Back in 1986, a friend of mine bought one of these 440 powered behemoths from an older gentleman. The older gentleman pulled a large boat with it, so he had 3.55 gears put in the rear end. OH MY GOD was that thing fast in a straight line. Red light racing was it's forte; we used to beat Trans Ams and Z28s with ease. We drove the car to the Daytona 500 that year and had a ball . It rode like a dream and got a respectable 15 mpg on the highway. I wish I had that car now. It was awesome.
The grill in that car stares at you like a Braun electric razor, While the grills in new cars stare at you like a Korean Schoolgirl cranked out on ecstasy. I miss old cars.
High School car in the late 90s was a 1969 Dodge Dart 4 door with a slant six, no power steering and no power brakes. Those hub caps rolled all over the town of Chico Ca and it was always the passenger’s duty to ensure proper recovery regardless of the peril involved.
I once drove a 1968 Pontiac Tempest through a construction area on a state highway in the north Maine woods, circa 1994. They had completely removed several miles of pavement in the process of lowering the grade by a couple of feet. Speed limit was barely jogging pace, and that felt too fast for the condition of the road. By the time I reached the end of the work area, laughing DOT workers had retrieved all four of my hubcaps and stacked them in the back seat for me, one at a time.
@jbdelaney I had one in the same position, in a 1979 Lincoln Mark V. Except... stock digital FM stereo. Seriously, red LED display. And right under that display? Quadraphonic. Yup, 8 track player :-D What a mix of technologies...
@@binbesteroh470I'm not a Chrysler fan but their best quality cars were reliable cars before 1995 to be exactly the best chrysler models were made in the 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s and some 80s models
I mean sometimes in the low light and stillness of the vigil you catch a glimpse of Mrs. Silver's granddaughter back from her junior year of college and it just has an effect on you.
@@charlieanddadreviewsandcha2243 "I AM A RED BLOODED PATROIT. I AM ENTITLED TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF MY FELLOW AMERICANS. THE POLICE IN MY TOWN ARE BOUGHT OUT. I CALLED THEM ON THE TEX MEX PLACE DOWN MY STREET AND THEY MADE NO ARRESTS. SAD."
"...ridiculous, aggressive styling cues that have no real reason to exist, beyond quietly reassuring sales managers with 5-figure alimony payments that masculinity isn't really under attack." *dude* I am always surprised, which means I should definitely not be surprised, by how refreshing, clever, and distinctly eloquent your shows are. I go from ogling about cars to contemplating how well I may or may not truly understand life and the people in it within a 15-20 minute video. Thank you, you're breathtaking. Oh, and the deviantART jab. So. Good.
America is a FREE country where every man have the God-given gun-protected right to spend ridiculous some on something that will assure him that, yes, he is a very big big boy, no he is a very big and manly and strong MAN and just looks small because its cold. If you dont like it git ut!!!
My dad had a '65 Chrysler Imperial, it was a beautiful beast of a vehicle. And the hubcap popping off reminds me of counting all of the hubcaps rolling around during the Bullitt chase scene.
lastvestiges no he didn't. He had an Imperial. It might've been a Custom, a Crown, or a LeBaron, but it wasn't a Chrysler any more than a Firebird is a Chevy.
65/66 was the zenith, the peak of the Imperial brand. 67 you could see a lot of New Yorker in it, money belt tightened to try and survive. This 70 looks much like New Yorker inside. A weak memory now, 65/66 had a light always on in the middle of the grill, I’m imagining a lit Imperial emblem. Also think they had real wood trim inside, teak? Tons of gorgeous chrome, the color to have was black!! There was a rare option of executive model, the “Mobile Director” the front passenger seat could face backwards and a regular front facing seat in the far back, a table to fold in place, a work spot, would’ve been really neat for a meeting with laptops in today’s world. I’d still love a shiny black with so much chrome 66 in my garage, the first year for thundering torque of 440, the final year of a more stand alone brand, fewer shared parts. On the ride of this car in video, I wonder if the shocks were weak. My folks had 71 New Yorker, 2:76 highway gears, not sure where top end was, guessed just at 90 once in night after passing two semis before they were slowed by large up/down hills, but instead there was no needle to be seen and was not even floored, frightening top end. 71 was last year of high compression. I test drove a 73 New Yorker once and thought I could outrun it, a complete low compression 440 snore by then. End of a great expansive American era, no limits on automobile size, felt like no limits on how far one could drive across America, family summer vacation 5 kids piled in, one or two the neighbors. Add a dog and a it was a Norman Rockwell painting. Everything was expansive and ginormous. Gas at 30 cents, the mechanical rotating and clicking $$ tally on the gas pumps did not exceed $9.99 top !!
I lost a hubcap from my 2002 Honda… it popped off as I came to a stop at a light. Too much traffic, so I couldn’t get out to retrieve it as you did Imperial’s. I bought 4 new hubcaps from eBay Motors for $20. LOL
_"Seeing one is like finding an old shoebox full of love letters and driving one is like sending them all twenty years later."_ Wow, this is poetry. You really do fuse car reviews with high art, and this is the at the core of the appeal of your channel.
My 95 Silverado is lighter than this thing, old American cars are amazing. That rear bumper is gorgeous, it’s flush with body and keeps the body line unbroken. You have to pay custom builder insane amounts of money to get styling like that today.
In 1979 my uncle gave me his 1969 Imperial.... At 16yo, that back seat was fantastical and better then any 70's van that was so popular at the time !😜 You'd show up at a girls house in a van and her dad would follow you all night... In a tan imperial, he'd just wanna know what ya got under the hood...
Nice analogy with the clean finger nails. Unfortunately anyone that owns one of these vintage 'land yachts' today has plenty of secretions under their own nails from working on said vehicle.
When I was 14 I worked on a farm during the summer. My boss had an early 60's (I think it was a 63) Imperial. I thought it was gorgeous. The headlight pod thing, the raked taillights. I wanted that car in the worst way. This was in 1988. He never drove the thing. It just sat in his garage and that always pissed me off.
@@tapper701 would've been, except Imperials were too well made, to tough/strong and as a rule, were banned from use in demo derbies. aside from being a huge waste like demo derby has been for so many cars.
Thanks for the analysis about rich people seeking vehicles that specifically could not do a lot of work. That was a goal back then. An extension of the clean fingernails theory. Great historical analysis!
That analysis is the least correct element of this video. Everyone drove sedans at the time, not just rich people. SUV's and trucks were nothing compared to today, and even wagons weren't as common as you might think. People at the just didn't buy much more car than they needed, and 90% of drivers don't need anything more than a sedan. Our current SUV and truck obsession would be like trying to cram dirt under your nails on purpose.
Crayton, thanks for being awake. I just liked rcr’s original thoughts on rich people back then, but didn’t stop and think how wrong it actually was. I got used to trusting rcr so i didn’t realize how way off he was.
Crayton, you're right on. It did "sound" nice, Mr. Regular's theory, but was debunked by you. I imagine he will not bother deleting us because we (including me, now) disagree with him on this one point.
Except it's wrong. Both my grandfathers drove their families of 9 and 5 kids each around in American luxury sedans and they each worked as a firefighter and a subway mechanic respectively. Neither were what you'd consider fabulously wealthy yet they both drove mainly Chryslers, Lincolns, Buicks and Oldsmobiles back then. Sinks and handsoap were also commonplace well before the 1950s as they didn't live their life with grimy hands and fingernails crammed with oil, dirt and crud either
I agree with the last part. There are many normal new sedans that are bland and angry in design, even small hatchback cars have to be angry with large grills where half of the surface is filled in. But few days ago at the crossroads I saw old Ford Cortina, it didn’t look in top shape, but it had charm and I glanced it from the point it entered my sight all the way when it went behind a building. I think it is time for the designers to bring back some creativity, make elegant cars look elegant, not pissed off with huge grills like new BMW 7, the previous one had a great look with smaller grill. Even the smaller cars have to be pissed off today.
MrBD Yes, and those trends appeals to the market. Just making lousy trends like those big grills, fake air vents, fake exhaust, same designs brings customers and that is why I am talking about BMW 7. Pre facelift I thought it was one gem among the high luxury cars with humongous grill, it was clean, elegant and with touch of BMW aggressive design. After facelift the 95% of car still looks great but that hideous thing in front ruins the rest, and it is placed there just so it could sell better, they didn’t care for prestige and design which just makes car look insecure in nature. Once I was walking and saw an SUV from far and I wasn’t sure if it was BMW or Mercedes since both now have same refrigerator white color and narrow back lights, and I was convinced it vas Mercedes but it was BMW. Also the high brands like Mercedes, BMW and Audi started cutting corners in quality matters. I started to look at Škoda Superb and say, yes this is the mid luxurious sedan like Passat but the design is focused and in its place. Mercedes Benz W212 also looked nice with the design reminiscent of Bruno Sacco’s of W124, but as soon the executives take charts and graphs and base the design on the statistics instead of the designers pen you have the bland pissed off econoboxes that want to be something they are not. Toyota Aygo looks like it is going to eat you. With what, some 1.0 liter engine?
