This post Exner Imperial still looks fresh and clean 55 years later. The level of workmanship with metal and this case wood trim is long extinct in today's world of plastic clad vehicles.
Elwood Engel was hired away from Ford to replace Virgil Exner in the early 1960s and he transitioned Chrysler products to more conservative styling. He did a good job since the cars sold well. The Imperial was an exception but it never sold in large numbers as the narrator mentions. BTW Jay Leno has the hardtop version of this car and there is a video of it on UA-cam.
The '67-'68 Imperials were stunning cars. A coworker back in the early '80's have a '67 Imperial Crown Coupe. I always stopped to admire it when he brought it to work. Jay Leno has a pristine, low mileage Crown Coupe that he featured on Jay Leno's Garage.
All around handsome car. Especially the interior. I would've paid the extra couple hundred back then for that over a Cadillac. The application of real wood, and on the outer door handle too? Absolutely!
The way the dash flows into the door panels looks surprisingly modern. I know this was premium car, but Even if you take away the wood and some chrome it’s still a nice looking design. Hard the believe how cheap and cobbled together looking so many car interiors would get in just a few years
Though I am a Lincoln Mercury man, I have always appreciated these fine cars. They have very interesting detailing, high quality, and excellent attention to detail. And this is a beautiful example.
Exquisite! Just beautiful. The sculpting, the fit and finish, just amazing. This is first Imperial I have ever seen that was a convertible. Just a fantastic looking car.
That's a beautiful car. Can't believe I've never seen one before. I usually see a few things I would change on any car. But this is just a perfect design inside and out
Back in the 1980's I found one in Tampa. It was a Crown Sedan. Turquoise w/ white top and turquoise fabric/leather interior. It was very high quality and was a great driver. The A/C was VERY effective in the Florida climate. I enjoyed the car for a few years until another collector "had to have it" and I moved it along. I never had a mechanical problem with it although the steering box needed tightening. But the car already had 200k or so miles on it when I got it and I was stunned because it had obviously been garaged and very well cared for. The original owner was a high ranking officer in the Air Force and had actually kept a "log" of all maintenance items since new! Anyway, no regrets. I am so glad I had the opportunity to enjoy this vintage Imperial.
@@richardmorris7063 I spent about ten years in Tampa. The HOT stagnant air, high humidity and terrifying daily thunderstorms were appalling! I had to work out in it in a black suit as I am a funeral service professional.
Unfortunately I've never had the opportunity to see a '67 Imperial in Australia but by far it is my favorite Imperial model because of its understated elegance and presence.
The father of a good friend of mine as a boy traded his 1965 Crown Coupe for this 1967, also a Crown Coupe. He preferred this one and particularly liked the fact that it now had the dual air. I rode in both many times and thought those 1967 bucket seats were interesting having that cloth in the pleats between the leather. That, and of course as a kid, I was fascinated by the radio behind that door!
"Bullitt" was, and is an iconic car chase scene. But in John Boorman's "Point Blank" what Lee Marvin does to and with one of the 577 Imperial convertibles produced for '67 (with Michael Strong as the hapless used car salesman riding shotgun) is something to behold. And this unibody ragtop was somehow rebuilt after all that carnage!
My parents had a 1967 Imperial when I was a kid, for 9 years. But it was the Sedan model. It had cloth seats and an AM radio. My dad always said it was the best car they ever had.
Another great video! I have a 68 Imperial convertible and the comments are dead on -including comments RE ride. As Adam indicates, the ride was the stiffest among the three luxury brands -and that inspires confidence at highway speeds (all relative of course; these are massive cars after all). The engine is possibly another standout. Reliable and great torque. It has a wonderful sound -almost as good as a hemi. The El Dorado easily wins in the looks department. Still, the Imperial has presence if not prettiness. Another thing about the 67/68 is that they are massively overbuilt. They have an overall excess solidity feel that started to disappear in other cars by the late 60s -even from other Chrysler cars. Another stand out is that for some reason they are not very collectible despite the low numbers. Possibly it’s that so many of us who throw money away with the car hobby do it because we grew up with a car and want it again as adults. As imperial never sold in the numbers of Cadillac or Lincoln, not many have imperials in their past. Thanks for the great videos Adam.
Despite what the description says, starting in '67, the Imperial shared its body with the rest of the Chrysler line, unlike '57-'66 which had its own unique body. The quality was still top notch, but you can plainly see the similarities between it and a Newport or New Yorker. Quality plummeted dramatically with the introduction in '69 of the much less attractive fuselage models--bloated sides, high beltlines and slit windows.
@@jazzvictrola7104 Did you mean platform being shared versus body? The 67-68 share the platform with full-sized Chryslers (The only difference is that the k member upfront is a couple of inches longer for the Imperial). But the body panels in 67-68 are not shared (although the design theme is similar). In 69 that changed as Imperials shared panels -and increasing number of parts with other Chrysler products.
The 440 was a great street engine which powered a lot of Chrysler products both in standard and high performance configurations. It also was the engine of choice for a number of motor home applications due to its torque and pulling power. However its fuel economy like its contemporaries wasn't great. I guess if you have to ask how much it costs to run you can't afford it.
You can’t underestimate the “palate cleansing” effect of the 1960 Corvair and 1961 Continental on American car design. I understand that Engel gets a lot of the credit, but I’d love to know more about what was happening in the design studios and executive offices that convinced the American manufacturers to scrap the swoopy, finny late ‘50s designs. I can’t think of any other period that resulted in such a radical change than what happened between, say, ‘57 and ‘65.
