The Mopars excel in all areas except styling for 1960, Lincoln is the most nice car to look at and has that "upper crust" of society look to it. I'll take a 65' Imperial thank you..
Emotions drive car sales (no pun intended). Being a Buick guy, My heart would pull towards Cadillac. (I imagine lifetime Ford guys would likely say the same for Lincoln.) But Technically from an engineering standpoint, Imperial was the best of the three in 1960. Forgotten today is in the early 60s Imperial had and exclusive plant and platform. Being low production in an exclusive plant, It HAD to be the most carefully built American luxury car!
I would very seriously LOVE to drive a 1960 Chrysler Imperial to and from work every day. I am currently driving a 1963 Ford Falcon, and it is a fantastic little car. But a 1960 Chrysler Imperial would be regal.
When I was a kid, there were still cars like this on the road, but they were aging and looked kind of sinister and threatening compared to the more restrained newer models. They were also the cars that bad guys drove on TV. It's no wonder I had a few nightmares about late 1950s cars, especially Chrysler cars.
My Dad bought the Lincoln. Within days I heard the one and only time my dad used an expletive in front of the family. Car would never start. Electric windows would never go up. Ford took it back. We bought a 61 Buick Electra 225 convertible. Perfect car.
Tom Mc Cahill,was a big fan of Chrysler s torsion bar suspension,said there wasn't a better handling car at that time. If I was buying a 1960 luxury car, the Chrysler 413,and the 727 would sway me to the Imperial.
when i was a young boy my uncle neville took me for a ride in his lincoln.i learned my dad and all relatives in our family drove mercury's,fords and my uncles lincoln.when i got older i bought my first car a mercury comet.i always wanted a lincoln but i still have not found one like my uncles but i will buy one soon.
My grandmother had a pink 1960 Imperial. I remember it, but at the age of 9, I didn't care about cars. I just remember that my father called it the "period" because of the color. (For context, my dad was an ob/gyn.) Back in those days, my family usually bought Chryslers. The first GM product I remember was when my mother got a 67 Buick Skylark wagon. That was the year I started driving. I really liked that car.
1959 and 1960 were the only years Imperial outsold the (outmoded) Lincolns. But in 1961 Lincoln caught everyone with their proverbial pants down. Fins were suddenly out of style, and Chrysler & Cadillac had to play catch up.
+Michael Conrad true the lincolns had to recover from the bad image and quality was better also, there are still many of the early 61 and up Lincolns running around all original. a timeless design .
The announcer made a mistake in describing the Lincoln rear-in treatment. He said that the 1960 Lincoln went to oval from square-in treatment in the 1959. He got his facts backwards.
“You’re about to see a re-enactment of what took place in the making of this film.” That’s a pretty meta and avant guarde approach to filmmaking for 1960.
By mid-60's standards, all three are rather ugly (very dated), though I prefer the Lincoln. However, as mentioned in an earlier post, the next year, 1961, Lincoln would launch the advanced, clean style, Ellwood Engle Lincoln. At that point, Cadillac and Imperial designs (fins), were terribly dated. It wan't until 1964 for Imperial, and 1965 for Cadillac, that a cleaner body appeared.
When I was young my Dad had a sales brochure for a 1959 Lincoln and I used to marvel at the massive amounts of Chrome on that sled.Now Iḿ old and I want one!
If you think about it, it was Lincoln that destroyed the 1950s look. It started with the 1956 Continental Mark II. (Essentially a square on wheels when compared to a 1956 Cadillac) Then Lincoln took it further with the 1958 Lincoln Premiere/Continental. (Notice the extremely angled and boxy proportions when compared to GM and Chrysler vehicles from the same year) Then they released the 1959 Town Car. (Notice how it actually resembles the cars that Lincoln would make up until the late 1990s...thats how futuristic and different it was) Then they released the 1961 Continental. (And by this time everyone from Chrysler to GM realized they had fallen behind in design and needed to catch up badly by also making squareish cars) It was almost as if the designers at Lincoln were embarassed to share the roads with GM and Chrysler...they wanted to stand apart so bad that they essentially ended an era and created square styling. Square styling lasted for 40 years and ended with the 1996 Town Car and 1996 Fleetwood.
Great old yesteryear, love the videos. IMO mopar has always set the bar for other cars other then the 61-69 Continental. The worst part about these beautiful beast is the other Big Two killed this car along with rising fuel costs. My favorite imperial is 64-66
One mistake in there about the undercoating. They say that Lincoln applies it after the body is attached the chassis, but the Lincoln is a unibody. I just got a 1960 Imperial. Would never consider the other two.
These are so fun and interesting to watch. I'd go Cadillac all day long. That Lincoln seemed in a gangly, awkward, teen-aged stage between the sleeker mid-50s and razor sharp ines of the early 60s. Never knew much about the Imperials. Can't say I'm a big fan of Chrysler styling in almost all years. But I drive a gorgeous, big, black Ram (with a rotary shift dial - how's that for a call back?). And there are few cars out there more awesome than the '68 - '70 Chargers.
American luxury don’t make me laugh imperials best out of the three Lincoln was better 60 Cadillac had a bigger fan base because GM was promoting the crap out of every brand they bought… that was there job Americans aren’t the smartest or do much research they get fooled very easily
I just remember that at the beginning of every traffic jam there was a Chrysler dead in the middle of the street with it’s hood open..lol I love my 1960 lincoln for it’s unusual styling and beautiful materials that have withstood the test of time
@@rjalexander4765: Sure... The Mercedes-Benz 600 (W100) will destroy the moving couches from Cadillac, Lincoln and Imperial. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_600 Try the "plastic" Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3 or Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL 6.9, these vehicles are beasts... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_300_SEL_6.3 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_450SEL_6.9
4:22 "Steve give us the dope will ya." "Sure will joe." I know there are some snickering kids watching this, dope back in the day was slang for information, not narcotics or simply drugs as they were called back then.
Some years later Steve would die in prison whike serving his 30 year sentence for having a lid (4 or 5 joints) on his person. He should have given the dope ..... to someone else.
Naturally it's a Chrysler film so they will try and make the Cadillac look like it's a lesser machine but the facts were, if you had a new Cadillac in your garage, nobody could claim they have a better car, not Lincoln or Imperial, nothing.
Imperial used the same basic frame and body structure 1957-1966. (Beefed up frame for convertibles and 4dr ht). Look at the area arround the front window of a -57 and compare to a 66, an you´ll se what I mean. These cars were made in very low numbers, and I´m sure quality control on these were far superior to Cadillac at the time. When it comes to the condition of old cars today, it all comes down to how it has been stored. A friend of mine here in Sweden has a -61 Imperial 4dr ht that he got from central Oregon in 2003. ( If you read this, you have probably heard of the "Kee collection in Brothers, Oregon. I´m one of the "bad" Swedes.....) After sitting in a field for about 20 years chrome was still perfect, interior really good, paint a bit faded, but now after a little touch up of the paint and a good polish, it just looks great! Mechanically it was very sound, but probably has a lot of miles, so it needed a head job. Other than that, only the normal stuff that wears out on any car. And boy how nice she rides, going 90mph in it feels totally fine! Have a -55 Imperial coupe myself, lovely car but it really feels like an old car in a way the -57 up Imperials doesn´t. Also had a pretty much unrestored -57 Cadillac Coupe DeVille in really good condition, but somehow I didn´t really like it...
