I owned a 73 Newport. Fucking TANK!! Took out a 76 Nova, and barely moved my front bumper. Not DENTED.. just moved out of line and easily put back in place. Very reliable.
I love those old C's. Built very well, strong, good drivetrains, nice interiors.. The only thing you had to do was keep them from rusting. The rest was mere maintenance.
This needs to return exactly like you see here in a huge way. They were the biggest on the road and they moved out. You could cruise across Montana at 110mph with plenty of go left. Smooth and efficient. And quality was 100%. Would love to have another one.
My folks bought a brand new 1973 New Yorker in the summer of 1973, when the first "gas crisis" hit. It stickered for around $9500, they bought it for $4500. Excellent riding car that was a surprisingly good handling car for its size and weight....and I loved the roar of that 440 when you floored it.
@@bigheadfred A lot of dealers are willing to sell at a loss if you finance in-house. They'll make up the profit with the interest. I saw a documentary on the '73 oil crisis. In one interview with a former salesman (Ford, I think), he said they couldn't give away station wagons. Usually a steady seller. A different market than Imperial buyers, but anyone trying to move heavy steel was panicking. This was also during a recession, so even people that would normally trade in for a new car every other year were holding off.
@@christopherconard2831 Chrysler took a big hit in late 73 and 74. 1974 was one of their worst sales/production yrs. In fact, my uncle bought a new 74 Monaco Brougham sedan in early 76, still new and on the lot. 18 miles on it. Nobody wanted it because it had a 440 in it. Sticker price was about $6600. My uncle offered him $3900 cash, and they took it. No kidding.
The Imperial I remember, that was special, was a 1964 Crown Coupe my Dad bought new when I was 9 years old. Big roomy two dr. Dad owned till my third sibling was born! In 1968, Dad was forced to trade in his beloved Imperial, so he special ordered a 1968 Chrysler Town&Country Beach Wagon that was special in its own right, with full power an leather with a honking 440 Commando 4 brl Dual Exhaust Torque Flite drivetrain.
My brother had a 69 Imperial, beautiful car with a cavernous trunk. He put his Harley Sportster in the trunk of his imperial. And yes closed the trunk lid fully.
@@OffMyPlanetNow, it is funny that 1969 was the only year that Imperial didn't mention any model on the exterior of their cars, no Crown nor LeBaron designation are anywhere around the body of the car!
This was back when DETROIT BUILT REAL VEHICLES! Now, all that is "offered" are UGLY "4X4 trucks" (light tin, plastic, and electronic FAILING CRAP) for TONS OF $ or little plastic CAPSULES they call "cars"! DISGUSTING GARBAGE!
My parents had a ‘72 New Yorker Brougham and our neighbor, Jack, had a ‘72 Buick Electra 225. Jack would kid my father that he bought a poor mans Cadillac, my father would tell him the same thing about his Buick. My older sister and their son were going to the same college in upstate New York, so the two families loaded up our respected cars and convoyed from Long Island up to Cobleskill to drop off the two kids. We stayed overnight and the next day my father and Jack decided it would be fun to trade cars on the way home, so the two families swapped. Jack traded his Electra in for a 73’ Imperial about two weeks later!
My Grandmother and Step Grandfather had a 1973 Chrysler Newport, Green Exterior and Green interior it was a great car to carry all 6 people in some comfort.
I had a '73 New Yorker Brougham 4 Dr hdtp. Took it on the Hot Rod Power Tour, and, She was a Hit with a Lot of people! A friend lettered the Trunk lid and That made the Oct 2001 issue! Loved that Car!
My parents bought a new 73 Newport two door " Spring Special" Copper with a white vinyl top, Road wheels, Navajo cloth and white vinyl interior. Cooper orange shag carpet from the factory. It got 4mpg in town and 8mpg on the highway.
'73 C bods..that was the year the much better front suspension was still intact from the 60's and the new, much better uni-cast 11.75" vented front disc brakes. That's the setup most modern disc brake swaps are based on for A, B, E and C body cars...pioneered by Richard Ehrenberg at Mopar Action Magazine, long ago. The perfect accompaniment to that now is to use Jeep Liberty discs on the rear of RWD classic Mopes..there's kits out there I believe to help facilitate that swap..nice, big rotors, too and best of all, the C bod and Liberty brake parts are readily available..so go on a long cruise with less worry in the event you need something you won't have to be stuck till a Wilwood, et al part could be sent to your location on your vacation!
My mother had a '73 New Yorker. Even as a GM (Buick) guy. I have to say, the torsion bar suspension made these HUGE cars handle like a mid-size (actually better than a '73-'77 "A" body GM car._.
Yup it's true. Torsion bars and unibodies won every time. Have owned mostly '60s ChryCos. exclusively since the '90s, but in the past have had 5 or 6 '60s Buicks. Even a '65 Riviera. I'm dying for another '69 Electra 225 even though I have a sexy black '71 Imperial Coupe and 2 '68 Furys. Love those Nailheads too! Seems like a lotta Chrysler guys are Buick guys too and vise~versa. They come from the same slot in the mkt. and Buick was known as "The Engineering Div." and ChryCo. was also know as the engineering company.
@@UberLummoxI agree. My first car was a '72 Dodge Challenger R/T. 318 w Slap Stick Torque Flight auto on the floor console. Tawny Gold Met. Frost white top, tan high back bucket seat interior. Later owned a '65 Riviera, Burgundy Mist, black deluxe 2 handle interior, tilt, pwr windows, drivers seat, AC, Sornomatic AM w/pwr antenna, CA black & gold plate. Hate I sold it. Now a similarly equipped bucket and floor shift '67 Riviera or '71-'73 Imperial LeBaron bucket seat coupe will do nicely. I need the the hidden headlights....😊
@@solemandd67 That's one helluva ride for a 1st. car! Didn't know R/Ts had 318s. Very dependable. Have one in one of my '68 Furys. A 440 in the other. (!) Owned countless '60s barges. The '65 Riv is a car like no other. One of the few '60s cars to receive Milestone status. Very cool you had one as well. Musta been gorgeous in burgundy!!! Would love to have another Electra or Riv though. Had the '65 Riv, '69 Electra, '71 Riv and a '60 Invicta 4dr. Flat-Top. I'm finally catching on to the fact that the '66/'67 Rivs are maybe in the top 5 best looking '60s US cars of all time. (Not really a muscle/pony car guy, though no denying their styling). Fun stuff!