I think the original Ford Taurus ushered in the same kind of radical industry design change - going from the sharp, crisp styling lines that were common across most manufacturers to very rounded designs within the industry in only a few years! Of course, much of this change was driven by an engineering push for improved aerodynamics, while the change in the early sixties was likely more artistically driven……
Well the "swoopy" tailfin designs were started by Harley Earl & Virgil Exner in the 50's then Engel replaced Exner and Bill Mitchell replaced Harley Earl. Engel gave us the square "slab side" look and Bill Mitchell gave us the smooth "coke bottle" look. Remember the marketing department's attitude backthen was to re-style their cars every year since the market was hyper competitive these changes happened fast and the progression towards more conservative styling just reflects the overall cost saving measures of modern mass production methods
Both of my parents were prominent physicians in Southern California in the 1960s, and I had an “Aunt,“ who was like Lucille Ball in “Mame“ and who was the founder of a large (and still extant) retail chain. She and her Dentist husband would each get a new Imperial, whenever a new model year was released, both always the top of the line, his black and hers white, and completely loaded, and delivered to their home by the dealers with much fanfare. She commented to my mom one time that she had “sold” so many Imperials for the dealer, that they paid just a percentage of the normal price for the cars. The best part, is that she had grown up on a farm in like Iowa or somewhere like that, driving farm equipment, so she could drive this boat around like nobody’s business, and parallel park it, and back it into spaces, and do 3-point upturns, back up driveways and stuff like that… Thanks for sharing a beautiful piece of mechanical art from my childhood.
Circa 1970 dad was "car sitting" one of these for a friend for a week (also tuning it up) so we took it on some short trips. What a magnificent car! I loved the power options, the engine, the way it rode, everything. By the way, those white lights in the front are cornering lights, the turn signals are in the bumper. This car was one of the first I'd ever seen with cornering lights, it was fun to see them work.
When I was a kid back then, my favorite cars of all were the previous generation of Imperials, the 1965's and '66's, but this generation also looks great.
Love the Imperials and that era of Chrysler. Had a 68 4 door sedan Newport and a 2 Door Coupe with the fast back. Great cars! Both 383 tremendous vehicles. The sedan would eat the coupe for breakfast!
Informative Adam. They did put effort into this car. It is a shame how Imperial got lost in the market. Some of the 1960's and 1970's Imperials had some interesting features and styling. They had intereresting themes. I again thank you for posting.
This is a nice car. Clean lines, and I love the great interior, but tastefully simple leather/vinyl seats that look so much better than some of the crazy designs found in other luxury cars. And, I'm sure I would enjoy the power and reasonable handling as well.
…nicely done walk around & with related informational commentary Adam👍this very well conserved / preserved / pristine / factory original in appearance 1967 Imperial Crown Convertible is a superb example of the rarest of 1960’s era Imperials …the Crown convertibles …not many Imperial Crown convertibles were produced from one model year to the next model year unlike mainstream corporate Detroit Big 3 car / $$$ making standards of the 1960’s …the last year for the 1960’s Imperial Crown convertibles produced by ChryCorp was the1968 model with only 474 being built that year …in comparison the all new for 1967 FWD Cadillac Eldorado had a 1st year production run of 17,930 …1960’s era Imperial Crown convertibles were always very rare and the passing decades have greatly reduced the number of now remaining survivors …1960’s era Imperial Crown convertibles in near or original unmolested condition that were well cared for & conserved with correct interiors matched to factory paint colors, numbers matching mechanicals & accessories in good working order like the 1967 example Adam showcased above are incredibly rare …these cars were for years used as daily drivers and if time, fate, wear & tear didn’t do them in likely it was increasing gas prices and indifferent last owners who sent them to the junk & scrap yards for miscellaneous small reasons or simply no reason at all other than to just be rid of them …have not yet seen any Imperial Crown convertibles being taken into & destroyed for some smash crash trash demo derby action tho it would not surprise if it did happen …the beautifully done 1960’s Imperial Italian custom built Limousines saw very small production numbers in any of the years they were produced …the 1960’s Imperial LeBarons year to year generally saw about 200 above or below 2,000 produced per year with the 1964 LeBaron attaining high point of production @ 2,949 …the 1964 thru 1968 LeBarons had very distinctively styled & especially well crafted interiors with high quality materials that were superbly fitted, trimmed & detailed …1964 - 1966 Crown Coupes were also rare birds with a body style largely based on / shared with the LeBaron minus 2 rear doors …sadly Imperials were discovered & proven to be great demo derby cars and far too many Imperials over the decades since the 1960’s have been gutted of the fine quality / nicely detailed & trimmed interiors they came with & subjected to being serially driven in demo derby competition to be smashed & crashed & trashed and turned into piles of mauled & mangled scrap …it has been a long & relentless curse for those of us who like 1960’s Imperials to see them being relentlessly & ignorantly torn apart & destroyed with many Imperial specific body parts, exterior / interior components, numerous trims & Imperial regalia for both exterior & interior being mindlessly thrown away or worst left on the cars to be ruined & destroyed in / by demo derby wanton mayhem …just recently came across a 2017 demo derby YT vid where a 1968 Imperial LeBaron with a nice looking intact grille was taken & driven in a demo derby which soon saw that still nice 1968 Imperial grille being smashed & tore apart into broken pieces which fell into the mud to be driven over more until buried in the mud …that 1968 Imperial LeBaron was a 49 year old rare survivor in 2017 of the 1,852 LeBarons produced in 1968 …what was / is the point of taking that surely rare survivor Imperial LeBaron into a demo derby to wantonly destroy what will never again be fabricated or built by Detroit ever again? It was / is so ignorant / stupid to be doing so in 2017 when it has been done & shown Imperials are demo derby champs over & over & over since the 1960’s, ‘70’s, ‘80’s & 90’s … …enough was enough a long time ago…
Had a '68 4dr. hdtp. I like the '68 grill a lot better The whole car is quite tasteful, inside & out. Kind of architectural like in a Stately Washington DC Capital building kind of way. One of the very best cars I've ever owned. Killer quality and underrated.