Don’t ever let a car sit in a field somewhere. Even if you lack a garage park it on pavement. Moisture from the ground will cause the bottom of your car to rust.
Where "always" means until about 1977 when GM started downsizing and putting Oldsmobile and Chevrolet engines in other brands. Cadillac stumbled even more badly in 1981 with the introduction of the Cimarron. It was all downhill from there and opened up a vulnerability to the Japanese and German brands.
ted marshall, no they didn't. That honor went to Duesenburg, pre-depression Packard's, Pierce Arrow, and Peerless. No Cadillac was ever in the same league as those cars. Those cars were not only America's luxury cars, but they were the world standard for luxury, even surpassing Rolls Royce. Cadillacs were always for the mass market that wanted something better than Buick or Olds.
Cadillac sold 142,000, Lincoln/Continental 25,000 and Imperial 18,000 for 1960. The only other cars to sell less than Imperial were Metropolitan (Nash) and Edsel.
EVERYONES IGNORING THE FACT THAT AT 7:26 THE IMPERIAL DASH LOOKS LIKE A SMILEY FACE!, get it? The speedometer and odometer are the eyes and the wheel has a metal piece that goes down looking like a face! Yep, ahead of it’s time
Of The Big 3 Luxury Cars, IMPERIAL was FIRST with Power Steering, FIRST with 4-wheel disc brakes, first with Anti-Lock Brakes a more powerful engine ,more torque, more overall interior room , FIRST with electric Power Windows, and a superior suspension system.
williamg2552 your data sounds like opinion, which isn't trusted as it is not viewed as credible evidence. Development of disc brakes began in England in the 1890s. The first caliper-type automobile disc brake was patented by Frederick William Lanchester in his Birmingham factory in 1902 and used successfully on Lanchester cars.
@06DESMARAIS "Chrysler Corporation introduced the first commercially available passenger car power steering system on the 1951 Chrysler Imperial under the name "Hydraguide". The Chrysler system was based on some of Davis' expired patents. General Motors introduced the 1952 Cadillac with a power steering system using the work Davis had done for the company almost twenty years earlier".- Wikipedia en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_steering
@06DESMARAIS "Quick, what American car was first with four-wheel disc brakes? Gotta be the ’65 Corvette, right? After all, with Duntov’s incessant push to pack the latest technology into GM’s fiberglass flagship, many are puzzled it took his team until 1965 to do the deed. Hope you didn’t bet the keys to your Boss 429 ‘Stang on that last bit of trivia. The fact is, Chrysler was the first domestic automaker to offer four-wheel discs, and the year was 1949-two full years before the arrival of its Firepower Hemi engine, a time when all Chrysler engines were lethargic inline, flathead sixes and eights." www.hotrod.com/articles/chryslers-pioneering-disc-brake-system-explained/
@@06DESMARAIS- Remember, I did say "Of The Big 3 Luxury Cars. That's CADILLAC, LINCOLN, and IMPERIAL". I didn't say anything about cars from other countries .Please read everything before you go on the attack.
@06DESMARIAS- "Ford also had a similar electro-hydraulic system on higher-end convertibles. Mercury and Ford Sportsman convertibles (with wood trim) were equipped with power windows on four windows from 1946 through 1948 and Mercury and Lincoln by 1951.[9] These systems were used by other luxury car models (Imperial and Packard) until Chrysler introduced the all-electric operation on the 1951 Imperial." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_window#History
According to her Secret Service agent Clint Hill Jackie Kennedy preferred the 1960 Imperial Ghia Limo to her custom built bubble top 1962 Lincoln Continental sedan. Many photos of Mrs Kennedy and Joseph P Kennedy with Imperials.
I remember growing up my Mom had a Plymouth with Jukebox drive. One day she pushed R for reverse and POW! The thing shorted out. Us kids had to push the car backwards to back out.
I have to agree most of the GM cars pretty much looked all alike for 59/60 Which is great if you liked the style. I do but the biggest issue I had with GM cars of this vintage was that GD dog leg ! always knocking your knees on them.
As a kid, we had a '57 Imperial. It was a nice car, but of course it was (at least) 10 years old. My grandfather said (with his usual meanness) ... "all it needs is a new towel for the font seat." FWIW, we _DID_ have a big giant blanket over the front seat. Sadly Papa was right, but it still wasn't right to insult dad who was doing all he could to take care of us.
I was out on my route the other day when I saw a ‘60 Imperial four door sedan in that SeaFoam Green color. It still looks awesome even today. He had to have the air conditioning on , it was 80°+ and was just motoring down the highway. It looked large and in charge! Oh my, the chrome reflected beautifully, and it had wide white sidewall tires, too. Did it look out of place? Sure but in a good way. Obviously it has been garaged for most of its life. A throwback vehicle? Sure it is, when cars made a statement. Now it’s all pickup trucks, SUV’s and CUV’s. Sedans are practically gone. Lincoln looked much better in 1961, Cadillac looked better in 1961 and Imperial looked better than both in 1964. It shows that the times are different, people don’t think of a car as a statement. It’s more of an appliance than a vehicle.
6:34 I'm sure there are exceptions, but I've been less than impressed some of the all-foam seats I've seen over the years; you usually feel what's under the foam and if the seatback sags a bit, it twists your back. A combination of foam and laterally-stretched wire (with springs at each end) is usually better. I have a feeling I'd find that rectangular steering wheel annoying as well, though I can see why some people would appreciate it.
Have had many '58 to '71 Land Barges. Love'em all 'cause I'm a car fReAk! Imperial/ChryCos now. Nothing past '71 for me except Winter beaters! Always wanted to put the beautiful '60 Imperial front clip on a '61 Imperial w/those pcshyco-chryco insane fins. : )
Probably talking about the sub frame attached to the unit body . I know about the sub frames because the rear subframe let looseand hit the ground one day on my dads 59
They used to say in the '60s, early '70s that a GMobile was good for 100,000 miles, FoMoCo 150,000, Mopar 200,000. Tom McCahill, who couldn't be bought and knew both sports and road cars, was right about the Imperial.
Who this mysterious "they" is I have no idea. I have not heard this saying and it's perfectly clear that FoMoCo and Mopar cars did not/do not outlast GM cars to any appreciable degree. Consumer reports is usually pretty devastating on reliability of FoMoCo and Mopar cars.