@@UberLummox Thanks. You have an amazing classic car collection. I've been blessed to have owned many classics too. My Challenger was an incredible car. I'm a Navy Vet. '83-'89 Hospital Corpsman. Bought it in '84 from an officer's wife in Bremerton WA. She'd bought it new from LaGrange Dodge in IL. Bulletproof! Drove it to my 2nd duty station in San Diego. From San Diego to Dallas and back twice. From San Diego to Camp Pendleton daily when I got BAQ with trips to LA in between. Traded it for a loaded '76 Regal S/R in Anniversary Gold Metallic. Since the mid 80s I've owned a '55 Coupe de Ville, '60 T Bird, '62 Falcon Futura, '65 Riv, '66 Mustang, '67 Eldorado, '68 Firebird 350, '68 Firebird 400, '68 Cougar XR7, '69 Grand Prix Model J, '69 MK III, '79 Seville. Really miss the days of sitting in front of a 7-11 on Thursday nights in CA, waiting for the Auto Trader delivery guy and grabbing a Green Sheet and a local paper at the counter. I'd stay up hours scanning the ads. San Diego had clean, affordable classics. It's a retirement city and there were bargains in surrounding cities like Chula Vista. Long before internet sight unseen buying and Barrett-Jacksonites driving up prices. Always loved Electra's. Especially coupes; '59, '64, '67, '69, and '76. Prettier than the Coupe de Villes. You're lucky!
@@solemandd67 Very good taste my man! Always wanted a '55/'56 DeVille and a '67-'70 Eldo. One of the few Cadillac years/models I missed out on. My 1st. car at 14 yr old was a 75 dollar '58 Cadillac. Very rusty, but I learned bodywork and owned my own shop ever since until this year. 40 yrs is enough!! Had 2 '61s, '63 hearse by S&S, a black '59 cnvt. w/red leather and 200,00 miles that was too rusty to fix then because at the time they weren't worth that much, and a '65 coupe. I dig '60s Euro cars too and had quite a few, along with several other ChryCos. Also your '69 MK III is very lusty. Mega heavy though! they're about 600/800 pounds heavier than the '71 Lincoln Town Coupe I had. One of my favorites! You're very fortunate. Up here in Maine the cars get extremely rotted so you can't drive them between Nov.- April. Otherwise durring the other months I refuse to drive anything newer than '72. : )
@@solemandd67 I would include '69 & '70 as the are basically the same as my '71. '72 & '73 they changed the front & rear ends. And yes *black* is beautify. baby! : ) Black coupes are over-the-top amazing in that color!
The best engineered engines, the best and most innovative suspension, the best engineered and most reliable automatic transmission, and some of the most beautiful automotive designs ruined by cheap manufacturing. Sad that.
the new Mopars are cool, but there's no way they can match the torsion bar and leaf spring suspension and light, strong unibody! they can be reliable..but nowhere near as tough/strong..excepting the fine engines that are out now are quite good..Gen3 Hemi and 3.6L V6 are great. i think it's largely a case of cars becoming so complicated now..from suspension and brakes to the electrical systems needed to run a huge, multi-page list of items..PS, PB, PW and an am/fm stereo were fine, back in the day..now go and check the options list on a Chrysler 300 or Durango SRT or whatever..it's a long read!
@@fubarmodelyard1392 The inspection process on the Imperial was for more extensive than the rest of the lineup. After all, they were competing with Cadillac and Lincoln.
Loving the vinyl leather and the clock accurate to effective 12 min a year. As someone from across the Atlantic these to me are the last great American cars, distinctive, comfortable bid saloons, I love them
Looks like a 1970s mobster car. However, the Imperial was the best looking one! Nice to see these Mopar whale shark-sized cars from the year I was born :)
Man I love those yard yachts! And after you've enjoyed it to it's fullest, there's always a sweet big block between the rails. a great transplant mill just waiting for something small with 2 doors to get wedged into, to broil the rear skins off of it with style and panache! All hail the luxo-barge!!! Thanks again guys! ▪☆☆☆▪
You'd have to drive 600 miles non-stop in one of these things before you started to feel slightly fatigued. All that BS about, "No road feel!" I don't want to feel the road. Who wants to feel the road? This is like driving on a cloud-not a road.
then these were NOT made for you.. the steering feel on the top end chryslers is controlled by a torsion bar in the steering box input shaft. controlling the offset of the spool valve sections. really smart steering box rebuilders can swap these out of a different mopar box to give your luxo ride more steering feel.. but finding a shop that understands that is rare.. the 83 chrysler cordoba models had such light steering you could blow on the steering wheel and almost spin it ..
I don't get it either... These cars are not even supposed to be sports cars, they are designed to have no road feel. Want road feel? Why not buy a porsche 911 instead...
The beauty of the torsion bar suspension comes from all the positive caster built into it, especially 73 on. These cars were built to eat up miles. They didn't handle like a sports car to be sure, but in cornering, you could feel what the car was doing, and it was VERY forgiving, even in bad weather. No, Chrysler didn't have firm feel power steering until 78 on RWD cars, and yes the std ps was very light to the touch, but if the box was tight, frt end parts tight, and proper alignment, the cars drove perfect, solid, effortlessly. And that's what we expected from a large luxury/family car of the era. Ford/Lincoln/Mercuries of the era plowed in turns. Caddy's leaned over so bad you though the car was going to flip over. Chryslers did lean some, with some moderate understeer, but it was easily controllable, and you had to push the car pretty hard to get it out of shape. I've driven enough of them, I know!
