Re: IML: Imperial helped kill off the 3 P's

[randalpark@xxxxxxx]

It seems that there was an announcement last week by one of the new 
"big wigs" that he was killing the Imperial. Does anyone know if that 
was about the whole idea of another Imperial, or was it just the 
particular concept vehicle that has been discussed so much here over 
the last several months?

Either way, I don't plan on going to see whatever they build, Imperial 
or not. My interest still lies in the older cars. The closest I'll ever 
get to one is sitting in front of the local dealership, waiting for the 
traffic light to change.

Paul W.


-----Original Message-----
From: Hugh, 58 Imperial <imperial58@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Sent: Fri, 10 Aug 2007 8:02 pm
Subject: IML: Imperial helped kill off the 3 P's


This may be old hat to many of you but I have been reading a lot of 
material recently about the birth and development of the automobile 
industry in the USA and, I hope, it is always worthwhile to speak of 
the beginnings of the Imperial on this site. 
 
In the 1910 and into the first half of the 1920s, the prestige market 
was dominated by the Three P's, namely the Packard, the Peerless and 
the Pierce Arrow. By the end of the depression, two of these makes were 
dead and the third had gone down market considerably. Market forces and 
changing tastes had much to do with it, as did the escalating costs of 
automobile development. The introduction by the Maxwell Corporation, of 
the 1924 Chrysler 6, with an excellent high compression six cylinder 
engine, cost over three million dollars in development alone. This car 
is regarded by many historians as the first true modern car, designed 
as a whole for harmonious and spirited performance at a price that many 
people could afford. 
 
One of its variants of the 1924 car was referred to as "imperial." As 
the name connotes, it was a luxury version, and it sold well. So well, 
in fact, that as the Walter Chrysler set about expanding the newly 
renamed Chrysler Corporation, he added a low end car and a 
differentiated high end brand, to be known as The Imperial, which had a 
slightly larger engine and a longer, heavier body than the regular 
Chrysler. The low end car would evolve into Plymouth which in due 
course catapulted the corporation into the same league as General 
Motors and Ford. The transformation of the failing Maxwell Corporation 
into a giant in the industry with the additional challenges imposed by 
the Great Depression is one of the wonders of the entire industry, and 
is a testament to Walter Chrysler's genius. 
 
By the end of the Great Depression, there remained the Big Three and 
the Little Five - Hudson, Nash, Packard, Studebaker, and Willys. The 
days of the "Three P's" were long gone. Only large conglomerates could 
afford the cost of producing luxury cars. While these sold in 
relatively small numbers they added a lot of prestige. They were also 
profitable in the long run as their price was considerably higher than 
other cars lower down the corporate scale. They could also be used as 
limited production test beds for cutting edge technology, such as 
cruise control in 1958, which would eventually filter down to lower 
priced cars as the years went by. 
 
The possible revival of the Imperial is always a interesting thought to 
conjure with. Under Daimler's control, it was always very doubtful and, 
when a show car version was made, it failed on so many levels it didn't 
stand a chance. Now, however, that the company is back in private 
hands, one might speculate that a halo car at the top of the line just 
might be a proposition that would add substantial value to the prestige 
of the company as a whole. The cost involved, which would include, I 
hope, a separate supply chain, would be astronomical but who here would 
not like to see a worthy iteration of our beloved Imperials rise like 
the phoenix once again? 
 
Hugh Hemphill 
1958 Imperial  
 
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