(first posted 8/8/2014) While the lack of interior color choices on new cars is a complaint commonly expressed here at CC, it’s also important to note that our choice when it comes to exterior colors has been greatly reduced over the last half-century. This is especially true when it comes to luxury cars, where cold, unexpressive colors seem to be the trend. If you don’t believe me, go check out a new Mercedes S-Class; you can choose from no less than six shades of black (four regular, plus two Designo).
But it was a much more colorful word of cars in 1956, when this Imperial Southampton 2-door hardtop rolled off the assembly line in Detroit. It offered a much wider spectrum, with 20 hues of paint, and countless two- and three-tone combinations. These big, long, low, and wide cruisers look great in colors like turquoise, sky blue, and pale yellow. But my favorite shade of all on late-’50s cars has to be coral pink, like the main color on this Imperial.
To be exact, “Cloud White over Desert Rose” is the official color combination on this car, and I think it looks absolutely stunning. I must admit that these colors wouldn’t look quite as well on any 2014 car. Although there are definitely beautiful new cars, they are beautiful in a minimalist sort of way. The ’50s were all about flair, fins, and flamboyance – something that this Imperial executed in a more tasteful way than ’56 Cadillacs and Lincolns. With the help of Virgil Exner’s Forward Look styling, the ’56 Imperials exuded a sleeker and leaner look than top rung GMs and Fords.
While it may have come across as more athletic than its rivals, looks can be deceiving. The 1956 Imperial was still a very big car; at nearly 230 inches long and over 78 inches wide, the Imperial had 7 inches in wheelbase and over 10 inches in overall length on a Chrysler New Yorker. It was also about 5 inches longer than a comparable Cadillac Sixty Special or Lincoln Premiere. With a base price of $4,832 ($42,340 in 2014 dollars) for the 4-door sedan, Imperials were also the costliest of the Big Three’s flagship full-sizers (excluding limousines and personal luxury models).
To haul around its two-and-a-half ton curb weight, there was a husky 354 CID (5.8 liter) “FirePower” Hemi V8 under that long hood. Making 280 horsepower, it was the same engine, albeit lower output, found under the hood of the famous Chrysler 300B. Initially coupled with Chrysler’s 2-speed “PowerFlite” automatic transmission, the Imperial was capable of reaching sixty miles per hour in just under 10 seconds. Late into ’56 production, a 3-speed Torqueflite automatic would be available.
While not exclusive to Imperial, among its most interesting features was the Push Button Drive Selector. With buttons for each driving mode (drive, low, reverse, neutral) located in a pod to the left of the steering wheel, a traditional column shifter was no longer needed. Push button transmissions were standard on all automatic transmission Chrysler Corporation vehicles from 1956 through 1964, when they reverted back to a regular column-mounted shifter. It’s interesting to note that push button transmissions are beginning to come back into vogue on modern cars.
With total production of 10,628 vehicles, Imperial sales in 1956 were far lower than both Cadillac and Lincoln. While it’s true that Imperials were slightly more expensive, price probably had minimal effect on sales. Although the Imperial name had been used on the most prestigious Chryslers since 1926, as its own brand, Imperial was only two years old. It simply didn’t have a foothold in the marketplace to capture many sales from competitors. A strong visual resemblance to Chrysler-branded models didn’t help Imperial’s case as a separate luxury make either.
Not that looking like a 1956 Chrysler was necessarily a bad thing. As opposed to 1955 models, ’56s gained sharper looks with wind-piercing headlight housings and the addition of tail fins. Its Chrysler 300-like divided eggcrate grille and power dome hood gave it forceful, aggressive look.
Running the entire length of the vehicle was a chrome character line that gently widened going towards the rear. Its canopy-like roofline was both formal and airy. Soft tail fins began their rise about 2/3 the way back, and were topped with Imperial’s signature styling feature, “gun-sight” taillights.
The free-standing gun-sight taillights were among this car’s most distinctive feature. Stylish and delicate, they would become integrated into growing tail fins from 1957-1961. Their final appearance, in 1962, would see them once again perched atop the rear fenders.
The 2-door Southampton hardtop, like our featured car started at $5,094. Adjusted for inflation, that comes out to $44,636, which actually seems like a bargain relative to full-size cars from luxury marques today. For that still-hefty price tag, Imperial buyers basically received all the modern automotive luxuries of 1956.
