A friend of mine has a lead on a 1957
Chrylser 300 C Series . . . is this
considered an Imperial or a Chrysler? What's the difference between an
Imerial and a Chrysler? And are these cars fairly rare or pretty
common?
I reply:
The full range of Chrysler Corporation cars included
Imperial, Chrysler, De Soto, Dodge and Plymouth. The car in question is
a Chrysler, not an Imperial. There is a certain family resemblance, and
certain mechanical similarities, but the Imperial has a different chassis and
body. It was the top of the product line. There were a number of
different grades of Chrysler, with names like Newport and Saratoga.
Today's equivalent would be letters like LX, GLX, Limited,
etc.
The 300 series was the sportiest of the Chryslers. They
only came as coupes or convertibles. They were considered to be
executive hot rods, go fast status symbols for the up and coming business man
and salesman. They are very nice cars and very collectible. I'm
sure they command better prices today than Imperials, because of their souped
up position in the product line.
Hugh
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