Funny thing is in the 70's all cars looked alike too and in the 80's and in the 90's... Only when the design language shifts and most cars get scrapped the remaining ones, usually the desirable ones since no one preserves commuter econoboxes, stand out. In 30 years if you see one of today's cars on the road everyone will look at them and comment on how much character they have but now no one cares cause they are the norm.
Wow, in 1970 twice the price of a Datsun 240Z Just look what’s happened to the price of the Z Car in comparison to this Chrysler, who would have guessed in 1970 ?
Drifters are now turning to BMW M30s as a more affordable alternative to the S13. Seriously, the BMW in similar condition as the Nissan of similar vintage is cheaper. It’s even crazier when you consider the fact that the Datsun 510 was considered the poor man’s BMW 2002 when it was new. What a time to be alive.
That's actually fairly predictable, ...past a point, 'last year's luxury boat' is proportionately a lot less likely to hold value than almost anything else, except to a degree in an era where almost everything else is a boat, too. But, the premium price for those would generally be all about well-off people wanting to show they have the latest and greatest and all.
7:05 minor point to consider. These cars were also supposed to tow, no not all for utility, but tow travel trailers and other things because the idea of a luxury pickup was not a thing yet. A lot of these had tow packages available. I know the New Port and the New Yorker had optional rear gearing of 3.23 in this era. Also Chrysler's Auto Temp II climate control worked very well, especially on R12 refrigerant and that V2 compressor.
a bit unrelated but the 1973 town and country was built off of (roughly) the same platform and can tow 7000 lbs, which is impressive for a unibody car. wouldn't be surprised if that imperial could at least get 7000 lbs rolling to 15 or 20 mph.
One of the cars I had at my disposal when I got my license was a '76 Mercury Grand Marquis. It was pretty terrible to drive, and objectively the only thing it did quickly was burn fuel, but man, there's something about all that mass and all that torque when you're driving down the highway. It was also the first car I got over 100 mph (110 indicated; not sure how accurate the speedo was). And I did this with two of my high school buddies riding with me. Not the smartest thing I've done. That car was all over the road at that speed.
Now this is a little different than most transmissions... 1st doesn't work, but drive does. Neutral is park, reverse is 2nd. If you wanna use reverse, put it in drive. You got it? And the accelerator sticks too, so be careful, but don't be afraid of it, you gotta give it to her or it's gonna stall. Now take it for a little test drive Trevor and get used to it.
I loved that moment when you lost a hubcap. My Dad brought home lost hubcaps for me...I had so many kept in paper grocery bags kept in the garage during my happy childhood! I literally learned to read early from dad’s hubcap-gifts...not kidding. My favorite Imperial? 1965 Imperial Crown Convertible. Beat that...you won’t change my mind. Best hubcap Dad collected for me..? 1959 De Soto...I literally found out WTF it was from in summer 2019- it was just so cryptic...so Illuminati...
"I got me a car, it's as big as a whale...and we're headin' on down to the love shack...I got me a Chrysler, it seats about twenty...so hurry up and bring your jukebox money..."
"She came from Planet Claire ,I knew she came from there,She drove a Plymouth Satellite, faster than the speed of light"........ummm .....sorry got the wrong car model !
My Dad Had one of these, and soon after he got it, he had his licence suspended...so I had to be his driver for 3 months to get him around to work etc. I had just gotten my licence so I was all for it! It was a bit like driving your living room around and just as manoeuvrable but it was a real tire melter if you brake torque it. My buddies called it 'the Getto cruiser' but liked it because we could get all of us and our girlfriends in it at the same time.
Grow up with my family owning a 1972 Chrysler New Yorker with a 440. To me its the definition of luxury. aka running down the road with 6 grow adults, 3 up front and 3 in back, with the trunk load, AC on and doing a 100 mph and the engine isnt even trying its got some much torque and hp. Also, i love that you can measure the trunk space by how many dead bodies it can carry.
There once was a guy named BentDickBilly Who while driving his Imperial, exposed his willy It leaned to the east It leaned to the west After it was slammed in the door, It even leaned at rest!
My ear-to-ear grin started when that hubcap flew off, and it didn't stop 'till the end of the video. A fantastic car for, and an even better video to chronicle its cultural significance.
First of all, I am not a New Age ass hat, second, I actually oppose New Age religions, third, what the fuck is wrong with eating apples, let alone having apple pie and whipped cream, fourth, what the fuck is a ginger file?
This video expresses the exact view I have on older American cars. I drive a 1991 Buick Roadmaster Wagon with the required wood sides and a 1987 Ford LTD Crown Victoria because I love what they are and how they drive. The wagon gets questions almost everywhere I go with it.
I was 9 years old and falling in love with all things with wheels and engines. With a fantastic Dad who owned a small Mon&Sons Trucking Company. So Dad was well off and loved big cars. So at 9 years old Dad brought me with him when he traded in his 64 Lincoln lemon in on a beautiful 64 Imperial Crown Coupe, in awesome metallic turquoise with black roof and matching leather that was the softest I’ve ever felt!
I have a 1970 Chrysler Newport Custom on the same platform. It’s a 2 door, and my favorite thing about it is they made no attempt to alter the car’s lines to suit having 2 doors instead of 4. It’s just 2 doors then a vast acreage of space where the rear doors would be, along with an enormously wide B pillar to block up the rear window space.
The thing you said about large sedans kinda makes me laugh, my great grandfather had this massive old sedan, maybe a 40s Buick or a 4 door tri-five, or even a early Cadillac El Dorado, and he used it as a *_farm truck_* he towed trailers with it, went around the farm looking at crops with it etc. Imagine having that level of not giving any that you use a luxury sedan as a work vehicle. You don't see that anymore. Edit: I asked Daddy, it was an Olds 88, I think a late 50s one.
I think this is a case of Mr. Regular applying some modern sensibilities to a prior era. In the 70's and earlier, cars and trucks were a lot more differentiated than they are now. Unless you lived on a farm or absolutely required one, you weren't rolling around in your truck all the time like people do now. And for good reason! Trucks were spartan and harsh to drive. It's part of the reason people did all kinds of light to moderate tasks in cars, like your Grandfather. Hell, it's why station wagons were so popular. They wanted utility without sacrificing the comfort and convenience of their cars.
@@LN997-i8x and believe me, I know about the trucks of back then, when a radio was a luxury item, and you had a single bench seat and the kids sat in the bed with the dog.
Sounds like my parents and their Mercedes W126 in the 90s. Used to haul firewood and muddy stumps in the trunk. Also hauled a utility trailer everywhere with it.
My first car was a '73 Dodge Monaco Brougham four-door, hardtop. It was essentially this car. It had the floor pushbutton for the radio tuner and a rear AIR defroster. It was a beast. I paid $350 for it, drove it a year, replaced the carbuerator and the alternator and then sold it for $500. Wish I could find one today.
I rode in one of these things back in the day, with the glove leather seats and new suspension it was a super sweet ride. And it actually could move out with confidence when you hit the gas. It didn't feel that heavy and for luxury cars at the time it really wasn't. Oddly, I recall the cars I knew of at the time had a nasty habit of blowing their engines.... They weren't common, so the fact that I recall two going out that way seems relevant.... Maybe Imperial owners just never changed their oil... I suppose that the Caddys and the Toronados rode a little bit better.... but the 440 just made the Imperial somehow feel more powerful. And somehow it felt like you sat higher in it than in the big GM's, This thing was all about how you felt in it... and how you looked in it. And it just felt good to drive and you looked sharp driving it... Some of that feeling might be lost in time... but this was actually one of these magic cars that became more than the sum of it's parts.
I was pretty intrigued when Regular mentioned the 0 to 60 of this thing. I drove around an 86 Caddy Fleetwood that handled like junk, had body roll, and did 0 to 60 in yes (23ish seconds throttle down). This imperial sounds nice, not going to lie
@@todddenio3200 My favorite ride was the 1973-1975 Toranado or the 1975 Fleetwood or Coup De Ville... the engines were just a little quieter than the 440 and the trans was a little bit smoother, but yes the 1970 ish imperial was truly wonderful.