In my youth a neighbor had a four door that left an impression on me. What a ride! I would occasionally get to be a passenger. The '67 and '68 styling is among my favorite mopars.
Hey Adam, thanks for the 67 Imperial review. As usual, good job pointing out it's features, highlighted with your inventful comments. I owned a 66 Imperial Crown 4 door hardtopin 66,it came standard with the 440 engine on Imperials for the first time. Mine was light silver over silver cloth seats trimmed with black leather. The 64 through 66 Imperials are my favorite model years. All the Chryslers From 1965 on, Chryslers show Elwood Engle's styling influences. Arguably the 64 - 66 model year really resemble his 61 Lincolns. He was very talented, as stated, the 66 Imperials had the Lincolinesk looks but with Engles creativity he found a way to inject some Chrysler's signature family DNA in them. When you look at any 60s era Chryslers, square in it's headlights they all look back at you with a bit innocence and modestly. The look is actually adorable, when you drive one, then you feel it's confidence. I know, that sounds crazy, but when you are a Gearhead all your life, you can see the cars personality, and for me, cars are more like a living entity than a machine. But maybe that's just me. I do belive we need Chrysler to be part of the American auto industry. Chrysler somehow is needed to keep GM and Ford in check. And to be honest I love the name "Chrysler" I like how the namesounds and looks and I love to say " the Chrysler Corporation. Even though that's not it's full name anymore as it's part of Stellantis. To me it will always be the Chrysler Corporation. In any event you brought us a beautiful 67 Imperial, and I really like that you did.
My Dad owned a beautiful 1966 Imperial Crown 4 door sedan from '66 to '70, dark blue with light blue leather interior. In my opinion the nicest car he ever bought. He had some Cadillacs before that , which were very nice, but the Imperial was just stunningly beautiful and rode like a dream. I was just a kid so never got to drive it unfortunately
I agree that it looks very nice. These were the kind of cars that I often overlooked when I was growing up in the sixties and seventies, but I now appreciate them very much. I don't know that I've ever seen a convertible version. The ragtop really enhances the bold styling, especially from the rear view. If I remember correctly, the hardtops had rather angular and severe roof lines which didn't appeal to me so much. It would be cool to see this car with the top up to see how its roof line compares with the hardtop.
My old boss used to have a 1967 Crown Coupe. It was a beautiful car. Power everything including the vent windows. These also had a rear passenger door handle on the passenger side so you could open the door from the rear seat. Also when you tilted the seat forward it would move all the way forward. And like the radio the HVAC controls were hidden as well.
That gold Imperial was gleamin' at this show. I didn't know the convertibles were so low in numbers. This year Imperial reminds me of the one Jay has and the red one used in a plane chase in classic movie Charlie Varrick.
A few years ago, I almost bought one of the few hundred 1966 Imperial convertibles ever built, but it had some bondo that I was uncomfortable with, so I passed on it. That was the last year of the full frame Imperials, which kind of also had a unitized body simultaneously, so it was an absolute tank of a car. The convertible tipped the scales at 5400 pounds, with it's giant X-frame. The dash boasted 100-year-old walnut trim. I believe it was far superior to Cadillac and would give Lincoln a run for its money (though I'd give my right arm for a '67 Lincoln four-door convertible).
That 'gold' [or whatever they called it] is beautiful. All 'big 4' had this same tone of gold and it's always been my absolute favorite color of all of them (the medium blues and maroons would be second favorites).
I bought a '67 from the second owner in 1995 and just sold it last year. It was a 4 door Crown though. I always thought it to be a very elegant design. Smooth and powerful. I would have kept it if it had been a convertible or even a coup.
German and Japanese car companies are focused on building a car in order to build a profit. GM, Ford, and [latest name here, but Chrysler] are interested in building a profit first and a car SECOND. And I am FROM Detroit Adam~
I think Chrysler marketed these cars not so much for making a profit, but as an advertisement to their cheaper cars. There was a slight similarity in overall styling theme. So, perhaps you could only afford a Newport, but looking at this car in the showroom made you think that one day ... As for the 440, it does really well with dual exhaust, which was not offered in 67, and rare option in 68, but many cars now have dual exhaust. A cam upgrade and holding the low gear manually will give you astonishing acceleration. Of course, you can cruise at speeds that the "muscle cars" of the era could only dream of.
Great to see a convertible on the channel.I don't think i have seen a convertible in your personal automotive portfolio.I presume they are much more expensive and the survival rate much lower.
Even though Imperial had its own wheelbase, body panels, etc., in 1967/68 (and appropriate equipment for the segment), the spare, clean styling all across the whole full-size Mopar lineup was a blow to Imperial prestige.
In this year the Lincoln Continental was still so much its own sole make, as Imperial had been since 1960, that when these Chrysler-based ones came out with just a stretched hood, they were obviously just that. The '60-66 Imperials were, like that '61-69 Lincoln, visibly unique. However, by 1966 the old Imperial was really long in the tooth, particularly with its very high cowl and that made it hard for women to use them and see well. The '67 New Yorker was a very nice car and if I were wanting Mopar in this model year and cost wasn't an object, I don't know which I'd have picked. The dashboard for the '67 Imperial with its wood worked better than the bronze-finished one in '68 IMHO.
