Under those circumstances, "Let the Pendulum Swing"!
Paul
In a message dated 1/22/2004 10:33:35 PM Eastern Standard Time,
65luxuryliner@xxxxxxxxxxxxx writes:
> In theory that isn't a bad idea Randy. Infiniti certainly is an upscale
>Nissan as is Lexus an upscale Toyota. But remember who owns Chrysler now. I
>doubt the top brass would create a separate marque that could possibly steal
>sales from Mercedes! What a shame as I think the SUV boom will (someday) peak
>and the American public will go back to buying large, comfortable and powerful
>full sized luxury cars. Car design goes through cycles. In my humble
>opinion, I doubt we have seen the last of the the full sized luxury cruisers.
>It will just take time for the SUV craze to die down. When the demand for
>them begins to drop (and in time it will), the 'new' status symbol will be the
>big luxury sedans and coupes once more! Maybe then, Imperial will be
>resurrected! (Hey, it's ok to dream isn't it?)
>
> Greg McDonnell
> No SUV's for me thank you! Just give me all the big luxo boats from the
>'50's and '60's!
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Randy Martin
> To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2004 8:43 PM
> Subject: Re: IML: The name: Imperial
>
>
> Hello!
> This is a great discussion of the name Imperial and its potential for
>Chrysler and everyone has some great ideas. Someone mentioned that Chrysler
>never marketed the Imperial properly and it became "just another Chrysler" and
>I had a thought. What if Chrysler were to market the Imperial as a separate
>marque the way Nissan has with Infiniti and Toyota has with Lexus? Using a
>separate dealer network and support system, it may prove to be very profitable
>if done with quality products and quality service. Ok, time for me to wake up.
>
> Randy
> Dreaming of a '73
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: John Meyer
> To: mailing-list@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Sent: Thursday, January 22, 2004 6:25 PM
> Subject: IML: The name: Imperial
>
>
> Hi Everyone,
>
> I think we all agree that Chrysler failed to market the Imperial
> effectively, and also failed to separate Imperial as a separate marque
> from the Chrysler name. Imperial started out and ended up as "Chrysler
> Imperial" and that's how nearly everybody refer to our cars today,
> never mind that most of them don't carry the word "Chysler" anywhere.
> The design and engineering of the cars wasn't the problem. I think also
> that (nearly) all of us agree Elwood Engel wasn't at fault.
>
> But what about the name Imperial itself?
>
> We know that Chrysler's use of the name Imperial was meant to connote
> the best of the best, the top, the pinnacle, etc. But many many other
> companies and entrepreneurs had exactly the same idea. Think of
> Imperial Margarine, etc. I look in the yellow pages today and I see
> Imperial Gem & Jewelry and Imperial Transportation services. How many
> plumbers, roofers, dry cleaners, barber shops, etc. do you want to bet
> used the name Imperial all through the 50s, 60s & 70s? I'd bet there
> were thousands. The name was really watered down to the point of being
> meaningless and having no real identity.
>
> GM certainly never had that problem with Cadillac. Cadillac meant
> Cadillac and that meant prestige. The name Imperial just didn't have
> the power to lend much prestige to Chrysler's top of the line. The
> beautiful (and now highly sought after) Chrysler Imperials of the 30s
> helped doom Chrysler's efforts to establish Imperial as a separate
> marque: it would always be "Chrysler Imperial." The name "300" was much
> more successful. People never forgot that 300 meant a snazzy Chrysler
> car. The association stayed strong enough for Chrysler to revive that
> name.
>
> Imperial has a lot of meanings, and in the 30s it was just fine to be
> imperialistic. Imperial Navy, British Empire, and so on. Studebaker
> even sold a car named the Dictator. Nowadays using Imperial would be a
> marketing disaster. These days more people would connect "Imperial" to
> Star Wars and Darth Vader than to any kind of car.
>
> All the same, I always just say "It's an Imperial" when someone asks
> what kind of car I'm driving.
>
> Best,
> John Meyer
> 1965 Crown
> Tucson
>
>
>
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