Popular between the end of World War II and approximately 1970, mid-century modernism emphasized functionality and minimal ornamentation. No automobile during that time embodied it better than this 1964 Imperial Crown Coupe.
The 1964 Imperials were the first Chrysler's designed by Elwood Engle after he left the Ford Motor Company after a 1961 design department power struggle. Engle, arguably most famous for designing the seminal 1961 Lincoln Continental, was immediately tasked by Chrysler executives to draw up an Imperial that would be a rival to not just anything from Cadillac and the Lincoln Continental he created but an American Rolls Royce.
Taking more than a page or two from his Continental playbook, Engle came up with a car that was, dare I say, a better-looking Lincoln Continental than the Lincoln Continental was. Better looking than anything Cadillac was doing at the time too.
Not to be outdone, though, Cadillac and all GM full-size cars were all new for 1965, GM designers cribbing a line or ten from an Elwood Engle Ford and Lincoln's. Especially the Cadillacs. With nominal updating, Lincoln kept the Engle's Continental around through 1969.
From 1955 to 1975, "Imperial" was the Chrysler Corporation's top-of-the-line brand they marketed above their Chrysler line. From the company's founding in 1926 through 1954, "Imperial" was an on-again, off-again nameplate for Chrysler usually denoting their Chrysler division's most prestigious models.
As a division, Imperial sold about half as many cars each year as Lincoln did and a tenth of the sales of Cadillac. That due in equal parts to an underdeveloped brand image and competing in an all too narrow market niche dominated by Cadillac.
Shame too since Imperials, for the most part, were spectacular. The '64-'66's my favorites, the hardtop Crown Coupe my favorite-favorite; there isn't a bad line on them inside or out. Therefore, these cars were damned for what they weren't, that not being a Cadillac or a Lincoln for that matter, their handsome design notwithstanding. Which, in my opinion, again, is highly underrated.
This one is for sale Blackhorse Motors in Massillon, Oho, about an hour-and-a-half's drive south of us on the west side of Cleveland. Asking price is $11,000. Quite a bargain if you ask me. A 1964 Cadillac or Lincoln Continental in this condition would go for at least twice that.
The hyperbolic copy for the ad for the car on the Blackhorse website claims the car is in excellent mechanical and cosmetic condition. The finish seems a bit worn, though, you'd think the dealership would have "buffed it out" to a showroom shine if it was that good. "Patina" can be a wonderful thing, dropping $11,000 on a sixty-two-year-old Imperial and then having to have it painted is another thing. I put all of this through the filter of what my wife would think if I dropped eleven-large on this car then told her it needed a $10,000 paint job. She wouldn't be happy.
Things get a tad funky under the hood. The 413-cubic inch, Chrysler "RB" engine this was born with has been replaced with a good old Chrysler "440", the engine that replaced the 413 in Chrysler's engine portfolio in 1967. There's no information in the ad about what year this engine is or what if anything has been done to it. The Edelbrock air cleaner and after-market valve covers may be all for show.
1964 was the last year for the push-button transmission gear selector for the Chrysler "Torque Flite" on these cars. Unnecessarily complicated, fussy and problematic, the buttons were gone for 1965 replaced with a dutiful column shifter. Chrysler, sorry, Imperial built these cars through 1966. To me, the push-button transmission enhances the mid-century ethos of the car. Then again, I love a quirky old car with non-sensical features. Problem is when they break or stop working, like you know they will, good luck getting them fixed.
Chrysler did their best to make Imperial its own unique and different brand akin to what General Motors was able to do with Cadillac. Imperial, like Plymouth, never had its own stand-alone dealership network, Imperial's lumped together with Chrysler and Plymouth models in the same showrooms. I can imagine a buyer or ten-thousand going into an Imperial-Chrysler-Plymouth store to look at an Imperial, see the premium for one and drive home in a Chrysler New Yorker. Or a Plymouth VIP for that matter.