@@RJ-vb7gh for me smoother shifts are minor as a car isnt shifting constantly and at highway speeds the 440 is plenty smooth. For me the smoothness of the ride from the suspension is what is most important due to very severe back trouble (so far 16 out of 23 discs in my back and neck are destroyed with surgery to fuse tem as the only solution).
You have no idea how happy this makes me. I own a 1970 Dodge Phoenix (otherwise known as a Plymouth Fury) which I am yet to drive, as it’s a project. Can’t wait until it’s done!
You actually think there's much resemblance between a genesis and a hyundai? You been in a genesis? Might be the same company, but it won't be the same old crap with a new badge trying to pretend it's REALLY NOT the same old crap.
Our family car through much of the 70s was a dark green 69 Imperial LeBaron Coupe. In that 2 door coupe I swear those doors must have been 6 ft long, they were huge. That car had power everything auto dimming high beams and a factory in the dash 8-track player. It was the family car until 1980 when mom backed out of the driveway with the door open, caught it on a post, overextended the passenger door causing minor body damage. It was out of commission for a while, dad bought a Volkswagen Dasher. Months later he bought a brand new 1981 Chevrolet Caprice Classic, fully loaded of course. The 69 Imperial lived in my grandpa's barn for two or three years until I was 15, then I threw a battery and some gas in it and ran it up and down our dead end road leaving epic one tire fire burnouts. The car was out of style by then, but the 440 was awesome.
There often is an Bahama Blue 1970 Imperial Crown Hardtop Sedan at the carmeet I've been going to, for the past 6 years. Evenso: I still love the car, when I see it. Gotta love Fuselage Mopars!
The AZ dealers in 1970 sold Plymouth, Chrysler, and Imperial on the same lot. The service bay took care of them all in the same manner. In the C body you could buy a Fury I, Ii, or III, a Sport Fury, a Newport, 300, New Yorker, or Imperial. The Chryslers/Imperials all looked similar, especially the interiors. They all came with a 727 automatic and could be ordered with a 440, many at half the price of Imperial. The same customer experience from the same slimy process, and quality was based on getting a car built Tuesday - Thursday as much as the model chosen. It's amazing any Imperials were sold at all. I'm glad someone bought them. I like them. Take it easy on the old girl.
Bought the same car in 86 for $500.00. Put a battery, four Kmart recaps and a windshield in it then drove it 4 years until a torsion bar broke. That was game for this era Chrysler. About 6 MPG down hill. But heater could bake cookies and the AC could freeze meat. She went to the junk yard with absolutely everything working.
Imperial may not have had a separate dealer network, but they were the only one of the "Big 3" to build their cars of a unique platform, at least from 1957-1966 (The unibody Continental of those years was distinct from the Galaxie 500 and its Mercury siblings, but it was derived from, and built on the same assembly lines as the Thunderbird, despite the nearly 2,000 pound weight difference.). Of course the problem with unique platforms is that they tend to get antiquated, with little volume to justify updates. There is a C&D test posted somewhere comparing a 1965 Imperial with a Rolls Royce (Silver Cloud, NOT the then-new Shadow), a Mercedes, Jaguar, Continental and Cadillac Fleetwood. Predictably, the Mercedes was their top pick, and the Fleetwood, despite being a stretched Chevy, was a surprisingly competitive (and light) second. Meanwhile, the Imperial and Rolls were both diplomatically described and nice but sadly out-dated and more like trucks than cars. From what I've heard, the '57-'66 Imperial was the only passenger car to be banned from most demolition derbys for being too much of a threat to the safety of other drivers.
The "rear blower" is the rear defroster. Imperial DID offer "rear air conditioning" which contained a second evap coil and separate blower. A great feature in Arizona (I had 3 over the years).
My dad said back in the 70s the road was littered with hubcaps all the time, especially in curves. My Ford Falcon looses a hubcap every now and then. I usually chase them down but sometimes you just don't notice so I keep extras in the trunk.
Our neighbor bought one, the one with the swiveling bucket seats that swiveled toward the door and the passenger seat swiveled to face the rear. It was the cat's meow and everyone was envious. It was expensive too. Very expensive in 1969 money.
I took my license test in a ‘73 Chrysler Newport, and back then you had to parallel park these huge rides. people nowadays cant even change lanes without a computer telling them it’s safe to do so This tool doing the review really doesn’t about know cars made back then, every car review he does he just rips on them, it’s obvious he drives his moms Kia
Excellent review... one of your best, and probably the best summary I've heard regarding the problems Chrysler had trying to flirt with luxury throughout the 20th century.
To me it's the kind of car that would be driven by Sammy 'The Shiv' and his crew on their way to shakedown the neighborhood laundromat for "protection money" or to be certain Luigi's Pizzeria bought that specific brand of Mozzarella from that specific distributor in New Jersey. "That's a nice pizza joint you got there. It'd be a shame if something happened to it."
My parents owned a 1970 Chrysler 300 2-door and a 1972 Chrysler Imperial LeBaron 2-door with high bucket seats and every option available at the time. These were great cars
"The lack of individual showrooms for the Imperial" wasn't the only problem Chrysler had in the endeavor... it was also the lack of the legendary name of one man, the great engineer and Father of the Luxury Automobile, Henry Leland. The same man that created Cadillac and Lincoln. Without that name behind newer luxury horseless carriages, the Imperial would never reach the heights or sales of either Cadillac or Lincoln. Whether or not buyers even realized that fact. Although, in many respects the Imperial was every bit the opulent luxury car that either of the other two were; sadly, it's sales never reflected that fact. I had an uncle that always bought the 1960's - early 1970's Imperial, he use to say: "If you want to waste your money on a name, then buy an overpriced Lincoln or Cadillac, if you don't then buy an Imperial!"
My dad had a '72 Chrysler Newport. Very similar looking with gigantic chrome bumper on both ends. It had the same 'missing B-pillars' and the 383 V8 with a two-bbl. This is the only luxo-boat he ever bought in his entire life. He bought '52 Chevy 4-door when he mustered out of the Navy. He replaced that with a '59 Chevy Station Wagon and in 68 he bought a Plymouth Fury II 4-door. Well, business must have been good, in 1972 he bought the Newport. This car was a revelation. The hood looked like the deck of an aircraft carrier. I was just a little kid and I remember thinking that it was a good thing there weren't any B-pillars because I was sitting so low in the back seat that I could barely see over the window sills and I felt that if those pillars had been there I would have felt claustrophobic. He kept it through the fuel crisis and then replaced it with a 1979 Honda Accord, the one with the "manu-matic" transmission. Let's just say my dad was never a "car guy" as his next car was a '89 Dodge Aries K car. In the mid 80's he custom ordered a Dodge Intrepid and waited patiently for it to be delivered. The dealer called him and told him the car would be arriving that day, so he drove over in the K-car and watched the dealer drop it off the car carrier rig - literally DROP the car off the carrier, totalling it right in front of him. The shame-faced dealer gave him a HUGE discount on a similar looking Eagle Vision that 'just happened' to be languishing on his lot. That was the first and last time dad ever custom ordered a car. When he retired he scaled down and got a Neon (What a $#!+ box!) He traded that for the 2011 Subaru Forester X he drove until the day he died.
Imperial was a separate registered division from 1955 to 1993. Yes, someone could have a stand alone dealership during those times. However when the whole division sold 14,000 units nationwide. The folks at the Imperial division could have done so much more to improve sales, but that is from a hindsight perspective. When your fighting Cadillac at 100,000 units per year, and Lincoln at 20,000 units per year. What would you do?
All fuselage Mopars are really interesting cars. I bet most of them rusted out decades ago, and the survivors will be worth something. Gramps always had a Fury for his travelling salesman role, and I inherited his '73 Polara. I remember the immense size, huge trunk, not much go with the 318, ride like floating on air, and terrible in the twisties (but solid on the interstate). My folks had a 73 Catalina. Not quite as imposing but much sportier and easier to drive. I could go on. Would love to drive any of these again, after all these years.
The official car of two mafia soldato’s traveling down the pulaski skyway heading to the abandon warehouse where they’re to dump the body in the trunk.
So cool. Very similar to a '75 Chrysler Newport I had, cranberry with white leather. Loved that car. Handled surprisingly well for a boat, tons of torque with a 400 4 barrel.
Honestly this car looks so fun to drive, you turn and the whole car rolls around, you step on the gas and the front lifts up like a boat, you stop and it nose dives, it just looks like the handling is so bad its fun
One interesting fact: The 1973 Imperial, with a 235 inch overall length, was the last one with a stretched wheelbase. The first Imperial to equal the 1973's near-limousine-level legroom was the 1989-1993 K-car based model, despite being nearly 3 feet shorter.