Back in the 60s and 70s, Most GM products consistently outsold Ford ... by a hefty margin The early Mustang was Ford's savior. Otherwise, Ford was struggling. My first and only "new" American-made car was a 69 Ford T-bird. I regretted buying that car every time I drove my father's Rivera. What a difference in quality and comfort.
This is a dealer information filmstrip. The idea is to help the dealer sell the automobile. The automobile the dealer will be selling is the Imperial automobile. The more of these Imperial automobiles the dealer sells the more money he will make. Additionally everyone connected to the dealer from the janitor who cleans the toilets to the executives in Detroit, Michigan who run the motor company will make more money. Central to the dealer’s pitch to the customer is the comparison of the Imperial to the competing automobiles he will be selling against. To sell the automobile to the customer the dealer will often need to point out that the automobile he will be selling is superior to the automobiles he is selling against. Fortunately for the dealer he has been given this presentation to help him point out the superior differences his product possesses. Though this presentation does not mention notecards specifically the dealer may want to write down a few basic superior selling points which commend the Imperial automobile against the competition and then pull these notes out of his pocket as the need arises in order to talk the customer into buying the Imperial. Don’t you think this approach is a good idea? Do you think he will make his quota? I could envision a television show in which the dealer’s drama of selling Imperial automobiles in order to provide a living for his family is the idea. We could experience his selling successes and failures, alternately watching him receive awards and commendations from his boss to his getting chewed out in the back room. Hollywood is probably interested in this kind of concept.
Peggy Olsen and Don Draper did the concept for this video. Peter Campbell and Roger Sterling took the boys for lunch and sealed the deal. Too sad Ken Cosgrove lost an eye holding Chevrolet and then they went with Chrysler.
I'm most impressed with Imperial features. However I prefer Cadillac's Traditional styling over the awkward rivals. Having said that, the 1961 Lincoln and 1959 Cadillac are as beautiful as the 1957 Imperial. But for '60, the Cadillac gets the nod for styling even if it has shortcomings compared to the Lincoln and Imperial.
Really depends where you live. Out West the roads are mostly flat & smooth for days. New England the roads are wacky, rolling hills, bumpy roads with lotsa curves & *frost heaves.* We lived next to a wooden bridge built in 1910 that was shaped in a half-circle. Once in a while we'd see a car get airborne with the deck boards flapping away! Between all that and the salt/calcium chloride in Winter, cars take a wicked severe beatin'!
@ 3:10 Actually, it was shortsighted of American car makers to drastically change their styling every year or two. Cars keep their value better when the next year's model doesn't deliberately force it to look obsolete. Car owners can't afford to trade up to the latest model every year when the act of driving a new car off a dealer's lot will cause you to lose 25%-30% of its value immediately. I also disagree with the promo film's assertion that the styling changes of the 1960 Cadillac were practically unnoticeable from 1959. The tailfin difference was dramatic. Both in the front and the rear, the styling was less massive and more refined. It's actually one of the most noticeable restylings for an off year in Cadillac history. These days everybody wants the 1959 with its beautiful, dramatic, massive, memorable tailfins and the front and rear dripping with chrome. They don't want the 1960 near as much. '59 and '60 Imperial, of course, don't hold a candle to either in terms of popularity or memorability. @ 6:36 I had to laugh at comparing seat back thickness to airline seats. That would not be a selling point today!
It was NOT short sighted to redesign every year. that started in the 20's and continued into the 80s. At one time, working people could trade cars every 3 or 5 years, (and they needed to because as beautiful as some of those cars were, they were not really durable. )
This is a good video, but by then Chrysler's glory days were coming to a halt in 1960. By 1960 everyone had been fed up with the wannabe rocket ships and wanted cleaner lines. This video was made as an attempt for sales, it failed and eventually Chrysler had fallen behind all the other brands. Search up cars of the 60s and you'll get boxy-ish car designs, the rocket ship design was outdated Edit: take a look at the 1960 Cadillac and Lincoln. They simplified their designs and made them cleaner
chieftp The Imperial at the time (with Lincoln) were direct competitors to Cadillac. What other car would the Imperial sales staff compare their car to in 1960? Rambler? Studebaker?
James Slick Well Packard if they were still in production. Imperial basically took over the Packard position in 57. Before that it had always been a simply upscale Chrysler. And, that's how it ended. Imperial had a short life though in my opinion it was superior to Cadillac or Lincoln for most most of it's production life.
Neil Dickson I agree with Packard as a worthy contender, but alas the last "real" Packard was the 1956. I also tend to agree on Imperial being somewhat above Cadillac in that era. The base Imperial was at least DeVille level,While Cadillac still had the "entry-level" series 62 (in some years the series 62 was less luxurious than a Buick Electra 225.) Speaking of which, Cadillac shared the "C" body with Buick and Oldsmobile, The famous early 60s' Lincoln Continental share it's platform with the Ford Thunderbird. But from 1960 thru 1966 the Imperial didn't share it's body any other Chrysler corporation car (not even the prestigious enough Chrysler New Yorker.) All Mopar brands except Imperial switched to Unibody construction. For those 6 model years only Imperial of all US luxury cars had a unique body and platform. It was also built in it's own plant! Literally it WAS "America 's most carefully built car"
@@neildickson5394 Packard stopped being a luxury car by the end of the 1930's. The depression hit them hard, and once they started making cheaper cars, they forever ended the status as a luxury car. Once WW2 ended, no American looking to buy a luxury car would even consider a Packard, they simply no longer had anymore prestige. By the end of WW2, Packard buyers were in the same range as Buick, Oldsmobile, Chrysler, or Mercury buyers. Making cheaper cars help them continue on until the late 50's, but it also ended their prestige as being a luxury car. Cadillac's marketing was genius, they never cheapened the Cadillac name, instead they came out with LeSalle. While Cadillac was never a world class luxury car, that position were for the early Packards, Peerless', Pierce Arrows, & Duesengbergs, once those nameplates were gone, except for Packard, Cadillac became America's luxury car.
Sounds like Imperial really makes a Bias video for customers. What they don't tell you is that Lincoln (a Fine Ford Family car) had power seats, and windows before there competition, informative dash board clusters before there competition, safety campaign that rolled out in 1955 with Ford Motor Company being THE ONLY VEHICLE MAKE conducting Crash tests and offering seat belts, padded dash, padded sun visors, safety glass, door locks that stayed close on impact, rearview mirror that is movable and not fixed in one place if you hit it in a car collision, steering wheel that acted as a cushion on impact. Other vehicle Motor Companies said "safety doesn't sell" so put that in your mouth and chew it while you think Imperial is a "fine car" till you get in a car collision
desmaiais, it's not a sales video, it's TRAINING for sales people, and it says so in the film. So what would you expect to outcome to be? AND any sales type video is going to be "biased." Jeez, what a dummy. GM put airbags in some Oldsmobiles as options for a couple of years. They didn't sell I don't recall what suddenly changed with that, but just a few years later, people wouldn't buy a car without them. Then they became legally required.
