The 1972 Imperial Alternate Design Proposals: What Could've Been!

See these alternate design proposals for the 1972 Imperial! Which do you think is best?

[@tomsrensen9382]

The '72 production version is killer. Somebody took the right decisions. Thanks for sharing!

[@Gary7even]

My car was in the shop one day and I drove my dad's 72 Imperial to work that morning. I had a flat tire (left rear) on the way. Using the equipped bumper jack, I could not jack the car up enough to get the tire off the ground. The jack was literally at the top of its travel and those huge leaf springs in the rear had so much travel that the tire was still on the ground. I wound up walking to the nearest gas station and borrowing their floor jack and lugging it back to the car to jack it up and change the tire. As I recall, I did have to take the fender skirt off to remove the tire.

[@Wiencourager]

I had the same experience with my 73. Lucky i had pulled over in front of a house where a guy was in his garage working on a hot rod. Was able to use his floor Jack on the axle. After that I got a scissors Jack from a junkyard to supplement the factory Jack to lift the axle enough to get the wheel off the ground

[@markdc1145]

Always fun to see clay proposals of what could have been. Keep them coming! 👏

[@noscwoh1]

That split-grille fender bladed front treatment would have made a bitchin' Pontiac. ❤

[@danielulz1640]

The right side looks a lot like a 67 Gran Prix.

[@MarinCipollina]

I was also getting a 1967 Pontiac vibe off of that

[@CSmith-gb1sl]

Doing a scan on the video I thought it was a Pontiac.

[@NealStampley]

I have learned so much about Imperial since watching your channel. I really like them

[@classicforreal]

The 61-62 Imperials are so funky they have their own charm.

[@sejembalm]

They're the best. Look at the fantastic interior of the '61 Imperial.

[@stephendeluca4479]

Agreed.

[@loumontcalm3500]

Y'all missed the '63 in the mix.

[@emjayay]

@@loumontcalm3500 Like a '62 with the totally wacked out freestanding headlights, but with vertical not freestanding tail lights.

[@jeffreydavis9783]

Another great review, Adam. I particularly like the way you talk about something then show an inset picture of it. These late 60s/early 70s Imperials are absolutely gorgeous automobiles & the more I see em, the more I like em. And, while the dash may have been shared with “lesser” Chryslers, I’ve always liked their long, sweeping design. My dad had a 74 Chrysler wagon and, even as a kid, I remember loving that dash. I also recall my dad complaining about the air conditioning (which was underpowered & utilized tiny vents) and an alarm system that was always going off!

[@jonmoore8995]

Agree Mr. Adam, that clay on the right half looks like Ambassador.

[@toronado455]

Yes

[@josephgaviota]

I thought the long-view across that ¾ view was kind of Pontiac-ey (if that's a word).

[@ceciltrane5418]

Practically identical

[@jayweiss4378]

Wild styles that didn’t make it.. but so glad we had so many that did! Love 70s cars

[@reversemaxxus]

Designers made right choice with 1972 production version! My favorite design is the 1969 two door LeBaron especially in black with black vinyl top and the burgundy leather and cloth (bench) interior. Too bad the optional bucket seats in all leather were not available in burgundy. Enjoy this history, thanks for presenting!👍👍

[@viciouspoodle5543]

My father, God rest him, had a 1972 Imperial Lebaron 2 door. I remember us driving back home after seeing the Poseidon Adventure and getting caught in an ice storm. That huge car with rear studded snow tires and posi-traction got us home. Sadly, the huge door whacked my father in the knee causing a permanent injury. He traded it in for a 1973 Jaguar XJ-6 (another story of disastrous reliability.)

[@michaelwhite2823]

Thank you for the Poseidon reference!

[@viciouspoodle5543]

@@michaelwhite2823 My favorite movie for a long time! 50+ years later, and I still remember how dead quiet the theater was for most of the movie.

[@classicforreal]

God Bless your dad. That's all I wanted to say.