Four-way power front seat, power windows, power steering, crown-crested overhead dome and rear-reading lights, fold-down center armrests, and full gauge instrumentation were all standard. Seats were upholstered in leather, with Imperial Eagle-embroidered faille cloth inserts. Everything being color-keyed, of course, was a given.
Imperial buyers could of course further customize their car with some optional equipment if they felt like shelling out even more cash. There were several heating systems to choose from including the MoPar All Weather Comfort System and the MoPar Instant Heat Conditionaire, the latter which included automatic climate control. Air conditioning and tinted window glass were also options.
Naturally, there were also several radios to choose from, including the first all-transistor radio ever available in a car. This particular Southampton coupe features a very rare option, the Highway Hi-Fi record player. Mounted in a shock-proof case under the dash board, Highway Hi-Fi featured a specially designed stylus that would not be affected by vibration, speed, or cornering. Special records were needed to play on this system, and a set of six was given to all owners who ordered Highway Hi-Fi with their new 1956 Chrysler product. I was really excited to see this, as I’ve never seen a car equipped with one in person before.
Without multiple models and a lack of solid brand loyalty, Imperial never posed any kind of threat to Cadillac in terms of sales. But unlike Cadillac, whose broader lineup included lower priced, lower content models, Imperials were always fully loaded, full prestige cars. Their low production only added to their exclusivity then, and their collectability now.
These were some of the most beautiful cars ever produced, and this one in particular is especially spectacular. The contrast between pink, white, and chrome really pops, and accentuates the car’s distinctive styling features. It may be an overused cliche, but they truly don’t make them like this anymore.
Fantastic. I have no words here.
+1. Well maybe just a few. Amazing gloss and detail everywhere, in addition to that spectacular color
This is a truly beautiful car.
Your observation about the lack of color currently has me wondering (again) if this era might someday be considered Malaise Era II. The original Malaise era had low performance as one of its components, but there was color available. The pendulum has now swung the other way with great performance in colors that are as uninspiring as can be.
+1. The utter lack of interesting colors on so many cars drives me crazy. In addition to the S-Class that Brendan cites, if you look at the color palette one of Mercedes-Benz’s most expressive, boldly styled models–the CLS–you’ll find:
3 Silvers
2 Blacks
A silvery white
A dark grey blue
And that’s it!
So ironic that in an age when we’re urged to be “green”, green is one colour you just can’t buy! Why is it so?
Awesome car. 1956 was the best year for Chrysler in terms of style.
Agreed. It’s a pity they couldn’t have built on the 55-56 styling for 57-59. A lot of across-the-industry eyesores could have been averted.
Count me in with that opinion. The ’55s were nice too.
+1
Yup. Big huge fins for one are ridiculous and ruin lines that are clean otherwise. ’59 Fury, anyone?
1956 Chrysler Imperials are my dream cars. I would be happy with one, delighted with a fleet of them in every color and body style.
That pink may be the same color as dad’s 1955 Dodge Royal Lancer 2 door hardtop.
Pink (Desert Rose?) on the bottom, black waist, white top. It may have been the La Femme model. Bought used, of course. Dad didn’t want that car, but it was all mom & dad could afford at the time. Overall, it was a piece of junk, but a good-looking piece of junk.
That reminds me of what I was thinking of when writing this, that I feel like cars back then just weren’t engineered to last as long as they are today. With a larger percentage of people buying new cars every year or two, and literally no competition from imports, the Big Three seemed content with cars that would only last a few years on the road.
I remember the ’55 Chevy had a beautiful combination of charcoal grey on top, the equivalent of that coral on the bottom. Looked really good on the 2-door hardtop, I have one of my dealer models in it.
Yeah, just try to do coral or Desert Rose or whatever you want to call it, and pitch it to the straight community. Good luck.
I’m straight and like pink cars especially the Panther Pink/Moulin Rouge A bodies and 70 Superbees
And youre a lady, so it works. If youre a dude and youre rocking a pink car, then that car had better have a monster engine under the hood, or you had better be able to take the hazing that comes with the territory.
These colors actually bled over into the aviation industry for a year or two: https://www.curbsideclassic.com/rampside-classic/rampside-classic-1957-piper-tri-pacer-shades-of-la-femme/
The current owner of the Tri Pacer takes a lot of ribbing for the color, but many more folks think it’s cool.
Home appliances, as well, even into the early 1960s.
A new bathroom was installed in our house in 1958. The fixtures, from Sears, were pink. The tiles were sky blue with black borders. Yellow, pink, green, and turquoise bathrooms were big in those days.