Airbags were theoretically options on the 1974 GM C bodies, a one year only option,@@roningram5877 .. It was a $1200 option at a time a new Cadillac Fleetwood was barely $11,000.. Unsurprisingly, few ordered those, and the option was dropped the following year. GM C bodies were Cadillac De Ville and Fleetwood, Buick Electra 225 and Oldsmobile Ninety Eight.
@@MarinCipollina Not "theoretically" They WERE and option, but for too expensive and didn't sell well. A few years later, they became standard in a FEW cars, and by then, people did want them.
I say theoretically because it's true they were in fact listed options, these cars were everywhere in my neighborhood when they were new, and I don't recall seeing any of them with airbags, @@roningram5877 It was also the one year of the seatbelt ignition interlock system that meant if your seatbelt wasn't fastened, the car wouldn't start.
, more padding on the dashboard. That's just what I want. I'd rather eat padding than steel when I hit that dashboard for lack of seatbelts. Same for that Centerline pad on the steering wheel
Those weird tack on taillights were really ugly and detracted from the entire cars lines. Exner? Went overboard with these pseudo classic touches. Same with the bullet headlights. Otherwise, they were the best designs of the 3 remaining high priced car lines. I even liked the phony trunk spare which also appeared on the Packard Hawk tho it was one of those kitschy classic touches.
17:25 McCahill said that of just about every car he tested. There was the Mercury that "...corners like a rubber-soled gazelle...", and dozens of similar comments.
Heard he was well respected though. And that his personal cars of choice were indeed Imperials. I think he had a '65 he was particularly fond of. I can see why. I had a '64, '68, '71 Imperials, Caddys, Lincolns, big Buicks etc. ChryCos. always handled/drove curvy/bumpy better, but they were all awesome.
You hear that at about 4:25, he says "GIVE US THE DOPE"!! No wonder why these goofs thought a Chrysler product could compete, they were all just all whacked out on drugs at the time!!!
@@infinityplayz-i9m You guys were both partially right. Yes, the mid-70s Seville was based on the Nova/Camaro platform. It was rear wheel drive, but ran with an Oldsmobile 350, not the Chevy engine. Plus, Sevilles WERE around prior to this. Rear drive Eldorado hardtops of the mid to late 50s were Eldorado Seville, the convertibles were Eldorado Biarritz. This only went on for a few years. The Eldorado Seville was discontinued after the 1960 model, and for 1964 the Eldorado Biarritz became known as the Fleetwood Eldorado. The Biarritz name was dropped. It resurfaced again on the Eldorado about 10 years later. The new Nova/Camaro based Seville came along in 1975 to compete with Mercedes-Benz.
Anyone have a clue why the Imperial shown in test pics has flat black bumpers? My only guess is it was a preproduction model never intended to leave the factory.
When I was A kid, I said that I wanted to buy an Imperial, when I saved enough money to buy one, they stopped making them. BUMMER!
You could've bought a used one right?
The same thing happened to my dad….
I just placed my order for a 1960 Chrysler Imperial!
Imperial, Imperial was an actual brand just like Cadillac and Lincoln were.
😂
The Mopars excel in all areas except styling for 1960, Lincoln is the most nice car to look at and has that "upper crust" of society look to it. I'll take a 65' Imperial thank you..
Emotions drive car sales (no pun intended). Being a Buick guy, My heart would pull towards Cadillac. (I imagine lifetime Ford guys would likely say the same for Lincoln.) But Technically from an engineering standpoint, Imperial was the best of the three in 1960. Forgotten today is in the early 60s Imperial had and exclusive plant and platform. Being low production in an exclusive plant, It HAD to be the most carefully built American luxury car!
Same. I grew up loving Chevy's. but now I realize Chrysler/Mopar was the Best Built Cars in America.
I would very seriously LOVE to drive a 1960 Chrysler Imperial to and from work every day. I am currently driving a 1963 Ford Falcon, and it is a fantastic little car. But a 1960 Chrysler Imperial would be regal.
Do you still have your falcon? I also have a 63
I like the caddy series 62, but imperial is cool too
Be ready for massive gas consumption.
They were junk just like the Lincoln and Cadillac.
When I was a kid, there were still cars like this on the road, but they were aging and looked kind of sinister and threatening compared to the more restrained newer models. They were also the cars that bad guys drove on TV. It's no wonder I had a few nightmares about late 1950s cars, especially Chrysler cars.
Yes I remember the bad boys and gangsters had them.
... sinister ...
😈
My Dad bought the Lincoln. Within days I heard the one and only time my dad used an expletive in front of the family. Car would never start. Electric windows would never go up. Ford took it back. We bought a 61 Buick Electra 225 convertible. Perfect car.
Who trades a Lincoln for a Buick 😂
From FIX OR REPAIR DAILY !
Tom Mc Cahill,was a big fan of Chrysler s torsion bar suspension,said there wasn't a better handling car at that time.
If I was buying a 1960 luxury car, the Chrysler 413,and the 727 would sway me to the Imperial.
Once owned a 1960 Lincoln four door hardtop and two 1960 Cadillac's. This post brings back some fine "Motoring Memories"!
Just out of curiosity, why so many cars from 1960?
Being a GM kind of guy, I would naturally gravitate toward the Caddy!
when i was a young boy my uncle neville took me for a ride in his lincoln.i learned my dad and all relatives in our family drove mercury's,fords and my uncles lincoln.when i got older i bought my first car a mercury comet.i always wanted a lincoln but i still have not found one like my uncles but i will buy one soon.
I love the little ping every time they change the slide.
2:30 They were right. Cadillac was SUPERIOR for 1960.
My grandmother had a pink 1960 Imperial. I remember it, but at the age of 9, I didn't care about cars. I just remember that my father called it the "period" because of the color. (For context, my dad was an ob/gyn.) Back in those days, my family usually bought Chryslers. The first GM product I remember was when my mother got a 67 Buick Skylark wagon. That was the year I started driving. I really liked that car.
How quaint, an Gyn's mom driving her very own period.
1959 and 1960 were the only years Imperial outsold the (outmoded) Lincolns. But in 1961 Lincoln caught everyone with their proverbial pants down. Fins were suddenly out of style, and Chrysler & Cadillac had to play catch up.
+Michael Conrad true the lincolns had to recover from the bad image and quality was better also, there are still many of the early 61 and up Lincolns running around all original. a timeless design .
It was only 1957. Their best year ever.
The 1961 Lincoln was the best design to come out of Englwood that lead the way in luxury styling
Clarke Shivers Interesting to note that that styling was to actually be a Thunderbird, (and it in the end shared it's platform with Thunderbird).
