Frank Sinatra and the 1981 Chrysler Imperial.

[@mattcolver1]

I worked with a guy who drove an MG Midget. During the gas crisis in 77 he went out and bought a used late 60s Chrysler Imperial dirt cheap. He used it as a rolling gas tank. His Midget had a small tank and he was frustrated with long lines at the pumps. So he'd drive the Imperial to the gas station and fill up its huge tank. At home he would siphon out the gas from the Imperial to his Midget. He could go a long time between visits to the long lines at the pumps.

[@danb6838]

Haha....that's pretty smart! 😄

[@BangerFleet]

Vanity plate… KC-135

[@Mapleleaflocksmith]

Why didn't he buy an external gas tank?

[@pcno2832]

@@Mapleleaflocksmith At the peak of the crisis (the crisis years were actually '73-'74 and '79) there were varying restrictions on how many gallons you could buy and some stations probably didn't allow the filling of a large separate tank, which would also have been a fire hazard.

[@mattcolver1]

And haul it around on an MG Midget?@@Mapleleaflocksmith

[@renpixie]

As a true Car Guy , I suggest you do an episode on Studebaker ; focusing on the original Avanti . It’s history deserves to be remembered.

[@renpixie]

@@cm-hw5ww Nice My brothers first car was a Champ that Dad made him dismantle & reassemble the engine . He was the only one who got to drive Dads ‘63 Avanti . Turquoise blue . What a ride.

[@scootosan]

throw in an episode on Brook Stevens ..check your local Dewie Dismal references.

[@davet.5493]

You don't really want to do an episode on Studebakers or the Avante. It's way too depressing; because Studebaker was essentially out of business in 1959 when the Avanti was desgined.

[@heidimarchant5438]

My grandpa probably had 50 studas in his junkyard about the same of Fairlanes. I still can't comprehend why so many other than they were mass produced so more common.

[@georgepelton5645]

Studebaker is an excellent subject for history that deserves to be remembered! However, instead of focusing on the Avanti and Studebaker's demise, focus on the founding of Studebaker and its rise to become the nation's premier builder of horse driven wagons and coaches. Then cover the coming age of the automobile, competition from hundreds of new start up companies building them, the efforts of carriage builders to switch production to these new vehicles, and only one surviving the transition to become a major automaker: Studebaker.

[@johngregg5735]

Back in the 70's, Ford did a campaign touting one of it's POS sedans as being the same as a Mercedes, only affordable. In rebuttal, Mercedes ran a simple commercial. On a mostly bare stage, there was an announcer standing between Mercedes and a Ford. The announcer said, "On my left is a Mercedes, on my right is a Ford". "If you can't tell the difference, buy the Ford"

[@jamesengland7461]

What happened next was even stranger. Mercedes wasn't building many cars compliant with US emissions requirements in the early 80s, such that, I think in 1982 or 1983, the only Mercedes sold in the US because it was exempt from gasoline emissions regs was the diesel S Class. So people bought Fords 😂

[@mrluckyuncle]

Ah, yes - the glorious Granada!

[@albertchehade9916]

😂🤣😂 I bought 2 Fords

[@Flies2FLL]

@@mrluckyuncle The Granada was nothing more than a rebodied Maverick. But they were cheap so they sold like hotcakes.

[@russellriggan2088]

Ford Granada. My Dad had one as a company car. It had the small inline 6, and could not get out of it's own way.

[@PintoPopProductions]

Another fun Sinatra/Imperial link: the 1984 film Cannonball Run II featured a custom limousine built from a 1981 Imperial. It was decked out as a military staff car and used as the Cannonball race vehicle for Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise's characters. Frank Sinatra played himself in the film, later joining the race. He also drove a Chrysler product, but they had him in a bright red Dodge Daytona Turbo Z, which fellow Rat Pack members Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., somehow couldn't keep up with in their brand-new 1984 Corvette! Interestingly this movie is said to be the last time that the surviving Rat Pack members appeared onscreen together.

[@georgeclark7208]

My first car was a 1970 Chrysler Imperial LeBaron. It was even longer than the 1966 Cadillac that my friend had. It got nearly 8 MPG on a good day, but boy that 4 barrel carburetor could growl. Kids today have no idea what they are missing. The front and back hoods were flat and some of my friends called it the aircraft carrier. I miss that car.

[@noneofyourbusiness43]

1970 would be WAY better than an 81. A Frankly Badass car.

[@987654321wormy]

My friends and I had the typical muscle cars in the late 70s, Nova's, Camaro's, Mustangs, etc; one friend had a 72 Imperial. It was a total boat, but fully decked out, it even had air conditioning. Guess what vehicle we took on road trips or to concerts. 😂

[@DSP1968]

A great feature on this car. One inaccuracy I noted: the 1981 Imperial was not the first US car to feature a fully electronic instrument panel. That honor goes to the 1980 Lincoln Continental Mark VI, which featured such an IP as standard. The same instrumentation package was optional on the Lincoln Continental/Town Car, Cougar and Thunderbird of the same year.