Adam, all true. These full sized Chrysler’s were an excellent alternative to gm cars. But for the smaller cars, gm had a way better ride. Oops kick me out now, blasphemy. Case in point. 78 Malibu vs 78 aspen/volare. Malibu had handling bordering on dangerously sloppy at high speeds. But at Normal speeds, normal driving, it was great. Super comfortable, and sophisticated in that it didn’t bob up and down Like the volare did. I remember driving them both and it was trash vs class. But I wonder if the gm car cost a lot more in real world transactions.
Not always a "given" then - The CHEAPEST shit box Toyota has power windows now, There was a time that tech cost. Even Cadillac had power windows....as an OPTION! My $200 Moto G7 is WAYYY more powerfull than my IBM-PS/2 Model 30. And I paid $2,000.00 for that!
72 was the 1st yr for std p/s, pb, and automatic trans. In 71, you would still be charged extra on a NewPort. 3 on the tree, manual steering and drum brakes were std on NewPorts for 71. Std frt discs were new for 73 on all C bodies.
Back in the Day we use to call Chrysler Imperial, New Yorker etc., "The poor man's Lincoln (or Cadillac)" Which they kind of were in some respects. In the early days of luxury horseless carriages there was one and only one man that U.S automobile manufacturers looked to when they wanted to design a well engineered American luxury automobile... The Great Henry Leland! The problem that Chrysler had was that Mr. Leland didn't design any of their luxury cars. He did however design cars for Mr. Ford and "The General", G.M.
I wish Chrysler revive the Imperial name and wished Chrysler were like this back in the day as well as the eighties K-body era as well, but i hope they improve in the future though
Ya know, I was always very interested in cars. I graduated high school in 1972 and I don't even remember this Chrysler car design. I remember why.....this was during the gas shortage and few people bought them so few on the road. Strangely enough, I remember the Imperial better.
In the 73 Chrysler brochure, There was a yellow colored Imperial, two door with a moonroof.. Does anyone else remember that car? I was in love with it. Does it still exist?
These were true land yachts but great cars problem was you could watch them rust in front of your eyes. Wish they would build big sedans that rode well instead of all these damn SUV’s
One of my uncles had an Imperial with suicide doors. I was in elementary school when I first saw it and it was a rag top. I think the only thing he was more crazy about it was his family.
The Imperial was a great car. Ours had a 440 Magnum in it and it would slingshot out of 2nd gear at 90MPH. Later when Chrysler changed the Imperial to a K car platform it became a weak, undependable, joke of its former glory.
Cars suck nowdays all plastic that they think is fantastic.. I have a 1984 Dodge W150 Royal SE Prospector 4x4 pickup and it's built like a Sherman tank. #Rustfree Nice video, thanks for bringing back a little history..
I am wondering if the film is shown at proper speed? I am about 90%"sure the voice actor is Jonathan Moore ("1776" "Amadeus") who did a large amount of Mopar voiceover work and it sounds to be playing too slowly.
The '73 Chrysler front end looks like a flattened '69-'70 Cadillac nose. It shouldn't "work" on the "fuselage" body, but oddly it does. Pure '70's at that.
I agree that it takes away from the lovely 69-72 cars. Oddly enough, sales increased quite a bit over 72 models across the Chrysler lineup, with the new styling.
@@adamtrombino106 Yeah, It's weird as the front was NOTHING to do with the sides (or overall shape of the body.) But It DOES Somehow "work". Since there was an increase in sale, they weren't wrong.
@@adamtrombino106 Yep '69-'72s were very individualistic. Had a very sharp red '72 Coupe that turned heads in the '80s, which as a car guy I thought was odd! '73s look like a Chevy in this film to me. Kind of an anti-style. Very generic. Not horrible in person though.
SMH! Right?! to say "Chrysler-Imperial" (at least from '55-'75..) is LITERALLY the same as saying "Buick-Cadillac"! Ford did this with Lincoln by having "Lincoln-Mercury" as a division. This actually had an affect on me that exists to the day..Lincoln (to me) was always LESS than a Cadillac as it was ALWAYS tied to Mercury, Really, both Ford and Chrysler undermined their luxury divisions (even if both had GREAT luxury cars.) for years.
@@jamesslick4790, yeah, I always say Ford Lincoln and General Motors Cadillac when they call them Chrysler Imperial! And even the Lincoln and Continental were two different divisions from 1956 to 1960 and a lot of people still call them Lincoln Continental! My fourth car was a 1971 Imperial LeBaron four door hardtop when I was 18 years old back in 1981! I junked that and my third car, a 1970 Mercury Cougar XR7, at the same time back in 1986! I wish that I still had both of them! But...
Had they put out multiple numbers of cars like Lincoln and Cadillac did, I would understand. But it was only one car Imperial had thus there is no way you were going to open a dealer network that only sold one car.
The public viewed the Imperial as the big top of the line Chrysler luxury model. That may not be technically correct but it’s hard to change public perception once it’s established. Imperial has always been closely identified with Chrysler and the lines between the two divisions was blurry. Even back in the 70s, I heard folks use the term Chrysler Imperial often.
These were "o.k.", but LACKED the "BUILD" of the GREAT Chrysler Products of the 40s-60s. They had a GREAT DRIVETRAIN, but not much more. I OWNED MoPars of this "period"!
Introducing the idea of a car alarm for the first time to most viewers with an annoying false alarm! Not shown, dozens of people grumbling to themselves about someone needing to shut the dang thing up...
@@RonPaulgirls Chrysler's 1970's problems stemmed from many things. I cite specific examples: 1973: 1st Arab Oil Embargo 1974: Redesigned C Full size bodies polara Monaco fury Newport Newport custom new Yorker 1976: volare/Aspen the most recalled cars in history 1977: lebaron diplomat based on the most recalled cars in history 1978: Bankruptcy 1979: r bodies st. Regis Newport new Yorker gran fury Again Redesigned Full size cars in a 2nd arab oil embargo. There was no communication in Chrysler between the engineers the people on the factory floor the sales men the mechanics the parts guys anything it was a complete madhouse the factories were old and outdated cars were falling off the assembly line in hamtrack I read the Lee I cook a biography I forgot the name it's highly recommended Also the Walter Percy Chrysler biography diary of an American workmen highly recommended What Chrysler lacked in quality control they made up for in everything else besides some questionable styling decisions in the early sixties Thank you for listening
@@killerontheloose80 Those are all good points. Sad but true. I still love me a 1957-1966 Chrysler. I love the style of the 1977/78 Lebaron 2 door with the Medallion option.
