Ah, the sound of Imperial

[IMPSRULE@xxxxxxxxxxx]

Hi Ron:

EXCELLENT discussion-point you brought up about the 
very name Imperial itself.  As you point out, Cadillac 
and Lincoln speak to great historical figures.  
Lincoln bespeaks "American solidity and strength".  
Cadillac (and LaSalle) 'reference' a kind of 
continental exoticism and 'pedigree' (family coats of 
arms, etc...).

Looking deeper into the classic-era luxury 
past:   'Packard,' 'Deusenberg', 'Marmon' and 'Pierce-
Arrow' all refered to individuals.  'Peerless' refered 
directly to the virtues of the car.

But IMPERIAL comes right out and directly refers to 
touchy issues of 'royalty,' 'entitlement,' 
and 'rulers' - an entirely different political system 
than our own.  It is a 'haughty' statement - maybe 
(from a marketing standpoint) too literally so for the 
American car buying public to feel comfortable driving?

(REMEMBER, Imperialists, this isn't a proclamation, 
just a thought/discussion... ).

Jim Byers
I.S.O.
'60 LeBaron Southampton
 or Crown Coupe.


--- Original Message ---
From: Ron Graham <rdgrahamiii@xxxxxxxxxxx>
To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
CC: rdgrahamiii@xxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: IML: Ah, the sound of Imperial

>
>Dear Group,
>    This is the second time I've posted this but the 
first didn't go through
>so the discussion is from last week.
>     I too have been fascinated this past week with 
the various thoughts on
>the
>success (or lack thereof) of the Imperial Division. 
The name "Imperial" was
>talked about as perhaps being a weak name, not 
containing the hard "C" sound
>as in Cadillac or Lincoln. For me, the name Imperial 
has a connotation that
>the other two lack. The other two are named after men 
who did something
>historical of note. But Imperial is not a man's name 
but an IDEA. It comes
>from the Latin, "imperium" meaning: command, empire. 
The Romans did have a
>way with words so I think they were successful in 
making the sound of this
>word convey what idea was behind it. Imperial Rome, 
it does have a ring to
>it.
>Now, where is this all going to? I love the actual 
sound of the word 
>Imperial" and part of my
>attraction to the marque is the name itself. Just 
perhaps, the majority of
>Americans do not have such an affinity for the name. 
After all, Davy
>Crockett probably wouldn't have liked it. But then 
again, Imperial is only
>for the select few, ah, but what a few we are.
>Ron,  '83