[@ricksaint2000]

Thank you History Guy

[@randalljeffs7272]

I had a 1991 Chrysler Imperial New Yorker in glacier blue and velvet seats. My wife joked that the seats were way more comfortable than our couch at home. I loved that car.

[@milfordcivic6755]

I would have rather bought the couch and saved the rest for an Olds Cutlass with a 305.

[@williamdavis8161]

Still have a 78 Granada. Drove it on a 6k trip last year. Only "problem" i had was the number of people that wanted to talk about it everytime i stopped for gas, food.

[@lapurta22]

How did you not get one with those crappy soft cams? I had two of those ticking timebombs. Was it a 302?

[@davet.5493]

Well, if I had a car that was 40 years old with 5000 miles on it would probably look pretty good too.

[@sunsetrider45]

What a great problem to have!

[@williamdavis8161]

@@sunsetrider45 it was! Got to talk to a lot of people i wouldn't have otherwise. An old, somewhat different vehicle is a great icebreaker.

[@llongone2]

My first car (bought in 1990) was a 1975 Granada. I drove it until the wheels fell off.

[@thedave513]

My grandfather was a Chrysler dealer. I started working at the store when I was 13. Once a week I was tasked with washing and waxing his Imperial demo. The trunk, roof and hood seemed endless as I labored mightily with my weak and willowy arms to wipe that Turtle Wax on and wipe it off. I might have cried a time or two at the hopelessness of the endeavor and of course, it had to be perfect! Those were the days.

[@SpockvsMcCoy]

1970s era?

[@thedave513]

72-74ish@@SpockvsMcCoy

[@SpockvsMcCoy]

@@thedave513 Any 1960 Imperials taken in on trade?

[@williamthethespian]

While not knowing of the Iococa/Sinatra connection, I do recall a time of Ricardo Motalban extolling the virtues of "rich, Corinthian leather".in the Cordoba, the true manufacturer of said leather, was one Radal Leather, of Newark, New Jersey.😊 😅

[@michaelgarwoood4897]

I remember that Ricardo car ad because of his Awesome, DEEEEP Voice….

[@dans4459]

I saw Richardo Motalban interviewed by David Letterman once. Letterman asked, "What's Corinthian Leather?" Motalban laughed, saying, "When we were shooting the commercial, the line 'rich leather' didn't seem to work, so the cameraman said 'How about Corinthian Leather?" The director asked, "What's Corinthian Leather?" and the cameraman responded, "I just made it up."

[@pcno2832]

A lot of people thought "Corinthian Leather" was a euphemism for vinyl. Chrysler should have added something like "from the finest selected cowhides" to emphasize that the stuff, even if from Newark, was real.

[@Greg-io1ip]

Mafia controlled labor unions back then. Serial Pedophile Frank Sinatra had spent decades as Goldwater's Southern Strategy messenger boy, specifically reporting to his boss: Roy Cohn, who was J Edgar Hoover's lover and lifted Francis's FBI Pedo Files. True story. Vegas girls arriving to JFK were arranged by Sinatra and JFK cousin Joey Crawford (rat pack). Ironically here's Mafia pedo SINatra's promotion of inferior Mafia labor unions hunks of heavy junk low mpg cars that crippled USA when OPEC Oil Embargo caught us completely unprepared. Sinatra was complete trash. And of course the rumors were Ioccoca had to obey whatever the labor unions demanded. That's how Francis came into the picture. Mafia trash in plain sight.

[@jaybob9208]

Bought a used up Gremlin in college. 3-speed manual no one could drive today! After a trip across Missouri noticed the air cleaner was loose, turned out we’d driven all that way with a couple bolts missing that held on carburetor! Ran great! One of my favorite cars ever!

[@rexfaucher9773]

When Lee Iacocca was asked why he produced the Imperial in the troubled times of Chrysler his answer was simple, the car was in development before his arrival ,to much money was spent at that point to cancel the project. He threw his support behind the car and secretly hoped they could make a success of it. That is the story I heard straight from Iacocca. Thanks for great video's.....RF

[@canuck_gamer3359]

I was born and raised in Windsor, Ontario and grew up in the 80's and I remember the Sinatra visit very well. My mother at the time was working on the line at G.M. but her brother (my uncle) was an electrician at Chrysler. He managed to get a couple of pictures of Sinatra and I remember him showing them to us when I was a kid. That was in 1981 when I was just 9 years old and in '84 the Queen was coming to Windsor and we as school kids were bussed out and cheered her as she drove past. Two pretty special times that I remember to this day as a 52 year old. It always brightens my day to hear THG mention my hometown :)

[@Tom-mc6fm]

I bought a 1981 Imperial not running of course in 1988, being a mechanic I did get it somewhat running . The car to me was really nice. So I bought the retro kit from Chrysler close to 900 dollar a lot of money to me and did retro the car . Fuel tank,exhaust. Dash cluster. Intake ,carb,.......... Well it was a great car again!!! Personal tragedy hit my dad passed in the process of me doing it. Things just weren't the same and I sold the car after all that work but wouldn't of changed that experience for anything. Now at 67 I'm on the hunt again. Thanks for listening.

