So, what we have learned, or been reminded of, today is that Crown refers to
a trim level and Southampton is a body style. Gotta love Chrysler Corp and
its bewildering naming schemes.
Today I was booking out a Honda Accord. There are three trim levels. DX,
LX & EX. Which is the top of the line model? What features go with what?
It seems the game continues. And just because Honda uses a certain
sequence, doesn't mean anyone else shares it.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. In Europe - I have
never heard of it here - you can buy your Mercedes devoid of any rank
badging. It is feasible to have low, middle and upper rank cars looking
identical, shorn of their badging. Where is the snob value of this ploy?
You decide.
My little old Imperial is similarly devoid of rank insignia. Of course the
word Southampton is nowhere to be found. As it is the base model it does
not have the little Crowns either, or whatever it was they stuck onto the
LeBarons of the day. Of the 16,133 Imperials that year there were only
1,000 or so LeBarons, split equally into coupes and sedans. What is even
better is that the stylized word "Imperial" is in such an illegible script I
can easily forgive anyone who reads it as Impala. Only the first three
letters are distinct, but there is definitely an "L" at the end. One such
script on the trunk, one on either side of the car, on the front fender,
just before the front doors. Nothing at the front at all. Just the best
Imperial eagle of them all.
Hugh
PS Why is it called a hardtop anyway? I know what a soft top is. I know
certain two seater sports cars come with a hard top for the winter and a
soft, retractable, top for the summer. I guess in the very early days, when
there were far more body styles around, the original hard tops were all
removable. And the Imperial connection here, in case you thought I could
not get myself back on topic with this ramble, is that the hard top and the
convertible share the same underpinnings in 1958, with a massive additional
X welded into the chassis. Neither the coupe nor the sedan have it.
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