Then we could MAKE them bring back the Imperial, preferably as a limited
production, fully loaded luxury car. If it were me, I'd offer a 2-door,
4-door, convertible, AND a wagon. And bring back that suspension!
I understand I've only had mine for a couple of days, but I've gone so many
miles and the ride is to die for. If I've said it a thousand times, I'll
say it once, that my 1965 Crown can glide across washboard surfaces
better then my mother's 2005 Mercedes-Benz. She actually admitted it
would, too.
However, there is a different perspective to selling out Chrysler,
although I can't believe they're not making money. My boss has a 2005
Town & Country (loves it), and those 300's are very popular here in the
Chicagoland area. There's some new Dodge wagon, I forget the name,
that's popular here, too. It's small, but tall. Not including all
the new Dodge Chargers I've seen. I'd like to know how they keep the
books. Maybe Damlier sluffs all losses over to Chrysler division.
Who knows? Anyway, if Chrysler folds, Imperials could be like Packards,
i.e., extremely desirable and sought after. I've checked E-Bay and even
a parts car can be a few thousand, not to mention the cost of a
restored one.
I'd hate to see what Chrysler did to AMC happen again. When
Chrysler bought AMC, they just wanted the Jeep Division, and, instead of
trying to make the automobile area more viable, they just discarded it.
As with everything else, it probably all had to do with money, but, if I had
been Chrysler at the time, I would have considered reviving the Nash and
Hudson nameplates and targeted the mid-sized, $18,000-$28,000 price
range. But that's my opinion.
Currently, if Chrysler really is posting all these losses, one of the
major shortfalls is not the product, but they don't make any inexpensive
cars. Since they dropped the Neon, do they have anything less than about
$20,000? It appears that the entire line-up of Chrysler and
Mercedes-Benz is upper-middle to the sky's-the-limit. What about the
person who wants a new car, but can only afford $12,000-$15,000? I don't
think Chrysler offers anything like that right now. As usual, Chrysler
products have top marks in a lot of categories and the styling is phenomenal,
but they're expensive. They NEVER should have dropped Plymouth. In
that division they made great cars at price everyone could afford, albeit more
than a Chevrolet, but a better car overall, too.
I apologize for rambling, but I don't want to see Chrysler fall, nor do I
want to see it go into the hands of people that don't know what they're doing
and cheapen the product. Just as Volvo has the reputation for safety,
Chrysler has always had the reputation for engineering. It would be
wonderful to see the legacy continue.
Timothy
1965 Crown 4 door
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