[@onliwankannoli]

In college I briefly had to drive my parents’ K car wagon. Quite a blow to my self-esteem. I dubbed it The Wagon of Numerous Untold Atrocities.

[@jamespfitz]

You had a car in college?!

[@onliwankannoli]

@@jamespfitz I had a Pontiac Sunbird convertible that was pretty, but terrible mechanically. My parents’ wagon was ugly but reliable.

[@christopherconard2831]

My folks bought an Aries K wagon. They couldn't understand why 15 year old me kept pushing for a LeBaron convertible parked next to it in the dealership. Well, they probably understood, but didn't care.

[@zadams5596]

My HS driver ed program was essentially just a bunch of old K cars with the passenger side brake pedal and all the “highways of agony” era safety videos the teacher could get his hands on.

[@davestewart2067]

How many K cars survive?!? Very few. Like Vegas most were crushed.

[@hankw69]

My first car out of highschool and into the service was an '83 LeBaron, 'K' car. It was a very dependable, comfortable and a pretty good looking car for it's day. And completely gutless...but you can't ask for everything.

[@Ernest-vd4mu]

Ford Pinto,was my example of daily hopti... Pepperidge Farms remembers....

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

The K car is an interesting story itself.

[@onliwankannoli]

@@TheHistoryGuyChannelMy sister had a K car, my parents later had a K car wagon, and I learned to drive in a Dodge Omni, which was Chrysler’s L car series. They may have helped save the Chrysler Corporation, but as a driver it’s debatable whether they’re history worth remembering.

[@lapurta22]

@@onliwankannoli I had an Omni TS i for quite a while in college and right after I graduated. It was very reliable and the 2.2l was peppy in a car that small. Not peppy enough though. I traded it in on a 86 Monte Carlo SS.

[@onliwankannoli]

@@lapurta22 My parents probably would’ve let me keep the Omni, and I should have, but my pride got in the way. I bought an older “cooler” car for myself.

[@sayeager5559]

My friends mother bought one in 81. I rode in it many times, it was a palace inside. She sold it a couple months later after being stranded several times. They were striking cars at the time.

[@darwindemartelaere3195]

Great presentation, as always. Many people don't know that the comeback of Chrysler and the loan from the government had a lot to do with Chryslers involvement with the development and building of the M-1 Abrams main battle tank

[@chrislongbeard]

Having owned 3 Imperials this is one I still want. But my current 73 Coupe is too nice. Also had 63 and 67 sedans.

[@fourpoint64]

nice coupe!!!!

[@Inquisitor6321]

In your '73, does it have a 400 or 440 engine?

[@chrislongbeard]

@Inquisitor6321 originally a 440 I am currently rebuilding. For the time being a 400 I had laying around.

[@Inquisitor6321]

@@chrislongbeard Not bad. I'm curious, does it have factory original electronic ignition? (Chrysler first introduced it in 72 with 400 engine.)

[@kevincostello3856]

You've got a 73 Imperial Coupe, my favorite Imperial Coupe, only 2,563 coupes were built that year. Just love the 73 Imperials. What color is you're Imperial?? If ever you are thinking of selling it, please let me know, Thank You

[@jaycarlson927]

i love your introduction. I am in that generation also

[@SammyM00782]

I'm a car guy, and since I always comment how awesome your intros are, this one is FIRE lol. Love it, love the episode.

[@stephenmiller9124]

You hit another homerun! Glad to know you are one of us - a true car guy. Thank you History Guy for sharing this fascinating story!

[@SpockvsMcCoy]

Lee Iacocca had great sales success while at FoMoCo with the Continental Mark Series models (III, IV, V) produced from 1969 to 1979. When he moved to Chrysler Corporation, Iacocca believed that he could replicate that type of highly profitable car with the Imperial. The fatal flaw in his marketing strategy was that the American luxury car market experienced a rather dramatic shift in the early 1980s. Large floaty luxury coupes were now much less popular (excluding Cadillac Eldorado). What were more popular than ever were midsize luxury sedans with four doors (excluding the new bustleback 1980 Cadillac Seville with its significant sales drop). The sales flop of the 1981-1983 Imperial was also partially attributable to its troublesome fuel injection. Iacocca did redeem himself with the very popular 1982-1988 Chrysler Fifth Avenue, less expensive than the Imperial but still upscale for a Chrysler.

[@jasonruetz2306]

I had a '71 Chrysler Crown Imperial, dark green inside and out, 440 power, that thing was ultra-Deluxe and cool. 😎

[@frankgulla2335]

I owned a Gremlin because my family had owned a Rambler Classic when I was younger, though I never drove it. I bought the Gremlin because it was inexpensive and the dealer was located a short walk from work. It had one option on it. A black 'racing strip' down the side. It came with an AM radio. It was a manual transmission and the tail lights didn't work on the way home. Fortunately, I had a dealer near where I lived who was opened on SATURDAY(!) and they plugged in the errant taillight. Yes, the "Great Pumpkin" lasted 4 years and 68000 miles before I dumped it for a 78 Toyota Corolla S/P5 with a liftback, a 5-speed transmission, and much better gas mileage. Thanks, THG for reminding us of those sad days in the US auto industry.

