Imperial Crown

Imperial Crown
Production period:	1957-1970
Class :	Upper class
Body versions :	Sedan , coupe , convertible

The Imperial Crown was a series of the American automobile brand Imperial, which belongs to the Chrysler group . It was offered in four model generations from 1957 to 1970 and initially represented the medium-sized, from 1964 the entry-level model of the upper-class brand.

background

At the beginning of the 1950s, the Chrysler Group was set up on four tracks. In the upscale market segment, the group entered with the Chrysler brand, including the Dodge , DeSoto and Plymouth brands. Unlike General Motors and Ford , Chrysler did not have an independent brand in the upper class at that time. Instead, this segment was served with high-quality variants of Chrysler vehicles, which were sold under the Chrysler Imperial model name, which had been used since 1926 . The affiliation of these models to the mass manufacturer Chrysler had an adverse effect on sales because the name Chrysler was given less radiance than Cadillac or Lincoln, for example . Therefore, from 1955, Chrysler made Imperial an independent fifth brand in the group. In the first model generation , Imperial competed with standard models; the vehicles were only called Imperial Coupé and Imperial Sedan in 1955 and 1956 .

With the change to the second model generation, Imperial nominally diversified the model range. From 1957 the program contained three different series. The Imperial Custom was the base model that was offered at the lowest price. The middle model was the Crown, and the top version was called the Imperial LeBaron . In the factory codes, which changed annually, from 1958 the suffix “M” (for “medium”) marked the Crown series; In the first model year, the number 1 was used as a differentiation criterion. The model name caused confusion insofar as the brand offered an extended and very expensive representative limousine under the similar name Crown Imperial from 1957 .

All Imperial series were largely identical externally and technically. They differed only in the equipment and in individual years also in styling details.

Model history

Imperial Crown Convertible (1959)

Imperial Crown Southampton Hardtop Sedan (1961)

Imperial Crown Coupe (1964)

Imperial Crown Sedan (1967)

Imperial Crown Sedan (1970)

Model generations

Imperial offered the Crown model range in four generations:

• 1957 to 1963: The second generation of the brand was the first in which the Crown series appeared.
• third generation (1964 to 1966)
• fourth generation (1967 to 1968)
• fifth generation (1969).

In 1970 the Crown line was discontinued; from now on the LeBaron was Imperials only series.

landing gear

Technically, the Imperial models of the second generation (1957 to 1963) and the third generation (1964 to 1966) were based on an "ordinary" box frame to which the body was bolted. Until 1959 it was identical to the design that Chrysler also used for the full-size models of the other group brands. When Chrysler converted its largest models group-wide to a self-supporting body in 1960, Imperial kept the previous frame as the top brand; it was not abandoned with the introduction of the third Imperial generation. It was not until the 1967 model year that Imperial also switched to a self-supporting body.

drive

The drive was the largest eight-cylinder engine of the Chrysler group with 6,423 cm³ (392 cubic inches) displacement and 325 net hp (SAE) (1957 and 1958) or 6,767 cm³ (413 cubic inches) with 340 to 350 net hp (SAE) (from 1959). For the 1966 model year, an eight-cylinder engine, enlarged to 7,210 cm³ (440 cubic inches), appeared which was the standard drive for all Imperial models until the brand was discontinued in 1975.

Design and body shapes

One of the special features of the Imperial Crown was the convertible, which from 1957 to 1969 was offered in this series in addition to the four-door sedans and coupés as well as a convertible. The open version competed with the Cadillac Eldorado . In the first few years it was about US $ 1,500 cheaper than the Eldorado; in the 1960s, however, prices converged to within a few hundred dollars. With the introduction of the first front-wheel drive Eldorado in the 1967 model year, the Imperial Crown Cabriolet lost its direct competitor.

The closed two-door models were only available as hardtop coupés without a B-pillar. The four-door sedans were also consistently available as hardtop versions without a center post. From 1957 to 1959 and from 1967 to 1969, four-door sedans with a fixed B-pillar were also offered as an alternative. However, they each sold less well than the hardtop versions.

Stylistically, the bodies from 1957 to 1963 were based on the Forward Look designed by Virgil Exner . Initially it had very simple lines, but after two revisions in 1959 it was already considered “overdecorated” and from 1961 - depending on the source - developed classic or outdated shapes. With the third Imperial generation, which appeared in the 1964 model year, there was a new body designed by Elwood Engel . It had "sober lines" and was based on the Lincoln Continental , which was also designed by Engel and won a design award in 1961. In the model generation 1964 to 1966, the Imperials had an independent body for the first time, which had no identical parts with the other models of the Chrysler Group. With the model change in 1967, Imperial returned to bodies that corresponded to the other Chrysler models. This also applied to the fifth generation, introduced in 1969, in which the body design of the Imperial Crown followed the so-called fuselage design .

