Imperial Decision

Chrysler is close to deciding luxury sedan's fate

By BRADFORD WERNLE | AUTOMOTIVE NEWS

AutoWeek | Published 11/06/06, 8:28 am et

Link to Original Article @ AutoWeek

Chrysler is nearing a decision on whether to produce a vehicle based on the Imperial concept shown at the Detroit auto show in January.

"The development teams have gotten us all the information we need to make a decision," Frank Klegon, Chrysler group product development chief, said in an interview.

Klegon said a decision could come before the end of 2006 or the first quarter of 2007. He declined to say which way Chrysler is leaning.

John Wolkonowicz, analyst for Global Insight in Lexington, Mass., said production of the vehicle, code-named CY41, should begin in early 2009 as a 2010 model.

The Imperial was conceived as a luxury rear-wheel-drive vehicle built on the same platform as the Chrysler 300. But the big Imperial was nearly a foot-and-a-half longer than the 300 and six inches taller. The concept was powered by a Hemi engine.

Hey Chrysler, try selling the cars you've already built first.

And my Monte Carlo is ugly?

Hey Chrysler, try selling the cars you've already built first.

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Agree

Kill it! Kill it! Kill it! Kill it!

It has the grace of a petroleum tanker.

The big challenge will be to see if people are willing to pay for this vehicle.

The 300's moved because they were something different in the near-luxury category. They stood out against the Acura TL's, and Toyota Avalon's.

But the Imperial hopes to go toe-to-toe with Lexus and BMW, right? I'm not sure people would be willing to pay for a longer 300C, unless it boasts an impressive interior and build quality.

I hope Chrysler kills the Imperial...it looks like a cross between my aunt's mid-80s Town Car and a new RR Phantom-only a lot uglier.

I bet it'll have a chrome-plated hood prop.

It's sad when a K-car Imperial is more in tune with it's time than this concept....

Edited November 7, 200619 yr by Oldsmoboi

Perhaps it looks most like this London Taxis of North America

Now, imagine it with the interior of a Ram..

Hey, I like the thing. But I still say their best bet is to introduce the Imperial as a brand, not a model...I keep saying that Chrysler needs that true luxury brand.

All they'd really have to do is change its name from the Chrysler Imperial to the Imperial Crown (of course with enough redesign so it doesn't look like a Chrysler). The Chrysler Group has been really getting into its own heritage lately, so it would only make sense.

Edited November 8, 200619 yr by AxelTheRed

Hey, I like the thing.  But I still say their best bet is to introduce the Imperial as a brand, not a model...I keep saying that Chrysler needs that true luxury brand.

All they'd really have to do is change its name from the Chrysler Imperial to the Imperial Crown (of course with enough redesign so it doesn't look like a Chrysler).  The Chrysler Group has been really getting into its own heritage lately, so it would only make sense.

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need I say more.

so ugly. so ugly.

That would only add to Chrysler's current problems. Why oh why would they hurt our eyes like that.

Meh, they should build the Firepower not this. Did they ever decide the Firepower's fate?

And I though Toyotas current vehicles were ugly. This takes the cake as the worlds biggest abomination in car design. If they let this one out they just committed suicide.

Wow. Is this the bust on Chrysler forum? I will add something positive by saying I like the Imperial concept. I do think its a tad to thick and needs to be lower and sleeker but the idea behind it is fantastic. It is a concept and the production model may not look exactly like this. It wasnt like some recent Chrysler products that were already coming to market but were presented as concepts (300, Caliber, Avenger). I hope they go with an Imperial.

Heh, well, I'll clarify by saying I love the old Imperials. Heck, I even dig the K-car Imperial, but this thing needs to be lower and wider to give it the same bold, domineering impression the Imperials of yore gave. Compare.

I also hope that - if produced - its marketed simply as Imperial, not Chrysler Imperial. Chrysler doesn't have the dignity and finesse that Imperial always had.

DCX would be far better to embellish the success fo the current 300, with revised interior, and long wheelbase models.

Heh, well, I'll clarify by saying I love the old Imperials. Heck, I even dig the K-car Imperial, but this thing needs to be lower and wider to give it the same bold, domineering impression the Imperials of yore gave. Compare.

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People don't want low and wide any more. Maybe wide, but low is for sports cars. People want to sit up higher and have a commanding view of the road....probably due to people getting used to SUVs. People feel safer up higher, and the Imperial has a safe (tank-like) commanding appearance.

The Imperial is probably pretty wide, it's just it's tallness that makes it appear somewhat narrow.

I don't think that Crysler needs an up-market division other than the one they already have - Mercedes-Benz. But I also don't think they need this Imperial. It does look sort of British regal, like a Bently or Rolls, but I don't think its a very attractive execution. Before they spend any money developing this, I think they should spend a few bucks on getting some of the lumps off of the Sebring

Hey Chrysler, fix the cars you've already got out there and coming.

And, if you do an Imperial, make sure it doesn't look like this. It's God-awful. Nothing about it is attractive other than the name itself.

Note to Chrysler: Build the Airflite or a 3-door PT before this terrible mess.