[@Paladin1873]

My sister drove a Gremlin in high school. One Sunday afternoon it was parked alone on a quiet street in front of our grandmother's house. They were sitting on the front porch watching the empty road when another vehicle approached from the opposite direction, traveling slowly. Suddenly it crossed the median and smashed into her car before driving away. When our father found out, he was relieved nobody had been hurt, and doubly relieved it had been the Gremlin. It was the only family vehicle which had collision coverage. We concluded the driver must have been drunk or else he really hated Gremlins.

[@Nicksonian]

The girl next door, when I was in college, got a Gremlin from her dad when she too went off to college. I remember then, recoiling in horror at the hideous sight. I can’t imagine the teasing Evie got from her schoolmates. A few years later, working as a photojournalist, I came across an automobile mishap-a Gremlin was on its roof. It looked like a sad turtle immobilized on its back. I wonder if I have that photo somewhere.

[@MrMatteNWk]

"Otto, there's a Gremlin on the side of the bus!" 🌳 🚗 -----> 💥

[@onliwankannoli]

I hated Gremlins and Pacers back in the day! Now I think it would be cool to own one.

[@Onewheelordeal]

​@@Nicksoniana Gremlin on its roof would be a cool picture to have hanging in the garage

[@Nicksonian]

@@onliwankannoli Oops. Now that you mention it. I meant Pacers. Both my neighbor’s and the car on its back were Pacers.

[@ericstevenson2188]

You mention that big cars have gone by the wayside but ever expanding SUV's are altogether too large for those of us who prefer small cars and have to share the road with them.

[@theemmjay5130]

I used to work at a hotel that was hosting a Mini convention. One of the guests had a shirt that said, "It takes a big man to drive a small car." I told him, "As the owner of a Metro, I love your shirt."

[@blitzroehre1807]

While working in Canada I drove one of those barges in 1994 because nobody else at the dealer wanted it. Low miles and dirt cheap, it was champagne-goldish color with matching velours and orang-utan hair wall to wall carpet. Nothing had been retrofitted and everything worked surprisingly well if you did not forget to NOT pump the throttle pedal until the engine had a steady idle. It was the most gutless car I have ever driven BUT pretty light on fuel. I called it Frank the tank and did have a Frank Sinatra cassette in the deck to bridge the vast timespan between standstill and 110 km/h with muzak. It got replaced in 97 by a 90 model Fifth Avenue 3,3 with the extremely rare high output engine, which was a gigantic difference to drive. I still have the Fifth Ave in my garage today, and it still rides like the Imperial should have when it was launched....

[@braxtonnelson5375]

I worked for a Chrysler/Plymouth dealership for 3 weeks back in the early 80s as a service writer. Actually, I worked for a week, and then gave a 2 week notice... it was just too depressing to deal with customers who had bought Horizons and Caravelles (along with Fifth Avenues and LeBarons) and then brought them back for warranty repairs which could be almost impossible to "repair" given that most of the faults noted were in the genes of the car. One case which pertains directly to this History Guy episode: a local Orthodontist bought an Imperial (which was slotted against Lincolns and Cadillacs at the time), and it had left him stranded a number of times. The fuel injection system worked quite well as long as you did NOT touch the accelerator pedal when starting the car. For a generation of older folks (which were the target model for the car), the first thing you did on your older cars was give the throttle a pump or two to set the choke on the carbureted engines. It was a habit that was hard to break, and once you pressed the gas pedal BEFORE the engine started, the Imperial was almost impossible to start afterward. The orthodontist (who catered to the more affluent people) was a member of the older generation, and he had to have the Imperial towed to our dealership several times... he would forget to avoid the throttle pedal, and the car would leave him stranded! It turned out that during my brief stint as a service writer, his Imperial had been approved for the very expensive "carburetor retrofit" on the 318 engine in the car, and I drove one of our mechanics to the Orthodontists' office to pick up the car for the procedure. It took several hours to do this retrofit, and if it was not covered under warranty, it would have cost several thousand dollars to perform. I felt lucky that my former place of employment thought enough of me to rehire me!

[@DirkDiggler6903]

Imperial electronic fuel injection, ended up being retro fit with carb, matching exhaust.

[@LuckyBaldwin777]

I used to tell people that had that problem to put their foot on the brake when starting the car. Gave their foot something to do and kept it off the accelerator pedal.

[@Blatsen]

As someone born in 1982 and generally unfamiliar with older cars, I never knew that it was once a thing for people to push the gas pedal before starting their cars. When I was a little kid growing up in the 1980s, I would sometimes play in my parents’ parked, turned off cars and push the gas pedal to pretend I was driving. My dad would always tell me not to do that and that I could risk flooding the engine if I did that. I don’t know if that is true, but it worked in discouraging me from ever pushing the gas pedal in a turned off car.

[@LuckyBaldwin777]

​@Blatsen you can flood the engine on carbureted vehicles because every time you step on the gas pedal, the accelerator pump squirts gas into the engine. On cold carbureted engines, you floor the gas pedal once before starting to set the choke, which makes the engine run better when it's cold.