[@viciouspoodle5543]

@@classicforreal Thank you! That's so very kind of you!

[@markdc1145]

@@michaelwhite2823 Visions of that guy hanging onto the table and then crashing through the glass ceiling of the capsized ship. 😳

[@desertmodern7638]

That black '72 is stunning, but the front end does look for all the world like a back end, not just because of the parking lights but also the hood shape, which would make a conventionally handsome trunk lid for the period.

[@DSP1968]

This was very interesting, Adam. I always enjoy seeing what the designers were thinking. And I"m glad that in the case of the '72 Imperial, the best idea was chosen. Very stately, slightly futuristic and clean.

[@ReignForest]

Another great video Adam. The exterior and interior styling is wonderful. The seats are what stand out to me the most. Modern seats, the seat portion length are to short.

[@DanKirchner5150]

these were the stunnas back in the day -and still do

[@impsrule60]

Great video as always, Adam! They definitely went in the right direction for the final design. The 'Woodlite-inspired' parking lamps are stunning and distinctive. Many folks commented on the split-grille proposal as being lifted from Pontiac, however... As you are of course aware, Adam, Imperial Division came out of the gate in 1955-56 with a distinctive split grille design 4-years before Pontiac, and then unwisely (IMO) abandoned it for 1957. They would occasionally try to reclaim the split-grille look (1962/3 and 1964 come to mind), but by then Pontiac had already made it their central theme. As Pontiac proved, there were infinite possible variations on the split-grille theme. While Imperial's individual design generations were often class-leading (57-59; 69-71...), among the biggest 'faults' of the Division's offerings was the failure to establish design continuity: a consistent immediately identifiable "look" (ie: Cadillac's egg-crate grille & domed/peaked hood). They had it at the beginning, and let it slip away.

[@20CentMotors]

The 72 Imperial grill detail ended up as a contempo artform with carefully rounded off vertical slots. It provided a mod-art contrast to the contemporary take on antique lanterns, and/or Woodlites at either side. It was all hi-art, marking the ultimate in contoured, Brazilia-themed living.

[@davidgold5961]

Yes, and this was Syd Mead’s personal Imperial.

[@20CentMotors]

@@davidgold5961 Oblivious to who he was, I sold Syd an Imperial seatcover once. He then explained how I might be interested in his history with Chrysler (his personal design proposals) and sent me some of his artwork from the late 50s. I was in shock for a while. He also sent some pics of his '72 :)

[@tonychasey7990]

Great video! I have a 71 imperial four door hardtop, and a 75 crown coupe. I love them both! But, I think I give the edge to the 71. My favorite of the fuselage being the 69 model, and I've had two of those. I'd say... for me..... my all time favorite Imperial is the 1960!

[@user-pgchargerse71]

I have to agree. The 1960 is a gothic masterpiece!

[@impsrule60]

Agreed on all points. The '71's with the 'Woodlite-esque' parking lamps are fabulous. And the 1960 is a masterpiece. Over the years, I've owned a 60 Crown 2dr 'Southampton' and a LeBaron 4dr 'Southampton' (...'the one' I should never have sold). The '60 is a magical design.

[@nicksgarage2]

That rear quarter and roof design ended up on the 1971-74 Plymouth Satellite coupes.

[@toronado455]

yes

[@madmike2624]

That 1st clay model is horrendous!!!~The passenger side was at least conscionable. I see some Dodge in that c-pillar. Outstanding content Adam!!!~

[@NortonPeabody]

A beautiful car....those seats look sublime...

[@user-he5me9td1t]

Thanks for emphasizing that Imperial was its own Division from 55-75. I never saw these concepts before. Very...let's say experimental. They definitely went the right direction on the final design.