I owned a 1967 Crown Coupe -some unique features were the Budd 4 piston disc front breaks - the steering column was made by Saginaw Steering and resembles very much the 1966 Cadillac steering column/ wheel - one weakness in the Imperial column was the nylon ears that held the turn signal stalk down would snap off - we in the Imperial Owners club often wondered if GM had made them that way on purpose. The other flaw was the Holley 4 bbl carburetor which was a nightmare - I replaced mine with an Edelbrock which was a stunning improvement. I used 100 octane low lead gas with some Marvel Mystery Oil thrown in - ran a test on a Sunday morning (5:00 o'clock) on Central Expressway in Dallas, TX with a cop friend of mine - it hit 140 mph before I chickened out.
Nice. And again not to sound like a broken record about the Charger I often mention, but in all fairness to this car and my current age now, this is sporty luxury that I would sooner own/drive around in given its beauty and engineered excellence. Love the wood grain and the shape of this car. A very Mopar shape yet elegant.
You're showing your age! I too, loved Tom's articles. He mentioned once that a gust of wind lifted his Imperial about 6" off the road while going about 65mph. That was a whole lotta car to lift off the ground!
These were the cars that cured Uncle Tom McCahill off his Imperial habit. He felt they were just tarted-up New Yorkers. Never got the opportunity to drive a '67 or '68, but I've always admired their looks and their quality. A good friend's parents had a 1966 Crown Coupe', which I got to drive a few times. Amazing automobile. Not quick off the line, but once up to speed you'd swear it was the 20th Century Limited.
Imperials of this era just were not viewed to have the luxury or class of Cadillac or the design features of Lincoln. You really had to be a MOPAR guy to lay down the cash for these plus they had weak resale and this was an era of frequent trade in’s
All 1966 and 1967 440 engines were what they called, "hand balanced" to make them super smooth, to compete with the Cadillac and Lincoln engines. This practice ended with the 1968 model year and the 440 engines then got the standard factory balancing that the rest of the engines got.
How most Imperials👑 were sold: Initially used by owner, his wife, or high powered sales manager, then sold as a Demonstrator (for the price of a New Yorker) once it hit 3000 miles.
I never understood why the Imperial never became wildly successful. I've always loved these cars. I was a little kid and teen when Imperial was its own brand. I remember asking my Dad sometime around 1968 why he didn't consider an Imperial. An honest question. His response was, "You better be grateful for our god damned Buicks." There was no room for debate.
I have a 1968 model Imperial (Crown 4 door pillarless) and much prefer the grille to the 67. Both cool cars regardless though and the tail lights are terrific.
This post Exner Imperial still looks fresh and clean 55 years later. The level of workmanship with metal and this case wood trim is long extinct in today's world of plastic clad vehicles.
Elwood Engel was hired away from Ford to replace Virgil Exner in the early 1960s and he transitioned Chrysler products to more conservative styling. He did a good job since the cars sold well. The Imperial was an exception but it never sold in large numbers as the narrator mentions. BTW Jay Leno has the hardtop version of this car and there is a video of it on UA-cam.
The '67-'68 Imperials were stunning cars. A coworker back in the early '80's have a '67 Imperial Crown Coupe. I always stopped to admire it when he brought it to work. Jay Leno has a pristine, low mileage Crown Coupe that he featured on Jay Leno's Garage.
All around handsome car. Especially the interior. I would've paid the extra couple hundred back then for that over a Cadillac. The application of real wood, and on the outer door handle too? Absolutely!
It's beautiful!!! Dr Ray Flemming drove a 67 Imperial convertible in the Columbo pilot, Prescription Murder!!! 👍👍🙂
Great episode!
Yes, a great pilot episode for the "Columbo" television series!!!😊👍
Back in the day a lot of people considered Chrysler to be kind of gaudy but now it's a work of art. Thanks for sharing Adam.
Gaudy as in flashy? I never knew that that's pretty interesting I wonder why ppl thought that
The way the dash flows into the door panels looks surprisingly modern. I know this was premium car, but Even if you take away the wood and some chrome it’s still a nice looking design. Hard the believe how cheap and cobbled together looking so many car interiors would get in just a few years
I always felt the Imperial was a cut above the Cadillac and Lincoln. Gave you luxury, plus great handling and performance for such a big car.
Though I am a Lincoln Mercury man, I have always appreciated these fine cars. They have very interesting detailing, high quality, and excellent attention to detail. And this is a beautiful example.
Love this car. Something different from a Caddy or Lincolnator.
Exquisite! Just beautiful. The sculpting, the fit and finish, just amazing. This is first Imperial I have ever seen that was a convertible. Just a fantastic looking car.
That car is freaking beautiful. Especially the rear end treatment. And how the armrests and controls meet the dash.
That's a beautiful car. Can't believe I've never seen one before. I usually see a few things I would change on any car. But this is just a perfect design inside and out
Didn’t Mr. Driesdale drive one on Beverley Hillbillies?
Back in the 1980's I found one in Tampa. It was a Crown Sedan. Turquoise w/ white top and turquoise fabric/leather interior. It was very high quality and was a great driver. The A/C was VERY effective in the Florida climate. I enjoyed the car for a few years until another collector "had to have it" and I moved it along. I never had a mechanical problem with it although the steering box needed tightening. But the car already had 200k or so miles on it when I got it and I was stunned because it had obviously been garaged and very well cared for. The original owner was a high ranking officer in the Air Force and had actually kept a "log" of all maintenance items since new! Anyway, no regrets. I am so glad I had the opportunity to enjoy this vintage Imperial.