"If you've seen one, you've seen them all" - that's interesting, because when I started to be a teenager in the early 90s, my mother talked to me like that: "I can't discern the modern cars from each other any more, to me they all look alike" - so I wonder whether this is something that comes with age, while a young kid from today will be able to identify a car at 200 yards distance in the dark just from the shape of its tail lights, as I was back in the late 80s and early 90s?
Seegal Galguntijak it definitely is a thing of age. When the Beatles came out there were a slew of critics who called them a brash bastardization of contemporary music. There will be generalizations of everything for all time from people who’ve given up on seeing the distinctions between things, and resort to painting them all with the same brush.
Well, actually there is a reason modern cars look alike. At this point with wind tunnel testing and computer modelling, all the manufacturers have come to a somewhat standard shape that maximizes efficiency. They just add some minor styling cues to the basic shape.
@@Rubycon99 Yes, and the shape of the tail lights is one major factor of that, some are shaped like an outwards arrow, others like an inwards arrow, the next ones have a "C" shape, and so on. I just don't remember any more which brand does which ;)
@@roddydykes7053 Is that because with age, your mind gets simpler, doesn't want to think complicated any more, and therefore flattens everything out to being similar? Too much input to process? Is that getting worse with each passing year or decade? Can I stop aging then, please? Now? Or rather 10 years ago? ;)
@@Rubycon99 Realistically, are modern cars really so much more alike compared to cars from the 70s? You could easily just say every sedan from the 70s is just a massive square with wings and a coupe-y roof and an Braun electric shaver for a face. And what shade of BROWN would you like it in good Sir?
Back in the day (1978 - when I was a stupid kid) we drove a 1966 Chrysler New Yorker from Fargo, ND to Rapid City, SD (500 miles). We got there in under 5 hours (125 mph average) and got over 25 mpg. They don't make em like that anymore.
my buddy had one of those, I could stretch out in the back seat and nap while we just cruised around! going up a steep hill, couldn't see anything in front of you!! loved that car!
We had a baby blue ‘73 in 1985, did a massive sideways burnout ( with Firestone Town&Country Snowbiters lol ) in the h.s. parking lot. My dad put 2.25” duals with short body ‘turbo’ mufflers on it, which really helped the sound and mpg.
This was a really pleasant, and I daresay poetic, video. I wasn't expecting the level of calm insight and borderline romanticized longings displayed here. You have an astute way of capturing the era and symbolism of most cars you review. That, by far, is the most interesting part of the reviews. >The lewdness is breddy gud too
10+ MPG is pretty impressive from a true 1970's land yacht.
We got 15 in our '68 new yorker on a road trip. It was running pretty good at the time
My class A 28’ motor home with a 440 gets 10 mpg
Back in 1986, a friend of mine bought one of these 440 powered behemoths from an older gentleman. The older gentleman pulled a large boat with it, so he had 3.55 gears put in the rear end. OH MY GOD was that thing fast in a straight line. Red light racing was it's forte; we used to beat Trans Ams and Z28s with ease. We drove the car to the Daytona 500 that year and had a ball . It rode like a dream and got a respectable 15 mpg on the highway.
I wish I had that car now. It was awesome.
They weren’t racing you 🤣
b o b e v a n s
s s s . . .
Down on the farm
Not a fan of Roman's intro/outros. Skip. Skip always. Get your own channel, Roman and see how it goes. You are the Mike Matei of AVGN.
Mike Cronis bro. C’mon.
Mike Cronis Funny. He writes half the script. All those jokes and gags you love? Half of them are Roman. Unsub button is right there, bud.
The grill in that car stares at you like a Braun electric razor, While the grills in new cars stare at you like a Korean Schoolgirl cranked out on ecstasy.
I miss old cars.
Lol, go back exactly one decade, chrysler was definitely ahead of their time with their bizarre grills and contorted headlights.
Seen many korean schoolgirls cranked out on ecstasy much??? I haven't seen that even here in Australia.
Same
@whiterthan hitler Consider it yours, Fly and be free my Analogy.
@@spurgear4 😆
Chrysler Imperial
Or has it's called in Europe
Chrysler Metric
Ha
Comment of the video right here.
Well done
Well done indeed
boooo
High School car in the late 90s was a 1969 Dodge Dart 4 door with a slant six, no power steering and no power brakes. Those hub caps rolled all over the town of Chico Ca and it was always the passenger’s duty to ensure proper recovery regardless of the peril involved.
I owned a 1977 dodge royal monaco brougham station wagon back in the day, that thing was 23.6 feet long!
In the late 90's, all I saw was Civics and 80's GM's.
I had a 72 Plymouth Gran Fury. Had originally been a game warden vehicle. Had more trunk space than an s10 had bed space.
I once drove a 1968 Pontiac Tempest through a construction area on a state highway in the north Maine woods, circa 1994. They had completely removed several miles of pavement in the process of lowering the grade by a couple of feet. Speed limit was barely jogging pace, and that felt too fast for the condition of the road. By the time I reached the end of the work area, laughing DOT workers had retrieved all four of my hubcaps and stacked them in the back seat for me, one at a time.
@@MrZappaman420 even the name is loooooooonnnnnnnnng
0:40 Let's pray for the soul of that hubcap. R.I.P. 1970-2019.
That ain't the hubcap's first rodeo, it knows the drill
F
Nah. That hubcap's been flat on it's back more than yo mama.
You can't have a 1970s movie chase scene without hubcaps peeling off like skin on a orange...
It has character now.
1970s Business man: Muh radio seeker ain't workin'!
Everyone else on the road: Stop flashing your brights!
Or you go to dim your lights and accidentally change the radio station in the middle of your favorite song.
this made me laugh waaaayyy more than it had any right to XD
@@justinstearns9723 You too. Just imagining that shit almost got me on the ground laughing
@jbdelaney I had one in the same position, in a 1979 Lincoln Mark V. Except... stock digital FM stereo. Seriously, red LED display. And right under that display? Quadraphonic. Yup, 8 track player :-D What a mix of technologies...
It's hard to believe that at one time Chrysler made solid, desirable, high quality automobiles.
I mean fools who don't know any better love the 300
B-Wulf they still do.
Hal 1000 in what world?
... yeah ... "high quality" ...
@@binbesteroh470I'm not a Chrysler fan but their best quality cars were reliable cars before 1995 to be exactly the best chrysler models were made in the 30s 40s 50s 60s 70s and some 80s models
"Grew like an unwanted erection at a candlelight vigil" might be the finest work of writing I've ever heard!
And since you know it's almost certainly based on personal experience it makes it all the better.
I mean sometimes in the low light and stillness of the vigil you catch a glimpse of Mrs. Silver's granddaughter back from her junior year of college and it just has an effect on you.
Whoa that front end is s m o o t h
You think the front is smooth? Go to 5:59
That dash though.
Fuselage styling is SORELY underrated.
Looks like a Remington electric shaver.
To use on you're hairier balls.
@@tamiwu0346 I think he meant the front suspension is smooth lol
My favorite feature of this car! I like the flip-up headlight covers, too. :3
The official car of "Its MILES not Kilometers! Everyone else is WRONG"
King of Roses I mean it ain’t called the chrysler metric!
Also this is America if you don’t speak English “leave”.
@@charlieanddadreviewsandcha2243 "I AM A RED BLOODED PATROIT. I AM ENTITLED TO ENSURE THE SAFETY OF MY FELLOW AMERICANS. THE POLICE IN MY TOWN ARE BOUGHT OUT. I CALLED THEM ON THE TEX MEX PLACE DOWN MY STREET AND THEY MADE NO ARRESTS. SAD."
BURGERS PER BALD EAGLE!!
🦅 🇺🇸
what the heck is an imperial ton? in my part of the world we had a thing called "proletarian revolution" to get rid of imperialism of any kind
"...ridiculous, aggressive styling cues that have no real reason to exist, beyond quietly reassuring sales managers with 5-figure alimony payments that masculinity isn't really under attack."
*dude* I am always surprised, which means I should definitely not be surprised, by how refreshing, clever, and distinctly eloquent your shows are. I go from ogling about cars to contemplating how well I may or may not truly understand life and the people in it within a 15-20 minute video. Thank you, you're breathtaking.
Oh, and the deviantART jab. So. Good.
Totally agree -this is some well thought connected words that paint a sweet picture- like nobody else
No
You're breathtaking
"Like an unwanted erection at a candlelight vigil"
The last few paragraphs of the monologue around 15:15 is one of his best outros to date.
