The stories of some coachbuilders date back to the horse and carriage days; Dietrich, Brewster, Fisher, Fleetwood, Brunn, Murphy, etc. As the horseless carriage came of age, these coachbuilders began their natural transition building carriages that were motorized. Most of these coachbuilders were independent, serving the needs of many emerging car manufacturers during the turn of the century.
Some began to build exclusively for specific manufacturers - like the Fisher coachbuilders merging with General Motors (Fleetwood became an exclusive coach builder for Cadillac). In the case of Le Baron, there was a period in time when they built custom bodies for customers who bought new Duesenbergs, Packards, Cadillacs, Stutzes, Locomobiles, Lincolns, etc. The coachbuilder began around 1920, and flurished until the beginning of WWII. In 1928, the
coachbuilder was sold to the Briggs Manufacturing Company, and in 1953 Briggs was acquired by Chrysler. As a result, the Le Baron name was given to the top of the line Imperials from 1957 forward. (Just as the Fleetwood name was given to the top of the line Cadillacs)
Chris Middlebrook
1962 Custom Southampton
--- On Tue 06/06, Christopher H < imperial67@xxxxxxxxxxxxx > wrote:
From: Christopher H [mailto: imperial67@xxxxxxxxxxxxx]
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Tue, 6 Jun 2006 09:13:56 -0700 (GMT-07:00)
Subject: Re: IML: odd LeBaron/branding question
It's called mining your own heritage for commercial gain. Over the years Chrysler has been good at recycling badges and car names. When the LeBaron debuted, both the name and the former Imperial badge were "available."
Now what possessed them to
revive the tarnished "Aspen" name for the new Chrysler version of the Dodge Durango escapes me, but sometimes it's easier to revive an old trademark than come up with and register an original one. Witness the five different uses of the Duster name (including "Trail Duster," which was the Plymouth version of the semirecycled "Ramcharger") over the years and, while I'm at it, the five uses of Charger (including the aformentioned SUV and the 225 Slant Six in the early 1960s), as well as numerous others (Dart, Lancer, St Regis).
That said, compact LeBarons (though we'd consider them midsize or even large cars today) were not Imperials (though they are handsome cars and were very successful). To distinguish the '90 Imperial from the recent LeBarons, they made the eagle more elaborate and added the gold wreath, which to me made it look like a Cadillac logo...
Oh, well.
Chris in LA
-----Original Message-----
>From: Nat Hall
>Sent: Jun 5, 2006 10:33 PM
>To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>Subject: IML: odd LeBaron/branding question
>
>This one has bugged me for a long time, but I've got to ask.
>
>The 1977-1981 LeBarons retain the Imperial "wings" badge on the taillights,
>cornering lights, some even have the Imperial hood ornament. Before I
>became more knowledgable on Imperials, I actually always thought these
>*were* Imperials. (When the LeBaron became a K-car in 1982 or 1983 this
>disappeared.)
>
>So what's the explanation for this? I thought the wings badge was an
>exclusive indication of an Imperial. Are these supposed to be Imperials in
>essence (or something) despite the fact the Imperial line had been
>discontinued during this time? I've never seen this mentioned or even
>acknowledged anywhere in Imperial texts or on our website.
>
>Maybe I just missed
something? :)
>
>
>-------------------
>Nat Hall
>1982 Imperial Coupe
>1987 Chrysler New Yorker
>http://newyorker.digital-forever.com
>-------------------
>
>
>
>
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