Hi All:
A big round of applause to Mark Jefferson and his
successful campaign for distinct Imperial class status
at Carlisle. To my mind, this is one of the most
important "PR" efforts we can undertake to more firmly
establish the Imperial legacy within the Mopar
hobbyist community.
There's been much discussion lately about the lack of
knowledge about Imperials, even among other Mopar
collectors. Many can't even recognize Imperials when
they see them, so when they're spread out all over the
field, they feel like there's only a couple there!
As "Imperialists," we're truly rare birds in the
antique car hobby. It has always pleased
me that, at a 'general-make' antique car meet, an
Imperial usually stands apart from the lines of
Cadillacs, Lincolns, T-birds and Buicks - let alone
Mustangs and 57 Chevy's. As much as it has always
amazed me, the vast majority of collectors would much
prefer to be part of a line of identical, highly-
collected cars, than to be perceived as an 'orphan'.
By pushing to get the folks at the Carlisle show to
recognize the Imperial as a distinct category, I think
Mark has really done a great service to our
beloved 'steel-sleds'. Now, other Mopar hobbyists
will see that there IS a solid, growing core of
supporters and enthusiasts who are interested in
Mopar's luxury endeavors, in addition to the legion of
muscle-car fans. It's this type of visibility that
can make parts suppliers reconsider, and increase the
availability of reproduction lenses, fabrics, dash
pads and the like. It can only help our efforts to
preserve these great cars!
So... Three cheers for Mark Jefferson! Great job.
It's great to be back in the IML, and I enjoyed
meeting everybody at Carlisle! Hopefully I'll be back
behind the wheel of a '60 Crown 2dr or LeBaron
Southampton by next year (anybody selling a VG/#2 -
drop me an email at impsrule@xxxxxxxxxxx ) :-)
Jim Byers
Washington, DC
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