| Imperial History | Chapter Seven |
Unfortunately, the luxury market's tastes changed. Two-door personal luxury coupes like the Continental Mark III and Cadillac Eldorado were finding more and more buyers. Imperial wasn't offering such a car, nor would it.
At the same time, luxury styling outside of Imperial was decaying into the grotesque trend of pseudo-classic grilles, cheap vinyl trim and tops, plus blocky, upright profiles that defied logic and wind. Though the '69 Imperial and its '70 through '73 progeny were the most futuristic and genuine in their styling concepts, they gradually became the least fashionable.
As a result, sales declined in 1970 and again in 1971. Sadly, Chrysler took away Imperial's independent status that year, sticking a small "by Chrysler" nameplate beneath the Imperial nameplate mounted on the trunklids of LeBarons - Imperial's one and only model line for '71. The $6,000 Imperial was stuffed into the Chrysler dealer catalogue and buried in sales pitches for the Chrysler Newport, which was boasted as being for those who "want luxury without having to pay mind-boggling prices." Newport and Imperial had a definite conflict of interest.
It was odd of Chrysler to revive the Chrysler Imperial tag for '71. Bringing back the Chrysler prefix suggested that the Imperial was in some way down graded, which was not true. The '71 was a marvel more than nineteen feet long and filled with just about every luxury imaginable. Dual front seats with individual adjustments were standard and covered in cloth and leather. Elegant leather entry and exit assist straps were hung from the rear roof pillars and pillows were positioned there as well. Reading lights with individual switches were provided for rear seat passengers as were ashtrays and cigarette lighters, storage compartments, and a wide center armrest with chrome pull handle.
Virtually power everything was included in the base price, and an excellent options list enabled the customer to personalize his car with such features as head-lamp washers with vacuum activated brushes, dual unit air conditioning, cassette player and recorder with microphone for dictation, and SafeGuard Sentinel headlight delay system.
Imperial also offered the first anti-skid, anti-lock brake system on an American car in 1971. Called Sure Brake, the system controlled the pressure to all four wheels and activated a red light on the dashboard when in operation. Footage from Bendix, who built the system, indicates that Sure Brake worked well.
Production for '71 was Imperial's lowest since 1956 with just 11,558 cars built. The following year, however, an attractive restyle renewed interest in Imperial with 15,804 cars produced.
Motor Trend glanced at the '72 Imperial and declared itself mystified by Chrysler's continuing investment in the prestige car. The magazine did observe that the new for 1972 "rear end treatment flows with the same elegance of Imperials from the late '50s." It also made the curious declaration that: "In the context of its market, the Imperial LeBaron is not far from the mark but there's still room for improvement. To begin, they have an exclusive, snooty name with legitimate ties to a respectable history. If they carefully detailed each and every Imperial, even going to complete show-car paint, mohair interior, individually balanced engines and drive lines, Chrysler could achieve the image they wanted. . .; people in this bracket are interested in quality finished, reliable automobiles - attributes, difficult to guarantee even in a Cadillac and Lincoln these days." Imperial was undeserving of Motor Trend's dismissive tone, and certainly not deserving of being singled out for some imagined lack in quality.
It was true, however, that Chrysler wasn't paying as much attention to the Imperial as it should have been. In fact, Chrysler seemed to be preparing to eject Imperial from its line up. The lesser Chrysler New Yorker was moving in on Imperial's sales territory with a new for '72 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham priced only $900 away from Imperial and offering a more comprehensive array of models.
Similarly styled and similarly regal, the New Yorker Brougham probably dissuaded many would be Imperial buyers to choose it. Indications are that they did. Model year production for the fancy Brougham was 31,934 units verses to 15,800 for Imperial.
Chrysler didn't seem comfortable with the idea of a separate Imperial from the start. In 1955, it had been quick to borrow Imperial's exclusive new grille and apply it to the Chrysler 300, diminishing the Imperial's individuality. Chrysler also persisted in offering opulent New Yorkers, the 1963-64 Chrysler New Yorker Salons being a special example. Then too there was the 1955 to 1965 Letter Series always taking the horse power and performance spotlight away from Imperial.
By 1973, Chrysler seemed to think it had to remind the buying public what an Imperial was. "On the following pages," began the copy in Imperial's '73 sales brochure, "you're going to be introduced to a most elegant experience. The 1973 Imperial. It's Chrysler's entry in the luxury car field. . . These are Chrysler Corporation's top-of-the-line models."
Although it was only a facelift of the 1972 model, the 1973 Imperial was a pretty and popular car with production increasing by 1,000 units to a total of 16,729. This would be the true Imperial's last good model year.
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