Dan,
You make a good point. It was hard to tell an Imperial from something else,
unless you were a fan. Even after Caddy got rid of the fins they still used a
fin motif in the rear quarters for years. Imperial never had anything like that
that carried over consistently.
If they did, what could it have been?
Mark M
Imp1983@xxxxxxx wrote:
> Y'know,
>
> I really enjoy all these posts about how Chrysler can't seem to get it's act
> together with the Imperial. I think it's fascinating.
>
> I am not sure I agree that the 'sound' of the Imperial name is that bad, but
> sounds of names CAN make a difference. Also, I totally agree that it should
> never have been called a "Chrysler" Imperial, (and, BTW, my NY registration
> says 1983 Chrys).
>
> Mention Chrysler 300 - boom - almost everyone knows about the 'legendary' 300
> letter cars. "Now THEY were special." (And still are. A friend of mine has
> a 300M.)
>
> My biggest beef has to be with the styling theme(s). Why don't the Imps have
> any identifiable 'theme'? You can always tell a Caddy from a distance. Take
> look at the BMW 'snout' grille. What about Mercedes? Easy. 300s always had
> special styling and the Red, White and Blue badging.
>
> Imperial? Well, there was (is) the Eagle, but big deal. Can you tell that
> the car is an Imp from across a field? (WE can but can OTHERS?) Probably
> not. The styling has been good, but not identifiable.
>
> Sometimes Imps have resembled the top Chryslers too closely. They should
> have had a distinctive difference that changed with the times, but still said
> "Imperial !' . Stick with the split egg-crate grille or the waterfall grille
> or, something!
>
> As far as the newer cars. I like 'em a LOT. At Carlisle, Chrysler had a
> tent set up and a whole row of the latest vehicles for you to take a test
> drive in. I drove them all except the Diesel Ram. Talk about nice. I had
> all I could do to keep the Jeep Cherokee from leaping off the ground when I
> touched the gas. And, the Sebring convertible - wow! You could NOT feel or
> HEAR that engine running. I'm not kidding.
>
> My son was with me. He couldn't believe it either. In fact we stopped at
> the top of the hill away from the crowd. Turned off the A/C and radio.
> Absolutely nothing! And this is with the TOP DOWN. My son swore that I had
> shut the engine off until I proved it by driving away. -Awesome!
>
> Now put THAT into the next gen Imperial and you will have a True Luxury
> touring sedan. (Just don't put those stupid-looking Circus Wagon wheels with
> 3 inch thick tires on it. U-U-U-G-L-Y in my opinion. The designers of today
> have obviously grown up playing with lots of Hot Wheels cars!!)
>
> Dan Wing
> Imp1983@xxxxxxx
>
> 83 Imp, beige,
> Le Baron turbine wheel covers,
> factory/dealer carb conversion
>