Imperial 1960 LeBaron
'America's Most Carefully Built Car'
In an effort to establish itself as a legitimate contender in the Cadillac class, Imperial became a stand-alone division of the Chrysler Corporation in 1955. An Imperial-exclusive assembly line was the inspiration for the 1960 ad theme, 'America's Most Carefully Built Car.'
The 1960 Imperial continued to play off the successful 'Forward Look' styling themes introduced in 1957, but rooflines and below-the-beltline body panels were all reshaped. In this carry-over year for Cadillac and Lincoln, the 1960 Imperial was promoted as 'America's Only All-New Luxury Car.' But while the rest of the Chrysler line shifted entirely to 'Unibody' construction, the Imperial retained its 1957-vintage body-on-frame platform.
Powered by a 413 cubic-inch, 350 horsepower, 'Golden Lion' Hemi V8, pushbutton Torque-Flite transmission, and torsion-bar suspension, the mighty Imperial was highly regarded as the 'road car' in the luxury class. A 'jet-age' feature that remains fascinating today is the 'Panelscent' (electroluminescent) instrument lighting. 'Auto-Pilot' cruise control was also introduced in 1960.
[Test from Conceptcarz.com]
www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z14229/Imperial-Crown.aspx
While many critics of automobile styling rate the 1955 through 1959 Imperials highly,[citation needed] the design of the 1960–1963 period is more controversial. At that time, Exner was increasingly struggling with the Chrysler president and board. "It was during 1962 Exner was dethroned as president of design in Highland Park. His successor was Elwood Engel, lured away from Ford to lead Chrysler Corporation along a more conventional path. Exner continued as a consultant through 1964, after which he had no further involvement." This source also states, "When he was good, he was very good ( re: styling). When he was bad.... it was the epitome of excessive design. Sales dropped off and the board stepped in." Exner's son went on further, in a 1976 interview, "it was time for a change. Their image needed changing. Dad was a great designer and he was always ahead of his time. He gained more freedom from Chrysler in his designs of the modern Stutz." This same source gives blow-by-blow accounts how Chrysler Corporation was revived through corporate changes in leadership. "But on the product front, the influence of Tex Colbert (ousted President of Chrysler in 1961) and Virgil Exner was still present, and it wouldn't be entirely washed away until 1965".
[Text from Wikipedia]
This Lego miniland-scale Imperial 1960 LeBaron has been created for Flickr LUGNut's 88th Build Challenge, - "Let's Break Some Records", - a challenge focused on creating vehicles that set some benchmark for biggness, fastness or other extreme of some specification. The model shown here, the 1960 Imperial, is rumoured to have the tallest tailfin from this era, taller even that the 1959 Cadillac. However, I have not found any documented statistical proof, just lots of verbatim copy of the Cadillac having the tallest fins.
Has anyone measured both cars lately?
Imperial 1960 LeBaron
'America's Most Carefully Built Car'
In an effort to establish itself as a legitimate contender in the Cadillac class, Imperial became a stand-alone division of the Chrysler Corporation in 1955. An Imperial-exclusive assembly line was the inspiration for the 1960 ad theme, 'America's Most Carefully Built Car.'
The 1960 Imperial continued to play off the successful 'Forward Look' styling themes introduced in 1957, but rooflines and below-the-beltline body panels were all reshaped. In this carry-over year for Cadillac and Lincoln, the 1960 Imperial was promoted as 'America's Only All-New Luxury Car.' But while the rest of the Chrysler line shifted entirely to 'Unibody' construction, the Imperial retained its 1957-vintage body-on-frame platform.
Powered by a 413 cubic-inch, 350 horsepower, 'Golden Lion' Hemi V8, pushbutton Torque-Flite transmission, and torsion-bar suspension, the mighty Imperial was highly regarded as the 'road car' in the luxury class. A 'jet-age' feature that remains fascinating today is the 'Panelscent' (electroluminescent) instrument lighting. 'Auto-Pilot' cruise control was also introduced in 1960.
[Test from Conceptcarz.com]
www.conceptcarz.com/vehicle/z14229/Imperial-Crown.aspx
While many critics of automobile styling rate the 1955 through 1959 Imperials highly,[citation needed] the design of the 1960–1963 period is more controversial. At that time, Exner was increasingly struggling with the Chrysler president and board. "It was during 1962 Exner was dethroned as president of design in Highland Park. His successor was Elwood Engel, lured away from Ford to lead Chrysler Corporation along a more conventional path. Exner continued as a consultant through 1964, after which he had no further involvement." This source also states, "When he was good, he was very good ( re: styling). When he was bad.... it was the epitome of excessive design. Sales dropped off and the board stepped in." Exner's son went on further, in a 1976 interview, "it was time for a change. Their image needed changing. Dad was a great designer and he was always ahead of his time. He gained more freedom from Chrysler in his designs of the modern Stutz." This same source gives blow-by-blow accounts how Chrysler Corporation was revived through corporate changes in leadership. "But on the product front, the influence of Tex Colbert (ousted President of Chrysler in 1961) and Virgil Exner was still present, and it wouldn't be entirely washed away until 1965".
[Text from Wikipedia]
This Lego miniland-scale Imperial 1960 LeBaron has been created for Flickr LUGNut's 88th Build Challenge, - "Let's Break Some Records", - a challenge focused on creating vehicles that set some benchmark for biggness, fastness or other extreme of some specification. The model shown here, the 1960 Imperial, is rumoured to have the tallest tailfin from this era, taller even that the 1959 Cadillac. However, I have not found any documented statistical proof, just lots of verbatim copy of the Cadillac having the tallest fins.
Has anyone measured both cars lately?