[@rbruce63]

Outstanding history! Albeit there are a handful of fuel injected Imperials still running perfectly! Perhaps, there was a way to “patch” the errors and keep it going!

[@cranialnerv]

Thanks!

[@TheHistoryGuyChannel]

Thank you!

[@jeffbangkok]

I bought the first 1978 Mustang 2 Mach 1 - 302 that came in. Same story. It would stall at traffic lights and not restart. It was at the dealer more then I drove it. One day it stalled in another town and I traded it for a Mazda truck. haha. Working at Ford and Chevy dealer service in the late 70's the warranty departments required more mechanics then the service departments.

[@jamesengland7461]

THG, I love that you mentioned Mac's Motor City Garage! Their Facebook page is full of great automotive history that, well, deserves to be remembered!

[@MrCtsSteve]

Yea Bill McGuire knows his shit

[@Awsom47Merc]

Hey The History Guy does a car vid ! Now your talking ! Love the intro ! I took drivers ed in 72 so I'm ahead of you but I remember the 81 Imperial. I sat in one at the Autoshow at Cobo Hall in 1980. It was a nice car. Unfortunately it wasn't around long. Guess that was because of the glitches. I myself never knew anyone who had one. Oh, Gremlin X's with the V8 weren't that bad. They drove like Mustangs of that era. And the Levi edition seats didn't get roach burns ! 👊😎👍

[@michaelgalea5148]

I bought a 1974 Dodge Dart with a 318 V8. It was a great car. Only had to replace tires, and get the upholstery stitched up. Nuff said about that.😊

[@crustycurmudgeon2182]

Okay, I gotta say this: That was actually a good-looking car. It had lots of "good ideas" for electronics and fuel control-- which ultimately didn't work. And there were build quality problems. THG reminds us this is a product of the "Malaise Era" (for more on that, I highly suggest looking up Ed's Auto Reviews, here on YT. He has a fabulous and VERY entertaining series on just that: The Malaise Era). One would think, that Lee Iacocca, coming from a long stint at Ford would have had some familiarity with the disastrous Edsel. He would have been informed as to how NOT to roll out a new model or series of models too rapidly. The new '81 Imperial shows that history forgotten, repeats-- often to calamitous results.

[@RetiredSailor60]

Good Friday morning History Guy and everyone watching. Class is back in session. Pay attention, you may learn something new. I took my driver's test in a 1979 Chevy El Camino...

[@cbroz7492]

..I took mine in my parent's 1965 metallic ice blue Rsmbler station wagon in the sane day that the NY Mets won the final game (game 5) of the 1969 World Series..

[@FumariVI]

I took my driver's test in a 1965 Impala. When it came to the parallel parking part I knocked down both traffic cones, but still passed. 😇😅

[@leemiller4375]

I was able to buy an 82 fs for $100.00 found that the main wiring harness was bad at the firewall and made a new one. It still had the fuel injection system. After repair I drove it for 3 years with no problems. I sold it for $3000.00

[@ronaldslater4703]

The Green Hornet's Black Beauty was an LeBaron Imperial. I loved that car!!!

[@masterskrain2630]

1965 model.

[@michaelmcguire7962]

I owned a two 1980 Miradas and a 1980 Cordoba-cousins to the Imperial. Cool cars! Wish I still had one of them still! Ah that fake wood dash! Great video!

[@joeybabybaby5843]

Small detail, but I think that it should've been mentioned here: The name "Imperial" was given to this car only months before production. During the all of its development it had been firmly slated to be named the "La Scala". Great vid!

[@SpockvsMcCoy]

There was a GM concept car called the 1973 Cadillac LaScala that morphed into the production 1976 Seville.

[@guillermojimenezcastelblan8456]

Great information, lots of fun and advice blended here. I like even today, the sharp lines of the front fenders, windshield grades inclination, the overall size, somehow smaller and lighter, and the faith that Lee put on running this special model, endorsing such a Special well known artist as Sinatra was, but, sometimes you win and sometimes things go wrong. Chairman Iaccoca had to work with all he got in Mopar engineering lines, no way to star from the scratch, so I understand that the frame and suspension comes from the former F compact Aspen/Volare, according to a Moog Suspension parts catalogue I had when a sold spare parts, in Bogota, Colombia where we had the 1978/1981 Aspen model locally assembled, called "Dart" just for market purposes, and just impressed myself seeing the same front transverse torsion bars as the F models mentioned above. Iaccoca`s 1977 Tunderbird`s sales victory didn`t occur with all trio J platform, and it was a real shame. Thanks for video and information as well, cheers, take care.

[@capricetony]

The Downsized 1977 Chevrolet Caprice Classic was a success and beautiful car especially in a 2 door coupe 😁

[@billyjoejimbob56]

In a corporate history that has more than its fair share of embarrassing product flops , the '81-83 Imperial was one of Chrysler's most memorable. For its time and place, it was a beautiful design, but that could not offset all of the compromises made in product development. The crude outdated chassis technology was taken straight from the Aspen/Volare cars, ordinary engine and transmission technology was developed for Plymouths and Dodges 20 years earlier, unproven engine and instrumentation electronics were not ready for prime time, and all were brought together in an outdated assembly plant known for mediocre quality. Undaunted, Iacocca would try once more to revive the Imperial name with a stretched K-car clone a decade later!