America is a FREE country where every man have the God-given gun-protected right to spend ridiculous some on something that will assure him that, yes, he is a very big big boy, no he is a very big and manly and strong MAN and just looks small because its cold. If you dont like it git ut!!!
Chrsyler Imperial: for the man who wants a boat but doesn't want to get wet
For the man who wants to buy a boat but not regret it/sell it on
CallOfCody I wouldn’t go that far .
Nothing will ever, ever ride as nice as these huge 70's Chrysler's.
@@morteparla6926 my late grandma loved old Chryslers and Caddies.
Having owned a '91 New Yorker, I can understand that. You want a boat, but don't want seasickness....
Early 70s Mopars were dummy thicc.
Cursed comment
@@scottkrafft6830 indeed
They called it Fuselage styling.
A big car was considered a luxury back then. You know what else is always a big car? A limousine
@@ScubaSteveM45 I know that.
"The world belongs to us, Linda, for as long as an unfiltered cigarette and pitch-black coffee are part of this complete breakfast."
This made my day
15:36
New from Lucky Strike...ASBESTOS FILTERS! Nine out of ten heart surgeons agree! Be the first on your block to try 'em!
LMAOOO, "gotta try em before those pesky communists say they're bad for your health!"@@zephead843
My dad had a '65 Chrysler Imperial, it was a beautiful beast of a vehicle.
And the hubcap popping off reminds me of counting all of the hubcaps rolling around during the Bullitt chase scene.
lastvestiges no he didn't. He had an Imperial. It might've been a Custom, a Crown, or a LeBaron, but it wasn't a Chrysler any more than a Firebird is a Chevy.
@@mattmatthews5414 Shut the fuck up
@@dominator9833 He's not wrong; but yeah, he should've shut the the fuck up
65/66 was the zenith, the peak of the Imperial brand. 67 you could see a lot of New Yorker in it, money belt tightened to try and survive. This 70 looks much like New Yorker inside. A weak memory now, 65/66 had a light always on in the middle of the grill, I’m imagining a lit Imperial emblem. Also think they had real wood trim inside, teak?
Tons of gorgeous chrome, the color to have was black!! There was a rare option of executive model, the “Mobile Director” the front passenger seat could face backwards and a regular front facing seat in the far back, a table to fold in place, a work spot, would’ve been really neat for a meeting with laptops in today’s world. I’d still love a shiny black with so much chrome 66 in my garage, the first year for thundering torque of 440, the final year of a more stand alone brand, fewer shared parts. On the ride of this car in video, I wonder if the shocks were weak. My folks had 71 New Yorker, 2:76 highway gears, not sure where top end was, guessed just at 90 once in night after passing two semis before they were slowed by large up/down hills, but instead there was no needle to be seen and was not even floored, frightening top end. 71 was last year of high compression. I test drove a 73 New Yorker once and thought I could outrun it, a complete low compression 440 snore by then. End of a great expansive American era, no limits on automobile size, felt like no limits on how far one could drive across America, family summer vacation 5 kids piled in, one or two the neighbors. Add a dog and a it was a Norman Rockwell painting. Everything was expansive and ginormous. Gas at 30 cents, the mechanical rotating and clicking $$ tally on the gas pumps did not exceed $9.99 top !!
I lost a hubcap from my 2002 Honda… it popped off as I came to a stop at a light. Too much traffic, so I couldn’t get out to retrieve it as you did Imperial’s. I bought 4 new hubcaps from eBay Motors for $20. LOL
This car is the automotive equivalent of Donna's dad in That 70's Show.
BOB😂
E36_318ti BEAMERBOY _Bahb_
Well, now I'm picturing Bob Pinciotti driving around with Midge in one of these things. It fits.
@@cirrustate8674
You know what also fits?
*My foot kicking your ass.*
Only if there's melted cheese and afro hair all over the interior.
_"Seeing one is like finding an old shoebox full of love letters and driving one is like sending them all twenty years later."_
Wow, this is poetry. You really do fuse car reviews with high art, and this is the at the core of the appeal of your channel.
vcolinc REAL FART
My 95 Silverado is lighter than this thing, old American cars are amazing. That rear bumper is gorgeous, it’s flush with body and keeps the body line unbroken. You have to pay custom builder insane amounts of money to get styling like that today.
This. I can see why people think they’re ugly but I think imperials are badass. The right color and wheels and that car would be dope.
The styling of this car is almost brutalist. It's looks like a flatbed trailer filled with boardroom tables and boxes of Seagram's 7. I'd drive it.
I think it looks like a futuristic car in a sense.
The front reminds me of a dodge charger. That's a compliment.
I see no raw concrete on that car.
In 1979 my uncle gave me his 1969 Imperial....
At
16yo, that back seat was fantastical and better then any 70's van that was so popular at the time !😜
You'd show up at a girls house in a van and her dad would follow you all night...
In a tan imperial, he'd just wanna know what ya got under the hood...
Nice analogy with the clean finger nails. Unfortunately anyone that owns one of these vintage 'land yachts' today has plenty of secretions under their own nails from working on said vehicle.
When I was 14 I worked on a farm during the summer. My boss had an early 60's (I think it was a 63) Imperial. I thought it was gorgeous. The headlight pod thing, the raked taillights. I wanted that car in the worst way. This was in 1988. He never drove the thing. It just sat in his garage and that always pissed me off.
This is not a sedan. It is a 4 door hardtop.
Thank you. At least 1 person knows tf is up, lol.
@@gzuzsavz A demolition derby persons dream car ...
@@tapper701 would've been, except Imperials were too well made, to tough/strong and as a rule, were banned from use in demo derbies. aside from being a huge waste like demo derby has been for so many cars.
@@gzuzsavz I thought that was the body-on-frame cars? (1970 is a C-body unibody)
@@Pershingtank Idk..was the Imperial demo derby ban ever lifted? Frame or no, still a very big and tough car, lol
Thanks for the analysis about rich people seeking vehicles that specifically could not do a lot of work. That was a goal back then. An extension of the clean fingernails theory. Great historical analysis!
I have a feeling that still extends to today, I mean just look at the BMW X6, or the Mercedes Benz GLE Coupe. Not a lot of work, expensive.
That analysis is the least correct element of this video. Everyone drove sedans at the time, not just rich people. SUV's and trucks were nothing compared to today, and even wagons weren't as common as you might think. People at the just didn't buy much more car than they needed, and 90% of drivers don't need anything more than a sedan. Our current SUV and truck obsession would be like trying to cram dirt under your nails on purpose.
Crayton, thanks for being awake. I just liked rcr’s original thoughts on rich people back then, but didn’t stop and think how wrong it actually was. I got used to trusting rcr so i didn’t realize how way off he was.
Crayton, you're right on. It did "sound" nice, Mr. Regular's theory, but was debunked by you. I imagine he will not bother deleting us because we (including me, now) disagree with him on this one point.
Except it's wrong. Both my grandfathers drove their families of 9 and 5 kids each around in American luxury sedans and they each worked as a firefighter and a subway mechanic respectively. Neither were what you'd consider fabulously wealthy yet they both drove mainly Chryslers, Lincolns, Buicks and Oldsmobiles back then. Sinks and handsoap were also commonplace well before the 1950s as they didn't live their life with grimy hands and fingernails crammed with oil, dirt and crud either
I agree with the last part. There are many normal new sedans that are bland and angry in design, even small hatchback cars have to be angry with large grills where half of the surface is filled in. But few days ago at the crossroads I saw old Ford Cortina, it didn’t look in top shape, but it had charm and I glanced it from the point it entered my sight all the way when it went behind a building.
I think it is time for the designers to bring back some creativity, make elegant cars look elegant, not pissed off with huge grills like new BMW 7, the previous one had a great look with smaller grill. Even the smaller cars have to be pissed off today.
but normie people want big grilles, because they want people to know how big their grilles are
and that's sad, I want regular fitted grilles too
If it's not angry as can be, it's considered bland. If it doesn't look sporty, it's considered boring.
Modern car design is the automotive equivalent of a freak show, the biggest ugliest monstrosity is what makes "unique" and "stylish".
MrBD Yes, and those trends appeals to the market. Just making lousy trends like those big grills, fake air vents, fake exhaust, same designs brings customers and that is why I am talking about BMW 7. Pre facelift I thought it was one gem among the high luxury cars with humongous grill, it was clean, elegant and with touch of BMW aggressive design. After facelift the 95% of car still looks great but that hideous thing in front ruins the rest, and it is placed there just so it could sell better, they didn’t care for prestige and design which just makes car look insecure in nature. Once I was walking and saw an SUV from far and I wasn’t sure if it was BMW or Mercedes since both now have same refrigerator white color and narrow back lights, and I was convinced it vas Mercedes but it was BMW. Also the high brands like Mercedes, BMW and Audi started cutting corners in quality matters.