CA Guy, my parents redid their main bathroom in the mid-50’s, all yellow tile with white border tile. Mom being a purist, though, insisted on white fixtures. But those bright colors were everywhere back then, parents of a friend of mine even had a turquoise refrigerator. I thought that they were so cool, but like two-tone paint schemes on cars, I could never shake my folks from the monochromatic look.
The restroom at my dentist’s office has pink-colored fixtures similar to that advertisement.
Syke;
An associate of a friend of mine in high school had a ’55 Bel Air 2 door hardtop with that color combo. The car even had power seats! A very sharp-looking car.
Correction: The ’55 Dodge pink color was called “Heather Rose”.
Found a photo on “smcars.net” that is identical to dad’s 1955 Dodge.
Maybe not ~
My first Metropolitan was Coral , I’m a HUGE fan of Pastels in general , European cars of the 1950’s really got this done right .
If fruity colors make you feel less of a Man , you’re not much of one in the 1st. place .
Whatever a Man does , becomes Masculine by default .
In the mid 1970’s my Buddy’s dad gave him (he was about 15 at the time) his old ’56 Chrysler New Yorker Coupe ~ wow what a fun car to cruise ’round in .
It was blue with gray .
The same guy bought a ’56 Imperial a few years ago , it was the middle of Summer (latch) and once upon the trailer the doors couldn’t be opened ~ he complained so I said ” just roll down the window and crawl out dummy !” .
Apparently that was too much work for this burly Studio Rig driver so off the trailer it came , I climbed in , drove it up and crawled out the passenger side window .
me , old fat and crippled =8-) .
That for door behemoth was shiny black and HUGE , in a _good_ way ! .
Makes me understand why so many of my GearHead friends say ” it’s MoPar or _NO_ Car ! ” =8-) .
-Nate
If fruity colors make you feel less of a Man , you’re not much of one in the 1st. place .
Whatever a Man does , becomes Masculine by default .
+1 – IMO it’s always, as they say, “the man that makes the suit”.
I like the 50s pastels too, if only because they’re so incredibly different from the colors that were popular in all other periods of automotive history.
I don’t think anyone gave Elvis any crap for driving a pink Cadillac,even if they did I’m sure they’d be soon looking for a dentist
Fabulous car. I like the 56 much better than the 55, mainly because it is more elegant than flamboyant. Also, I suspect that this grille was designed for Imperial first and that it was alast-minute parts bin grab for the 300.
Also, I believe thar the 3 speed Torqueflite transmission was introduced in the Imperial line part way into the 1956 model year. It would, of course, be company-wide in 1957. One of these with a Torqueflite might be the absolute overall best postwar Chrysler ever built.
The one rap on this car is that it was just too much like a regular Chrysler, a problem the Imp suffered from during most of it’s life. They spent lots of money on things like that 7 inch wheelbase stretch which were not all that apparent to the casual observer. A beautiful and very well done car.
One more thought (my tablet won’t let me edit): Is it just me, or do 1955-56 Mopar cars have an oddly truck-like steering wheel angle?
It is hard for me to tell for sure but I don’t think the Mopar wheels are more trucklike than other U.S. cars from the same era. I assume that you are referring to the angle of the steering column more than the wheel itself. Cars from the fifties for sure have the column more vertical (in relation to the floor & seat) than do new cars. I think one reason for this is that these cars all have steering wheels that are substantially bigger than cars do today. This is due to many cars then not having power steering and you needed that bigger wheel for leverage.
I did read about the 3-speed Torqueflite somewhere, but I couldn’t find enough solid information. That makes sense that it was a mid-year feature, as none of the vintage advertisements or sales literature includes it.
I’ll fix that in the article.
Without a doubt the ’55s and ’56s looked a lot like regular Chryslers. At least from 1957-1966 there were more significant visual distinctions, but after that, things got more familiar every year until the Imperial just became the New Yorker Brougham. That’s the problem with a high cost to build, low-production car, especially with Chrysler’s shaky financial situations over the years.
So glad you posted that about the transmission. As I was reading Brendan’s post I kept thinking too bad about the 2-speed auto. Could you get a 300 with the Torqueflite in ’56?
Yes, the torqueflite was available across the board (from what I’ve read) very late in the model year.
a 56 300B with the torqueflite would be quite the ride.
According to Curtis Redgap at Allpar, late model year 1956 Imperials, 300s and higher-end Chryslers got the Torqueflite. There are some rumors of a few TF DeSotos, but none has been confirmed. I suspect that they kept output down at first to get the kinks out of the production process before the thing went company wide for the 57 models.