[@zadams5596]

Well done THG! I’ve really enjoyed the “this day in history” episodes recently and now I’m looking forward to more “when I was a kid” episodes about cars like this, TV guide, floppy disks, encyclopedias and all the other “hardships” of growing up in that era.

[@rustyhauler6477]

Thank you for another great car history, the first time I watched the History Guy video was your take on the Vega. Well done. I like old cars and old machinery, cars and steam in particular. A few years back I bought and restored a 1986 Plymouth Reliant K car. You wouldn't believe how many thumbs up that car gets.

[@Fore-Four-Dee-Too]

Lee tried a few times to create a halo car for Chrysler. He didn't hit the ball until just before he left when the Viper was released.

[@DerrickOil]

That was Bob Lutz, not Iacocca.

[@silentvoiceinthedark5665]

TBH the K car was a very good car for it's price range

[@lapurta22]

I worked at the Viper plant on the only piece of automation in the whole damned place. I was the person that finally got it working right. No small feat, it took a couple months of programming and constant fiddling. But I finally got it. The electricians and managers loved me there. Whoever at Chrysler bought off on that PoS should have gotten fired. But they didn't. 🤬

[@mountainjeff]

@@DerrickOil Right. But Iacocca did do the minivan. That saved them.

[@shiftfocus1]

@@mountainjeffHal Sperlich was the real inventor of the minivan, first at Ford, later at Chrysler. But Iacocca was smart enough to let him run with it.

[@Flies2FLL]

My take on these is that while they were nice looking, the materials were cheap and it had none of the "presence" of Cadillacs or Lincolns of the time. Look are everything in the automotive world. Great video!

[@ronwolff5973]

I worked at a Chrysler dealer when the FS Imperial came out The dealer had one FS turned into a Convertible It sat on the showroom floor for 1.5 years and it was taken back to the company that converted it into a Convertible dozens of times every time a customer asked to see it with the top UP , it would stick or wouldn’t go back down, then the bos fuel injection crap went out they ordered the KIT when it arrived it was bigger than the car. The convertible was 10,000$ back in 1982 plus the FS package

[@bullettube9863]

I was a mechanic during the 70s and worked on several Imperials, the software was buggy and caused most of the problems with the fuel system and once the shop figured out a fix the affected cars all ran fine. Everyone agreed they were a good looking car and the interiors were plush and comfortable. My wife and I bought a K car and it was a virtual pain, the battery went bad after eleven months, then the fuel injector failed. But the worse thing was the timing belt failure that caused the engine to overheat and warp the head, a very common problem with the 2.2liter engine. My biggest beef wasn't with the car so much as the absolutely horrid way the dealer treated us. The refusal of Chrysler and it's dealers to help the customer doomed Chrysler!

[@smileymalaise]

Cool intro!

[@jacquesmontague2477]

I absolutely adore my '88 New Yorker Landau, even nearing 40 the Mitsubishi V6 never fails to start, and still achieved 26 on the highway driving from Buffalo to Pittsburgh last August for a ball game. I don't drive her this time of year, so I'm ready for spring!

[@BlasphemousBill2023]

Good morning! I do love automotive history! Thanks! I saw this car in the Detroit auto show before it came out. It really was beautiful and the dashboard and radio were excellent! I never knew anyone that owned one. Good mileage and less expensive were what people were buying near me. Big old comfy cars were a dime a dozen.

[@Supernaut2000]

Meanwhile the Honda Accord and Civic silently advanced to automotive dominance.

[@boataxe4605]

Yep! While American automakers were thinking short term profits to please the stockholders, the Japanese were thinking long term.

[@chriswright2250]

Great story. ❤

[@joezephyr]

Most interesting episode in a while thank you.

[@kathycook3024]

I learned to drive in the late '70s in my mama's Country Squire station wagon. That thing was almost as big a tank as my first minivan, a 1987 Ford Aerostar. That thing could withstand almost anything .

[@kylefowler5082]

Love the automotive history content, keep it coming!

[@GeorgeLiquor]

The 1981 Imperial is a fantastic car. EFI is the problem. Get rid of that, and you're golden. I did, and I've had zero problems with mine

[@MrGGBHTD]

We are both of similar age and I grew up a mechanic and had to work on all them terrible malaise era junk - I share your cringe as you speak of them

[@RCAvhstape]

This actually makes me a bit nostalgic for the cars of that era. My mom drove a 79 Chevy Impala and that car was nice and comfortable, her dad drove a 78, almost identical. Both were decent cars. The weird thing about remembering cars from years ago is that I can still vividly remember the smell of the upholstery in every vehicle me or my parents ever owned, odd.

[@BobBish-m9x]

I read a book some time ago called "The Angel of Vindicta". I remember it took place in "The Afterlife". In it, the main character, Purgatory Police Detective Lorelei Sweet, drove an all-white 1981 Imperial. I think this was the only time I ever heard of the Imperial, especially this generation, being mentioned in any story.

