IML: CONVERTIBLES
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IML: CONVERTIBLES



As Chrysler's Director of Body Engineering (1979 - 1983) I want to put my "two cents worth" in. Big ("C" Body) convertibles did not have any friends in Engineering or Manufacturing. They were noisy (wind noise, squeaks, rattles), they shook on rough roads or from out-of-balance or out-of-round tires/wheels, and they had to be built on a separate assembly line in the plant. When convertible sales went down to a few thousand a year we lobbied to pull the plug. The automotive press blamed "safety" but that was not the reason. Convertibles were a pain to engineer and build and took a lot more of our time then was justified.
 
After Lee Iacocca came on board in 1978 the convertible came back at his direction. It was a better car structurally than previous convertibles because it was built on a smaller ("K" car) platform. I don't remember the production numbers exactly but Lee had the right marketing instinct because we built around 50,000 LeBaron convertibles a year.
 
Burt Bouwkamp
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2007 3:04 PM
Subject: Re: IML: 67 & 68 Imperial Convertibles--survivors?

Chris:
 
From what I understand there was so little demand for convertibles that Chrysler stopped making Imperial and New Yorker convertibles for the 1969 model year. 
Remember the "last" American convertible was the 1976 Cadillac.
 
GM actually got sued by someone who purchased one of these "last" American convertibles when American auto companies started making convertibles again some years later!
----- Original Message -----
From: "Chris Strohmeyer"
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Re: IML: 67 & 68 Imperial Convertibles--survivors?
Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2007 08:58:51 -0800


As for rust on at least mine, there is none to
be seen so far. Maybe they took more care on
metal prep because these are on the luxury
line? My wife had a good question, why did
they make so few? Was there little demand for
the convertible?

Chris
67 Convertible
----- Original Message ----- From: "Tom Hubbard"
To:
Sent: Wednesday, January 31, 2007 5:41 AM
Subject: IML: 67 & 68 Imperial Convertibles--survivors?


> Is it just my imagination or is there an unusual
> survival rate for these boats? The ragtops come up
> with surprising frequency on eBay and
> collectorcartraderonline.com. Especially considering
> how few of them were manufactured.
>
> Either they were assembled really well (and those
> years don't seem especially prone to rusting out) or
> they were maintained with exceptional care over the years.
>
>
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Fred Joslin



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