An Imperial Ride

The major automobile manufacturers learned early on to maximize their spread over the buying public. General Motors was the first and, perhaps, the most efficient at doing this. They developed an entry level brand with the Chevrolet, constantly battling for the highest number of sales in the world. From there a buyer could step up in price, luxury, performance, or whatever other aspect grabbed their fancy. So from Chevrolet to Cadillac they tried to cover every price point and every automotive taste.

Chrysler did the same thing. Plymouth was introduced in 1928 as their entry level brand. DeSoto and Dodge filled in the middle of the range, depending on performance. And the eponymous Chrysler sat at the top. Then in 1955 Chrysler decided turn the top trim in their high end line into a model all its own. For two decades the Imperial became the company’s luxury line of automobiles.

Master designer Virgil Exner was behind the look of the Imperial which rode in on the wave of his Forward Look designs. While the new standalone Imperial offered many fine features and outsold the top of the line Chrysler Imperial of 1954 it still only managed a little over 11,000 cars going out the dealership doors. Undiscouraged they pushed on, offering some unique options such as the first solid state car radio (developed by Philco) among others. 

The second generation of Imperials came in 1957 and brought with it even more innovations and quality options. The same three speed TorqueFlite transmission could be paired with one of three different power plants. The available engines ranged from a 392 cubic inch Hemi V8 to a 440 cubic inch Wedge V8. 

Our feature car is a 1962 Imperial convertible with the new A727 TorqueFlite three speed push button transmission. Major design elements saw a new split grill front end similar to what was used in earlier Imperials. It also featured a drastic downsizing in the once very prominent tail fins. The 1962 model year sold just over 14,300 cars.

The Imperial would be the luxury line for Chrysler through 1975 and would make a brief two year return in 1981 before once again being relegated as the top level trim for the Chrysler.