The Crown Imperial Limousines. A primer.
- Thread starter commando1
- Start date
Nice article. I love that huge eagle on the back of that 58 Imp.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
I knew Ghia was building them in the 50's but I had no idea that Chrysler was taking a huge loss on everyone that was built.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
KcImperial
Active Member
Just to clarify - it was only the chassis and coachwork that stayed the same during those years. obviously, the sheetmetal changed with each year.
and thanks for sharing the article! it's always great seeing Crown Imperial photos!
and thanks for sharing the article! it's always great seeing Crown Imperial photos!
KcImperial
Active Member
Here's another article with some cool production line photos http://imperialclub.com/Articles/GhiaLimos/index.htm
Another article on the '64-'65s http://imperialclub.com/Articles/64-65Ghias/index.htm
Another article on the '64-'65s http://imperialclub.com/Articles/64-65Ghias/index.htm
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
Very interesting. Thanks!
I'm going on vacation tomorrow so all I'm going to say is this: There are SO many inaccuracies and outright errors in that article that it makes my head hurt. If you want to read a better history of these cars find Jeff Godshall's article from Collectible Automobile or my article from the WPC News.
hotdog647
Member
- Joined
- Jun 19, 2013
- Messages
- 103
- Reaction score
- 42
I love the lines and looks of the Ghia limos. IIRC there were also tax benefits for Chrysler to ship the cars as parts right down to nuts and bolts to Italy, as well as the lower labor costs for building the limos. Though they were made to look tall and stately, the rear jump seats made it very uncomfortable for more than 3 to ride in back; some say it was not designed with long legged Americans in mind. Weren't they stretched longer when not built by Ghia?
Here's more: When it became patently obvious, even to the Board of Directors that there wasn't anything like a financial case to be made to create a limousine from the '57 bodies (i.e. carrying over the older generation structure), the prima donna types on the board kicked up a royal fuss, that they couldn't possibly arrive at a meeting being chauffeured in a `normal' car.
So proposals went out for limousines to most of the so-called "coachbuilders" in the U.S., as well as Ghia. The North American proposals came in and the Chrysler people were all dumbfounded. They were SO bad, that when the first Imperial kit cars were loaded on the ship headed for Italy, these "proposals" were too. And the Captain of the ship was instructed to wait until he got into the middle of the Atlantic and push them overboard. Chrysler didn't want any evidence of these cars ever existing. No photographs, no "found" treasures in Warhoops, nothing.
There's plenty more but I can't bring myself to read that article again.
commando1
Old Man with a Hat
Imagine a blacksmith building a car....
Similar threads