[@Paul1958R]

When I saw the thumbnail before I clicked I thougth it was a Pontiac

[@cabaneencac5168]

1967 Pontiac Bonneville

[@SigmaStoicGemini]

Great video Adam!! Fuselage Forever!!! 👍

[@gregpuchalski5951]

The design proposal looks somewhat inspired by the 1967 full size Pontiac to me.

[@jeffwheeler303]

Well, Chrysler was always behind the times. When poor quality Pontiacs are built, Chrysler will build them.

[@tombrown1898]

My choice of the Fuselage Imperials is the original 1969. With all due respect to yourself and the late Syd Mead, I agree with Bill Mitchell about the front end of the 1972. The turn signals begin an homage to Woodlites is a solid theory. Never thought of that.

[@Cadillac61]

As interiors go, the Imperial had the nicest seats in any car. I loved the button tuffed look.

[@toirmetalshaping]

The 4 wheel disc is favorite till 75, as i wish they would have carried it over to the New Yorker till 78. . . . .i could use a 4 wheel disc set up on my 77 NYB. Love the channel

[@douglasdowns4846]

That gold interior is so posh that you could only wear formal attire when driving it.

[@rpsmith2990]

It's easy to say that what they decided on and built was the best idea, for most of us lack the imagination needed to imagine something very different. It's something I've noticed when proposals for future lineups come about either here on KZbin or other forums. That said, the stacked headlights proposal is a no-go. Yeah, let's copy a car now going cheap on used car lots all over America. The right hand side of that clay might have worked but for the excessive surface development at the end of the bumper. Pontiac made something similar work on the '67 models, but it was escaping these designers what to do. The passenger side of the second clay model looks best, and something I could easily imagine wanting in my driveway, as long as they resolved the issue I mentioned earlier. Another detail I like about this one is the Imperial badging offset to the side. Woodlite is the correct name for those lights, and I tend to associate these with the Ruxton, a luxury car that was made early in the Great Depression, that went out of business.

[@paulcheek5711]

looks better than anything today

[@20CentMotors]

1971 saw the block letter treatment on both the IMPERIAL and the Chrysler THREE HUNDRED. Both gave an excitement, the giant fuselage shape providing the billboard for the big, bold nomenclature. Then came along the 72 "I M P E R I A L" rear quarter with the eagle emblazoned rear side marker light... WOW! I remember one that was keeping up in traffic with the car I was riding in. I remember seeing the blade in the taillight and being quite pleased with it all.

[@rightlanehog3151]

Adam, Your Imperial is most imperious of them all. 😁

[@michaelroberts6450]

I had a '71 Chrysler Newport coupe the 2-door was a big vehicle in it's own right. its hard to imagine the massive size of the 4-door Imperial unless your driving one those cars were monstrous in width and length. I remember once I put a 6 or 8 ft ladder in my coupes trunk and was able to close it without any problem me and my friend just looked at each other and laughed hysterically . The designers got the "72 right it has presence which is what your after with a flagship model. Prestige will follow if the quality is there too.

[@machpodfan]

The production styling is better than the clays, agree the front end is a masterpiece! The bodyside crease on the clay is also bad, so I'm glad they went with what we all know and love about these cars. Love seeing the alternate proposals and backstories--sometimes they're even more interesting than the finally approved versions.

[@joebutchko2223]

In 1972 I was 22 years old and very aware of cars- so I was paying attention to them. I don't ever remember seeing a 72 imperial anywhere ever! The first time I saw one was right here.

[@robertalbertson889]