[@cva1122]

I was a new salesman at a Datsun dealership and the dealer principal drove a white Imperial. Exquisite. I was given a B210 and was happy.

[@michaeldevoe9235]

Remember this car well…my father bought a Glacier blue 79 New Yorker…the only challenge we had with the lean burn system on the 360 was the fire wall mounted ignition resistor. Carried a spare in the glove box after a late night failure …he drove it for 218,000 miles. It was still running and driving well when he sold it, 18 year old bought it totaled the next weekend. The kid lived, the car didn’t…as a side story in 1982 had 81 TransAm turbo (still have it) pulled into the Pontiac dealer due to a check engine light was on. Service Mgr said we are sending guys this month to learn how to work on computerized cars..l showed them how to use a paper clip to get the codes to flash on the dash…strange times…and some very strange cars…

[@Redmenace96]

HG could spend 50 episodes on "interesting failures" from automotive history. This is not a car channel. He picked a good one. The personal relationship between Lee and Frank is fascinating to think about. What a strange time.

[@Greg-io1ip]

Records Act releases we now know Sinatra was Roy Cohn's messenger boy, owned by blackmail. Cohn shacked up regularly at J Edgar Hoover's mother's home where Hoover kept his personal extortion files. Roy lifted SINatra's FBI Pedo Files and as you might know: Because Cohn's Red Scare program extortion kompromat Apparatus needed a message delivery boy, especially regarding Goldwater's Southern Strategy agenda events, Francis was chosen because he could get a meeting with anyone. Hard to believe so many people liked Frank's terrible music but apparently that's how he was able to get his fans to ignore the rumors he was in fact a serial pedophile. Amazing that even posthumously: Roy Cohn's damages are still ongoing. It would have been better to send Francis to Alcatraz in the 1950's. Hoover was a creep and an idiot.

[@ericknoblauch9195]

I remember when the Imperial came out. Chrysler was trying to make the front look like the popular Lincoln Continental at the time, and the back to resemble the Cadillac Seville. Lincoln also had a Continental with a back that looked similar to the Imperial. What killed the Imperial was the problems with the fuel injection at the time. Chrysler paid to install carburators to fix the problem. That scared many people off. They thought the Imperial was a good looking car but were afraid of reliability issues due to the injection. I had a neighbor at the time who bought a Imperial in 1982, and was still driving it in 2015.

[@crazytrain7114]

I had a 62 4door Lebaron,413 dual quad, LOVED the Battlestar!

[@BasicDrumming]

I appreciate you and thank you for making content.

[@donaldwiller9238]

I remember working on the cars at the Chrysler Delership it had what they called lien burn and the computer was on the air filter. yes we put carbs on them .Great job 👍

[@Dirtypretzleman]

Loving the dress shirt THG!

[@kellybasham3113]

Love your videos

[@steveshoemaker6347]

l knew old blue for many years and he was a good friend.....Thank THG🎀

[@landiahillfarm6590]

Although I was [and am] not a big fan of the "bustleback" design, whether Chrysler or Cadillac, I've always felt this car was quite beautiful in design. It's too bad the EFI turned out to be a nightmare otherwise I think this car could have been a true success.

[@Youser999]

I was born in 81 and we still used the term hoopty in high school in the late 90s to poke fun at beater cars. I'd almost forgotten the term tho! Haha, it's definitely a good one.

[@jacobwatts202]

Speaking of the Chrysler Imperial. The 1966-1968 model is the only car banned from demolition derbies.

[@joemiller2629]

Only because they had a unit body on top of a VERY strong full frame. They would literally destroy any other car they hit.

[@loualiberti4781]

Excellent Story !!! 😊

[@tiufb]

I can definitely sympathize! My parents gave me a Vega to drive in high school and I almost said thank you?

[@jondickson75]

Best vid yet. Thank you. I’m a mopar man through and through.

[@muellerator]

I live in Windsor and I remember hearing about this.

[@silentvoiceinthedark5665]

My father's friend purchased one at a time my father had an El Dorado. I can tell you from my personal experience, the 3 year old El Dorado was silky smooth on the road compared to the back seat of the brand new Imperial. Over all the El Dorado was superior in every way.

[@mrspandel5737]

Not surprising, the Imperial was derived from the M-Body which in turn was based on the Aspen/Volaré F-Body, itself a warmed over A-body aka Dart/Valiant. So a warmed over compact car platform from the 1960s in a luxury car.

[@RichieRouge206]

As a petrol head/gear head this was particularly good. Do enjoy all your videos though!

[@michaelleroi9077]

SWEET intro says the Wood River guy to the Belleville man! Always a VERY pro presentation! We bought from Albright and my uncle owned Dot Liquor Store in Collinsville next to the Zamboni car wash where the owners son shot himself in the head when he found a zip gun in the back seat while helping dad at work. I played right there and my dads new wife owned the Dairy Queen and a diner in Belleville. All my dads millions ended up in Madison County probate. 😒

[@agbook2007]

Cool intro and great job on this bit of automotive history!