The mid sixties styling began with the 1961 Lincoln.
The announcer made a mistake in describing the Lincoln rear-in treatment. He said that the 1960 Lincoln went to oval from square-in treatment in the 1959. He got his facts backwards.
'59 and '60 Cadillacs ALL the way home!
60 Caddy is ugly next to the Imp.
Mopar did a good job.
'63 is beaitiful too
Lol, Crapillac 🤣
“You’re about to see a re-enactment of what took place in the making of this film.”
That’s a pretty meta and avant guarde approach to filmmaking for 1960.
The page turning beep is simply annoying, lol.
You are using some twenty-five cent words there.
Parted out a '60 Imperial. In person, that front end is the most impressive design ever on a big car in my opinion.
This is how you do a car video straight to the point and show every detail
Sales training film strip so salesmen would have an answer to a prospects questions. For for public use.
Dealer salesman: “Ya gotta get that undercoat”.
I liked the styling of the Imperial the best , with Cadillac a close second.
ok ok
now lets get Lincoln and Cadillacs side of the story
Visually and performance numbers "The Imp" all the way.
RobbieV The Lincoln’s 430 slightly outperformed the Imperial but the car was a slug in just about every other way.
@@jackstacey7519 yes I put my order in for a blue one. 🙂
By mid-60's standards, all three are rather ugly (very dated), though I prefer the Lincoln. However, as mentioned in an earlier post, the next year, 1961, Lincoln would launch the advanced, clean style, Ellwood Engle Lincoln. At that point, Cadillac and Imperial designs (fins), were terribly dated. It wan't until 1964 for Imperial, and 1965 for Cadillac, that a cleaner body appeared.
When I was young my Dad had a sales brochure for a 1959
Lincoln and I used to marvel at the massive amounts of Chrome on that sled.Now Iḿ old and I want one!
If you think about it, it was Lincoln that destroyed the 1950s look.
It started with the 1956 Continental Mark II.
(Essentially a square on wheels when compared to a 1956 Cadillac)
Then Lincoln took it further with the 1958 Lincoln Premiere/Continental.
(Notice the extremely angled and boxy proportions when compared to GM and Chrysler vehicles from the same year)
Then they released the 1959 Town Car.
(Notice how it actually resembles the cars that Lincoln would make up until the late 1990s...thats how futuristic and different it was)
Then they released the 1961 Continental.
(And by this time everyone from Chrysler to GM realized they had fallen behind in design and needed to catch up badly by also making squareish cars)
It was almost as if the designers at Lincoln were embarassed to share the roads with GM and Chrysler...they wanted to stand apart so bad that they essentially ended an era and created square styling.
Square styling lasted for 40 years and ended with the 1996 Town Car and 1996 Fleetwood.
Great old yesteryear, love the videos. IMO mopar has always set the bar for other cars other then the 61-69 Continental. The worst part about these beautiful beast is the other Big Two killed this car along with rising fuel costs. My favorite imperial is 64-66
One mistake in there about the undercoating. They say that Lincoln applies it after the body is attached the chassis, but the Lincoln is a unibody. I just got a 1960 Imperial. Would never consider the other two.
These are so fun and interesting to watch. I'd go Cadillac all day long. That Lincoln seemed in a gangly, awkward, teen-aged stage between the sleeker mid-50s and razor sharp ines of the early 60s. Never knew much about the Imperials. Can't say I'm a big fan of Chrysler styling in almost all years. But I drive a gorgeous, big, black Ram (with a rotary shift dial - how's that for a call back?). And there are few cars out there more awesome than the '68 - '70 Chargers.
American luxury don’t make me laugh imperials best out of the three Lincoln was better 60 Cadillac had a bigger fan base because GM was promoting the crap out of every brand they bought… that was there job Americans aren’t the smartest or do much research they get fooled very easily
I just remember that at the beginning of every traffic jam there was a Chrysler dead in the middle of the street with it’s hood open..lol I love my
1960 lincoln for it’s unusual styling and beautiful materials that have withstood the test of time
I'm addicted to these things even though they mostly remind me of why I like Euro iron.
European plastic and hype
@@rjalexander4765: Sure...
The Mercedes-Benz 600 (W100) will destroy the moving couches from Cadillac, Lincoln and Imperial.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_600
Try the "plastic" Mercedes-Benz 300 SEL 6.3 or Mercedes-Benz 450 SEL 6.9, these vehicles are beasts...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_300_SEL_6.3
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercedes-Benz_450SEL_6.9
4:22 "Steve give us the dope will ya." "Sure will joe." I know there are some snickering kids watching this, dope back in the day was slang for information, not narcotics or simply drugs as they were called back then.
Steve always had the best dope around.
Some years later Steve would die in prison whike serving his 30 year sentence for having a lid (4 or 5 joints) on his person. He should have given the dope ..... to someone else.
@@nyyrusty Sad but true. The gvmt. doesn't give two shits about reform, prisons are Big Business. End of story.
Well, i think yhe choice is clear for 1960. They forgot to mention, if you eanted a pillared sedan, only Imperial offered one.
The smart guys bought the Chrysler 300
I’m a Cadillac and Lincoln fan (I have both) I have a friend who has a ‘64 Imperial.
The Imperial looks like it was designed by someone who thought the F-4 Phantom was a pretty plane.
And 63 years later,the Cadillac is the only one that will still start! 😍
Naturally it's a Chrysler film so they will try and make the Cadillac look like it's a lesser machine but the facts were, if you had a new Cadillac in your garage, nobody could claim they have a better car, not Lincoln or Imperial, nothing.
Imperial used the same basic frame and body structure 1957-1966. (Beefed up frame for convertibles and 4dr ht).
Look at the area arround the front window of a -57 and compare to a 66, an you´ll se what I mean. These cars were made in very low numbers, and I´m sure quality control on these were far superior to Cadillac at the time.
When it comes to the condition of old cars today, it all comes down to how it has been stored. A friend of mine here in Sweden has a -61 Imperial 4dr ht that he got from central Oregon in 2003. ( If you read this, you have probably heard of the "Kee collection in Brothers, Oregon. I´m one of the "bad" Swedes.....) After sitting in a field for about 20 years chrome was still perfect, interior really good, paint a bit faded, but now after a little touch up of the paint and a good polish, it just looks great! Mechanically it was very sound, but probably has a lot of miles, so it needed a head job.
Other than that, only the normal stuff that wears out on any car. And boy how nice she rides, going 90mph in it feels totally fine!
Have a -55 Imperial coupe myself, lovely car but it really feels like an old car in a way the -57 up Imperials doesn´t.
Also had a pretty much unrestored -57 Cadillac Coupe DeVille in really good condition, but somehow I didn´t really like it...
Don’t ever let a car sit in a field somewhere. Even if you lack a garage park it on pavement. Moisture from the ground will cause the bottom of your car to rust.
