They’re sexpots with wheels: voluptous styling, plush interiors, and
lots of automotive jewelry. They drip with chrome and styling
gimmicks: monstrous fins, freestanding headlamp pods, swiveling seats,
square steering wheels, and eagles literally woven into the upholstery
fabrics and embossed into the leather. It’s like Chrysler Corporation
meets Imperator.
George Hamilton seduced Delores Hart in a ’59 Crown Convertible. Tony
Randall rescued Doris Day’s virtue in a ’59 Le Baron. Ethel Merman
complained about being last in a ’62 convertible, Leigh Taylor-Young
committed vehicular manslaughter for kicks in a sexy ’68 convertible.
And Ann-Margaret launched herself into film notoriety by torpedoing off
a curve in a white ’64 Crown hardtop.
Of course we’re talking Imperial, the highest achievement of Chrysler
Corporation, who maintained a separate production line to make a
comparative handful of chariots to rival Cadillac. They were positioned
with dramatic advertising headlines like “By Imperial Decree” . And
while they didn’t win the sales race, they’re certainly fun and
fascinating to remember. So we droped in on the Imperial Owners
Club Statewide meet, held May 8 and 9 in Palm Springs, California. Check out an album of high resolution photos here.
(Ed note: fans of the AMC series Mad Men will soon see dreamy John Hamm, aka Don Draper, draped across a candy-apple red Imperial convertible. The two together are almost too much to behold. And yet, behold:
