Re: Did the public think of Imperial as Packard's replacement?

Posted by Mr.Pushbutton  On 2009/8/4 18:06:07

58L8134--Yes, that's pretty much what I was saying, Prior to the 1957 model year the body engineering was done by Briggs. If you ever get a chance look at a 1951-'56 Chrysler body under restoration. The outside "skin" is totally Chrysler in appearance, but the inside body panels look just like a Packard, I mean just like a Packard.
Beginning with the 1957 models Chrysler now had their own body engineering department, and boy, their inexperience shows, as does the Chrysler penchant for slamming things through the shop as quickly as possible (the Imperials were occasionally exempt from this), a practice that beagn with Walter P. at Buick, he realized that the race was won by the swift in production. It was third-rate engineering work, the door glass rattled when you closed the door, and things just looked primitive compared to the other two guys. I knew people who worked in body production back in the 50s and 60s and the stories were pretty amusing/scary. Chrysler bought used presses from GM, and they were worn out when they arrived at Chrysler.
It goads me to see what 1960s Chrysler muscle cars (B body, E body) are getting these days. Yes, they have a magnificently powerful engine and bulletproof transmission, but it's in some of the most medocre body construction ever committed in the US, ever.
There just wasn't emphasis on body quality until the 1980s when they had to get with the program.
One thing that has not been discussed in this thread is the subject of financing.
In the pre-war days most luxury makes were not sold on time payments, they used instead a chattel mortgage, a loan agreement that gives the lending institution the title to the goods financed until the loan has been paid in full. These were from your local bank, and banks typically loan money to people who don't need it and deny those who do.
This kept the volumen on luxury cars low.
Cadillac bucked the trend in the 1930s by offering cadillacs through GMAC to middle class African American professionals in an effort to boost sales numbers of the brand, the GM BOD was discussing the discontinuation fo Cadillac due to high production costs and low sales.
Fard and Chrysler did not have ther own finance arm until much later, so the business of getting a loan for an upperseries car was tricky, and bankers looked askance at someone wanting a car too high above their station in life. GM threw GMAC whole-heartedly at Cadillac after the war and this, coupled with their styling and engineering advances made Cadillac a hard car to beat.
In later years it became common to see people who weren't of the same social status (=income, profession, education) driving Cadillacs and Lincolns. The manufacturers didn't mind, their sales numbers increased every year on the car they realized the highest profit on, but in the end it served to cheapen the image, opening the door for foreign competition. I know of people who were loyal Cadillac buyers who have gone Mercedes/BMW/Lexus and aren't looking back. Too Bad, Bob Lutz has done wonders to Cadillac lately and they are making a great product again.