@@rickloera9468 you're the man by the way. The 1951-1974 Chrysler products were Excellent. In Milan Kansas moms had a 76 dodge charger se kind of like your lebaron. Cheers...
'73 Newport/NYR grills were dull. Too Chevy-like. '69-'72s are way more individualistic. Had a bright red '72 Newport Royal Coupe w/black vinyl top. Even in the '80s it turned heads! I was surprised. Now I have a very sinister black '71 Imperial LeBeron 2dr. coupe. One of only 1,440 2drs. and 2 '68 Furys. Nothing beats Torsion-air w/rear leafs and unibody. "Fuselage" equals Few-So-Large!
I believe at this time Chysler realized it (Imperial) was a lost cause. Management realized that they could not afford a separate design, and customers did not care for Imperial. Cadillac sells 140,000 a year Imperial 14,000 a year. Yes, Imperial was a better car engineering wise, and torsion bar had a better ride and quality to it. That is why Cadillac went to torsion bar design. But you lost the game when a full size Plymouth Fury is not that far apart from an Imperial. The back and front look to close to each other. Imperial was an easy way to order a fully equipped New Yorker, with concealed headlights.
Cadillac also put out several different models and generally were distinctive from other GM brands but the Imperial was a poorly disguised Dodge Newport or Plymouth Fury.
“Enduring quality”? Lol! Sorry, not from Chrysler. My folks owned several. Body fit like it was put together by a drunken blind man. Knobs snd trim always falling off. Rattled like a can of marbles. Finally, I really got a kick out of how they labeled the clock the “chronometer.” Did have a helluva engine tho, which is why my dad put up with them.
He says "Chrysler-Imperial" while "Imperial" was STILL a separate marque at the time. This is quite literally the equivalent of a GM promo film extolling the greatness of the "Buick-Cadillac". (True on 2 counts, 1, "Buick" WAS the founding cornerstone of GM. 2,"Cadillac" was still ABOVE Buick in the Price/Prestige ranking, Same here.).SMH
@jamesslick4790 Actually, for 1971, Imperial was reduced to the pair of LeBaron models (the 2-door LeBaron model was added for 1969, while the lower-priced Crown series was discontinued at the end of the 1970 model year) so, it appears that Chrysler Corporation started considering it, once again, the top-of-the-line Chrysler model (the last time that happened was 1954).
Actually, in 1973, they were behind the other car makers in every possible way, failing to see the changes in American lifestyles and gas prices. These could be bought next to nothing just 3 years afterwards because they had zero resale value.
Taylor Swift Mop but If one ain't right out of the Delivery Lifes room ware there is a Oth to be committed to What makes you think he gives a Shit about a Drivers License ?
Had a '71 Imperial for about a year or two, incredible smooth riding car, had it in early mid 80's
I owned a 73 Newport. Fucking TANK!! Took out a 76 Nova, and barely moved my front bumper. Not DENTED.. just moved out of line and easily put back in place. Very reliable.
I love those old C's. Built very well, strong, good drivetrains, nice interiors.. The only thing you had to do was keep them from rusting. The rest was mere maintenance.
This needs to return exactly like you see here in a huge way. They were the biggest on the road and they moved out. You could cruise across Montana at 110mph with plenty of go left. Smooth and efficient. And quality was 100%. Would love to have another one.
*Minus the 12 mpg! Mostly agreed however - the styling, packaging, road feel and core engineering are second to none!
This WILL NEVER AGAIN BE!
My folks bought a brand new 1973 New Yorker in the summer of 1973, when the first "gas crisis" hit. It stickered for around $9500, they bought it for $4500. Excellent riding car that was a surprisingly good handling car for its size and weight....and I loved the roar of that 440 when you floored it.
I wonder how close to dealer invoice price $4,500 was.
@@bigheadfred A lot of dealers are willing to sell at a loss if you finance in-house. They'll make up the profit with the interest.
I saw a documentary on the '73 oil crisis. In one interview with a former salesman (Ford, I think), he said they couldn't give away station wagons. Usually a steady seller. A different market than Imperial buyers, but anyone trying to move heavy steel was panicking. This was also during a recession, so even people that would normally trade in for a new car every other year were holding off.
@@christopherconard2831 Chrysler took a big hit in late 73 and 74. 1974 was one of their worst sales/production yrs. In fact, my uncle bought a new 74 Monaco Brougham sedan in early 76, still new and on the lot. 18 miles on it. Nobody wanted it because it had a 440 in it. Sticker price was about $6600. My uncle offered him $3900 cash, and they took it. No kidding.
I’m 40 years old, and my dream cars are the fuselage LeBaron and New Yorker Brougham…a U Code would be icing on the cake! Ahhh one day…
My old man had three New Yorkers, I had five Newports. I always wanted an Imperial.
The Imperial I remember, that was special, was a 1964 Crown Coupe my Dad bought new when I was 9 years old. Big roomy two dr. Dad owned till my third sibling was born! In 1968, Dad was forced to trade in his beloved Imperial, so he special ordered a 1968 Chrysler Town&Country Beach Wagon that was special in its own right, with full power an leather with a honking 440 Commando 4 brl Dual Exhaust Torque Flite drivetrain.
WOW 😀
Those Imperials were beautifully imposing. Sure miss my 69
My brother had a 69 Imperial, beautiful car with a cavernous trunk. He put his Harley Sportster in the trunk of his imperial. And yes closed the trunk lid fully.
I miss my 1971 Imperial LeBaron four door hardtop!
And sequential turning lights
Just bought a 69 Crown
@@OffMyPlanetNow, it is funny that 1969 was the only year that Imperial didn't mention any model on the exterior of their cars, no Crown nor LeBaron designation are anywhere around the body of the car!