I can attest, gotta have good air conditioning in Tampa or you're hating life.
@@richardmorris7063 I spent about ten years in Tampa. The HOT stagnant air, high humidity and terrifying daily thunderstorms were appalling! I had to work out in it in a black suit as I am a funeral service professional.
@@rileysteve it's bad for 8 months but the other 4 r nice.
Unfortunately I've never had the opportunity to see a '67 Imperial in Australia but by far it is my favorite Imperial model because of its understated elegance and presence.
I have and it was for sale. No figure, just make an offer.. it had no roof and sat outside in the weather. Exact same model
The father of a good friend of mine as a boy traded his 1965 Crown Coupe for this 1967, also a Crown Coupe. He preferred this one and particularly liked the fact that it now had the dual air. I rode in both many times and thought those 1967 bucket seats were interesting having that cloth in the pleats between the leather. That, and of course as a kid, I was fascinated by the radio behind that door!
"Bullitt" was, and is an iconic car chase scene. But in John Boorman's "Point Blank" what Lee Marvin does to and with one of the 577 Imperial convertibles produced for '67 (with Michael Strong as the hapless used car salesman riding shotgun) is something to behold. And this unibody ragtop was somehow rebuilt after all that carnage!
My parents had a 1967 Imperial when I was a kid, for 9 years. But it was the Sedan model. It had cloth seats and an AM radio. My dad always said it was the best car they ever had.
This era of Imperials and the early 60's Continentals and Thunderbirds are among my favorite US cars aestheticly.
Those rear fenders are huge, from the rear door gap to the rear bumper looks like a mile long. Thanks Adam.
I love to see the ‘60 Imperial in the back, my favorite car.
What a great car
Another great video! I have a 68 Imperial convertible and the comments are dead on -including comments RE ride. As Adam indicates, the ride was the stiffest among the three luxury brands -and that inspires confidence at highway speeds (all relative of course; these are massive cars after all).
The engine is possibly another standout. Reliable and great torque. It has a wonderful sound -almost as good as a hemi.
The El Dorado easily wins in the looks department. Still, the Imperial has presence if not prettiness.
Another thing about the 67/68 is that they are massively overbuilt. They have an overall excess solidity feel that started to disappear in other cars by the late 60s -even from other Chrysler cars.
Another stand out is that for some reason they are not very collectible despite the low numbers. Possibly it’s that so many of us who throw money away with the car hobby do it because we grew up with a car and want it again as adults. As imperial never sold in the numbers of Cadillac or Lincoln, not many have imperials in their past. Thanks for the great videos Adam.
Despite what the description says, starting in '67, the Imperial shared its body with the rest of the Chrysler line, unlike '57-'66 which had its own unique body. The quality was still top notch, but you can plainly see the similarities between it and a Newport or New Yorker. Quality plummeted dramatically with the introduction in '69 of the much less attractive fuselage models--bloated sides, high beltlines and slit windows.
@@jazzvictrola7104 Did you mean platform being shared versus body? The 67-68 share the platform with full-sized Chryslers (The only difference is that the k member upfront is a couple of inches longer for the Imperial). But the body panels in 67-68 are not shared (although the design theme is similar). In 69 that changed as Imperials shared panels -and increasing number of parts with other Chrysler products.
@@mcy1122 Oh no, I knew the body panels were not shared at all.
The 440 was a great street engine which powered a lot of Chrysler products both in standard and high performance configurations. It also was the engine of choice for a number of motor home applications due to its torque and pulling power. However its fuel economy like its contemporaries wasn't great. I guess if you have to ask how much it costs to run you can't afford it.
These Imperials and their owners always had an aura of exclusivity to them. This one is very handsome in gold.
You can’t underestimate the “palate cleansing” effect of the 1960 Corvair and 1961 Continental on American car design. I understand that Engel gets a lot of the credit, but I’d love to know more about what was happening in the design studios and executive offices that convinced the American manufacturers to scrap the swoopy, finny late ‘50s designs. I can’t think of any other period that resulted in such a radical change than what happened between, say, ‘57 and ‘65.
I think the original Ford Taurus ushered in the same kind of radical industry design change - going from the sharp, crisp styling lines that were common across most manufacturers to very rounded designs within the industry in only a few years! Of course, much of this change was driven by an engineering push for improved aerodynamics, while the change in the early sixties was likely more artistically driven……
I wish we could hear more backstory too. If you put the rear of the 67 Imp up against the rear of a 61 Lincoln, the whole theme is very similiar.
Well the "swoopy" tailfin designs were started by Harley Earl & Virgil Exner in the 50's then Engel replaced Exner and Bill Mitchell replaced Harley Earl. Engel gave us the square "slab side" look and Bill Mitchell gave us the smooth "coke bottle" look. Remember the marketing department's attitude backthen was to re-style their cars every year since the market was hyper competitive these changes happened fast and the progression towards more conservative styling just reflects the overall cost saving measures of modern mass production methods
Both of my parents were prominent physicians in Southern California in the 1960s, and I had an “Aunt,“ who was like Lucille Ball in “Mame“ and who was the founder of a large (and still extant) retail chain.
She and her Dentist husband would each get a new Imperial, whenever a new model year was released, both always the top of the line, his black and hers white, and completely loaded, and delivered to their home by the dealers with much fanfare.
