Revisionist history. Hugh, go to most any SMALL TOWN [for
example, The Dalles, Oregon] and you will buy your new
Cadillac from a dealer selling Chev's and other GM's, and
Subaru and Jeep. Down the road you'll find Chrysler sold
with Dodge, Jeep and Mitsubishi, and at another dealer
Lincoln sold with Mercury, Toyota, Mazda and Honda.
What the Japanese did in 1936 was to develop a war machine.
Didn't you kinda wonder why Masujiro Hashimoto died in 1944?
Check it out. What Toyota does today for marketing has
nothing to do with what they did in 1936 or even 1966.
Turning to Imperials, Hugh, your car was not likely
originally sold at a Plymouth dealership, but at a
Chrysler/Plymouth dealership, or more likely a
Chrysler/Plymouth dealership selected to sell Imperials.
Not all were allowed to do so. For most of its history
Imperial was a Chrysler model, except for 1955-75 and maybe
1981-83.
Since Imperials haven't been sold new for a decade, it isn't
clear what if any present-day repercussions have to do with
old time marketing. It's a good tale to spin, but not
verifiable.
You might just as accurately look to the Webster's
dictionary definitions of Imperial, most of which are
ADJECTIVES, such as "of a commanding quality, manner or
respect; regal; of special or superior size or quality."
--Roger van Hoy, '55 DeSoto, '58 DeSoto, '42 DeSoto, '66
Plymouth, '81 Imperial, Washougal, WA
----- Original Message -----
From: "Hugh & Therese" <hugtrees@xxxxxxxx>
To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, February 26, 2003 8:28 PM
Subject: IML: Toyota / chrysler airflow
Here's a picture of the 1936 Toyoda Model AA next to a 1934
DeSoto:
| > http://www.1000islandstoyota.com/pages/linkpage.html
|
| Its heresy to say it in this town, now that a Toyota plant
is coming, but
| imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. One of the
things that the
| Japanese did that Chrysler refused to do, was stand behind
their high end
| products - in our case, the Imperial - by creating a
separate distribution
| chain. You cannot buy a Lexus at a Toyota dealership, or
a Lincoln at a
| Ford dealership, or a Cadillac where Chevies are sold.
The high end
| dealerships are totally separate from the run of the mill
dealerships.
| Chrysler Corp. never did that for the Imperial which has
repercussions to
| this day in that most folks, even MOPAR fans, call them
Chrysler Imperials.
| My own car was originally sold at a Plymouth dealership.
I don't think
| Chrysler management ever really had enough faith in the
Imperial and if they
| didn't why should the public? As WE know, the cars had
what it took to be
| the best, but in the high end sector, you have to have a
high "prestige"
| factor. People will pay extra for a product that sets
them apart in terms
| of social standing. They won't if the product does not
have that
| connotation.
|
| Hugh
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