I personally think that gold interior is the most beautiful and classy looking of any luxury car that year! Cadillac interior at that time was such a letdown, especially with the quality of materials! Chrysler Imperial hit a grand slam home run with this car! And the reared of the car is also absolutely gorgeous and stunning 😍 I like the front end as well, however the huge turn signals in the bumper is a bit much for my taste, but I'm guessing it would have grown on me in time? Overall, though, this Imperial is just a gorgeous art piece from Chrysler! 😊❤ I actually owned a 1972 Imperial that I received from my grandfather's estate after he passed away back in 1986. I was 26 years old, 11:27 and the car had only 19,000 original miles on the clock! My grandfather always talked about having a dual exhaust system installed, since he was always a mopar big block guy, and his other 2 440 and 383 engined mopars came with dual exhaust. He told me the 440 in his Imperial would really wake up with dual exhaust. Well he was 100% correct! Within the first week, I had dual exhaust installed, and actually changed all the factory 2" exhaust pipes to 2.5" with quiet free flowing mufflers, and wow!! I think that alone provided at least an extra 25-50 additional hp? That Imperial was a completely different driving experience especially down in the low end of engine performance. Why Chrysler didn't have standard dual exhaust on it's top dog 440 luxury car was always a mystery to me? Of course I'm assuming it was cost related, and the customer could spend the money for dual exhaust after the purchase? Great video Adam! Thank you 😊

[@johnandrus3901]

I like it. They were real nice looking cars and very stately. I would still take a Lincoln over one, but I wouldn't complain about having an Imperial, either. An excellent video, as always.

[@daviduliana4447]

I am impressed with how stylists made cars with absolutely ridiculous proportions attractive.

[@chuckymurlo5654]

I first saw the '72 Imperial in an episode of 'Mission Impossible'. I was about 16yrs old and I remember how big it looked, even on TV. But I loved it when a kid my age should be dreaming of a GTO

[@RK48frazergasser]

In my family I now have 1959, 1973, 1975

[@pdennis93]

🎶Now the headlights were another sight, we had 2 on the left and one on the right, but we pulled out the switch and all 3 of 'em come on🎶

[@coreyjones1518]

The first clay model front end looks like the Ambassador. The feature line and rear window treatment remind me of the 72 Chrysler . This Imperial is a Beautiful car. Black and gold, love it!

[@ChristopherArmstrong-et3ud]

Awesome Adam.. For me, nothing compares to the Lincoln.

[@cdstoc]

I like the reference to the Woodlite lamps. I just spent the day at the Petersen Museum in LA and there were several cars with Woodlite lamps in the Vault. They're a very distinctive looking lamp, but I've heard they didn't make much light. Regarding the 1972 Imperial, I think the production car was the right choice, much nicer looking than the alternates.

[@toothrestorer6588]

The front end has a combination of Pontiac and Cadillac design features .

[@pjimmbojimmbo1990]

It reminds me of the 67 Pontiac Front End

[@JoeSchmoeTheFirst]

​@@pjimmbojimmbo1990I thought the same thing.

[@P.Galore]

These design proposals clearly suggest the staff had worked for Pontiac previously.

[@bc5441]

The steering wheel in the 72 is huge! And it’s a beautiful car.

[@jefffixesit60]

The first design you showed was a bit like “Beauty and the Beast”: the left front design was hideous, the right front was gorgeous. I’d love to see the right front 3/4 view of that proposal. Thanks Adam, excellent content as always!😎❤️

[@THROTTLEPOWER]

Great vid!

[@danroll7494]

Looks like a Pontiac from the driver front and a Buick from the passenger front. Thanks for the video.

[@rovervitesse1985]

1969 is my favorite imperial. Actually my favorite chrysler corp product of all time. They got it perfect from the start

[@damianbowyer2018]

1972 Imperial Model looks good, though has a thin roof, but the Production '72 Imperial is a massive car and looks very heavy....Such a huge bumper on it, eh Adam.😀🤘

[@michaelwhite2823]

Saw the photo in my youtube subscriptions and thought, "Thats Adam! Wow look he's got more cool preproduction mockup photos! Lol this will be good. I wish this car had heen produced!

[@jamespolcyn8441]

The model gave me Pontiac vibes.

[@rightlanehog3151]

I drive a Pontiac Vibe and I agree.

[@cabaneencac5168]

@@rightlanehog3151 You are in the wrong matrix

[@cabaneencac5168]

1967 Pontiac Bonneville

[@martinliehs2513]

Also 1972-73 Plymouth Fury from the side.

