Did Chrysler really build the best top luxury car

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Princess Valiant

A.K.A. Rainy Day Auto
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So to ask C body guys this question, it would be a biased answer.

The fact that A bodies were the undisputed economy and compact class of Chrysler means we A body owners may answer a lot differently.

So we have established Chrysler had a superior compact and economy line otherwise we wouldn't be here.

But what's your opinion on the full size luxury segment. Do you really think if you had a time machine and could go back to 1964 and had the means and need for a luxury car, would Chrysler really have the edge?

Reality numbers suggest Cadillac had the market with cadillacs being recognized everywhere because of their mega popularity, but why were they popular?

Lincoln was distinct because of the highly unconventional door configuration.

Other than having a familiar Chrysler big block, do you really believe Chrysler as a company had the luxury segment locked or was there something missing and what. Why didn't a lot of these luxury cars survive in the numbers that the Lincoln and Cadillac counterparts did??

What do you think?

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Imperials were the top of the line over Chrysler. ;-)
 
My dad had a 64 Imperial and a 69 Fury when I was growing up. The Imperial was by far the most luxurious of the two. To me the late 50's and early 60's letter cars are what I consider Chrysler's luxury cruisers.
 
I'll just leave this right here and let you decide.

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I think that the answer would be biased where it’s asked. If you ask on a Mopar board it’s a Mopar and same for all the others.

Were the Imperials a nice car, Oh, very nice. Same with the Cadillac and the Lincoln (but the Lincoln has some crazy things like hydraulic wipers)

I loved the look of the 64 Crown and the ride but they were all very nice cars back in the day, it’s all what you love.

Cliff Ramsdell

PS spotted this one in the basement of an old Ford dealership.
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I have my moms 73 Imperial, it is a huge land barge.
 
When Imperial was on there own and right after Chrysler purchased them up making a few changes, for a while they were a seriously sweet top of the line car. Incredibly expensive and highly sought after by Hollywood’s elite and top money makers of the United States back in the day.

IMO, is a shame the “Imperial“ brand fell to the way side of just a model dumbed down and cheapened to a high line and then down to a low line Chrysler.

The ride was super amazing.
 
check out the dealer promo film of the various model comparisons, they did the imperial against the Caddy and of course highlighted the differences. 3 that I remember were (57 I believe) more interior room, more HP and torque, and a better suspension: showing a caddy dragging its tail over a railroad crossing at about 30mph! The Imp just sucked it up with barely a rear suspension drop in 'landing'. Most of the chrysler promo films were 7/8 for 8 when it came to room, design and economy.
 
The old dealer promo comparison films with all models in the price category’s show the Mopar makes on top in almost all tests
 
C bodies are really nice cars to drive. Smooth. You can make camp in their trunks.
 
I used to daily drive a 69 imperial le Baron 2 door hardtop. power everything. tilt/ telescoping steering wheel. that thing even had a switch on the floor that would change the radio station. it was a luxury liner. it came through with a holley. I loved that car. 4 piston Kelsey hayes disc brakes , rear sway bar , sequential tail lights, completely loaded. for the day it was , in my opinion, the best American car I had ever sailed the high seas in.

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I used to daily drive a 69 imperial le Baron 2 door hardtop. power everything. tilt/ telescoping steering wheel. that thing even had a switch on the floor that would change the radio station. it was a luxury liner. it came through with a holley. I loved that car. 4 piston Kelsey hayes disc brakes , rear sway bar , sequential tail lights, completely loaded. for the day it was , in my opinion, the best American car I had ever sailed the high seas in.

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It even has that chopped top look right from the factory. So cool......and yet you got rid of it.
 
There's a guy in my neighborhood that has a 67 Imperial LeBaron... Beautiful condition and it took two window stickers to list all of the options...
 
It even has that chopped top look right from the factory. So cool......and yet you got rid of it.
even worse yet was the meathead that got it from me hacked it all to hell trying to put a 4 speed in it, then it sat a rotted before it disappeared. yeah I still kick myself for that one LOL
 
even worse yet was the meathead that got it from me hacked it all to hell trying to put a 4 speed in it, then it sat a rotted before it disappeared. yeah I still kick myself for that one LOL

Dang. What all engines could that have had? Just the 440?
 
What option were on that thing? Probably none as everything was standard. I wonder if a 383 was optional. My old friend was a Caddy master mechanic (got a gold design trophy for something to do with the distributor cap) and he once came across a factory 4sp Coupe DeVille. Why not? Did the 472/5x0 have a weird trans bolt pattern?
 
A friend of mine is big into demo derbies. He used to hunt for Imperials as he could consistantly win with them and the same car could last him a couple of years. Several years ago they changed the rules at all of the close derbies so that Imperials could not be entered. It was too much like bringing a gun to a knife fight!
 
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