I always loved the "Big Boy" Chrylers! I really miss my old 1970 Hurst Chrysler 300. The biggest mistake I ever made was to give that car away : (
You gave away a Hurst 300? Bummer
@@fubarmodelyard1392 Long long story, but yeah : (
We had a 1973 Chrysler New Yorker Sedan for 25 years, great family car, great for road trips, great for towing RVs and Boats
This was back when DETROIT BUILT REAL VEHICLES! Now, all that is "offered" are UGLY "4X4 trucks" (light tin, plastic, and electronic FAILING CRAP) for TONS OF $ or little plastic CAPSULES they call "cars"! DISGUSTING GARBAGE!
The 1971 to 1973 Imperial was available with a 4 wheel anti-skid braking system made by Bendix.
My parents had a ‘72 New Yorker Brougham and our neighbor, Jack, had a ‘72 Buick Electra 225. Jack would kid my father that he bought a poor mans Cadillac, my father would tell him the same thing about his Buick. My older sister and their son were going to the same college in upstate New York, so the two families loaded up our respected cars and convoyed from Long Island up to Cobleskill to drop off the two kids. We stayed overnight and the next day my father and Jack decided it would be fun to trade cars on the way home, so the two families swapped. Jack traded his Electra in for a 73’ Imperial about two weeks later!
My Grandmother and Step Grandfather had a 1973 Chrysler Newport, Green Exterior and Green interior it was a great car to carry all 6 people in some comfort.
I don't need a 4 door pickup truck I need this car!!! Only Americans can build big car!!
We did! Now "American" is an UGLY "4X4" MADE OF TIN, PLASTIC, AND CRAPPY "electronics" THAT DIE QUICKLY! WHAT A JOKE THIS COUNTRY HAS BECOME!
Roomy and comfy to say the least.
You can rent the trunk space to a family of five and still have room for the groceries.
I had a '73 New Yorker Brougham 4 Dr hdtp.
Took it on the Hot Rod Power Tour, and, She was a Hit with a Lot of people!
A friend lettered the Trunk lid and That made the Oct 2001 issue! Loved that Car!
LOVE THE BIG BOAT CARS OF CHRYSLER..!!😍😍😍
The Love These Big Ole Cars ! Thumbs Up liked for you also.
back when Chrysler made REAL, beautiful cars...
Beautiful beasts.
My parents bought a new 73 Newport two door " Spring Special" Copper with a white vinyl top, Road wheels, Navajo cloth and white vinyl interior. Cooper orange shag carpet from the factory. It got 4mpg in town and 8mpg on the highway.
Big beautiful barges!!
Definitely a Like for anyone who posts this sort of thing. I love these huge cars ! Cheers
Holy shit, just look at that behemoth. Love it or hate it, you have to respect it.
'73 C bods..that was the year the much better front suspension was still intact from the 60's and the new, much better uni-cast 11.75" vented front disc brakes. That's the setup most modern disc brake swaps are based on for A, B, E and C body cars...pioneered by Richard Ehrenberg at Mopar Action Magazine, long ago. The perfect accompaniment to that now is to use Jeep Liberty discs on the rear of RWD classic Mopes..there's kits out there I believe to help facilitate that swap..nice, big rotors, too and best of all, the C bod and Liberty brake parts are readily available..so go on a long cruise with less worry in the event you need something you won't have to be stuck till a Wilwood, et al part could be sent to your location on your vacation!
Where can I find the music which starts at 4:14? Awesome…
I've got one its a beast.
Wait I thought you were talking about my ex wife's mom
A car that basks in its own heft 🤣😍
That Imperial looked sweet.
Parents has a 1973 Imperial. Big and comfy.
My mother had a '73 New Yorker. Even as a GM (Buick) guy. I have to say, the torsion bar suspension made these HUGE cars handle like a mid-size (actually better than a '73-'77 "A" body GM car._.
Yup it's true. Torsion bars and unibodies won every time. Have owned mostly '60s ChryCos. exclusively since the '90s, but in the past have had 5 or 6 '60s Buicks. Even a '65 Riviera. I'm dying for another '69 Electra 225 even though I have a sexy black '71 Imperial Coupe and 2 '68 Furys. Love those Nailheads too!
Seems like a lotta Chrysler guys are Buick guys too and vise~versa. They come from the same slot in the mkt. and Buick was known as "The Engineering Div." and ChryCo. was also know as the engineering company.
@@UberLummoxI agree. My first car was a '72 Dodge Challenger R/T. 318 w Slap Stick Torque Flight auto on the floor console. Tawny Gold Met. Frost white top, tan high back bucket seat interior. Later owned a '65 Riviera, Burgundy Mist, black deluxe 2 handle interior, tilt, pwr windows, drivers seat, AC, Sornomatic AM w/pwr antenna, CA black & gold plate. Hate I sold it. Now a similarly equipped bucket and floor shift '67 Riviera or '71-'73 Imperial LeBaron bucket seat coupe will do nicely.
I need the the hidden headlights....😊
@@solemandd67 That's one helluva ride for a 1st. car! Didn't know R/Ts had 318s. Very dependable. Have one in one of my '68 Furys. A 440 in the other. (!) Owned countless '60s barges. The '65 Riv is a car like no other. One of the few '60s cars to receive Milestone status. Very cool you had one as well. Musta been gorgeous in burgundy!!! Would love to have another Electra or Riv though. Had the '65 Riv, '69 Electra, '71 Riv and a '60 Invicta 4dr. Flat-Top. I'm finally catching on to the fact that the '66/'67 Rivs are maybe in the top 5 best looking '60s US cars of all time. (Not really a muscle/pony car guy, though no denying their styling). Fun stuff!
@@UberLummox Thanks. You have an amazing classic car collection. I've been blessed to have owned many classics too. My Challenger was an incredible car. I'm a Navy Vet. '83-'89 Hospital Corpsman. Bought it in '84 from an officer's wife in Bremerton WA. She'd bought it new from LaGrange Dodge in IL.
Bulletproof! Drove it to my 2nd duty station in San Diego. From San Diego to Dallas and back twice. From San Diego to Camp Pendleton daily when I got BAQ with trips to LA in between. Traded it for a loaded '76 Regal S/R in Anniversary Gold Metallic.
