58L-Y8

Wonder if they could have used the R-platform to create this Imperial? The proportions look almost the same as those '79-'81 New Yorkers.

"But officer, this Ford was built with only one taillight" Why do I need two?

Ed I remember seeing that '33 Pierce-Arrow V-12 at the Pierce-Arrow Centennial in Buffalo in 2001, its one impressive motorcar. Were you the owner then? That Saturday show in Ellicott Square was a once-in-a-life-time, unforgettable experience.

Kevin, Thanks to your bringing Coles to our attention I was able to recognize this one as a Cole. Every little bit of automotive history education helps. Steve

Hey Walt Same problem here, clapped-out but rare and unique cars we've all encountered early on are far more memorable than the day-to-day 'important' stuff. Wish they would come up with a device to transfer those mental images of long-lost cars to a digital form so we could share them.

This period photo appeared on another website as a example of touring in the 1920's. It appears to be s Cole Eight touring parked in front of the Hotel Coarse Gold.

Although it looks very well done and period correct, those coach-built European pillarless touring coupes are unique and just as worthy of preservation. Sorry that one has been lost.

So the Delahaye 135MS became a cabriolet along the way...

An AMC 287 cu. in. would be as close to the size of the ohv V8 Kaiser was developing at the time, by the same engineers, Potter and Bullard who later reputedly did so for American Motors. If the motivation is that V8 power will make it more saleable, that's unlikely. Too powerful an engine will quickly expose the steering and brakes are not adequate to the job when driven beyond their capabilities. If more power is desirable, how about fitting a supercharger from a '54 Manhattan. Its the type of thing people would have done then, could even have been done at the Kaiser dealer. 1949-'50 Kaiser Virginians are rare and unique cars, please consider carefully before doing any drastic modifications.

The Photos and Videos Forum ---Videos --- 1946 Drive. Its the third video in the group.

I second Walt's appreciations. Dig into your dusty files gentlemen, share with us those wonderful images of these great cars from the era before they became highly valuable collector's items.

Interesting home movie, very clear with good details of life then. The '40 Buick is a Roadmaster, easy to distinguish by the additional length In the space behind where the fender tapers in. Its two-toned as was optional on those cars, looks like a medium magenta with lighter carnation top and hood plateau.

AMEN! Well stated! This distills perfectly my very thoughts every time I attend one of the local car shows or cruise nights blighted with legions of new muscle cars as if they're something worthwhile in which to be interested. They're shown by narcissistic poseurs as the vehicle (no pun intended) to display their wealth and 'coolness'. In every case, their 'special' current car is quickly replaces with the latest, greatest and newest when it appears.

An addendum to the sales figures, 1960 should have an asterisk * since it was the first major restyle after 1957. Doing so had no affect to improve sales to any degree. "What level of annual Imperial sales should have been satisfactory for management?" Once the turmoil of the late 1950’s market recovered from the recession and spike of compact car interest, it would have been reasonable to expect Imperial sales to track at around two-thirds of Lincoln volumes fairly consistently throughout the 1960’s. That would have been modest but seemingly doable. Challenging the grip Cadillac had on the luxury segment was a tall order, one even FoMoCo had setbacks navigating. A major factor that developed helping to build sales momentum as Cadillac relentlessly pursued segment domination was resale value retention. Although it wasn’t the only factor in a buying decision, it weighed heavily for many in the higher-price brackets. 1960 Luxury Car Resale Values in 1963: Factory Delivered Price versus Average Retail Cadillac Sedan de Ville: $5,498; $2,865 Lincoln Premiere: $5,945; $2,125 Imperial Crown: $5,557; $2,350 1966 Luxury Car Resale Values in 1969: Factory Delivered Price versus Average Retail Cadillac Sedan de Ville: $5,581; $3,050 Lincoln Continental: $5,750; $2,425 Imperial Crown: $5,733; $2,360 Sources: N.A.D.A Used Car Guides for April-May 1963 and July 1969 Even if a current Cadillac wasn’t as appealing, it made more economic sense to continue with the marque than to switch to either Lincoln or Imperial.

Maybe up in Lake George, New York that's true, not out in this western area of the state. Seeing anyone without gray hair in a new Mustang, Challenger or Camaro is rare.

Its the demographics this electric Mustang is aimed at: the same younger, affluent buyers now sporting around in a Tesla, not the typical aging demographic buying their possibly last Mustang. Not to be ghoulish, but the pony car demographic is aging out and passing, Ford is using whatever brand equity the Mustang has by redefining it for the coming generations who are more interested in and willing to embrace the new technology.

According to Fred Roe's book, that is car 2457, J450 with body by Bohman and Schwartz, possibly restyled from a Murphy limousine. It bears an unfortunate resemblance to Father Divine "Throne Car", which I like to refer to as "Father Divine's Duesenberg Bus!" Bohman and Schwartz bodies have none of the svelte, lithe elegance of their predecessor Walter Murphy efforts.

