This Imperial is one beautiful car. The panelesant lighting is a sight to behold. As a child my parents owned a 1962 Chrysler Newport which had the famous Astradome dash. Even for my young age I recognized how different and unique the lighting was in Chrysler cars vs the competition. On a note. The Imperial shown driving around was a pre production car not meant for sale. If you look closely you will notice that the drivers slide is a 4 door sedan, and the passenger side is a 4 door hardtop. This process was utilized because the factory could save on design cost. One car to do two different things. If you compare a 1960 Imperial to a 1970 Imperial you can see the dramatic change in quality. Just the use of cheap plastics in the 70 model makes the 60 model Imperial look like a hand crafted masterpiece.
WOW!!!! you are correct, I never noticed that before in the film....it's definitely pre-production, it's a four door sedan and a four door hardtop!!! wow!!!!
My Grandpa drove a silver-green `60 New Yorker 4dr. hardtop with that panelescent lighting of the guages. It looked so advanced at night with the headlamps on! He even had the toilet seat on the deck lid--quite in vogue then. It was a beautiful car, loaded with everything, and rode like a cloud.
I saw one of these when I was a teen and I had never seen gauges that big before of the square steering wheel. Blew me away and made me want to learn about old cars.
@@OsbornTramain The free-standing headlights were Imperial's "party piece" for a few years, and they are quite striking. I like the bold "in your face" look of the gigantic grillework on the '60. The 61-63 models are more artistic and delicate (Exner was an artistic genius), but the '60 would intimidate lesser automobiles, i.e., most of them!
Loved, the "smiling Imperial". America's most CAREFULLY built automobile. (Slowest assembly line) As Rolls Royce would say about horsepowe - sufficient.
WOW!!! Love the black and the midnight blue ones... American elegance at it's best!! No WONDER Jackie Kennedy used one for her personal limousine during her years at the White House, they're incredible chic and classy, just like her!
Now I know where Austin got its inspiration for the "Quartic steering wheel" in its 1973 Allegro. Unfortunately that one was ridiculed! Actually, the entire car was a bit of a joke really.
It wasn't only cool to look at, but really was practical. I owned a 1961, which had the same design. It was very comfortable, and it was big enough that you could rest your elbow on the window frame or armrest and still hold on to the wheel.
I recall the print ads for these. If you were a " professional" they offered to bring a new Imperial directly to your home and leave it with you to test drive at your leisure! Imagine that today.
Although the Imperial, Lincoln and Cadillac were all large, heavy cars, somehow the Imperial looked the least massive and most graceful of the three. Of course that wasn't saying much considering all three weighed about 5,000 pounds. My grandparents owned a 1960 Imperial and I remember it as a huge and massive car. The Imperial was a car I always associated with elderly people. I remember that my grandmother, who weighed about 90 pounds soaking wet, could barely see over the dashboard (my Grandfather never drove, I don't think he ever learned how). A couple of things I especially remember about that car were the push-button transmission and the weird square steering wheel. Apparently Chrysler expected those features to become popular, but they never did. Surprisingly, the only other cars I ever saw with push-button transmissions were Renaults.
Chrysler wasn't the only company that used push button Transmission. Some Fords, Packard and AMC all had Push Button, Chrysler and AMC had it the longest......and now today in 2022, my new Corvette has push button transmission. It did finally catch on....AMC and Chrysler were visionaries.
Always thought the 1960 front to be so much more attractive than the 61-63's. A 1960 front clip on a finless 1963 would have been attractive and modern for the early 60's
I owned and drove a 61 Imperial LeBaron for about 10 years. Pretty much the same car, only with a new grille design. That design was an dramatic improvement. The 60 is a nice looking car except for the front, which is butt ugly. The new system of panel lighting they talk about at 1:50 (Panelescent?) really was something. It really was beautiful. Kind of a cool blue glow. It was worth driving at night just to see it. You felt like you were in a rocket ship.
