Under those circumstances, "Let the Pendulum Swing"! Paul In a message dated 1/22/2004 10:33:35 PM Eastern Standard Time, 65luxuryliner@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes: > In theory that isn't a bad idea Randy. Infiniti certainly is an upscale >Nissan as is Lexus an upscale Toyota. But remember who owns Chrysler now. I >doubt the top brass would create a separate marque that could possibly steal >sales from Mercedes! What a shame as I think the SUV boom will (someday) peak >and the American public will go back to buying large, comfortable and powerful >full sized luxury cars. Car design goes through cycles. In my humble >opinion, I doubt we have seen the last of the the full sized luxury cruisers. >It will just take time for the SUV craze to die down. When the demand for >them begins to drop (and in time it will), the 'new' status symbol will be the >big luxury sedans and coupes once more! Maybe then, Imperial will be >resurrected! (Hey, it's ok to dream isn't it?) > > Greg McDonnell > No SUV's for me thank you! Just give me all the big luxo boats from the >'50's and '60's! > ----- Original Message ----- > From: Randy Martin > To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2004 8:43 PM > Subject: Re: IML: The name: Imperial > > > Hello! > This is a great discussion of the name Imperial and its potential for >Chrysler and everyone has some great ideas. Someone mentioned that Chrysler >never marketed the Imperial properly and it became "just another Chrysler" and >I had a thought. What if Chrysler were to market the Imperial as a separate >marque the way Nissan has with Infiniti and Toyota has with Lexus? Using a >separate dealer network and support system, it may prove to be very profitable >if done with quality products and quality service. Ok, time for me to wake up. > > Randy > Dreaming of a '73 > ----- Original Message ----- > From: John Meyer > To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx > Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2004 6:25 PM > Subject: IML: The name: Imperial > > > 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 > > >