[@marko7843]

I think I love every generation of the Imperial and the 300 letter series... And I love the early '70s Imperials, except for those, I don't know, ugly parking lights... AND, I do give them credit for the full gauges on a dashboard that also added a light to the dashboard saying, "Hey, stupid , look at the gauges !! 😢

[@robertarmstrong905]

To me it reads Pontiac.

[@Kiheisun-xd7ec]

One of my favorite steering wheels ever.

[@carlosmcdaniel9660]

That first clay mock-up: right side looks like a Pontiac and an El Dorado mashup, but the left is straight-up AMC.

[@joeseeking3572]

That clay has some 67 Grand Prix in the front end. Even some 67 Bonneville on the stacked side, but yes, Ambassador as well.

[@AngloAm]

I love the 72 front end but I think the rear end facia is a bit blobby. The turn lights at the front have such a lovely inverted triangle shape, the ones at the rear look like they're melting. I do love the rejection of any references to granddad's car.

[@marko7843]

That first one, at 1:50 , is SUCH a Pontiac... Although, right behind it is a great Sport Fury grill with horizontal hideaway headlights.

[@ronbrock6153]

5:00 mark, the rear quarter panel and window look much like the 74 and up Imperial and New Yorker 2 door. As you look at the quarter panel it has a simular shape found on 73 Cadillacs.

[@kencooper2059]

They made the right choice. Boy did they make the right choice!

[@davidgold5961]

8:44 The Gold leather interior reminds me of the James Bond movie Goldfinger, with the beautiful lady painted in Gold.

[@kevinfestner6126]

The 72 2 door, I love it!

[@62Madison]

I read Chrysler 1971 update of the big fuselage cars was postponed to ‘72 due to financial reasons. I think Chrysler might of faired better in the marketplace since GM’s big cars were all new and FordMo were heavily restyled. I prefer the 1974 big Chryslers (although they look a lot like the 1971 GMs).

[@MarinCipollina]

Thanks for this one Adam, but we were a General Motors family this era. We worshipped at the GM Mark of excellence. Mopars of this era seemed a bit odd.. not necessarily bad or negative, just different.

[@marko7843]

OMG....... It JUST hit me how these cars were being designed before the Arab oil embargo! If it wasn't for that, who knows how big our sedans would have gotten??

[@Freedonone]

I've owned 1969 Imperial by Chrysler. Again in a two door , 1981 and my last was 1993 four. (K car) I did own a 1987 Chrysler 5th Ave. I did like that car a great deal.

[@turnpikebear]

To correct a statement you made about the back light, there wasn't a panel over top of the back glass. In fact, Chrysler inserted a fiberglass filler panel and screwed it to the body in order to install a smaller rear window, hence why all the Imperials were fitted with vinyl tops in order to mask the change. Much like Chrysler did in the 80s by just adding a cap to the rear of an already available Plymouth Fury to make the Fifth Avenue.

[@magnetocheck]

It does look llke an Ambassador, which is probably why they junked that idea! 😄 My favorite is the '64-'66. I almost had my Dad convinced to buy a '66 but I guess a 12-year-old's assessment didn't carry much weight! We bought an Old 98 instead (ugh).

[@larkguit]

The first clay model was what is called a clown suit where two proposals were tested on one clay model

[@bradwolfgang1037]

The Clay model looks like ‘66-‘67 Pontiac Bonneville “wanna-be”.

[@adamtrombino106]

The idea with the quad stacked headlights reminds me of an AMC Ambassador for certain. The other side reminds me of a 67 GP. The 69-72s are my favorite Imps by far.

[@kingrex1931]

My first thought upon looking at the thumbnail was that it was a Pontiac.

[@rickloera9468]

The first thing that came to mind 30 seconds into the video was tnhe AMC Ambassador stacked headlights. The passenger side front end looks like to me the rear end of a 1972 Pontiac Grand Prix.