@@fairfaxcat1312 There are different kinds of fields, the central Oregon Ones doesn't hold any moisture at all. Most other fields does.....
Cadillac always set the standard for luxury cars in North America hands down.
Where "always" means until about 1977 when GM started downsizing and putting Oldsmobile and Chevrolet engines in other brands. Cadillac stumbled even more badly in 1981 with the introduction of the Cimarron. It was all downhill from there and opened up a vulnerability to the Japanese and German brands.
You are un the wrong
@@dlwatib I had a Caddy Fleetwood with the Chevy LT1,Car ran great for a big ol sled!
ted marshall, no they didn't. That honor went to Duesenburg, pre-depression Packard's, Pierce Arrow, and Peerless. No Cadillac was ever in the same league as those cars. Those cars were not only America's luxury cars, but they were the world standard for luxury, even surpassing Rolls Royce. Cadillacs were always for the mass market that wanted something better than Buick or Olds.
Cadillac sold 142,000, Lincoln/Continental 25,000 and Imperial 18,000 for 1960. The only other cars to sell less than Imperial were Metropolitan (Nash) and Edsel.
142,000? That's alot of suckers!
i like all three but i like the chrysler better it is a true money runner and underdog of the two!
I love these videos!! Keep on posting
AMEN to that PARTNER 👍👌😎
EVERYONES IGNORING THE FACT THAT AT 7:26 THE IMPERIAL DASH LOOKS LIKE A SMILEY FACE!, get it? The speedometer and odometer are the eyes and the wheel has a metal piece that goes down looking like a face! Yep, ahead of it’s time
Of The Big 3 Luxury Cars, IMPERIAL was FIRST with Power Steering, FIRST with 4-wheel disc brakes, first with Anti-Lock Brakes a more powerful engine ,more torque, more overall interior room , FIRST with electric Power Windows, and a superior suspension system.
williamg2552 your data sounds like opinion, which isn't trusted as it is not viewed as credible evidence. Development of disc brakes began in England in the 1890s. The first caliper-type automobile disc brake was patented by Frederick William Lanchester in his Birmingham factory in 1902 and used successfully on Lanchester cars.
@06DESMARAIS
"Chrysler Corporation introduced the first commercially available passenger car power steering system on the 1951 Chrysler Imperial under the name "Hydraguide". The Chrysler system was based on some of Davis' expired patents. General Motors introduced the 1952 Cadillac with a power steering system using the work Davis had done for the company almost twenty years earlier".- Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_steering
@06DESMARAIS
"Quick, what American car was first with four-wheel disc brakes? Gotta be the ’65 Corvette, right? After all, with Duntov’s incessant push to pack the latest technology into GM’s fiberglass flagship, many are puzzled it took his team until 1965 to do the deed.
Hope you didn’t bet the keys to your Boss 429 ‘Stang on that last bit of trivia. The fact is, Chrysler was the first domestic automaker to offer four-wheel discs, and the year was 1949-two full years before the arrival of its Firepower Hemi engine, a time when all Chrysler engines were lethargic inline, flathead sixes and eights." www.hotrod.com/articles/chryslers-pioneering-disc-brake-system-explained/
@@06DESMARAIS- Remember, I did say "Of The Big 3 Luxury Cars. That's CADILLAC, LINCOLN, and IMPERIAL". I didn't say anything about cars from other countries .Please read everything before you go on the attack.
@06DESMARIAS- "Ford also had a similar electro-hydraulic system on higher-end convertibles. Mercury and Ford Sportsman convertibles (with wood trim) were equipped with power windows on four windows from 1946 through 1948 and Mercury and Lincoln by 1951.[9] These systems were used by other luxury car models (Imperial and Packard) until Chrysler introduced the all-electric operation on the 1951 Imperial."
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_window#History
Woah! That background vibration made me think I was being abducted.
Cadillac....Imperial....Lincoln.......America's Triple Crown Luxury Cars..........bar none !
According to her Secret Service agent Clint Hill Jackie Kennedy preferred the 1960 Imperial Ghia Limo to her custom built bubble top 1962 Lincoln Continental sedan. Many photos of Mrs Kennedy and Joseph P Kennedy with Imperials.
1960 Imperial Lebaron was my all time favorite Chrysler.
Bruce Robertson well considering what happened to her husband in a Lincoln I'd say the same thing!
If only they had taken the Cadillac instead of the Lincoln, he would still be alive. Oh well, it's too late now. So sad.
The car was an open top vehicle with 0 bulletproof glass or armor on the vehicle, a Cadillac would not have saved his life!
Jonathan Jackson The Cadillac was a hardtop, it very well could have saved his life.
I remember growing up my Mom had a Plymouth with Jukebox drive. One day she pushed R for reverse and POW! The thing shorted out. Us kids had to push the car backwards to back out.
It could not have shorted out. The linkage was strictly mechanical, not electric.
@@danielulz1640 Well sparks flew out that's all I remember at 8 years old.
I have to agree most of the GM cars pretty much looked all alike for 59/60 Which is great if you liked the style. I do but the biggest issue I had with GM cars of this vintage was that GD dog leg ! always knocking your knees on them.
Solved in 1961!
GM really liked wrap-around windshields, lol.
Good lord that Imperial looks like a grouper died and got washed up on the beach for a week.
As a kid, we had a '57 Imperial. It was a nice car, but of course it was (at least) 10 years old. My grandfather said (with his usual meanness) ... "all it needs is a new towel for the font seat."
FWIW, we _DID_ have a big giant blanket over the front seat. Sadly Papa was right, but it still wasn't right to insult dad who was doing all he could to take care of us.
when i was 18 my dad had a 1956 packard very
pretty car.blk. and yellow
3:35 That's ridiculous. Nobody was trading in from 1959 to 1960. GET REAL MOPAR!!!!!
I was out on my route the other day when I saw a ‘60 Imperial four door sedan in that SeaFoam Green color.
It still looks awesome even today. He had to have the air conditioning on , it was 80°+ and was just motoring down the highway.
It looked large and in charge! Oh my, the chrome reflected beautifully, and it had wide white sidewall tires, too.
Did it look out of place? Sure but in a good way. Obviously it has been garaged for most of its life. A throwback vehicle? Sure it is, when cars made a statement. Now it’s all pickup trucks, SUV’s and CUV’s. Sedans are practically gone.
Lincoln looked much better in 1961, Cadillac looked better in 1961 and Imperial looked better than both in 1964. It shows that the times are different, people don’t think of a car as a statement. It’s more of an appliance than a vehicle.
6:34 I'm sure there are exceptions, but I've been less than impressed some of the all-foam seats I've seen over the years; you usually feel what's under the foam and if the seatback sags a bit, it twists your back. A combination of foam and laterally-stretched wire (with springs at each end) is usually better. I have a feeling I'd find that rectangular steering wheel annoying as well, though I can see why some people would appreciate it.
