The Imperial Conundrum

Didn’t someone post last year that there was a rumor of a new car with Imperial badging on it? I seem to remember someone saying it had been disguised, but when the black matting placed over the car to conceal it was pulled back, there was clearly a new rendition of the Imperial Eagle on the car.

I also know of a Chrysler dealer who responded “300” when asked if there would ever be another Imperial. This eluded to the fact that the 300 had come back, the Imperial would too. I can’t say how accurate any of this is, but with the recent interest in retro, it would be a good time for the Imperial to return.

Lincoln is apparently going to release a new suicide door sedan in the next few years. They haven’t announced it “officially” yet, but inside sources say it’s a done deal. We’ll see…I think it would be great for the Imperial to return.

Since the Imperial has been gone for so long, this would be a good opportunity for DaimlerChrysler to finally market the Imperial as a premium luxury-performance car, and the people who remember the Imperial would most likely not have a problem accepting this strategy.

Does anyone else remember the thread about someone spotting a new Imperial? I may have it out of context, and it could have been on another list, but I do remember something being posted about it.

Andy

-----Original Message-----
From: mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]On Behalf Of steve doane
Sent: Wednesday, July 31, 2002 7:37 AM
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: IML: The Imperial Conundrum

All

The recent thread concerning Imperial history has been absolutely great reading for me!

I'd like to take it a step further into the (highly) speculative future!

We can probably all agree that we'd like Daimler-Chrysler bring our beloved Marque back, and bring it back right! The question I'd like to pose to the group is: What kind of Imperial? What powertrain, styling, size, chassis, interior, performance, features and personality should the Imperial of the future have. Which off the shelf D-C pieces should it use? How much innovation should it incorporate?

Okay, here's my (very biased) wish list:

<snip>