Though Chrysler was the first to develop push button gear selectors Ford Motor Co. aped the idea for their 1957 & '58 Mercury and Edsel cars but not Ford cars. Too many problems caused a return to the PRNDL set up in 1959. Chryslers had a much better transmission, that would last longer if you went through neutral when shifting forward to reverse and vice versa
The quality of the appointments in these cars is staggering. I do have to wonder why the LeBaron had its color selection reduced to 12 while the lesser models had 15.
Such an interesting look. Bridging the 50s/60s with the front grille being flush and the rear bumper having lights built in while still having the outrageous fins and taillights. Can't say I'm a fan of the intrusive watermarks over the entirety of the video.
Sorry you don't like the water marks......if you don't want to see the watermarks, there are other channels.....with this types of videos you can go too.........
The 60 Le Baron is my favorite. 59 had a 54 Chev grill graphed on and the 61 had the cartoon fins. No disrespect to the other cars mentioned, just a personal pref.. Beginning in 1955 with the Forward Look, this whole design ideology culminated in the halo of the 1960 Imperial Le Baron South Hampton.
Although you think the 60 was the culmination, they only sold 9 more cars than they did in 1959, 17,710 vs 17,719. The D body frame and under pining continued on thru 1966, so not sure why you think it culminated in 1960? Over 23 thousand were produced in 1964 with Elwood Engel's styling changes adjustment on Exner's on basic 1957 Platform.
@@OsbornTramain Hi for me the 60 was a culmination. Pre 60 were designs leading up to the 60. Post 60 again for me, was heavily influenced by Lincoln design (yes the designer, we know). Imperials lost that unique design individuality. Then in 1969 Imperial stood shoulders high above the competition, The stunning Cadillac and Lincoln. Always loved your vids, these are just my opinions. Just subscribed. Kind Regards
@@OsbornTramain …on certain iconic models, yes, I agree, but somehow on this one not quite as successful. The ‘59 Caddy is a wonderful example of fins working exceptionally well, but on the Imperial model covered in your video, there are more ‘modern’ lines clashing with the fins in my eyes….Then along came that marvellous 1961 Lincoln which completely changed the ballpark…
@@OrnumCR its funny how people view things differently. My favorite car of all time is a 1960 Imperial Crown 2 door Souhamton. Personally, I find the fins to be the icing on the cake. While I like the 1961 Continental for its cultural and historical significance, I would have bought a 1961 Imperial for how outlandishly flamboyant it is. The continental (or other subsequent Elwood Engel cars of the 60s such as the 64 Imperial) just feel too plain and simplistic. The 1960 Imperial is just the right amount of flamboyance and stateley elegance.
I love the exterior styling of the 1960 model, especially the LeBaron. The dashboard however disappointed me. It doesn't seem to fit the rest of the car.
Hi Osborn it´s incredible . Althought i wasn´t born at that 1960 , let me tell you the facts : what North America probably calls for stylish, for the rest of the globe this car design is scaring . I guess it´s just a matter of optical lag depending from the latitude these behemoths are perceived .
Aren't we all about accepting other cultures? We American's liked big cars....that was then, this is now. Being shoved and crammed into a little car where I'm not comfortable is scary to me. I was in South America this week in a tiny car and frankly scared to death that I would die because it was so small. When the driver opened the door, I flew out.....
Agree with you ain´t travelling secure in the cramped fashionnable tiny cars like Mini, Fiat Cinquecento or Smart ForTwo . Anyway if you are driving the car, you do know what are the capabilities of the engine and transmission. Mostly passengers (me too) feel fear when a taxidriver crosses yellow near the red light, no matter the size of the vehicle . What i´ve been really pointing at , is this : nowadays average size of best selling cars all over the world fits the range near Ford Focus / Chevy Cruze , even in the USA . Here the discussion, with all my respects, is about the obsolete style of this Chrysler Imperial 0f 1960 . By the way the traditional US industry of the sixties brought very beautiful designs which became perennial beauties and got a global esteem, designs who remained clean and well penned forever, let´s say a 1965 AMC Abassador 990 a 1963 Ford Galaxie or even 1963 Chevy Impala. . These three are stylsih for sure, having full size with a reasonable and graceful shape. But this Chrysler Imperial 1960 is such an oddity as it once was the PT Cruiser ! Thanks very much for givin´me the chance to express my true fairest thoughts .