Have had many '58 to '71 Land Barges. Love'em all 'cause I'm a car fReAk! Imperial/ChryCos now.
Nothing past '71 for me except Winter beaters! Always wanted to put the beautiful '60 Imperial front clip on a '61 Imperial w/those pcshyco-chryco insane fins. : )
would you have anything from the full size Chrysler's and Imperial's vs its competition from the late 1960's/early 1970's (particularly 1969-70)?
I place my order for a 1960 Lincoln 2-door hard-top.
That 60 Imperial looks out of a horror movie
and it's the killer
I’m SOLD..... I will take the IMPERIAL for 1960 in a 2-door Convertible! 👍👍👍
13:10 basically showing you guys what it would be like to slam a ‘60 Lincoln or Cadillac lol
I'm still jumping head on into swallowing Cadillacs snob appeal. Currently driving my second one, not one that old but nothing new either.
Wait a minute! What chassis on a Lincoln? They were still uni-bodies, in 1960
Probably talking about the sub frame attached to the unit body . I know about the sub frames because the rear subframe let looseand hit the ground one day on my dads 59
Well, technically this isn't a film, it is a slideshow with music and spoken text on a record
Today you would be required to have a CDL to drive one!
They used to say in the '60s, early '70s that a GMobile was good for 100,000 miles, FoMoCo 150,000, Mopar 200,000. Tom McCahill, who couldn't be bought and knew both sports and road cars, was right about the Imperial.
Who this mysterious "they" is I have no idea. I have not heard this saying and it's perfectly clear that FoMoCo and Mopar cars did not/do not outlast GM cars to any appreciable degree. Consumer reports is usually pretty devastating on reliability of FoMoCo and Mopar cars.
FoMoCo outlasting a GM car? Ha! Ford was the best selling but more GM cars are still driving.
Back in the 60s and 70s, Most GM products consistently outsold Ford ... by a hefty margin The early Mustang was Ford's savior. Otherwise, Ford was struggling.
My first and only "new" American-made car was a 69 Ford T-bird. I regretted buying that car every time I drove my father's Rivera. What a difference in quality and comfort.
I'll take one of each. So there!
Same here!! I'd trade my 2019 Lincoln Nautilus for any one of these 3 in mint condition!
4:22 Steve has the dope o_O
This is a dealer information filmstrip. The idea is to help the dealer sell the automobile. The automobile the dealer will be selling is the Imperial automobile. The more of these Imperial automobiles the dealer sells the more money he will make. Additionally everyone connected to the dealer from the janitor who cleans the toilets to the executives in Detroit, Michigan who run the motor company will make more money. Central to the dealer’s pitch to the customer is the comparison of the Imperial to the competing automobiles he will be selling against. To sell the automobile to the customer the dealer will often need to point out that the automobile he will be selling is superior to the automobiles he is selling against. Fortunately for the dealer he has been given this presentation to help him point out the superior differences his product possesses. Though this presentation does not mention notecards specifically the dealer may want to write down a few basic superior selling points which commend the Imperial automobile against the competition and then pull these notes out of his pocket as the need arises in order to talk the customer into buying the Imperial. Don’t you think this approach is a good idea? Do you think he will make his quota? I could envision a television show in which the dealer’s drama of selling Imperial automobiles in order to provide a living for his family is the idea. We could experience his selling successes and failures, alternately watching him receive awards and commendations from his boss to his getting chewed out in the back room. Hollywood is probably interested in this kind of concept.
"steve, give us the dope, will you?"
Peggy Olsen and Don Draper did the concept for this video. Peter Campbell and Roger Sterling took the boys for lunch and sealed the deal. Too sad Ken Cosgrove lost an eye holding Chevrolet and then they went with Chrysler.
I'm most impressed with Imperial features. However I prefer Cadillac's Traditional styling over the awkward rivals. Having said that, the 1961 Lincoln and 1959 Cadillac are as beautiful as the 1957 Imperial. But for '60, the Cadillac gets the nod for styling even if it has shortcomings compared to the Lincoln and Imperial.
Come on, how often did your parent's car go airborne? They make it sound like it was a common occurrence.
Really depends where you live. Out West the roads are mostly flat & smooth for days.
New England the roads are wacky, rolling hills, bumpy roads with lotsa curves & *frost heaves.*
We lived next to a wooden bridge built in 1910 that was shaped in a half-circle.
Once in a while we'd see a car get airborne with the deck boards flapping away!
Between all that and the salt/calcium chloride in Winter, cars take a wicked severe beatin'!
The classiest people drove Buicks.
@ 3:10 Actually, it was shortsighted of American car makers to drastically change their styling every year or two. Cars keep their value better when the next year's model doesn't deliberately force it to look obsolete. Car owners can't afford to trade up to the latest model every year when the act of driving a new car off a dealer's lot will cause you to lose 25%-30% of its value immediately.
I also disagree with the promo film's assertion that the styling changes of the 1960 Cadillac were practically unnoticeable from 1959. The tailfin difference was dramatic. Both in the front and the rear, the styling was less massive and more refined. It's actually one of the most noticeable restylings for an off year in Cadillac history. These days everybody wants the 1959 with its beautiful, dramatic, massive, memorable tailfins and the front and rear dripping with chrome. They don't want the 1960 near as much. '59 and '60 Imperial, of course, don't hold a candle to either in terms of popularity or memorability.
@ 6:36 I had to laugh at comparing seat back thickness to airline seats. That would not be a selling point today!
It was NOT short sighted to redesign every year. that started in the 20's and continued into the 80s. At one time, working people could trade cars every 3 or 5 years, (and they needed to because as beautiful as some of those cars were, they were not really durable. )
TH-cam not realizing I like Cadillac, not imperial
This is a good video, but by then Chrysler's glory days were coming to a halt in 1960. By 1960 everyone had been fed up with the wannabe rocket ships and wanted cleaner lines. This video was made as an attempt for sales, it failed and eventually Chrysler had fallen behind all the other brands. Search up cars of the 60s and you'll get boxy-ish car designs, the rocket ship design was outdated
Edit: take a look at the 1960 Cadillac and Lincoln. They simplified their designs and made them cleaner
As always, production figures speak for themselves. For 1960, Lincoln/Continental : 24,820, Imperial : 17,719, Cadillac : 142,184 (Chrysler : 77,285)...
Geez i only get to pick one?
notice ford and chrysler always compared their cars to cadillac?
chieftp The Imperial at the time (with Lincoln) were direct competitors to Cadillac. What other car would the Imperial sales staff compare their car to in 1960? Rambler? Studebaker?
chieftp they sure talk a lot about Cadillac, almost sounds like their jealous.
