IML: Is this why they are called Imperials?

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

In the beginning . . .

(Lifted from Wikipedia)
In 1926, Walter P. Chrysler decided to compete with Cadillac and Lincoln in 
the luxury car field. Chrysler offered a variety of body styles: a 
four-passenger roadster, a four-seat coupé on a 120 in wheelbase, 
five-passenger sedan, and a seven-passenger top-of-the-line limousine. The 
Imperial's new engine was slightly larger than the company's standard 
straight 6. It was a 3.3 L I6 with seven bearing blocks and pressure 
lubrication. The car set a transcontinental speed record in the year it was 
introduced, driving more than 6,500 miles in the week. The car was chosen as 
the pace car for the 1926 Indianapolis 500.

(End quote)

I have never liked the name Imperial.  It strikes me as un-American, us 
being a democratic republic and all without imperial ambitions.  More to the 
point, a few years ago the museum I work for was offered a late 1940s 
Cadillac Imperial, which I declined for any number of reasons.  It was, 
however, a limousine with a window between the driver and the passengers. 
As I understand it, the name for this style of car was called imperial. 
There may have been, for example, Packard and Lincoln Imperials.  Perhaps 
someone here can confirm or deny this.  I can imagine that folks who might 
want and be able to afford such a status symbol just might like a haughty 
name, and imperial certainly fits the bill.

So, the question is, did the 1926 Chrysler have this interior window.  And, 
did the name just stick to the top of the line Chrysler, until it became its 
own division in 1955?

Also, as an aside, would it be more correct to call the 1958 Crown Imperial, 
the stretched limo version with just such a window, as opposed to the 
Imperial Crown, the regular sized mid-range Imperial without, the Imperial 
Imperial?

Just wondering aloud.

Hugh







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