Check with other members of the GVAC region of AACA, they would be your best source.

Thanks Walt for sharing these images from the time when they were still simply old cars with a degree of collector appreciation. For the Packard LeBaron coupe, its feels like a 'before they became famous' with car collectors in general and extremely valuable. How fortunate we are there were individuals then who could perceive the intrinsic value in those cars and took the efforts to preserve them.

“How so?“ Glad you ask. It’s doubtful there was much pleasure evinced by management executives when reviewing Imperial sales over the decade plus, to wit: 1955: 11,432* 1956: 10,684 1957: 37,557* 1958: 16,102 1959: 17,262 1960: 17,703 1961: 12,249* 1962: 14,337 1963: 14,108 1964: 23,285* 1965: 18,339 1966: 13,742 1967: 17,614* 1968: 15,361 1969: 22,077* 1970: 11,816 1971: 11,558 1972: 15,794 1973: 16,729 1974: 14,426* 1975: 8,830 Source: The Postwar Years: Chrysler & Imperial by Richard M. Langworth The asterisks note years with either a completely new body series or a major restyle. For years 1957, 1964, 1967 and 1969, we see the sales bounce then volumes settle back to mediocre levels. Consider after all that investment and promotion, for 1970 they sold only 384 more cars than they did fifteen years prior. Years 1961 and 1974 were major restyles and the sales fell. Even with the increases for 1972-1973, Imperial was further rationalized with other Chryslers for 1974. Management was ready to acquiesce and abandon the luxury segment to Cadillac and Lincoln. For comparison, Lincoln had struggled throughout the 1950’s to establish consistently increasing sales only to fail completely. It's fate was on the block in 1958-’60, it's reprieve the tread-setting 1961 Lincoln Continental. It opened the decade at 24,820 units for 1960; by 1969, with the Continental Mark III, the total was 69,241. Chrysler really had nothing to lose by trying a new approach for at least one Imperial model.

Interest subject, it certainly has generated much good discussion and many good insights. A bit of daily mental exercise is worthwhile. Imperial: By 1970, it was obviously a corporate vanity project, one that doubtful was ever profitable. For a major company to be taken seriously as one of the Big Three, you had to have a luxury car nameplate in the portfolio. Colbert and Exner had made their best efforts for 1955-’63 to make Imperial distinctive with mostly disappointing results. Townsend gave it a shot-in-the-arm for 1964, let it ride through 1966. It then was folded back onto the volume uni-body, only to see the pattern repeated: a one year sales bounce to quickly settle back to the typical mediocre volumes. Once more for the fuselage body series and again the same result, not an encouragement to commit real resources but here’s where the motivation should have arisen. Quite clearly by this point, there was a limited if steady market for a full-sized ultra-deluxe version of the New Yorker which Imperial had become. We all know their oft-repeated 1960’s mantra: “there will never be a small Chrysler”. By 1970, every medium-priced and luxury competitor had a ‘small’ version, their personal luxury coupes. All such were premium-priced, major volume producers based on shared bodies. But Chrysler wouldn’t join in until the trend was half over in 1975. A corporate management with a grasp of what the public wanted? It would seem a no-brainer to create two new Chrysler models based on the B-Body platforms. First, the low-hanging fruit volume there for the taking: a 1970 Cordoba, which would have been nothing more than a neo-classic restyle of the Charger platform, taking cues for both the concurrent Cordoba de Oro and Concept 70X plus a bit of imitation of its competitors, the sincerest form of flattery. The second would be the Satellite/Coronet sedan-based smaller Imperial to simply test the waters without profit being a primary objective, with modest sales expectations. Benchmark its spec’s on Mercedes-Benz as much as possible, raise the fit and finish quality to M-B levels. Then let it have five-six years to determine if the market would respond to such an effort. As it stood, Imperial had only the 1973 model year to live, got a reprieve for 1974-’75 by dropping to the same platform as all other Chryslers, disappointing results again. The attractive classic styling did live on for 1976-’78 as the New Yorker Brougham. Did Chrysler have really anything to lose if they had tried a new approach for at least one Imperial model?

There appears to be another Studebaker nearest the camera, only the top of a Duplex phaeton is visible.

The very limited production luxury make by 1928 that might best fit your scenario would be the DuPont. They were just ending their last Wisconsin-engine six cylinder models E and F which comprised 85 cars for 1927-'28. The Continental-engine eight cylinder Model G and H would go to the end in 1932 with only 276 built total. Understand they assembled the chassis, the bodies were supplied by Merrimac and Waterhouse body companies.

Though they are bent up, the other sheet metal would be worth salvaging as well, if only for patterns when straightened as much as possible.

Whatever you write, I would suggest you submit the draft to the gentlemen here on the AACA Forum for editing and correction. Credibility of the novel depends on getting the pertinent facts correct in the context of the times in which it is set. The period was one of technical transition in the automobile business, a situation further thrown into distress and turmoil by the onset of the Great Depression.