Re: IML: The Imperials keep getting printed...

["Bill Watson" <wwatson5@xxxxxxxxx>]

The 1974-78 Chryslers were anything but a failure. As you say, except for
1978, they built over a 100,000 each year :

1974 - 117,373
1975 - 101,444
1976 - 101,691
1977 - 157,300
1978 - 83,514

1974 production was down by 49% from 1973 (a record year - 234,229), but
that was due to the oil crisis.  Both the Olds 98 and Buick Electra were
down 50%   But what hurt Chrysler in 1978 was the fact the competition,
Buick, Oldsmobile and Mercury, had all downsized.  Chrysler's new smaller R
body appeared in 1979 and production bounced back to 132,936 for the model
year (and then nosedived).

By the way, the big 'losers' in Mopars big car world were the Plymouth and
Dodge :
1973 :  P - 280,330 ;  D - 153,056
1974 :  P - 130,502 ;  D - 78,324
1975 :  P - 91,158 ;  D - 65,039
1976 :  P - 50,757 ;  D - 39,967
1977 :  P - 55,756 ;  D - 56,242
(And now you know why some Dodge C body lovers shed a few tears when they
watch 'The Blues Birthers')

A big part of  Chrysler's sales problem back then was the fact no one knew
if Chrysler was going to still be in business thirty days in the future.  No
one wants to own an orphan, and just the thought of a car company going
under has killed off car companies .  Kaiser was dealing with stories it was
shutting down in the early 1950's.  Rumours started flying about DeSoto
coming to an end in late 1958, and sales took a nosedive.   Less than three
years later, right about the time DeSoto was laid to rest, the runour mill
had Studebaker closing its doors.   Move ahead three years and Studebaker
was shutting down the South Bend operation.    Rumours of Imperial's demise
began appearing in the late 1960's.  Plymouth would suffer a similar,
although more prolonged, fate a couple of decades later.

Chrysler Corporation built 1,124,000 cars for the American market in 1978.
Then came the cash crunch and the bailouts.  Production for the Ameican
market fell to 943,182 in 1979 and  638,997 for 1980.   Chrysler car
production for the American market would not break above 1,000,000 units
again until 1985.  Few people appreciate the miracle Lee Iaccoca pulled off
in the early 1980's.

Bill
Vancouver, BC



On 6/1/06 6:48 PM, A. Foster at monkeypuzzle1@xxxxxxx wrote:

> Chris;
>  That is one issue of that magazine that I need to get myself as I happen
to
> own a lesser Chrysler of that era. One question that I am wondering about
is
> did they actually use thinner sheet metal and glass on the 77 and 78 cars
as
> opposed to the 74 to 76 cars? I have been looking over a 78 NYB for parts
> and it seems to use the same glass as my 75' Newport.
>   What I found extraordinary is how may of these final C body Chryslers
they
> sold. It looks like they consistantly sold over 100,000 cars a year from
> 1974-77, it's true that they were outsold by the Cordoba but they were
> hardly a failure. I am guessing that the downward spiral in 1978-79 had
more
> to do with the bad name that the electronic lean burn system, the
> Aspen/Volare, and other poor quality problems gave them then the large
cars
> that they selling. 1978 was the year that the CAFE standards kicked in,
and
> there were no full sized big block cars available for 79 so I don't think
> that the large cars can shoulder all of the blame.
> Best Regards
> Arran Foster
> 1954 Imperial Newport
> Needing A Left side tailight bezel and other trim parts
> 1975 Chrysler Newport
> Needs the heater repaired.
>
>
>



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