She commented to my mom one time that she had “sold” so many Imperials for the dealer, that they paid just a percentage of the normal price for the cars.
The best part, is that she had grown up on a farm in like Iowa or somewhere like that, driving farm equipment, so she could drive this boat around like nobody’s business, and parallel park it, and back it into spaces, and do 3-point upturns, back up driveways and stuff like that…
Thanks for sharing a beautiful piece of mechanical art from my childhood.
Beautiful Imperial
The Imperials were outstanding automobiles!
Simply stunning
Circa 1970 dad was "car sitting" one of these for a friend for a week (also tuning it up) so we took it on some short trips. What a magnificent car! I loved the power options, the engine, the way it rode, everything. By the way, those white lights in the front are cornering lights, the turn signals are in the bumper. This car was one of the first I'd ever seen with cornering lights, it was fun to see them work.
That car has a real nice interior! That is such a difference in style from the earlier model parked next to it!
Looks like a car you'd see on the Beverly Hillbillies! Mr Drysdale woulda loved it!
For some reason, I always think of these are being banker's cars. Discrete styling only for those 'in the know'.
Didn’t Mr. Drysdale from “Beverly Hillbillies”, the Clampett’s Banker, drive an Imperial?
@@whammond511 That's right, they were always Chrysler Corp cars! 😆
Probably my favorite body styles. I'm shocked at the sales figures because I saw so many of these well into the 1980's left on the road. Great video.
For me - this was a masterpiece of design. Total class and engineering, thanks for all the info- very interesting Adam!
Absolutely love the Imperials, especially from 1964 until the end.
When I was a kid back then, my favorite cars of all were the previous generation of Imperials, the 1965's and '66's, but this generation also looks great.
Love the Imperials and that era of Chrysler. Had a 68 4 door sedan Newport and a 2 Door Coupe with the fast back. Great cars! Both 383 tremendous vehicles. The sedan would eat the coupe for breakfast!
My favorite chyrsler, the Imp.
The Imperial in the video is just gorgeous. I wasn’t familiar with these models but the lines are amazing. Wouldn’t mind driving one around.
Agree the car is gorgeous, but all those cargo shorts in the background are Ugly!
Smartly styled throughout.
Informative Adam. They did put effort into this car. It is a shame how Imperial got lost in the market. Some of the 1960's and 1970's Imperials had some interesting features and styling. They had intereresting themes. I again thank you for posting.
This is a nice car. Clean lines, and I love the great interior, but tastefully simple leather/vinyl seats that look so much better than some of the crazy designs found in other luxury cars. And, I'm sure I would enjoy the power and reasonable handling as well.
…nicely done walk around & with related informational commentary Adam👍this very well conserved / preserved / pristine / factory original in appearance 1967 Imperial Crown Convertible is a superb example of the rarest of 1960’s era Imperials …the Crown convertibles …not many Imperial Crown convertibles were produced from one model year to the next model year unlike mainstream corporate Detroit Big 3 car / $$$ making standards of the 1960’s …the last year for the 1960’s Imperial Crown convertibles produced by ChryCorp was the1968 model with only 474 being built that year …in comparison the all new for 1967 FWD Cadillac Eldorado had a 1st year production run of 17,930 …1960’s era Imperial Crown convertibles were always very rare and the passing decades have greatly reduced the number of now remaining survivors …1960’s era Imperial Crown convertibles in near or original unmolested condition that were well cared for & conserved with correct interiors matched to factory paint colors, numbers matching mechanicals & accessories in good working order like the 1967 example Adam showcased above are incredibly rare …these cars were for years used as daily drivers and if time, fate, wear & tear didn’t do them in likely it was increasing gas prices and indifferent last owners who sent them to the junk & scrap yards for miscellaneous small reasons or simply no reason at all other than to just be rid of them …have not yet seen any Imperial Crown convertibles being taken into & destroyed for some smash crash trash demo derby action tho it would not surprise if it did happen …the beautifully done 1960’s Imperial Italian custom built Limousines saw very small production numbers in any of the years they were produced …the 1960’s Imperial LeBarons year to year generally saw about 200 above or below 2,000 produced per year with the 1964 LeBaron attaining high point of production @ 2,949 …the 1964 thru 1968 LeBarons had very distinctively styled & especially well crafted interiors with high quality materials that were superbly fitted, trimmed & detailed …1964 - 1966 Crown Coupes were also rare birds with a body style largely based on / shared with the LeBaron minus 2 rear doors …sadly Imperials were discovered & proven to be great demo derby cars and far too many Imperials over the decades since the 1960’s have been gutted of the fine quality / nicely detailed & trimmed interiors they came with & subjected to being serially driven in demo derby competition to be smashed & crashed & trashed and turned into piles of mauled & mangled scrap …it has been a long & relentless curse for those of us who like 1960’s Imperials to see them being relentlessly & ignorantly torn apart & destroyed with many Imperial specific body parts, exterior / interior components, numerous trims & Imperial regalia for both exterior & interior being mindlessly thrown away or worst left on the cars to be ruined & destroyed in / by demo derby wanton mayhem …just recently came across a 2017 demo derby YT vid where a 1968 Imperial LeBaron with a nice looking intact grille was taken & driven in a demo derby which soon saw that still nice 1968 Imperial grille being smashed & tore apart into broken pieces which fell into the mud to be driven over more until buried in the mud …that 1968 Imperial LeBaron was a 49 year old rare survivor in 2017 of the 1,852 LeBarons produced in 1968 …what was / is the point of taking that surely rare survivor Imperial LeBaron into a demo derby to wantonly destroy what will never again be fabricated or built by Detroit ever again? It was / is so ignorant / stupid to be doing so in 2017 when it has been done & shown Imperials are demo derby champs over & over & over since the 1960’s, ‘70’s, ‘80’s & 90’s …
…enough was enough a long time ago…
…total on record 1967 FWD Cadillac Eldorado production was 17, 930 to update the comment I made above …was commenting on the go from memory 😉
Speedometer needle moves right and the gas gauge needle moves left but it’s worth it!😊
Thanks!
