The name: Imperial

[John Meyer <donkiyoti@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Everyone,

I think we all agree that Chrysler failed to market the Imperial 
effectively, and also failed to separate Imperial as a separate marque 
from the Chrysler name. Imperial started out and ended up as "Chrysler 
Imperial" and that's how nearly everybody refer to our cars today, 
never mind that most of them don't carry the word "Chysler" anywhere.  
The design and engineering of the cars wasn't the problem. I think also 
that (nearly) all of us agree Elwood Engel wasn't at fault.

But what about the name Imperial itself?

We know that Chrysler's use of the name Imperial was meant to connote 
the best of the best, the top, the pinnacle, etc. But many many other 
companies and entrepreneurs had exactly the same idea. Think of 
Imperial Margarine, etc. I look in the yellow pages today and I see 
Imperial Gem & Jewelry and Imperial Transportation services. How many 
plumbers, roofers, dry cleaners, barber shops, etc. do you want to bet 
used the name Imperial all through the 50s, 60s & 70s? I'd bet there 
were thousands. The name was really watered down to the point of being 
meaningless and having no real identity.

GM certainly never had that problem with Cadillac. Cadillac meant 
Cadillac and that meant prestige. The name Imperial just didn't have 
the power to lend much prestige to Chrysler's top of the line. The 
beautiful (and now highly sought after) Chrysler Imperials of the 30s 
helped doom Chrysler's efforts to establish Imperial as a separate 
marque: it would always be "Chrysler Imperial." The name "300" was much 
more successful. People never forgot that 300 meant a snazzy Chrysler 
car. The association stayed strong enough for Chrysler to revive that 
name.

Imperial has a lot of meanings, and in the 30s it was just fine to be 
imperialistic. Imperial Navy, British Empire, and so on. Studebaker 
even sold a car named the Dictator. Nowadays using Imperial would be a 
marketing disaster. These days more people would connect "Imperial" to 
Star Wars and Darth Vader than to any kind of car.

All the same, I always just say "It's an Imperial" when someone asks 
what kind of car I'm driving.

Best,
John Meyer
1965 Crown
Tucson