I started to look at Škoda Superb and say, yes this is the mid luxurious sedan like Passat but the design is focused and in its place. Mercedes Benz W212 also looked nice with the design reminiscent of Bruno Sacco’s of W124, but as soon the executives take charts and graphs and base the design on the statistics instead of the designers pen you have the bland pissed off econoboxes that want to be something they are not. Toyota Aygo looks like it is going to eat you. With what, some 1.0 liter engine?
Funny thing is in the 70's all cars looked alike too and in the 80's and in the 90's... Only when the design language shifts and most cars get scrapped the remaining ones, usually the desirable ones since no one preserves commuter econoboxes, stand out. In 30 years if you see one of today's cars on the road everyone will look at them and comment on how much character they have but now no one cares cause they are the norm.
Column Shifter and Bench Seats, like a good car!
Wow, in 1970 twice the price of a Datsun 240Z
Just look what’s happened to the price of the Z Car in comparison to this Chrysler, who would have guessed in 1970 ?
The Chrysler 300 Hurst would be the most desirable 1970 Chrysler in today's market.
Or that a 1970 Honda CB 750 would be worth way more than this thing today.
Drifters are now turning to BMW M30s as a more affordable alternative to the S13. Seriously, the BMW in similar condition as the Nissan of similar vintage is cheaper. It’s even crazier when you consider the fact that the Datsun 510 was considered the poor man’s BMW 2002 when it was new. What a time to be alive.
@@TBustah It just proves people are brand whores. Consumers are stupid. They just follow what they are told most of the time.
That's actually fairly predictable, ...past a point, 'last year's luxury boat' is proportionately a lot less likely to hold value than almost anything else, except to a degree in an era where almost everything else is a boat, too.
But, the premium price for those would generally be all about well-off people wanting to show they have the latest and greatest and all.
7:05 minor point to consider. These cars were also supposed to tow, no not all for utility, but tow travel trailers and other things because the idea of a luxury pickup was not a thing yet. A lot of these had tow packages available. I know the New Port and the New Yorker had optional rear gearing of 3.23 in this era. Also Chrysler's Auto Temp II climate control worked very well, especially on R12 refrigerant and that V2 compressor.
Yeah. And not just those little 'pop up' trailers, either. We're talking about those big Aluminum Twinkie things.
@@xaenon your right. I have first hand experience with these cars.
@@thejunkman Oh, I didn't mean to imply you didn't. Just for the benefit of those who weren't around then.
a bit unrelated but the 1973 town and country was built off of (roughly) the same platform and can tow 7000 lbs, which is impressive for a unibody car. wouldn't be surprised if that imperial could at least get 7000 lbs rolling to 15 or 20 mph.
I always like Imperials and the drone of the 383/400/440 engines. Even at idle it sounds cool with stock exhaust.
I second this. The stock exhaust on these has a nice burble at idle.
Hell yes!
Coolest feature I've ever seen, a kick switch for the radio search! You have to love classics!
I love these old Land Yachts. Takes me back to when my Dad drove 1960s Plymouths.
One of the cars I had at my disposal when I got my license was a '76 Mercury Grand Marquis. It was pretty terrible to drive, and objectively the only thing it did quickly was burn fuel, but man, there's something about all that mass and all that torque when you're driving down the highway.
It was also the first car I got over 100 mph (110 indicated; not sure how accurate the speedo was). And I did this with two of my high school buddies riding with me. Not the smartest thing I've done. That car was all over the road at that speed.
Came for the Imperial, stayed for the lecture on the societal meaning of fingernail hygiene.
I have the feeling that this reviewer is not very hygienic and wears the 2” stick on fingernails
These big old sedans always remind me of trailer park boys
Hi there mate, Greetings from a TPB fan from Brazil!
Mr Lahey what happened to our car
I made it a convertible bobandy
@@yalantyr25 Hehehehehe
Now this is a little different than most transmissions... 1st doesn't work, but drive does. Neutral is park, reverse is 2nd. If you wanna use reverse, put it in drive. You got it? And the accelerator sticks too, so be careful, but don't be afraid of it, you gotta give it to her or it's gonna stall. Now take it for a little test drive Trevor and get used to it.
@@ordinaryJeff Lol, the Lebaron in this video haves a different way of puting in drive so it has the New Yorker dna on it lmao
I loved that moment when you lost a hubcap.
My Dad brought home lost hubcaps for me...I had so many kept in paper grocery bags kept in the garage during my happy childhood!
I literally learned to read early from dad’s hubcap-gifts...not kidding.
My favorite Imperial?
1965 Imperial Crown Convertible.
Beat that...you won’t change my mind.
Best hubcap Dad collected for me..?
1959 De Soto...I literally found out WTF it was from in summer 2019- it was just so cryptic...so Illuminati...
"I give you.... his imperial excellence, le baron of chrysler"
@scott f will you take Brocade, or Corinthian Leather as your selection fine sir, or perhaps a blend of both?
"I got me a car, it's as big as a whale...and we're headin' on down to the love shack...I got me a Chrysler, it seats about twenty...so hurry up and bring your jukebox money..."
Love shack, it’s a little old place where…we can get togethahah!
"She came from Planet Claire
,I knew she came from there,She drove a Plymouth Satellite, faster than the speed of light"........ummm .....sorry got the wrong car model !
Understood , I did not think that I was so far off , as a Satellite has similar pedigree...sorry about that.
Mafia murder Ocean Parkway body disposal transportation.
"look at all those dead whores"
Just leave the body in the trunk...nobody will ever find it :D
My Dad Had one of these, and soon after he got it, he had his licence suspended...so I had to be his driver for 3 months to get him around to work etc. I had just gotten my licence so I was all for it! It was a bit like driving your living room around and just as manoeuvrable but it was a real tire melter if you brake torque it. My buddies called it 'the Getto cruiser' but liked it because we could get all of us and our girlfriends in it at the same time.
Really diggin' the two Hoffa trunk!
15:00 Living in England, seeing a 72 Monte Carlo and 63 Impala among all the modern cars feels a lot like that.
0:42 The hubcap came off like a 70's movie!😂😂
Grow up with my family owning a 1972 Chrysler New Yorker with a 440. To me its the definition of luxury. aka running down the road with 6 grow adults, 3 up front and 3 in back, with the trunk load, AC on and doing a 100 mph and the engine isnt even trying its got some much torque and hp. Also, i love that you can measure the trunk space by how many dead bodies it can carry.
B E N T D I C K B I L L Y
TO THE EAST!!.... ALWAYS TO THE EAST!!!...
There once was a guy named BentDickBilly
Who while driving his Imperial, exposed his willy
It leaned to the east
It leaned to the west
After it was slammed in the door,
It even leaned at rest!
That's almost up there with over 2 and a half minutes of "Hot dicks..."
The heartbreak of Peyronie's disease!
It always points to the east no matter which way he faces.
My ear-to-ear grin started when that hubcap flew off, and it didn't stop 'till the end of the video. A fantastic car for, and an even better video to chronicle its cultural significance.
Old timey bad guys~ ginger file
New age asshats~eating an apple
Ding
This guys knows his pop media
First of all, I am not a New Age ass hat, second, I actually oppose New Age religions, third, what the fuck is wrong with eating apples, let alone having apple pie and whipped cream, fourth, what the fuck is a ginger file?
@@paxhumana2015 similar to a pedophile...someone who loves what should not be loved.... Gingers.
This video expresses the exact view I have on older American cars. I drive a 1991 Buick Roadmaster Wagon with the required wood sides and a 1987 Ford LTD Crown Victoria because I love what they are and how they drive. The wagon gets questions almost everywhere I go with it.
Respect to all the people who bring you these cars to film for us.
I was 9 years old and falling in love with all things with wheels and engines. With a fantastic Dad who owned a small Mon&Sons Trucking Company. So Dad was well off and loved big cars. So at 9 years old Dad brought me with him when he traded in his 64 Lincoln lemon in on a beautiful 64 Imperial Crown Coupe, in awesome metallic turquoise with black roof and matching leather that was the softest I’ve ever felt!
Im literally at Bob Evans in Lansing Michigan...when exclaimed “Bob Evans, Bob Evans, Bob Evans”
Definitely got me pegged !
I have a 1970 Chrysler Newport Custom on the same platform. It’s a 2 door, and my favorite thing about it is they made no attempt to alter the car’s lines to suit having 2 doors instead of 4. It’s just 2 doors then a vast acreage of space where the rear doors would be, along with an enormously wide B pillar to block up the rear window space.