Since the mid 80s I've owned a '55 Coupe de Ville, '60 T Bird, '62 Falcon Futura, '65 Riv, '66 Mustang, '67 Eldorado, '68 Firebird 350, '68 Firebird 400, '68 Cougar XR7, '69 Grand Prix Model J, '69 MK III, '79 Seville.
Really miss the days of sitting in front of a 7-11 on Thursday nights in CA, waiting for the Auto Trader delivery guy and grabbing a Green Sheet and a local paper at the counter.
I'd stay up hours scanning the ads. San Diego had clean, affordable classics. It's a retirement city and there were bargains in surrounding cities like Chula Vista.
Long before internet sight unseen buying and Barrett-Jacksonites driving up prices.
Always loved Electra's. Especially coupes; '59, '64, '67, '69, and '76. Prettier than the Coupe de Villes. You're lucky!
@@solemandd67 Very good taste my man! Always wanted a '55/'56 DeVille and a '67-'70 Eldo. One of the few Cadillac years/models I missed out on. My 1st. car at 14 yr old was a 75 dollar '58 Cadillac. Very rusty, but I learned bodywork and owned my own shop ever since until this year. 40 yrs is enough!! Had 2 '61s, '63 hearse by S&S, a black '59 cnvt. w/red leather and 200,00 miles that was too rusty to fix then because at the time they weren't worth that much, and a '65 coupe. I dig '60s Euro cars too and had quite a few, along with several other ChryCos.
Also your '69 MK III is very lusty. Mega heavy though! they're about 600/800 pounds heavier than the '71 Lincoln Town Coupe I had. One of my favorites! You're very fortunate. Up here in Maine the cars get extremely rotted so you can't drive them between Nov.- April. Otherwise durring the other months I refuse to drive anything newer than '72. : )
Entry level luxury in 1973. That Imperial sedan at 3:58 is a little intimidating. That's a henchman's car.
Henchman's car...too funny! I have a '71 dr. coupe in black. It's a total Drac-mobile!
@@UberLummox I think the 1971-'73 Imperial LeBaron coupe's are beautiful, especially in black.
@@solemandd67 I would include '69 & '70 as the are basically the same as my '71. '72 & '73 they changed the front & rear ends. And yes *black* is beautify. baby! : ) Black coupes are over-the-top amazing in that color!
@@UberLummox Right On!
Mr. Regular just posted a very good Imperial episode. th-cam.com/video/SZVXt5SREag/w-d-xo.html
The best engineered engines, the best and most innovative suspension, the best engineered and most reliable automatic transmission, and some of the most beautiful automotive designs ruined by cheap manufacturing. Sad that.
the new Mopars are cool, but there's no way they can match the torsion bar and leaf spring suspension and light, strong unibody! they can be reliable..but nowhere near as tough/strong..excepting the fine engines that are out now are quite good..Gen3 Hemi and 3.6L V6 are great. i think it's largely a case of cars becoming so complicated now..from suspension and brakes to the electrical systems needed to run a huge, multi-page list of items..PS, PB, PW and an am/fm stereo were fine, back in the day..now go and check the options list on a Chrysler 300 or Durango SRT or whatever..it's a long read!
Having owned a 69 LeBaron I can tell you it wasn't cheaply made.
@@fubarmodelyard1392
The inspection process on the Imperial was for more extensive than the rest of the lineup. After all, they were competing with Cadillac and Lincoln.
@@20alphabet if buyers would have compared the luxury cars maybe Imperial would have sold more
@@fubarmodelyard1392
In my opinion, the Imperial was almost always the superior automobile. Shame the QC ended there on assembly.
Loving the vinyl leather and the clock accurate to effective 12 min a year. As someone from across the Atlantic these to me are the last great American cars, distinctive, comfortable bid saloons, I love them
Looks like a 1970s mobster car.
However, the Imperial was the best looking one!
Nice to see these Mopar whale shark-sized cars from the year I was born :)
It's mine now. Bout to get mine restored and upgraded.
Man I love those yard yachts! And after you've enjoyed it to it's fullest, there's always a sweet big block between the rails. a great transplant mill just waiting for something small with 2 doors to get wedged into, to broil the rear skins off of it with style and panache! All hail the luxo-barge!!! Thanks again guys! ▪☆☆☆▪
What an excellent video. MoPar no Car.
You'd have to drive 600 miles non-stop in one of these things before you started to feel slightly fatigued.
All that BS about, "No road feel!"
I don't want to feel the road. Who wants to feel the road?
This is like driving on a cloud-not a road.
then these were NOT made for you.. the steering feel on the top end chryslers is controlled by a torsion bar in the steering box input shaft. controlling the offset of the spool valve sections. really smart steering box rebuilders can swap these out of a different mopar box to give your luxo ride more steering feel.. but finding a shop that understands that is rare.. the 83 chrysler cordoba models had such light steering you could blow on the steering wheel and almost spin it ..
I don't get it either... These cars are not even supposed to be sports cars, they are designed to have no road feel. Want road feel? Why not buy a porsche 911 instead...
@@waynep343 Who are you talking to?
The beauty of the torsion bar suspension comes from all the positive caster built into it, especially 73 on. These cars were built to eat up miles. They didn't handle like a sports car to be sure, but in cornering, you could feel what the car was doing, and it was VERY forgiving, even in bad weather. No, Chrysler didn't have firm feel power steering until 78 on RWD cars, and yes the std ps was very light to the touch, but if the box was tight, frt end parts tight, and proper alignment, the cars drove perfect, solid, effortlessly. And that's what we expected from a large luxury/family car of the era. Ford/Lincoln/Mercuries of the era plowed in turns. Caddy's leaned over so bad you though the car was going to flip over. Chryslers did lean some, with some moderate understeer, but it was easily controllable, and you had to push the car pretty hard to get it out of shape. I've driven enough of them, I know!