[@2packs4sure]

My best friend's father was an oil executive in Houston and he got a brand new Imperial in 81' and he let me drive it,, it had about 300 miles on it and the noises coming out from under that hood were shocking.. It was extremely beautiful but was weak and sloppy and had a BAD hesitation when floored at 30 mph. I was 17 years old but I felt it was a piece of crap and told him,,,, lol. He had it about 4 months and suddenly a new Lincoln town car showed up. I'd drove that with 84 miles on it and it was solid as a rock,, whisper quiet inside and out, and ran flawlessly, a night and day difference...

[@shaindaman13]

Poor AMC. Never had any money. If they were around today the Government would’ve bailed them out. But that was back in the day when if a business actually made no money, they shut down. They made some cool stuff. The Rambler Rebel was very cool and so was the Javelin.

[@LeeB-p1h]

Those Chrysler interiors were super nice

[@chronos4573]

I would drive an imperial right now. The car has aged well in my eyes but I still see the outline of a Dodge Mirada which is another car with nice lines. I think they were chassis mates.

[@Turkeydump]

My father bought a new Chrysler Imperial LeBaron in 1975 that was deep blue and had a matching soft pillow vinyl top with matching deep blue leather interior and thick pillow toped seats, i have never seen another one like it. 19:11 . 19:11

[@jamesslick4790]

The '81 Imperial is sometimes mocked for aping Cadillac's 1980 Seville with the "bustle back" trunk, But I think of ALL three (Cadillac, Lincoln and Imperial) the Imperial's was the best of this short lived styling "quirk". I STILL think this is a good looking PLC, Just needs the more conventional Cordoba/Mirada power train.

[@SchismTP]

One of my friends had a 72 Chrysler Newport Imperial. Sat 6 slept 8- 10 if you used the trunk. It rumbled a bit due to a hole in the exhaust pipe. Okay, so it set off car alarms three rows over. It was totaled when a Geo Prism hit it square on the left front wheel at an estimated 45mph. Knocked the Imperial 16 inches sideways. My friend suffered a dribble of Coke on his hand. Had to get out on the passenger side and he did first aid on the other driver until the ambulance arrived. Insurance gave him $250. Parts dealer gave him $700. Downsized to a 79 Tbird.

[@AndrewBrown-fq6vp]

I heard it said that in the 1980's Chrysler made cars too boring for people too old to notice. My favorite Imperial was the 1960 Southampton Le Baron.

[@fubarmodelyard1392]

I had a 1969 Imperial. I really miss that car. According to an article in Mopar Action magazine, the problem wasn't with the fuel injection system itself. It was very sensitive to impurities in the gasoline that caused the stalling and sluggish behavior. I'd have one though. Or a 69-70

[@maryrothfuchs9404]

I learned to drive in a 1980 Mitsubishi pickup stick shift my dad owned. AFTER learning to drive a tractor on the farm. The "school cars" to learn to drive in at driver's ed? A van, a chevy impala, and a gremlin. This was in 1985!

[@toddedeker3528]

Oh MY!! What an accurate reflection of an embarrassed automotive chapter!! I lived through it…. PS.. I still got my 63 Impala 😃

[@shawnr771]

Thank you for the lesson. Besides the government loans and restructing to help Chrysler. The US government used to buy its next years motor pool vehicles from the US car company with the lowest sales from the previous year. The success of the K car was in part because the US government purchased thousands of them throughout the 1980s. The US military used them as staff cars, police cars for years. The were cheap, reliable and got decent fuel mileage.

[@bshingledecker]

You had my "like" at 30 seconds into your opening..... first car was a 75 Monte. I also had a 83 Reliant K wagon. Wasnt a bad car, but the 2.6L Mitsubishi engine probably helped.

[@kellyscars]

That's not the first time Chrysler replaced fuel injection with carburetors. The 1958 Electrojector was problematic on the 300, and it was replaced with a dual Carter WCFB setup. The Electrojector design had oil filled paper capacitors mounted on the core support, and interference from stop lights wrecked havoc on the system. Chrysler sold the design to Bosch, where it was refined into the Jetronic system.

[@seed_drill7135]

AMC realized the flaws and stopped theirs from getting released to the public in ‘57.

[@1975grandprix]

Chrysler also had what they called the Lean Burn system to try to help curb emissions. But it never worked right either and most if not all were retrofitted with a standard carburetor and intake system.

[@guylr7390]

Drop a later Mopar fuel injected 360 Magnum crate engine in one, tighten up the suspension and it would be a pretty nice car.

[@Michele-z4k]

My dad thought he had “arrived” when in 1970 he bought a 1967 Imperial. I was so angry. It was a HUGE car and I was 16. The age I would take my behind the wheel test. I aced the written and thought i’d be doomed in The Boat. I was so nervous and i didn’t do well on the parallel parking part. I passed the test by 1 point. The tester said he cut me a break because i was so small for such a big car. I told him, “yeah I hate it”. Our driveway sloped up and it was so hard to get out of the car that the door would always close on my legs.