James Slick Well Packard if they were still in production. Imperial basically took over the Packard position in 57. Before that it had always been a simply upscale Chrysler. And, that's how it ended. Imperial had a short life though in my opinion it was superior to Cadillac or Lincoln for most most of it's production life.
Neil Dickson I agree with Packard as a worthy contender, but alas the last "real" Packard was the 1956. I also tend to agree on Imperial being somewhat above Cadillac in that era. The base Imperial was at least DeVille level,While Cadillac still had the "entry-level" series 62 (in some years the series 62 was less luxurious than a Buick Electra 225.) Speaking of which, Cadillac shared the "C" body with Buick and Oldsmobile, The famous early 60s' Lincoln Continental share it's platform with the Ford Thunderbird. But from 1960 thru 1966 the Imperial didn't share it's body any other Chrysler corporation car (not even the prestigious enough Chrysler New Yorker.) All Mopar brands except Imperial switched to Unibody construction. For those 6 model years only Imperial of all US luxury cars had a unique body and platform. It was also built in it's own plant! Literally it WAS "America 's most carefully built car"
@@neildickson5394 Packard stopped being a luxury car by the end of the 1930's. The depression hit them hard, and once they started making cheaper cars, they forever ended the status as a luxury car. Once WW2 ended, no American looking to buy a luxury car would even consider a Packard, they simply no longer had anymore prestige. By the end of WW2, Packard buyers were in the same range as Buick, Oldsmobile, Chrysler, or Mercury buyers. Making cheaper cars help them continue on until the late 50's, but it also ended their prestige as being a luxury car.
Cadillac's marketing was genius, they never cheapened the Cadillac name, instead they came out with LeSalle. While Cadillac was never a world class luxury car, that position were for the early Packards, Peerless', Pierce Arrows, & Duesengbergs, once those nameplates were gone, except for Packard, Cadillac became America's luxury car.
Sounds like Imperial really makes a Bias video for customers. What they don't tell you is that Lincoln (a Fine Ford Family car) had power seats, and windows before there competition, informative dash board clusters before there competition, safety campaign that rolled out in 1955 with Ford Motor Company being THE ONLY VEHICLE MAKE conducting Crash tests and offering seat belts, padded dash, padded sun visors, safety glass, door locks that stayed close on impact, rearview mirror that is movable and not fixed in one place if you hit it in a car collision, steering wheel that acted as a cushion on impact. Other vehicle Motor Companies said "safety doesn't sell" so put that in your mouth and chew it while you think Imperial is a "fine car" till you get in a car collision
desmaiais, it's not a sales video, it's TRAINING for sales people, and it says so in the film. So what would you expect to outcome to be? AND any sales type video is going to be "biased." Jeez, what a dummy. GM put airbags in some Oldsmobiles as options for a couple of years. They didn't sell I don't recall what suddenly changed with that, but just a few years later, people wouldn't buy a car without them. Then they became legally required.
Airbags were theoretically options on the 1974 GM C bodies, a one year only option,@@roningram5877 .. It was a $1200 option at a time a new Cadillac Fleetwood was barely $11,000.. Unsurprisingly, few ordered those, and the option was dropped the following year. GM C bodies were Cadillac De Ville and Fleetwood, Buick Electra 225 and Oldsmobile Ninety Eight.
@@MarinCipollina Not "theoretically" They WERE and option, but for too expensive and didn't sell well. A few years later, they became standard in a FEW cars, and by then, people did want them.
I say theoretically because it's true they were in fact listed options, these cars were everywhere in my neighborhood when they were new, and I don't recall seeing any of them with airbags, @@roningram5877 It was also the one year of the seatbelt ignition interlock system that meant if your seatbelt wasn't fastened, the car wouldn't start.
They claim quality build but even today's least expensive last much longer. Those models lasted maybe 10 years for the most part..
, more padding on the dashboard. That's just what I want. I'd rather eat padding than steel when I hit that dashboard for lack of seatbelts. Same for that Centerline pad on the steering wheel
Chrysler then had styling issues that hurt sales.
Those weird tack on taillights were really ugly and detracted from the entire cars lines. Exner? Went overboard with these pseudo classic touches. Same with the bullet headlights. Otherwise, they were the best designs of the 3 remaining high priced car lines. I even liked the phony trunk spare which also appeared on the Packard Hawk tho it was one of those kitschy classic touches.
Neil Dickson also known as the toilet seat
Give me one of each for Christmas with a big triple garage.
Cadillac was by far the best styled
I love lincoln
I love cadillac brougham
17:25 McCahill said that of just about every car he tested. There was the Mercury that "...corners like a rubber-soled gazelle...", and dozens of similar comments.
Heard he was well respected though. And that his personal cars of choice were indeed Imperials. I think he had a '65 he was particularly fond of.
I can see why. I had a '64, '68, '71 Imperials, Caddys, Lincolns, big Buicks etc.
ChryCos. always handled/drove curvy/bumpy better, but they were all awesome.
You hear that at about 4:25, he says "GIVE US THE DOPE"!! No wonder why these goofs thought a Chrysler product could compete, they were all just all whacked out on drugs at the time!!!
Cadillac still better looking for 1960 hands down!
Well for model year 1960 , I would buy a 2 door convertible Imperial
Sorry about the last post error. I meant Cadillac Deville not Seville. Seville didn't come out till 75
The Seville was built on the Chevy Nova platform, much modified for front wheel drive.
@@geofjones2813 Nope,the Seville was RWD with a Chevy 350 motor.
@@infinityplayz-i9m You guys were both partially right. Yes, the mid-70s Seville was based on the Nova/Camaro platform. It was rear wheel drive, but ran with an Oldsmobile 350, not the Chevy engine. Plus, Sevilles WERE around prior to this. Rear drive Eldorado hardtops of the mid to late 50s were Eldorado Seville, the convertibles were Eldorado Biarritz. This only went on for a few years. The Eldorado Seville was discontinued after the 1960 model, and for 1964 the Eldorado Biarritz became known as the Fleetwood Eldorado. The Biarritz name was dropped. It resurfaced again on the Eldorado about 10 years later. The new Nova/Camaro based Seville came along in 1975 to compete with Mercedes-Benz.
I WANT A CADILLAC ALL THE WAY!!!!!
Undercoating... interesting, Cadillacs tended to rust less in the floors than the Chryslers/Mopars.
Not to sure about that,lots of old Caddys I´ve looked at seemed to have rusty floors even here in Texas
...sounds interesting...
Definitely Cadillac!
It's 2020. Where is Imperial? Lincoln and Cadillac is alive and well.
Whats have the cars of gearbox manuel Mechanic or automic.
Anyone have a clue why the Imperial shown in test pics has flat black bumpers? My only guess is it was a preproduction model never intended to leave the factory.
Lincoln was the best by far
Sports car handling in an Imperial. That's a good one. They really lay it on thick. And yet to this day they're still on the verge of bankruptcy.
59 looked much nicer than 60.