Adam, all true. These full sized Chrysler’s were an excellent alternative to gm cars. But for the smaller cars, gm had a way better ride. Oops kick me out now, blasphemy. Case in point. 78 Malibu vs 78 aspen/volare. Malibu had handling bordering on dangerously sloppy at high speeds. But at Normal speeds, normal driving, it was great. Super comfortable, and sophisticated in that it didn’t bob up and down Like the volare did. I remember driving them both and it was trash vs class. But I wonder if the gm car cost a lot more in real world transactions.
"Power steering standard" man, I hope so....
These were easy to steer without power steering, once you got up to 90 mph.
My 71 Charger has NO power steering. What a joy it is to parallel park this car! lol
Not always a "given" then - The CHEAPEST shit box Toyota has power windows now, There was a time that tech cost. Even Cadillac had power windows....as an OPTION! My $200 Moto G7 is WAYYY more powerfull than my IBM-PS/2 Model 30. And I paid $2,000.00 for that!
72 was the 1st yr for std p/s, pb, and automatic trans. In 71, you would still be charged extra on a NewPort. 3 on the tree, manual steering and drum brakes were std on NewPorts for 71. Std frt discs were new for 73 on all C bodies.
The 3-on-the-tree was not available anymore in 1971, no matter which C-body model was in question.
My parents had a 1973 Chrysler New Yorker Brougham
73 74 charger backed up into that big old Beast
Make mine Mopar
My parents had a 73 and a 74 Charger.
Alarm? With flashing lights and horn? Shit I'm impressed
No wonder they didn't sell over the pond. We had Vauxhall Vivas and Ford Cortinas and Granadas. On road performance was streets ahead of these barges.
Back in the Day we use to call Chrysler Imperial, New Yorker etc., "The poor man's Lincoln (or Cadillac)" Which they kind of were in some respects. In the early days of luxury horseless carriages there was one and only one man that U.S automobile manufacturers looked to when they wanted to design a well engineered American luxury automobile... The Great Henry Leland! The problem that Chrysler had was that Mr. Leland didn't design any of their luxury cars. He did however design cars for Mr. Ford and "The General", G.M.
I wish Chrysler revive the Imperial name and wished Chrysler were like this back in the day as well as the eighties K-body era as well, but i hope they improve in the future though
I wish they would revive the Chrysler brand. It's in such bad shape.
Ya know, I was always very interested in cars. I graduated high school in 1972 and I don't even remember this Chrysler car design. I remember why.....this was during the gas shortage and few people bought them so few on the road.
Strangely enough, I remember the Imperial better.
In the 73 Chrysler brochure, There was a yellow colored Imperial, two door with a moonroof.. Does anyone else remember that car? I was in love with it. Does it still exist?
I remember clearly back then people mistook these cars (Newports) for Chevrolets because of the very similar grill decal!!!!
I want a new '73 Chrysler right now. Can someone please tell me where the nearest dealership is to order one?
Last year of the Imperial!
These were true land yachts but great cars problem was you could watch them rust in front of your eyes. Wish they would build big sedans that rode well instead of all these damn SUV’s
Wow!!!
One of my uncles had an Imperial with suicide doors. I was in elementary school when I first saw it and it was a rag top. I think the only thing he was more crazy about it was his family.
...sounds like it was a Lincoln Continental.
The Imperial was a great car. Ours had a 440 Magnum in it and it would slingshot out of 2nd gear at 90MPH. Later when Chrysler changed the Imperial to a K car platform it became a weak, undependable, joke of its former glory.
The k car variant also kept Chrysler from going belly up
Too bad the prices are not listed. The Newport seems like a deal when you are paying for your full-size Chrysler by the ton.
Cars suck nowdays all plastic that they think is fantastic.. I have a 1984 Dodge W150 Royal SE Prospector 4x4 pickup and it's built like a Sherman tank. #Rustfree Nice video, thanks for bringing back a little history..
Beautiful land yachts
Totally impractical, and a huge amount of wasted space and weight. But I'd love to have an old Imperial or Lincoln Mk III.
I am wondering if the film is shown at proper speed? I am about 90%"sure the voice actor is Jonathan Moore ("1776" "Amadeus") who did a large amount of Mopar voiceover work and it sounds to be playing too slowly.
Most men don't sound like this today lol
The '73 Chrysler front end looks like a flattened '69-'70 Cadillac nose. It shouldn't "work" on the "fuselage" body, but oddly it does. Pure '70's at that.
I agree that it takes away from the lovely 69-72 cars. Oddly enough, sales increased quite a bit over 72 models across the Chrysler lineup, with the new styling.
@@adamtrombino106 Yeah, It's weird as the front was NOTHING to do with the sides (or overall shape of the body.) But It DOES Somehow "work". Since there was an increase in sale, they weren't wrong.
@@adamtrombino106 Yep '69-'72s were very individualistic. Had a very sharp red '72 Coupe that turned heads in the '80s, which as a car guy I thought was odd! '73s look like a Chevy in this film to me.
Kind of an anti-style. Very generic. Not horrible in person though.
Too bad that Chrysler and their advertising and promotional departments didn't know what to classify Imperial as; its own division!
SMH! Right?! to say "Chrysler-Imperial" (at least from '55-'75..) is LITERALLY the same as saying "Buick-Cadillac"! Ford did this with Lincoln by having "Lincoln-Mercury" as a division. This actually had an affect on me that exists to the day..Lincoln (to me) was always LESS than a Cadillac as it was ALWAYS tied to Mercury, Really, both Ford and Chrysler undermined their luxury divisions (even if both had GREAT luxury cars.) for years.
@@jamesslick4790, yeah, I always say Ford Lincoln and General Motors Cadillac when they call them Chrysler Imperial! And even the Lincoln and Continental were two different divisions from 1956 to 1960 and a lot of people still call them Lincoln Continental! My fourth car was a 1971 Imperial LeBaron four door hardtop when I was 18 years old back in 1981! I junked that and my third car, a 1970 Mercury Cougar XR7, at the same time back in 1986! I wish that I still had both of them! But...
Had they put out multiple numbers of cars like Lincoln and Cadillac did, I would understand. But it was only one car Imperial had thus there is no way you were going to open a dealer network that only sold one car.
