Posts Tagged ‘imperial’

Blue Mopar Day – 1966 Dodge Dart Wagon and 1964 Imperial Crown

May 14, 2016

Lest we forget what the US was doing in the same period as some of the other cars featured here this past week, let’s look back at a couple of American products. With the benefit of hindsight, American car (not truck/crossover) offerings seem to have been much broader in the immediate post-war period, and the Chrysler corporation is a good example of this. Chrysler offered everything from basic captive imports (Simca and then the Plymouth Cricket) up through the ultra-luxurious Imperial Crown (if that name doesn’t convey a certain level of ambition, what name does?). Taking the role of number three in the big 4, their products were often also the most interesting – they had to come up with compelling ways to differentiate their products from the two dominant players. To start, let’s look at this 1966 Dodge Dart wagon for sale for $2500 in San Jose, CA.

1966 Dodge Dart Wagon left front

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19 Cents per Pound – 1968 Imperial Crown

July 22, 2014

Sometimes the mind boggles at how much stuff you can get – junk or not – for $900. Originally listed at $5653 for the pillared sedan, or about $38,000 in 2014 dollars, this was a car designed to compete with Cadillac for the billing of top American luxury car. And if you weren’t busy doing stupid hippie things in 1968 like protesting against wars, for freedom, or for efficiency, you could seal yourself off from all the racket in a 5000-ish pound cocoon gliding along courtesy of Chrysler’s 350hp 440 V8, which gave a monstrous 480 lb.-ft. of torque. Check out this 1968 Imperial Crown for sale for $900 in Centralia, WA.

1968 Imperial Crown left front

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Too Soon For Irony? 1981 Imperial Frank Sinatra Edition

February 11, 2014

Here’s a rather rare car, with production numbered in the low five figures, and this special edition at only 271 cars. The 1981 Imperial was another attempt at giving the brand a chance, with a price and a level of effort to match Cadillac and Lincoln. To that end, Chrysler put special effort into manufacturing, including several technical checks and a final coat of wax as the car came off the line, and a 5 1/2 mile test drive. The cars also had some significant advances, including fuel injection, automatic climate control and a digital dash. But the piece de resistance for the first year was the Frank Sinatra edition, blessed by OBE himself. You can find this 1981 Imperial Frank Sinatra Edition coupe for sale for $2650 in Apache Junction, AZ.

1981 Chrysler Imperial Sinatra right front

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