The thing you said about large sedans kinda makes me laugh, my great grandfather had this massive old sedan, maybe a 40s Buick or a 4 door tri-five, or even a early Cadillac El Dorado, and he used it as a *_farm truck_* he towed trailers with it, went around the farm looking at crops with it etc. Imagine having that level of not giving any that you use a luxury sedan as a work vehicle. You don't see that anymore.
Edit: I asked Daddy, it was an Olds 88, I think a late 50s one.
I think this is a case of Mr. Regular applying some modern sensibilities to a prior era. In the 70's and earlier, cars and trucks were a lot more differentiated than they are now. Unless you lived on a farm or absolutely required one, you weren't rolling around in your truck all the time like people do now. And for good reason! Trucks were spartan and harsh to drive.
It's part of the reason people did all kinds of light to moderate tasks in cars, like your Grandfather. Hell, it's why station wagons were so popular. They wanted utility without sacrificing the comfort and convenience of their cars.
@@LN997-i8x Here's the thing about the aforementioned sedan, it's price point today is roughly that of a entry level M3 beamer.
@@LN997-i8x and believe me, I know about the trucks of back then, when a radio was a luxury item, and you had a single bench seat and the kids sat in the bed with the dog.
Sounds like my parents and their Mercedes W126 in the 90s. Used to haul firewood and muddy stumps in the trunk. Also hauled a utility trailer everywhere with it.
@@johnpearson492 that's what a real Mercedes owner is XD
My first car was a '73 Dodge Monaco Brougham four-door, hardtop. It was essentially this car. It had the floor pushbutton for the radio tuner and a rear AIR defroster. It was a beast. I paid $350 for it, drove it a year, replaced the carbuerator and the alternator and then sold it for $500. Wish I could find one today.
I rode in one of these things back in the day, with the glove leather seats and new suspension it was a super sweet ride. And it actually could move out with confidence when you hit the gas. It didn't feel that heavy and for luxury cars at the time it really wasn't.
Oddly, I recall the cars I knew of at the time had a nasty habit of blowing their engines.... They weren't common, so the fact that I recall two going out that way seems relevant.... Maybe Imperial owners just never changed their oil...
I suppose that the Caddys and the Toronados rode a little bit better.... but the 440 just made the Imperial somehow feel more powerful. And somehow it felt like you sat higher in it than in the big GM's, This thing was all about how you felt in it... and how you looked in it. And it just felt good to drive and you looked sharp driving it... Some of that feeling might be lost in time... but this was actually one of these magic cars that became more than the sum of it's parts.
I was pretty intrigued when Regular mentioned the 0 to 60 of this thing. I drove around an 86 Caddy Fleetwood that handled like junk, had body roll, and did 0 to 60 in yes (23ish seconds throttle down). This imperial sounds nice, not going to lie
Imperial rode way smoother than any Caddy or Lincoln
@@todddenio3200 My favorite ride was the 1973-1975 Toranado or the 1975 Fleetwood or Coup De Ville... the engines were just a little quieter than the 440 and the trans was a little bit smoother, but yes the 1970 ish imperial was truly wonderful.
@@RJ-vb7gh for me smoother shifts are minor as a car isnt shifting constantly and at highway speeds the 440 is plenty smooth. For me the smoothness of the ride from the suspension is what is most important due to very severe back trouble (so far 16 out of 23 discs in my back and neck are destroyed with surgery to fuse tem as the only solution).
You have no idea how happy this makes me. I own a 1970 Dodge Phoenix (otherwise known as a Plymouth Fury) which I am yet to drive, as it’s a project. Can’t wait until it’s done!
It's been 4yrs mate. Make a video
Rip old man from pawn stars
so now hyundai is doing with "genesis" what chrysler tried doing with "imperial" 50 years ago
interesting
You actually think there's much resemblance between a genesis and a hyundai? You been in a genesis? Might be the same company, but it won't be the same old crap with a new badge trying to pretend it's REALLY NOT the same old crap.
Except Genesis is succeeding
...and what Toyota did with Lexus.
So was Chrysler yet again with RAM
@@snacking5908 The 300 is better
It's gorgeous.
1970 Chrysler Imperial: If 1970 was a car
2:18 727 Torqueflite, no such thing as 722.
Classic Mr. Regular
There is the 722.x, which is a series of automatic transmissions from Mercedes-Benz which started production around that time.
Thank you.
I was hoping someone caught that.
Your videos are so good, unique, and entertaining. You really know your history. I've been watching since day one, keep em coming!
"Like an unwanted erection at a candlelight vigil"
A true wordsmith at work here!
Our family car through much of the 70s was a dark green 69 Imperial LeBaron Coupe. In that 2 door coupe I swear those doors must have been 6 ft long, they were huge. That car had power everything auto dimming high beams and a factory in the dash 8-track player. It was the family car until 1980 when mom backed out of the driveway with the door open, caught it on a post, overextended the passenger door causing minor body damage. It was out of commission for a while, dad bought a Volkswagen Dasher. Months later he bought a brand new 1981 Chevrolet Caprice Classic, fully loaded of course. The 69 Imperial lived in my grandpa's barn for two or three years until I was 15, then I threw a battery and some gas in it and ran it up and down our dead end road leaving epic one tire fire burnouts. The car was out of style by then, but the 440 was awesome.
I had a 72 dodge polara. I paid $180 for it, only 40k miles and still had the factory plastic on the interior.
There often is an Bahama Blue 1970 Imperial Crown Hardtop Sedan at the carmeet I've been going to, for the past 6 years. Evenso: I still love the car, when I see it. Gotta love Fuselage Mopars!
OMG, the hub cap rolling off was just classic !
The AZ dealers in 1970 sold Plymouth, Chrysler, and Imperial on the same lot. The service bay took care of them all in the same manner. In the C body you could buy a Fury I, Ii, or III, a Sport Fury, a Newport, 300, New Yorker, or Imperial. The Chryslers/Imperials all looked similar, especially the interiors. They all came with a 727 automatic and could be ordered with a 440, many at half the price of Imperial. The same customer experience from the same slimy process, and quality was based on getting a car built Tuesday - Thursday as much as the model chosen. It's amazing any Imperials were sold at all. I'm glad someone bought them. I like them. Take it easy on the old girl.
1:17 *BANG BANG BANG* "Did you line up- uh..." *BANG BANG BANG*
Yep, the valve stem.
And no he didn't.
He was like 170 degrees out.
@@andrewstewart1464 *BANG BANG BANG*
@@ToyotaTechnical IT BURNS US PRECIOUS
The outro dialogue was surprisingly rich in depth and complexity. Well done sir, well done.
Bought the same car in 86 for $500.00. Put a battery, four Kmart recaps and a windshield in it then drove it 4 years until a torsion bar broke. That was game for this era Chrysler. About 6 MPG down hill. But heater could bake cookies and the AC could freeze meat. She went to the junk yard with absolutely everything working.
That's a shame that torsion bar is a hour to fix,
@@vector6977 Not a shame when car is so rotted you can diagnose a broken T-bar by looking through the floor board. I live in upstate NY,,, nuf said.
RIP to it.😢
@@vector6977 Upstate NY rust belt, the frame rotted and there was nothing to weld too. Should have made that clear. My bad
Imperial may not have had a separate dealer network, but they were the only one of the "Big 3" to build their cars of a unique platform, at least from 1957-1966 (The unibody Continental of those years was distinct from the Galaxie 500 and its Mercury siblings, but it was derived from, and built on the same assembly lines as the Thunderbird, despite the nearly 2,000 pound weight difference.). Of course the problem with unique platforms is that they tend to get antiquated, with little volume to justify updates. There is a C&D test posted somewhere comparing a 1965 Imperial with a Rolls Royce (Silver Cloud, NOT the then-new Shadow), a Mercedes, Jaguar, Continental and Cadillac Fleetwood. Predictably, the Mercedes was their top pick, and the Fleetwood, despite being a stretched Chevy, was a surprisingly competitive (and light) second. Meanwhile, the Imperial and Rolls were both diplomatically described and nice but sadly out-dated and more like trucks than cars. From what I've heard, the '57-'66 Imperial was the only passenger car to be banned from most demolition derbys for being too much of a threat to the safety of other drivers.
Thank you for the culture lesson, Mr. Regular.
The "rear blower" is the rear defroster. Imperial DID offer "rear air conditioning" which contained a second evap coil and separate blower. A great feature in Arizona (I had 3 over the years).