Sawashi32 thanks for your echo . I would rather say this car is at least weird . You can still rescue stylish U.S. cars of the sixties that were admired worldwide and i´m sure the AMC Rambler Ambassador 990 was one of the best examples : its design is timeless .
Hey O´Tramain ain´t gonna hurt your patriotism, incidentally reading the cool interesting website Curbside Classic (made in the USA) they titled this Chrysler Imperial : " The Frankestein of all American cars"
My grandfather had one. It was like riding in your living room on the couch. Super smooth !!
This Imperial is one beautiful car. The panelesant lighting is a sight to behold. As a child my parents owned a 1962 Chrysler Newport which had the famous Astradome dash. Even for my young age I recognized how different and unique the lighting was in Chrysler cars vs the competition. On a note. The Imperial shown driving around was a pre production car not meant for sale. If you look closely you will notice that the drivers slide is a 4 door sedan, and the passenger side is a 4 door hardtop. This process was utilized because the factory could save on design cost. One car to do two different things. If you compare a 1960 Imperial to a 1970 Imperial you can see the dramatic change in quality. Just the use of cheap plastics in the 70 model makes the 60 model Imperial look like a hand crafted masterpiece.
WOW!!!! you are correct, I never noticed that before in the film....it's definitely pre-production, it's a four door sedan and a four door hardtop!!! wow!!!!
My Grandpa drove a silver-green `60 New Yorker 4dr. hardtop with that panelescent lighting of the guages. It looked so advanced at night with the headlamps on! He even had the toilet seat on the deck lid--quite in vogue then. It was a beautiful car, loaded with everything, and rode like a cloud.
@@OsbornTramain There was a 1960 New Yorker 4-door made this way as well. I've only seen it in the film strip.
The 1960 model was the prettiest of Virgil Exner’s 1957-1963 Forward Look Imperials.
so very true
I agree. Everything that was wrong with the 1957 he fixed in 1960.
61! I may be a little biased lol.
I agree. And nicest " front end of that era. 57-63. I read Jackie Kennedy had a 1960 Imperial limo. she Allegedly loved
I remember watching JFK’s funeral procession on TV and seeing the 1960 Imperial limo.
I saw one of these when I was a teen and I had never seen gauges that big before of the square steering wheel. Blew me away and made me want to learn about old cars.
If I could choose any Chrysler product to put in my garage, this would be the one. Bold, elegant, well built, beautiful.
Yeah,...that lighted dash, for 1960, was quite amazing!
Totalmente de acuerdo 💯
The most beautiful of the 1960's Chrysler products. Thanks for your efforts in restoring this great little film!
I'm partial to the 61 thru 63 Imperial, free standing headlamps! That's the neo classic style at it's best by Exner
@@OsbornTramain The free-standing headlights were Imperial's "party piece" for a few years, and they are quite striking. I like the bold "in your face" look of the gigantic grillework on the '60. The 61-63 models are more artistic and delicate (Exner was an artistic genius), but the '60 would intimidate lesser automobiles, i.e., most of them!
Loved, the "smiling Imperial".
America's most CAREFULLY built automobile.
(Slowest assembly line)
As Rolls Royce would say about horsepowe - sufficient.
WOW!!! Love the black and the midnight blue ones... American elegance at it's best!! No WONDER Jackie Kennedy used one for her personal limousine during her years at the White House, they're incredible chic and classy, just like her!
I think the square shape steering wheel is fantastic design.
Now I know where Austin got its inspiration for the "Quartic steering wheel" in its 1973 Allegro. Unfortunately that one was ridiculed!
Actually, the entire car was a bit of a joke really.
It wasn't only cool to look at, but really was practical. I owned a 1961, which had the same design. It was very comfortable, and it was big enough that you could rest your elbow on the window frame or armrest and still hold on to the wheel.
I recall the print ads for these. If you were a " professional" they offered to bring a new Imperial directly to your home and leave it with you to test drive at your leisure! Imagine that today.
"We have the Imperial and we're in last place? Step on it !" Mad Mad Mad World
All Imperial's made 1968 and older are beautiful unique and wonderfully made.
