IML: Were most Imperials bespoke?

["Hugh, 58 Imperial" <imperial58@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

I wonder if most Imperials were not bespoke, at least outside the major 
cities.  While on any dealer's lot you might find whole rows of Plymouths, 
Dodges, De Sotos and even Chryslers, I cannot recall seeing, outside of 
factory pictures, a whole row of more or less identical Imperials available 
for sale.  When one was looking for a prestige automobile in the 1958 in the 
USA, there was a choice of Cadillac, Lincoln and Imperial.  (Foreign makes 
might be available but their numbers were incredibly small.)  Cadillac was 
the most obvious choice.  Lincoln was at its lowest ebb.  No one has 
anything good to say about them.  The Imperial was, unfortunately, coming 
off of its highest point.  The entire range of Chrysler Corporation vehicles 
had swept the boards in 1957 with their stunning good looks, but the company 
was caught flat footed by the sudden high demand and sacrificed build 
quality in an effort to cash in.  The astonishing variety of adverts for the 
1958 spoke to this crisis.  It was all too much, too late.  The damage had 
been done.  Surveys performed at the time indicated that many first time 
Chrysler product buyers would not ever choose to buy one again.

It was a buyer's market.  But how did people buy their new Imperials? 
Smaller dealerships would not have one on the lot to even test drive.  All 
they might have was a plastic model and some admittedly gorgeous brochures 
that gave  prospective buyer some idea of the cars overall look and the 
range of options available.  I surmise that it was on this basis alone the 
cars were acquired.  Following this logic, a good review from Tom McCahill 
in "Mechanix Illustrated" or other popular magazines such as "Science and 
Mechanics" must have been worth its weight in gold.  We like to think, as 
modern Imperial aficionados, that "common" wealthy people bought a Cadillac 
but the more discriminating individual would want to stand out from them in 
the church or golf course parking lot with something demonstrably better and 
more refined, something that was less, shall we say, vulgar.  Showing off 
wealth more discreetly by demonstrating taste and discernment is a very 
effective form of snobbery in its own right.  A more cultured outlook 
denotes superiority over parvenus and their penchant for trashy and 
ostentatious demonstrations of their obviously newly acquired spending 
power.

Of course a great many were indeed bought on the strength of the vehicles 
impressive good looks, basically sound engineering, advanced technological 
innovations, such as cruise control, introduced as an option in 1958, and a 
certain amount of faith that what you would get would look as good as the 
model you held in your hand and all the glossy Saturday Evening Post 
adverts.  Another attractive element would the almost forced obligation to 
tailor your purchase from the lengthy list of trim options available.  On 
the one hand there were three basic levels of trim.  In 1958 the so called 
base model did not even have a name.  The mid-range, always the most 
popular, was called Crown, and the highest tier was the Le Baron.  But, even 
so, you could still get just about all the good stuff on the base model.  My 
car lacks a second name, so its "just" Imperial, but it has such fancy stuff 
as front and rear air conditioning and most other goodies, too, but not the 
"Auto-Pilot" or the limited slip differential.  On the other hand I have 
seen a picture of one so "stripped" that it even lacked electric windows.

I was told by the original owner's niece that the original owner of my car 
could not stand leather seats and the only way to avoid them on an Imperial 
was to get the base model.  However he then selected most other options from 
the catalog.  Being able to option your car to your own taste also gives you 
bragging rights enjoy being one up over your fellow horse breeders.  The 
first owner of my car owned and showed Tennessee Walking horses, a breed 
known for its smooth gait, gentle temperament and stamina.  They were bred 
to carry owners of southern plantations around their lands in comfort.  Such 
animals are shown for their distinctive walking style but they are never 
raced or used in any other sports except trail riding, for which they are 
ideally suited.  One might even say the Imperial is to automobiles what the 
Tennessee Walking Horse is to other equines.

I wonder if tailoring the Imperial was always the most frequent method when 
buying them new.  I also wonder how long this lasted.  Without a doubt 
ordering a car to your own taste is a lovely thing.  I have only had the 
pleasure of doing it once, for, of all things, a humble Ford Escort. 
Despite there being dozens on the lot, my wife, who is petite and liked the 
car for a number of good reasons, wanted certain colors and features and 
that could not be found without it being special ordered.  I don't think 
I've ever seen a dealership less happy.  (The discounts they offered us to 
take something off the lot that was close to what she wanted were very 
tempting to me, but which married man out there thinks I even had a choice 
in the matter.)  In the muscle car world, altering the car is almost the 
whole point of the exercise.  People tweak stuff, add more power, change out 
the interiors and repaint the cars to create their own custom dream car.  We 
Imperialists do not favor this approach anywhere near as much.  Maybe its 
because our cars were pretty much one offs to begin with.

Hugh Hemphill
58 Imperial
San Antonio, Texas. 



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