My favorite of all
Had a '68 4dr. hdtp. I like the '68 grill a lot better The whole car is quite tasteful, inside & out.
Kind of architectural like in a Stately Washington DC Capital building kind of way. One of the very best cars I've ever owned. Killer quality and underrated.
In my youth a neighbor had a four door that left an impression on me. What a ride! I would occasionally get to be a passenger. The '67 and '68 styling is among my favorite mopars.
Those Imperials are stunning.
Hey Adam, thanks for the 67 Imperial review. As usual, good job pointing out it's features, highlighted with your inventful comments. I owned a 66 Imperial Crown 4 door hardtopin 66,it came standard with the 440 engine on Imperials for the first time. Mine was light silver over silver cloth seats trimmed with black leather. The 64 through 66 Imperials are my favorite model years. All the Chryslers From 1965 on, Chryslers show Elwood Engle's styling influences. Arguably the 64 - 66 model year really resemble his 61 Lincolns. He was very talented, as stated, the 66 Imperials had the Lincolinesk looks but with Engles creativity he found a way to inject some Chrysler's signature family DNA in them. When you look at any 60s era Chryslers, square in it's headlights they all look back at you with a bit innocence and modestly. The look is actually adorable, when you drive one, then you feel it's confidence. I know, that sounds crazy, but when you are a Gearhead all your life, you can see the cars personality, and for me, cars are more like a living entity than a machine. But maybe that's just me. I do belive we need Chrysler to be part of the American auto industry. Chrysler somehow is needed to keep GM and Ford in check. And to be honest I love the name "Chrysler" I like how the namesounds and looks and I love to say " the Chrysler Corporation. Even though that's not it's full name anymore as it's part of Stellantis. To me it will always be the Chrysler Corporation. In any event you brought us a beautiful 67 Imperial, and I really like that you did.
My Dad owned a beautiful 1966 Imperial Crown 4 door sedan from '66 to '70, dark blue with light blue leather interior. In my opinion the nicest car he ever bought. He had some Cadillacs before that , which were very nice, but the Imperial was just stunningly beautiful and rode like a dream. I was just a kid so never got to drive it unfortunately
How Brett Reed rolls in the daytime when he's not in the Rolling Arsenal at night !!! 👀😎😂
The grille, with its multiple elements, strikes me as a work of art. So sad that low sales forced a cheaper, much less imaginative grille for '68.
These are Soo beautiful 1967-68.
I agree that it looks very nice. These were the kind of cars that I often overlooked when I was growing up in the sixties and seventies, but I now appreciate them very much. I don't know that I've ever seen a convertible version. The ragtop really enhances the bold styling, especially from the rear view. If I remember correctly, the hardtops had rather angular and severe roof lines which didn't appeal to me so much. It would be cool to see this car with the top up to see how its roof line compares with the hardtop.
My old boss used to have a 1967 Crown Coupe. It was a beautiful car. Power everything including the vent windows. These also had a rear passenger door handle on the passenger side so you could open the door from the rear seat. Also when you tilted the seat forward it would move all the way forward. And like the radio the HVAC controls were hidden as well.
Very Handsome car
Slab Side Imperial’s interiors were so much nicer than the later Fuselage generation.
This is the car I would want to cruise in a big parade somewhere.
That gold Imperial was gleamin' at this show. I didn't know the convertibles were so low in numbers. This year Imperial reminds me of the one Jay has and the red one used in a plane chase in classic movie Charlie Varrick.
Beautiful car! Thanks.
I think it's Gorgeous.
While I'm watching this video my eyes keep going to that awesome coupe next to it. wow.
Fantastic channel! I'm addicted. Thanks for posting. 👍
Very clean & understated design, like the 61 Conti, 64 Caddy,clean luxury understated elegance.
Looks just like a Continental…..beautiful as well. Great video Adam
Pretty car.
Gorgeous vehicle, the styling definitely speaks to me.
Wow! What a gorgeous car!
A few years ago, I almost bought one of the few hundred 1966 Imperial convertibles ever built, but it had some bondo that I was uncomfortable with, so I passed on it. That was the last year of the full frame Imperials, which kind of also had a unitized body simultaneously, so it was an absolute tank of a car. The convertible tipped the scales at 5400 pounds, with it's giant X-frame. The dash boasted 100-year-old walnut trim. I believe it was far superior to Cadillac and would give Lincoln a run for its money (though I'd give my right arm for a '67 Lincoln four-door convertible).
That 'gold' [or whatever they called it] is beautiful. All 'big 4' had this same tone of gold and it's always been my absolute favorite color of all of them (the medium blues and maroons would be second favorites).
That one is a beauty!! Looks like that left fender may have been repainted at one point in time.
I bought a '67 from the second owner in 1995 and just sold it last year. It was a 4 door Crown though. I always thought it to be a very elegant design. Smooth and powerful. I would have kept it if it had been a convertible or even a coup.
Such a beautiful car
German and Japanese car companies are focused on building a car in order to build a profit. GM, Ford, and [latest name here, but Chrysler] are interested in building a profit first and a car SECOND.