Equipment details

The standard equipment of the Crown was more extensive than that of the Custom. The differences varied from year to year. In the 1961 model year, the Crown offered electrically adjustable seats and power windows, an illuminated make-up mirror and high-quality carpets in the interior and trunk, in contrast to the Custom, and in the 1963 model year, air conditioning, three heaters and cruise control were included as standard.

Development of the Crown

In the model generation from 1957 to 1963, the Crown was the middle model of the Imperial family. In terms of price, the Crown was around US $ 500 above the models in the Custom line and US $ 1,000 below the top models sold as LeBaron. At the end of 1963, Imperial discontinued the basic model called Custom. From 1964 onwards, the Crown Imperials was the entry-level model. The price gap to the LeBaron has only narrowed slightly over the years. The Crown was also the only model series that offered all body versions of the brand.

In 1957, a Crown Southampton hardtop sedan cost US $ 5,406. A Cadillac Series 62 Sedan was priced at $ 4,705 that same year. Even a Sedan DeVille , which was externally redesigned and equipped to a high standard, was still US $ 200 cheaper than an Imperial. In the mid-1960s, however, the prices of Imperial and Cadillac largely equalized. In 1964, for example, a Crown Sedan cost US $ 5,581, while a Cadillac Sedan DeVille cost US $ 5,665. In its final year of production, a Crown was roughly the same price as Cadillac's entry-level Calais .

production

Production numbers
generation	Model year	Factory code	Crown hardtop coupe	Crown hardtop sedan	Crown Four Door Sedan	Crown Cabriolet	total
First generation 1955–1956	1955-1956	no Imperial Crown
Second generation 1957–1963	1957	IM1-2	4199	7843	3642	1167	16851
	1958	LY1-M	1939	4146	1240	675	8000
	1959	MY1-M	1728	4714	1335	555	8332
	1960	PY1-M	1594	4510	1594	618	8316
	1961	RY1-M	1007	4769	-	429	6205
	1962	SY1-M	1010	6911	-	554	8475
	1963	TY1-M	1067	6960	-	531	8558
Third generation 1964–1966	1964	VY1-M	5233	14181		922	20336
	1965	AY1-M	3974	11628	-	633	16235
	1966	BY3-M	2373	8977	-	514	11864
Fourth generation 1967–1968	1967	CY1-M	3235	9415	2193	577	15420
	1968	YM	2656	8492	1887	474	13509
Fifth generation 1969–1973	1969	YL	224	823	1617	-	2664
	1970	YL	254	1333	-	-	1587
	1971-1973	no Imperial Crown

literature

• Richard M. Langworth: Encyclopedia of American Cars 1930-1980 . New York (Beekman House) 1984. ISBN 0-517-42462-2
• Monte McElroy: The 1961–1963 Imperial Models , Part 1: WPC News, May 1982, p. 3 ff.
• Monte McElroy: The 1961–1963 Imperial Models . Part 2: WPC News, June 1982, p. 4 ff.

Remarks

1. ↑ In the automotive literature, the vehicles built between 1957 and 1963 are mainly grouped into a common model family because - regardless of all stylistic changes over the years - the technology under the sheet metal has remained largely unchanged; see. NN: The Imperial Family . Motor Life, November 1959, and Richard M. Langworth: Encyclopedia of American Cars 1930–1980 . New York (Beekman House) 1984. ISBN 0-517-42462-2 , p. 387. Other authors regard the models, which were created from 1961 to 1963, as an independent family; The reason for this is that these vehicles have a comparable front design; Still others let the second generation of models end as early as 1959, because from 1960 onwards Imperial was technically parted with the other Chrysler brands. See Monte McElroy: The 1961–1963 Imperial Models . WPC News, May 1982, p. 6.

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Richard M. Langworth: Encyclopedia of American Cars 1930–1980 . New York (Beekman House) 1984. ISBN 0-517-42462-2 , p. 387.
2. ^ John Katz: 1955 Imperial . Special Interest Vehicles No. 129 (May / June 1992), p. 52.
3. ↑ Time Magazine, November 15, 1954, p. 100.
4. ^ Monte McElroy: The 1961–1963 Imperial Models , Part 1: WPC News, May 1982, p. 9.
5. ^ Monte McElroy: The 1961–1963 Imperial Models , Part 1: WPC News, May 1982, pp. 3 ff, p. 8.
6. ^ NN: Imperial 1957 , Motor Trend, December 1956.
7. ^ Monte McElroy: The 1961-1963 Imperial Models . Part 2: WPC News, June 1982, p. 7.
8. ^ NN: Imperial LeBaron Road Test . Car Life, July 1964.
9. ↑ Equipment details of the Imperial Crown from 1961 on the website www.imperialclub.com (accessed on November 28, 2016).
10. ↑ Equipment details of the Imperial Crown from 1963 on the website www.imperialclub.com (accessed on November 28, 2016).
11. ↑ Information from Richard M. Langworth: Encyclopedia of American Cars 1930–1980 . New York (Beekman House) 1984. ISBN 0-517-42462-2 , pp. 392 f.