Dear Jeff,
Yes, I was aware of that. However, I think Engel was undoubtedly capable of
creating a whole new look for Imperial if he had chosen to-- or if
management had asked him to. Engel was a talented stylist and I'm sure he
could have taken an approach that was radically different from anything he
had done at Ford when he moved to Chrysler.
I think Chrysler consciously chose to emulate the Lincoln styling because
that was their closest competitor. They were taking aim at Lincoln and
trying to take away Lincoln buyers.
That's my opinion, anyway.
Mark M
Jeffrey Cutler wrote:
> Mark :
>
> In your reply to Jim you stated:
> "I think you are right that Imperial was first created to compete with
> Cadillac. But after a few years I think they realized they were never
> going to catch up, much less compete, with Caddy, and their focus became
> Lincoln. I think that may be why they went with somewhat Lincolnesque
> styling in '64 and continued with it through '68."
>
> Just thought I'd point out that one of the reasons the Impwerial had
> "Lincolnesque" styling from '64-'68 is because Elwood Engel, who designed
> the '61 Lincoln, was the stylist for Chysler for the '64 Imperial.
>
> J
>
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