Re: IML: 1964 Imperial Lebaron Limousine, the Kennedy's vs. 1965 Lincoln : TOWN BROUGHAM PROTOTYPE CONCEPT FORMAL LIMO

[Christopher H <imperial67@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hi Bill and other Imperial-vs-Lincoln and Engel enthusiasts like myself,

While I know Mrs Kennedy seemed to enjoy her Imperial, the official
presidental fleet had been Lincolns for years and remained so until the
Reagan-era switchover to Cadillacs. I don't know we can be so sure this is
why the proposal was declined, as the Kennedys did not reject the other
Lincolns in the fleet, merely spent their own money on the Imperial.

Chrysler officially had nothing to do with the attempted resurrection of
Deusenberg in the 1960s. Former Chrysler stylist Virgil Exner had long since
departed by the time he penned this new car, and the company was the
independent effort of Fritz ("Fred") Duesenberg, son of August and nephew of
Fred Duesenberg (the original brothers). The new model was to use an
Imperial's 440, and the prototype is apparently based on an Imperial, but
the production car would not be. In other close connection, however, Ghia
would build the bodies.

I agree the Comet looks like a (Valiant) Barracuda. Not sure what a BMW C-6
is. Do you mean a 6-series, from 1980-ish?

There's actually other stuff that puzzles me about this "entirely original"
auction car (NOTE: There is no further Imperial content in my posting, so
please reply to the Salon or offlist).

First, the same sentence says the paint and chrome have been redone. Well,
then why not detail the rusty engine and re-do the cracked leather front
seat and ratty floor carpet...

Second, the opera light on the B-pillar changes design between the auto show
photos and the later photos (actually, it changes once before, in the 3-car
shot). Not saying it's incorrect, but a curious running detail change. The
on in the 1964 show pictures looks a bit clunky, actually!

If the car was updated to 1965 trim (unfortunate, in my opinion, as the '64
nose is much more distinctively Lincoln and Engel) and at the same time
repainted by Ford to a darker color, why was the car repainted in the 1964
color? (Or is this is the 1965 color? Hard to tell, since I doubt it's as
vibrant as it appears in the underhood shots.) But where are the pinstripes
visible in the one auto-show turntable shot of the 1965 version, especially
near the parking and taillamps?

Who added the little outside mirror, I wonder?

Any concept car is a one-of-a-kind treasure, and an Engel-design based
concept would be a dream for me. But I cannot imagine asking $2mil and not
getting every detail perfect, or leaving everything 100% untouched, nothing
in between...

Just my thoughts!

Chris in LA
67 Crown
78 NYB Salon
56 Norseman



On 12/30/06 9:42 PM, twolaneblacktop at twolaneblacktop@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> Hi Gang,
>  
> As a car person in general, I can appreciate the car in question.  As an
> Imperial lover bar none, I have a couple of comments on
> this car and the other two shown as concepts.
>  
> 1. I especially like the articles comment about the reason the car was
> originally built: ²Allegedly the design was originally drawn
> up in 1961 and offered to the White House as a formal limousine to be used by
> Jacqueline Kennedy and was immediately turned down.² 
> This was most assuredly due to the fact that the Kennedy¹s and especially
> Jackie, preferred and were very loyal to Imperials.  This
> is further evidenced by the fact that for President Johnson¹s inauguration,
> Johnson pulled out the fleet of limos the White House
> had.  Mrs. Kennedy however was presented with a brand new Imperial Ghia
> limousine.  You can see how this car looked in formation
> with the other limos in the procession.  The video of this is on the website. 
> Here is the link: 
> http://www.imperialclub.com/Yr/1964/SteveFoster/LBJ-big.mpg
>  
> 2. Chrysler was not just taking cars and chopping them, but was creating whole
> new breeds of Luxury as exampled by the concept
> Duisenberg:  http://www.imperialclub.com/Articles/66Duesy/index.htm
>  
> 3. In the Lincoln concept car photos it shows two other cars, which to me,
> immediately reminded me of 1.  BMW C-6 coupe and the
> Comet looks rather like a Plymouth Valiant, don¹t you think?
>  
> Just my two, well 3 cents worth, I guess.
>  
> Hope all are well, and having happy holidays!
>  
> Bill
>  
>  
> Wm. R. Ulman
> Seattle, WA  
> '68 Imperial Crown 4dr. Hardtop (Miss Lucille Ball) - WA State Vanity Plates:
> FIT4AQN
> twolaneblacktop@xxxxxxxxxxx
>  
> -----Original Message-----
> From: mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> [mailto:mailing-list-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Anthony Romano
> Sent: Saturday, December 30, 2006 5:26 PM
> To: mailing-list
> Subject: IML: 1965 Lincoln: TOWN BROUGHAM PROTOTYPE CONCEPT FORMAL LIMO
>  
> All you Imperialist fans I myself included- you have to appreciate a car like
> this and only imagine what our beloved 1965 Imperial
> would have look like if it was dressed up like this Lincoln. -Comments
>  
> http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Lincoln-TOWN-BROUGHAM-PROTOTYPE-CONCEPT-FORMAL-
> LIMO-1964-65-Lincoln-Town-Brougham-PROTOTYPE-CONCEPT-C
> AR_W0QQitemZ230071886793QQihZ013QQcategoryZ6306QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZVi
> ewItem 
> 
> 
> 
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