The public viewed the Imperial as the big top of the line Chrysler luxury model. That may not be technically correct but it’s hard to change public perception once it’s established. Imperial has always been closely identified with Chrysler and the lines between the two divisions was blurry. Even back in the 70s, I heard folks use the term Chrysler Imperial often.
Sure wish I had my old ‘72 Oldsmobile Delta 88 Brougham again.... 2 humongous doors, Vinyl top, and a great 455 with a 4 barrel, what a machine!
These were "o.k.", but LACKED the "BUILD" of the GREAT Chrysler Products of the 40s-60s. They had a GREAT DRIVETRAIN, but not much more. I OWNED MoPars of this "period"!
most impressive was making the needle go past 120 & then watch it disappear, my 72 NY could do that no sweat.
Introducing the idea of a car alarm for the first time to most viewers with an annoying false alarm! Not shown, dozens of people grumbling to themselves about someone needing to shut the dang thing up...
Crime and car theft were rising in the 70s
As a matter of fact, I encountered a Ford Expedition so afflicted just today, its horn blasting, lights flashing--and no one was paying attention.
Broke down.had no money for repair, sadly, left it by the curb, in the Bixby Knolls area in Long Beach CA
C and y bodies baby
C bodies, Imperial was a D body until 1969 when it became a C body!
@@oliasofsunhillow7116 holy shit I screwed the pooch on that one. Jesus I am badd at math and the alphabet thank you
i say whos been tampering with my 1973 newport custom sedan?!
The 69-73 are so dam beautiful(a la 747) But they are just too dam big that's why I got a 68 new Yorker 4 door hard top
THE 1974 OIL EMBARGO.........FINISHED THEIR SPECIES OFF
@@RonPaulgirls Chrysler's 1970's problems stemmed from many things. I cite specific examples:
1973: 1st Arab Oil Embargo 1974: Redesigned C Full size bodies polara Monaco fury Newport Newport custom new Yorker
1976: volare/Aspen the most recalled cars in history
1977: lebaron diplomat based on the most recalled cars in history
1978: Bankruptcy
1979: r bodies st. Regis Newport new Yorker gran fury Again Redesigned Full size cars in a 2nd arab oil embargo.
There was no communication in Chrysler between the engineers the people on the factory floor the sales men the mechanics the parts guys anything it was a complete madhouse the factories were old and outdated cars were falling off the assembly line in hamtrack
I read the Lee I cook a biography I forgot the name it's highly recommended
Also the Walter Percy Chrysler biography diary of an American workmen highly recommended
What Chrysler lacked in quality control they made up for in everything else besides some questionable styling decisions in the early sixties
Thank you for listening
@@killerontheloose80 Those are all good points. Sad but true. I still love me a 1957-1966 Chrysler. I love the style of the 1977/78 Lebaron 2 door with the Medallion option.
@@rickloera9468 you're the man by the way. The 1951-1974 Chrysler products were Excellent. In Milan Kansas moms had a 76 dodge charger se kind of like your lebaron. Cheers...
Back in the days when you could set 6 people in a car comfortably now you can bearly get 5 4 at the most
sees 1973 Chrysler Imperial
cries in *oil crisis*
'73 Newport/NYR grills were dull. Too Chevy-like. '69-'72s are way more individualistic.
Had a bright red '72 Newport Royal Coupe w/black vinyl top. Even in the '80s it turned heads! I was surprised.
Now I have a very sinister black '71 Imperial LeBeron 2dr. coupe. One of only 1,440 2drs.
and 2 '68 Furys. Nothing beats Torsion-air w/rear leafs and unibody. "Fuselage" equals Few-So-Large!
I believe at this time Chysler realized it (Imperial) was a lost cause. Management realized that they could not afford a separate design, and customers did not care for Imperial. Cadillac sells 140,000 a year Imperial 14,000 a year. Yes, Imperial was a better car engineering wise, and torsion bar had a better ride and quality to it. That is why Cadillac went to torsion bar design. But you lost the game when a full size Plymouth Fury is not that far apart from an Imperial. The back and front look to close to each other. Imperial was an easy way to order a fully equipped New Yorker, with concealed headlights.
Cadillac also put out several different models and generally were distinctive from other GM brands but the Imperial was a poorly disguised Dodge Newport or Plymouth Fury.
@@tenfourproductionsllc do you always repeat what someone else has said. You are Cadillac!
“Enduring quality”? Lol! Sorry, not from Chrysler. My folks owned several. Body fit like it was put together by a drunken blind man. Knobs snd trim always falling off. Rattled like a can of marbles. Finally, I really got a kick out of how they labeled the clock the “chronometer.” Did have a helluva engine tho, which is why my dad put up with them.
He says "Chrysler-Imperial" while "Imperial" was STILL a separate marque at the time. This is quite literally the equivalent of a GM promo film extolling the greatness of the "Buick-Cadillac". (True on 2 counts, 1, "Buick" WAS the founding cornerstone of GM. 2,"Cadillac" was still ABOVE Buick in the Price/Prestige ranking, Same here.).SMH
@jamesslick4790 Actually, for 1971, Imperial was reduced to the pair of LeBaron models (the 2-door LeBaron model was added for 1969, while the lower-priced Crown series was discontinued at the end of the 1970 model year) so, it appears that Chrysler Corporation started considering it, once again, the top-of-the-line Chrysler model (the last time that happened was 1954).
Yeah, But "Imperial" still was a separate division ABOVE "Chrysler" until M.Y. 1975@@thomasshort1784
The good old days when an overweight female was the exception, not the norm.
Fuel Economy? Why bother!
What happened to Chrysler. From the 70s they were making unseen advancements and was super reliable. Now they are cheap trash. Same with gm
Actually, in 1973, they were behind the other car makers in every possible way, failing to see the changes in American lifestyles and gas prices. These could be bought next to nothing just 3 years afterwards because they had zero resale value.
God they ruined the styling in '73 compared to the '72's, though the mandated "impact bumpers" certainly didn't help.
Taylor Swift Mop but If one ain't right out of the Delivery Lifes room ware there is a Oth to be committed to What makes you think he gives a Shit about a Drivers License ?