IML: More 58 semantics and, oh, and Southampton is NOT a trim level

["Hugh & Therese" <hugtrees@xxxxxxxx>]

One must, one must, delve even deeper into Imperial semantics to get a 
picture of what at a glorious muddle it was back then, in the late 50s.

Adding to the complexity, for example, there were four body styles, not 
including the limousine, which, of course, was also called Crown.  In fact 
most people do not have Crown Imperials at all, they have Imperial Crowns, 
as the placement of the word denotes whether or not the car had taken a trip 
to Italy to be lengthened.

There was the coupe, the sedan, the convertible and the hardtop.  Of these 
only the hardtop had an official name for the style, which was Southampton. 
Naturally, MOPAR being MOPAR, you could have a two door Southampton or a 
four door Southampton.  All coupes were Southamptons, regardless, as stated, 
of the trim level.  Four door Imperials could either be sedans or 
Southamptons.
The sedan had full frame door windows and a full "B" pillar, and a third 
window on each side at the "C" pillar.  The Southampton had frameless 
windows and a truncated "B" pillar, no third window as the "C" pillar was 
holding up the roof and providing a great deal of structural integrity. 
This was ably assisted by a honking great "X" member in the chassis, a 
feature the four Southampton shares with the convertible.

So, you have the same word meaning different things depending on its 
position, and made up names for just one type of body style, even though a 
perfectly good descriptor already existed.  At the point where we came in, 
though, you'll notice the absence of the word "Stripper" in the 
nomenclature.

Hugh 




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