And I am FROM Detroit Adam~
Oh Adam such a beautiful car, my Uncle Bill had one of these as late as 1975, it was a 2 door Hard top, same colors! So nice, I'd love to own one!
The dashboard is beautiful.
I think Chrysler marketed these cars not so much for making a profit, but as an advertisement to their cheaper cars. There was a slight similarity in overall styling theme. So, perhaps you could only afford a Newport, but looking at this car in the showroom made you think that one day ... As for the 440, it does really well with dual exhaust, which was not offered in 67, and rare option in 68, but many cars now have dual exhaust. A cam upgrade and holding the low gear manually will give you astonishing acceleration. Of course, you can cruise at speeds that the "muscle cars" of the era could only dream of.
Good point. Probably a "halo" effect car.
It's like the Audi A8, of it's day. When you look at it's sales.
Great to see a convertible on the channel.I don't think i have seen a convertible in your personal automotive portfolio.I presume they are much more expensive and the survival rate much lower.
Even though Imperial had its own wheelbase, body panels, etc., in 1967/68 (and appropriate equipment for the segment), the spare, clean styling all across the whole full-size Mopar lineup was a blow to Imperial prestige.
In this year the Lincoln Continental was still so much its own sole make, as Imperial had been since 1960, that when these Chrysler-based ones came out with just a stretched hood, they were obviously just that. The '60-66 Imperials were, like that '61-69 Lincoln, visibly unique. However, by 1966 the old Imperial was really long in the tooth, particularly with its very high cowl and that made it hard for women to use them and see well. The '67 New Yorker was a very nice car and if I were wanting Mopar in this model year and cost wasn't an object, I don't know which I'd have picked. The dashboard for the '67 Imperial with its wood worked better than the bronze-finished one in '68 IMHO.
@@loveisall5520 Imperial became its own make in 1955, and the cowl and underpinnings stayed the same from 1957 through 1966.
@@OnkelPHMagee Yes, of course. My family owned several of those then.
My Dad had one of these ( hard top). Real nice car
I owned a 1967 Crown Coupe -some unique features were the Budd 4 piston disc front breaks - the steering column was made by Saginaw Steering and resembles very much the 1966 Cadillac steering column/ wheel - one weakness in the Imperial column was the nylon ears that held the turn signal stalk down would snap off - we in the Imperial Owners club often wondered if GM had made them that way on purpose. The other flaw was the Holley 4 bbl carburetor which was a nightmare - I replaced mine with an Edelbrock which was a stunning improvement. I used 100 octane low lead gas with some Marvel Mystery Oil thrown in - ran a test on a Sunday morning (5:00 o'clock) on Central Expressway in Dallas, TX with a cop friend of mine - it hit 140 mph before I chickened out.
That I don't doubt. It probably had a 2.76 rear... Loooong legs!
Nice. And again not to sound like a broken record about the Charger I often mention, but in all fairness to this car and my current age now, this is sporty luxury that I would sooner own/drive around in given its beauty and engineered excellence. Love the wood grain and the shape of this car. A very Mopar shape yet elegant.
As usual a fine post from you, Adam. Irrepressible auto reviewer Tom McCahill, long an Imperial fan, complained about this "taller, skinnier" design.
You're showing your age! I too, loved Tom's articles. He mentioned once that a gust of wind lifted his Imperial about 6" off the road while going about 65mph. That was a whole lotta car to lift off the ground!
These were the cars that cured Uncle Tom McCahill off his Imperial habit. He felt they were just tarted-up New Yorkers. Never got the opportunity to drive a '67 or '68, but I've always admired their looks and their quality. A good friend's parents had a 1966 Crown Coupe', which I got to drive a few times. Amazing automobile. Not quick off the line, but once up to speed you'd swear it was the 20th Century Limited.
All I see in those rear vertical bumper ends is the rear vertical bumper end theme on the 61 Lincoln, like in my avatar.
😊
I had a 68 burgundy coupe with matching interior
Goodday Adam,
Love it
Your number 1 Fan in Australia
Louis Kats from Melbourne Australia ☺ 👍 ❤
has some early 60s linc continental looks in the front!!!
Imperials of this era just were not viewed to have the luxury or class of Cadillac or the design features of Lincoln. You really had to be a MOPAR guy to lay down the cash for these plus they had weak resale and this was an era of frequent trade in’s
All 1966 and 1967 440 engines were what they called, "hand balanced" to make them super smooth, to compete with the Cadillac and Lincoln engines. This practice ended with the 1968 model year and the 440 engines then got the standard factory balancing that the rest of the engines got.
How most Imperials👑 were sold: Initially used by owner, his wife, or high powered sales manager, then sold as a Demonstrator (for the price of a New Yorker) once it hit 3000 miles.
That's a nice Chrysler
Wonderful vidéo again
I prefer European cars over American, but the ‘67 Imperial Crown Coupe is the one American classic I’d like to own.
I never understood why the Imperial never became wildly successful. I've always loved these cars. I was a little kid and teen when Imperial was its own brand. I remember asking my Dad sometime around 1968 why he didn't consider an Imperial. An honest question. His response was, "You better be grateful for our god damned Buicks." There was no room for debate.
Thank you for the video, where was this car show looks like they had some cool items
Fabulous.
Hard to get classier than that car.
Now it's time for you to find a '68 stock Road Runner 383/4spd car.
I have a 1968 model Imperial (Crown 4 door pillarless) and much prefer the grille to the 67. Both cool cars regardless though and the tail lights are terrific.