You haven't owned an old car until the hubcap flies off past you down the road.
Ahhh my 1972 Buick Electra 4 door did that 😂
Had that happen with a trailer tire
My Crown vic did that. It was made in 2008.
I had a tire on a trailer I was pulling passed me up before
Still chase them down the road with my 1972 Dodge Coronet
My dad said back in the 70s the road was littered with hubcaps all the time, especially in curves. My Ford Falcon looses a hubcap every now and then. I usually chase them down but sometimes you just don't notice so I keep extras in the trunk.
Our neighbor bought one, the one with the swiveling bucket seats that swiveled toward the door and the passenger seat swiveled to face the rear. It was the cat's meow and everyone was envious. It was expensive too. Very expensive in 1969 money.
I learned to drive in a 1970 Chrysler Newport 2 door. Dang close... and those door were huge!
I took my license test in a ‘73 Chrysler Newport, and back then you had to parallel park these huge rides. people nowadays cant even change lanes without a computer telling them it’s safe to do so
This tool doing the review really doesn’t about know cars made back then, every car review he does he just rips on them, it’s obvious he drives his moms Kia
Excellent review... one of your best, and probably the best summary I've heard regarding the problems Chrysler had trying to flirt with luxury throughout the 20th century.
To me it's the kind of car that would be driven by Sammy 'The Shiv' and his crew on their way to shakedown the neighborhood laundromat for "protection money" or to be certain Luigi's Pizzeria bought that specific brand of Mozzarella from that specific distributor in New Jersey. "That's a nice pizza joint you got there. It'd be a shame if something happened to it."
Fageddabadditt, eh?
Go down the docks and pick up the package for the thing with the guy
My parents owned a 1970 Chrysler 300 2-door and a 1972 Chrysler Imperial LeBaron 2-door with high bucket seats and every option available at the time. These were great cars
"The lack of individual showrooms for the Imperial" wasn't the only problem Chrysler had in the endeavor... it was also the lack of the legendary name of one man, the great engineer and Father of the Luxury Automobile, Henry Leland. The same man that created Cadillac and Lincoln. Without that name behind newer luxury horseless carriages, the Imperial would never reach the heights or sales of either Cadillac or Lincoln. Whether or not buyers even realized that fact. Although, in many respects the Imperial was every bit the opulent luxury car that either of the other two were; sadly, it's sales never reflected that fact. I had an uncle that always bought the 1960's - early 1970's Imperial, he use to say: "If you want to waste your money on a name, then buy an overpriced Lincoln or Cadillac, if you don't then buy an Imperial!"
My dad had a '72 Chrysler Newport. Very similar looking with gigantic chrome bumper on both ends. It had the same 'missing B-pillars' and the 383 V8 with a two-bbl. This is the only luxo-boat he ever bought in his entire life. He bought '52 Chevy 4-door when he mustered out of the Navy. He replaced that with a '59 Chevy Station Wagon and in 68 he bought a Plymouth Fury II 4-door. Well, business must have been good, in 1972 he bought the Newport. This car was a revelation. The hood looked like the deck of an aircraft carrier. I was just a little kid and I remember thinking that it was a good thing there weren't any B-pillars because I was sitting so low in the back seat that I could barely see over the window sills and I felt that if those pillars had been there I would have felt claustrophobic. He kept it through the fuel crisis and then replaced it with a 1979 Honda Accord, the one with the "manu-matic" transmission. Let's just say my dad was never a "car guy" as his next car was a '89 Dodge Aries K car. In the mid 80's he custom ordered a Dodge Intrepid and waited patiently for it to be delivered. The dealer called him and told him the car would be arriving that day, so he drove over in the K-car and watched the dealer drop it off the car carrier rig - literally DROP the car off the carrier, totalling it right in front of him. The shame-faced dealer gave him a HUGE discount on a similar looking Eagle Vision that 'just happened' to be languishing on his lot. That was the first and last time dad ever custom ordered a car. When he retired he scaled down and got a Neon (What a $#!+ box!) He traded that for the 2011 Subaru Forester X he drove until the day he died.
Its just an imperial. It was sold at imperial dealerships.
Imperial was a separate registered division from 1955 to 1993. Yes, someone could have a stand alone dealership during those times. However when the whole division sold 14,000 units nationwide. The folks at the Imperial division could have done so much more to improve sales, but that is from a hindsight perspective. When your fighting Cadillac at 100,000 units per year, and Lincoln at 20,000 units per year. What would you do?
All fuselage Mopars are really interesting cars. I bet most of them rusted out decades ago, and the survivors will be worth something. Gramps always had a Fury for his travelling salesman role, and I inherited his '73 Polara. I remember the immense size, huge trunk, not much go with the 318, ride like floating on air, and terrible in the twisties (but solid on the interstate). My folks had a 73 Catalina. Not quite as imposing but much sportier and easier to drive. I could go on. Would love to drive any of these again, after all these years.
The official car of two mafia soldato’s traveling down the pulaski skyway heading to the abandon warehouse where they’re to dump the body in the trunk.
So cool. Very similar to a '75 Chrysler Newport I had, cranberry with white leather. Loved that car. Handled surprisingly well for a boat, tons of torque with a 400 4 barrel.
Had new in 1969. I truly liked that model of Imperial by Chrysler.
Honestly this car looks so fun to drive, you turn and the whole car rolls around, you step on the gas and the front lifts up like a boat, you stop and it nose dives, it just looks like the handling is so bad its fun
This is the best writing in any recent RCR. Amazing.
One interesting fact: The 1973 Imperial, with a 235 inch overall length, was the last one with a stretched wheelbase. The first Imperial to equal the 1973's near-limousine-level legroom was the 1989-1993 K-car based model, despite being nearly 3 feet shorter.
The good ole’ Chrysler Imperial Star Destroyer
No, this is the super star destroyer, it's a command ship.
This explains so much about my grandfather. This totally brought me back to my childhood.
"If you've seen one, you've seen them all" - that's interesting, because when I started to be a teenager in the early 90s, my mother talked to me like that: "I can't discern the modern cars from each other any more, to me they all look alike" - so I wonder whether this is something that comes with age, while a young kid from today will be able to identify a car at 200 yards distance in the dark just from the shape of its tail lights, as I was back in the late 80s and early 90s?
Seegal Galguntijak it definitely is a thing of age. When the Beatles came out there were a slew of critics who called them a brash bastardization of contemporary music.
There will be generalizations of everything for all time from people who’ve given up on seeing the distinctions between things, and resort to painting them all with the same brush.
Well, actually there is a reason modern cars look alike. At this point with wind tunnel testing and computer modelling, all the manufacturers have come to a somewhat standard shape that maximizes efficiency. They just add some minor styling cues to the basic shape.
@@Rubycon99 Yes, and the shape of the tail lights is one major factor of that, some are shaped like an outwards arrow, others like an inwards arrow, the next ones have a "C" shape, and so on. I just don't remember any more which brand does which ;)
@@roddydykes7053 Is that because with age, your mind gets simpler, doesn't want to think complicated any more, and therefore flattens everything out to being similar? Too much input to process? Is that getting worse with each passing year or decade?
Can I stop aging then, please? Now? Or rather 10 years ago? ;)
@@Rubycon99 Realistically, are modern cars really so much more alike compared to cars from the 70s? You could easily just say every sedan from the 70s is just a massive square with wings and a coupe-y roof and an Braun electric shaver for a face. And what shade of BROWN would you like it in good Sir?
Back in the day (1978 - when I was a stupid kid) we drove a 1966 Chrysler New Yorker from Fargo, ND to Rapid City, SD (500 miles). We got there in under 5 hours (125 mph average) and got over 25 mpg. They don't make em like that anymore.
Must have been down-hill most of the way, or with 100 MPH southerly winds.
@@pcno2832 Nope. Those old New Yorkers (440 ci) were real speed demons. Raced a number of Cameros and beat them.
10:38 Breezing right through that red light...
my buddy had one of those, I could stretch out in the back seat and nap while we just cruised around! going up a steep hill, couldn't see anything in front of you!! loved that car!
The absolute definition of L A N D Y A C H T
We had a baby blue ‘73 in 1985, did a massive sideways burnout ( with Firestone Town&Country Snowbiters lol ) in the h.s. parking lot. My dad put 2.25” duals with short body ‘turbo’ mufflers on it, which really helped the sound and mpg.
This was a really pleasant, and I daresay poetic, video. I wasn't expecting the level of calm insight and borderline romanticized longings displayed here. You have an astute way of capturing the era and symbolism of most cars you review. That, by far, is the most interesting part of the reviews.
>The lewdness is breddy gud too