Jackie Kennedy's favorite automobile.
Although the Imperial, Lincoln and Cadillac were all large, heavy cars, somehow the Imperial looked the least massive and most graceful of the three. Of course that wasn't saying much considering all three weighed about 5,000 pounds. My grandparents owned a 1960 Imperial and I remember it as a huge and massive car. The Imperial was a car I always associated with elderly people. I remember that my grandmother, who weighed about 90 pounds soaking wet, could barely see over the dashboard (my Grandfather never drove, I don't think he ever learned how). A couple of things I especially remember about that car were the push-button transmission and the weird square steering wheel. Apparently Chrysler expected those features to become popular, but they never did. Surprisingly, the only other cars I ever saw with push-button transmissions were Renaults.
Chrysler wasn't the only company that used push button Transmission. Some Fords, Packard and AMC all had Push Button, Chrysler and AMC had it the longest......and now today in 2022, my new Corvette has push button transmission. It did finally catch on....AMC and Chrysler were visionaries.
57 58 mercury had them too.
Imperials were beautiful cars ❤...sad to see them disappear in '75...back in 1960, the Imperial would have been my favorite...😊
It did make a brief comeback in 1981 thru 1983. I owned one and they were amazing in the quality.
Always thought the 1960 front to be so much more attractive than the 61-63's. A 1960 front clip on a finless 1963 would have been attractive and modern for the early 60's
I owned and drove a 61 Imperial LeBaron for about 10 years. Pretty much the same car, only with a new grille design. That design was an dramatic improvement. The 60 is a nice looking car except for the front, which is butt ugly. The new system of panel lighting they talk about at 1:50 (Panelescent?) really was something. It really was beautiful. Kind of a cool blue glow. It was worth driving at night just to see it. You felt like you were in a rocket ship.
An Incredibly Beauuuutiful Car!!❤️
What a beautiful car! I´m really impressed by the cool transmission buttons, I have never seen such thin before!
Though Chrysler was the first to develop push button gear selectors Ford Motor Co. aped the idea for their 1957 & '58 Mercury and Edsel cars but not Ford cars. Too many problems caused a return to the PRNDL set up in 1959. Chryslers had a much better transmission, that would last longer if you went through neutral when shifting forward to reverse and vice versa
Those were the days ! 🇺🇸👍
Quite a car, just wish they would have been a little more generous with the taillights.
dream car :)
The quality of the appointments in these cars is staggering. I do have to wonder why the LeBaron had its color selection reduced to 12 while the lesser models had 15.
=elegance in motion=
I wish Chrysler built that Imperial concept from around 2006. Too bad it never left concept form.
Such an interesting look. Bridging the 50s/60s with the front grille being flush and the rear bumper having lights built in while still having the outrageous fins and taillights.
Can't say I'm a fan of the intrusive watermarks over the entirety of the video.
Sorry you don't like the water marks......if you don't want to see the watermarks, there are other channels.....with this types of videos you can go too.........
The 60 Le Baron is my favorite. 59 had a 54 Chev grill graphed on and the 61 had the cartoon fins. No disrespect to the other cars mentioned, just a personal pref.. Beginning in 1955 with the Forward Look, this whole design ideology culminated in the halo of the 1960 Imperial Le Baron South Hampton.
Although you think the 60 was the culmination, they only sold 9 more cars than they did in 1959, 17,710 vs 17,719. The D body frame and under pining continued on thru 1966, so not sure why you think it culminated in 1960? Over 23 thousand were produced in 1964 with Elwood Engel's styling changes adjustment on Exner's on basic 1957 Platform.
@@OsbornTramain Hi for me the 60 was a culmination. Pre 60 were designs leading up to the 60. Post 60 again for me, was heavily influenced by Lincoln design (yes the designer, we know). Imperials lost that unique design individuality. Then in 1969 Imperial stood shoulders high above the competition, The stunning Cadillac and Lincoln. Always loved your vids, these are just my opinions. Just subscribed. Kind Regards
j'aime beaucoup le produit Chrysler de Marc
Is it just me, or does this film have a lysergic acid diethylamide tinge to it?
