One of the first cars to ever impress me with power was a 1973 Chrysler Newport. My late cousin Vance owned it, a two-door that was a rather unfortunate shade of brown with the funky paisley interior treatment and some kind of atomic bomb under that massive expanse of hoodline. He was more than happy to plant the throttle and let the five-year-old version of me learn all about seat impression via acceleration, or more accurately, just how fun it could be. I was addicted to the full-throttle antics of the big Newport. All I ever knew of that car was deep-throated roars from both ends of the C-body as we turned Westmoreland Road into a two-tenths drag strip.
What was the difference between that Newport and the Imperial? Realistically…trim, ornamentation and nose/tail treatments. Between 1955 and 1975, Chrysler was doing their damnedest to go after Lincoln and Cadillac in the big luxury boat market. And for a little while, it kind-of worked. But the problem with Imperial was that they never really got away from being a posh, decorated Chrysler. It wasn’t like parking a Lincoln next to a Ford Galaxie…you could spot the difference. You could do the same with a Cadillac and a Chevrolet. But not so much with the Imperial…as the years carried on, Imperial lost the things that made it unique. It wound up so bad that by the 1973 refresh to big bumpers, Chrysler was ready to kill it off and it would have, if it wasn’t for a different nose treatment that brought in the waterfall grill. Yeah…outside of that, it was a super-fluffy New Yorker. What a way to end a nameplate, huh?
The thing is, the C-body Imperial is a curious throwback today. First and foremost, they’re huge sedans…any car like that is a scene-stealer in a parking lot today. But people know what a Cadillac and Lincoln are. An Imperial is a curiosity. It’s a learning experience. It’s a showcase for when Chrysler doubled-down on big cars in the face of an energy crisis and more-or-less dismissed smaller cars as just a fad. And, as Mr. Regular will point out, it’s a throwback to a time of different social standards. Back in the day, the Imperial was a social status car that said, “I’ve made it.” But what does it say as we approach a new decade, fifty years on? “F*ck your crossover” comes to mind…but that’s just me.
My dad had a 1971 that was all original and it was a really nice car. From the start up thru I believe 1972 they were MUCH different cars than “normal” C-bodies. They were built on a separate assembly line and had a bunch of parts that didn’t fit anything else. Such as an antenna inside the windshield, 4 and 3/4 bolt circle wheels, frame rails and U-joints off a Sherman tank, etc, etc. His car weighed 5105 with every piece of lint out of it! Even with the original belted tires on it the thing was like driving a couch down the road. That was one good running 440 in there. I really miss it.