I fail to see what the Japanese did in 1936, or 1944, has to do with the
topic under discussion. And I do not believe Hugh was tying Toyota
marketing of 1936 with anything. Given the fact that the 1936 Toyota was
closer to handbuilt than mass production, I do not believe you can say
Toyota marketed the model AA (the model based on the Airflow body and
Chevrolet engine).
Hugh was mentioning Toyota's marketing practises of the Lexus as opposed to
Chrysler's marketing of the Imperial. Along with mention of other high end
vehicles.
Hugh is correct, though, in that marketing the Imperial with Chryslers and
Plymouths did not help Imperial sales. It was the main reason why the
Imperial was never able to shed the "Chrysler" prefix.
Yes, today Lincolns are sold by Ford dealers, and Cadillacs by Chevrolet
dealers, but during the post-war era into the 1970's both cars were sold by
separate dealer networks which helped both makes develop their public
images. (And, yes, in small towns dealers handle more than one line of
car. In Canada we used to have Plymouth-Dodge-Chrysler dealers,
Chevrolet-Pontiac-Oldsmobile-Buick dealers and Ford-Mercury-Lincoln dealers.
But those were the exception, not the norm. )
Imperial was never separated from Chrysler. Yes, it was sold by select
dealers at times, but the dealer sign still said Chrysler. And that did
not help Imperial. If Chrysler was not willing to set Imperial up on its
own (it did not do it for Plymouth) it would have been better to sell the
Imperial at Dodge or DeSoto dealers and get it away from any Chrysler
dealer, and thus the Chrysler name.
Overall, considering the marketing of the Imperial, Hugh has hit the nail on
the head.
Bill
Vancouver, BC
----- Original Message -----
From: "Rog & Jan van Hoy" <vanhilla@xxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Wednesday, February 26, 2003 8:53 PM
Subject: IML: distribution chain
> 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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