[@d4l3d]

What you ID as a character line on the proposal at 2 min. appears to be merely a reflection of the wall and floor opposite. Note the slightly distorted corner reflection at the upper headlight. The still basically slab side looks like it increasingly bows out from front to back.

[@OLDS98]

Thank you Adam. This was interesting seeing the design proposal. Sadly, none of them were attractive. That rear design that went into production went into the next generation redesign- 1974-1975. That went on to be used on the 1976-1978 New Yorker. I like the casket interior door handles. There was obvious parts sharing with other Chryslers. All the car companies did the parts sharing like that. See the 1975-1978 Lincoln Continental/Mercury Marquis/Ford LTD.

[@20thCenturyMan]

If you could find some design proposals for the '64 Imperial, I'd love that. Any content featuring the '64-6 Imperials has my undivided attention.

[@oriontaylor]

Those years still seem to be under-appreciated cars. They are growing on me, however. I’m curious what alternate ideas were being bandied about.

[@biggsweaty]

Good stuff

[@leonardpoindexter5289]

Very cool 😎

[@scottbrown7415]

The stacked headlights recalled the mid 60’s Pontiac styling. I’m sure that would have killed it for production. Nobody would want the look of a (then) almost eight year old competitor.

[@michaelpfaff6009]

Take a look at the 1978 and 1979 Lincoln Continental rear fender skirts. They are even smaller!! But yes, they are in fact there!! You have to look ever so close. I use to think that the fender skirts were dropped on these 2 years but there are fender skirts there!!

[@meyo1860]

“Toothpick A-pillars!” 😅

[@user-surly]

I had assumed that the Imperial ended up more aimed at competing with the Continental than Cadillac, I would say the '55 model does remind me more of a Caddy of the same period but the early 70's imperial looked to be more a cousin to the Lincoln, though I do see the similarity the hood had with Cadillac's.

[@StupidEarthlings]

Plymouth Fury (64? up through 68) had stacked headlights too. Maybe some of that was tossed about for Ideas?..(Definitely ended up AMC looking here though).

[@Cadillac61]

The passenger side of the mock up is basically a Plymouth Fury VIP turned upside down. Looks good.

[@20CentMotors]

I wonder how the rear roof treatment developed for '72 Chrysler coupes. The character line forms a halo around the top edge of the roof instead of running down the sides of the C pillar. The 90s Eldorado had a similar treatment. I don't see that in the design proposal yet at this point in this model.

[@votingcitizen]

They made the right choice with the production pushme pullyou classic. The nice sunglasses cubby in the arm rest.

[@joemazzola7387]

My thoughts on the clay is mid 60s Pontiac with the stacked headlights the passenger side looks Lincoln and the skirted rear fender looks 71 Plymouth satilight/ 72 fury

[@brmnyc]

That first model with the vertical headlights looks like they were trying to design a '68 Pontiac.

[@bettermost]

Could have been a Pontiac too

[@MrJJSimonds]

Check the front of the 1972 Pontiac Ventura... the horizontal split grill is there

[@timothyokane9710]

The design of the front fenders look similar to early 60s' Lincoln Continental, minus the parking/directional lamp.

[@jeff7.629]

On the second prototype, the right side it looks like a Pontiac and a Mercury Marauder X100 had a love child.

[@BrianHornak]

Prototype.. unique to say the least

[@ceciltrane5418]

First impressions: 1st clay model looked like an extended AMC, with Pontiac wheel covers. Running a styling line through the middle of the fuselage side is not a good idea, in my opinion. Yes, the production version is by far the best-looking of the ones presented, and also, the amber color of the front turn signals are the only strong parking lot clue that you are looking at the front of the car on first sight of it.

[@demetridar506]

I could use one or two of these hubcaps for my 68.

[@Conn88]

The stacked headlights looks like a 67 Pontiac to me