point is that the 69 was an IMPERIAL. And in my 
>house, this meant QUALITY.
>                                                          
> Allan from Billings, Montana