Octuber 4th, 1959
It’s amazing how those rear quarter fins date an otherwise excellent and very sharp design.
A lot of people including me think that the fins dating the car is a good thing. I like fins
@@OsbornTramain …on certain iconic models, yes, I agree, but somehow on this one not quite as successful. The ‘59 Caddy is a wonderful example of fins working exceptionally well, but on the Imperial model covered in your video, there are more ‘modern’ lines clashing with the fins in my eyes….Then along came that marvellous 1961 Lincoln which completely changed the ballpark…
@@OrnumCR its funny how people view things differently. My favorite car of all time is a 1960 Imperial Crown 2 door Souhamton. Personally, I find the fins to be the icing on the cake. While I like the 1961 Continental for its cultural and historical significance, I would have bought a 1961 Imperial for how outlandishly flamboyant it is. The continental (or other subsequent Elwood Engel cars of the 60s such as the 64 Imperial) just feel too plain and simplistic. The 1960 Imperial is just the right amount of flamboyance and stateley elegance.
What a car!
I love the exterior styling of the 1960 model, especially the LeBaron. The dashboard however disappointed me. It doesn't seem to fit the rest of the car.
The Dash had Electroluminescence Lighting, the future of the industry.....That alone is amazing!
Hi Osborn it´s incredible . Althought i wasn´t born at that 1960 , let me tell you the facts :
what North America probably calls for stylish, for the rest of the globe this car design is scaring . I guess it´s just a matter of optical lag depending from the latitude these behemoths are perceived .
Aren't we all about accepting other cultures? We American's liked big cars....that was then, this is now. Being shoved and crammed into a little car where I'm not comfortable is scary to me. I was in South America this week in a tiny car and frankly scared to death that I would die because it was so small. When the driver opened the door, I flew out.....
Agree with you ain´t travelling secure in the cramped fashionnable tiny cars like Mini, Fiat Cinquecento or Smart ForTwo . Anyway if you are driving the car, you do know what are the capabilities of the engine and transmission. Mostly passengers (me too) feel fear when a taxidriver crosses yellow near the red light, no matter the size of the vehicle . What i´ve been really pointing at , is this : nowadays average size of best selling cars all over the world fits the range near Ford Focus / Chevy Cruze , even in the USA . Here the discussion, with all my respects, is about the obsolete style of this Chrysler Imperial 0f 1960 . By the way the traditional US industry of the sixties brought very beautiful designs which became perennial beauties and got a global esteem, designs who remained clean and well penned forever, let´s say a 1965 AMC Abassador 990
a 1963 Ford Galaxie or even 1963 Chevy Impala. . These three are stylsih for sure, having full size with a reasonable and graceful shape. But this Chrysler Imperial 1960 is such an oddity as it once was the PT Cruiser ! Thanks very much for givin´me the chance to express my true fairest thoughts .
Daniel Vergara I for one personally find this car to be beautiful but I guess that's because I'm an American according to the logic expressed here.
Sawashi32 thanks for your echo . I would rather say this car is at least weird . You can still rescue stylish U.S. cars of the sixties that were admired worldwide and i´m sure the AMC Rambler Ambassador 990 was one of the best examples : its design is timeless .
Hey O´Tramain ain´t gonna hurt your patriotism, incidentally reading the cool interesting website Curbside Classic (made in the USA) they titled this Chrysler Imperial : " The Frankestein of all American cars"
Did the Cleaver's on Leave it to Beaver drive out of the driveway in a Imperial?
no no no...never....they were a middle income family, they had Ford Fairlane's and Plymouth Fury's......that's it.
No, sir.
The car they backed out of the driveway in was a 1962 Plymouth Fury
No. Ward ALWAYS drove that year's brand-new Plymouth Fury 4dr. hardtops.
@@tracy4good show ran `57-`63. He had a new one very season.
I wonder what car today would be equal?
If the LeBaron were to be released today, I believe it would've contested with the Mercedes S class or Maybach.
@@zacharygerhart8504 Thanks
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Talk about your hard sell.
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