I think it was also that they hadn’t yet had time to tool up for larger-scale production.
Yes, the 300 got the Imperial grille rather than the other way around. The 300 was a very late addition in ’55, development-cycle-wise. There wasn’t much time and the tooling budget was mostly already spent, so they basically worked out another combination of existing pieces.
The irony about the Imperial’s resemblance to other Chryslers was that it was in many respects the most direct translation of the ’55-’56 cars’ starting point: the 1952 Imperial Parade Phaetons. The Imperial was pretty much a straight adaptation (although the parade cars didn’t originally have the split grille, although that was retrofitted later, so it’s hard to find photos of the cars without it) whereas everything else was a subsequent variation.
According to Virgil Exner’s biography, you are exactly right about the front of the 300. It was done for the Imperial first, and was a last minute grab when they went to create the special high performance model Chrysler.
Just beautiful ! .
Not Desert Rose as that’s a more muted shade of pink .
I remember Oldsmobile in the md 1950’s having a slide out AM radio , it was transistorized and I’d thought that was in 1954 .
-Nate
CC find of the week?
first saw these cars in about 1974, in a book called American Cars of the 1950s published by Olyslager. Even then, in black and white, this generation of Chrysler made a great impression, especially reading the performance figures for the 300C.
And as for a record player – that was in the book as well, and thoroughly intrigued a 12 year old me whose family cars had no radios.
http://www.amazon.co.uk/American-Cars-1950s-Olyslager-Library/dp/0723217076/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1407501268&sr=8-1&keywords=american+cars+of+the+1950s+olyslager
A very nice and rare car.
Where was that car show?
Misselwood Concours d’Elegance in Beverly, MA.
I almost went to that. Now I’m sorry I didn’t go.
Yeah I didn’t have high expectations, but there was a lot of interesting cars there from all eras. I’m working on a collaborative piece of some of the best cars from the show, so there’ll be more to come.
Great Brendan, looking forward to that if there are more cars the calibre of this one.
[bows reverently]
Brendan, was this at the Misselwood show in Beverly? I went last year. Didn’t love the crowd but the cars and setting were impressive.
Yeah it was Misselwood. I kinda got the same feeling, though it wasn’t as bad as at Greenwich a few years back. A lot of “van Snootingtons”.
Nice find and excellent write-up. I got a chuckle out of this line though:
> A Chrysler 300-like divided eggcrate grille and power dome hood gave it forceful, aggressive look.
It’s the other way around. The grille was intended for the Imperial and they stole it to use on the 300.
Fixed
Strictly speaking, that line is not incorrect, which is why I left it in when I reviewed the article. Just because it was “300-like” those words don’t specifically imply that the 300 had it first. They shared the same grille, regardless of which car it was intended for first, and the result is the same: “it gave it a forceful, aggressive look”. There’s no need to alter that line, even if it did give you a chuckle, because technically it is 100% correct..
Yeah I changed it back, as I never meant that the 300 had it first. The grille is just better remembered on the more iconic 300. Sorry if it wasn’t totally clear. I could explain more in the article, but I don’t like going off topic with long sentences in parentheses).
Great write up on a beautfully optioned Imperial. The Highway Hifi was a rare option, set at 16 2/3 RPM, and from what I’ve heard, there never were more than the six records made for the player.
The rear airtemp A/C was also a rare option, which put an A/C unit in the back of the car, taking up a little trunk space, but passengers on a hot summer day didn’t mind that one bit.
There were actually quite a number of records available, but they were not always easy to get. From what I have read, they were generally not stocked in stores, and Chrysler dealers stocked very few beyond the basic set of six discs that came with the car. Mail order seems to have been the best way. I found a web page that claims to be a complete list – really, a very constricted collection of music.
http://www.roadkillontheweb.com/records.html
Wow! Never knew that! Thanks!!!
So that’s why old record players from around 1960 sometimes have a 16 2/3 speed. Dad never knew when I asked him.
No ~ 16 RPM records were for speech discs ~ music sounds really crappy on a slower record .
Training aids , Bible Studies , School Lessons and much more were on those uber slow discs back in the day .
In the early 1970’s a buddy of mine was blind and he’d loan me his ” Books For The Blind ” records , I’d put them on and listen to the spoken books whilst working .
-Nate
Gorgeous car. Really love that two-tone pink and white interior also!
I may be in the minority here that I’ve never really liked the freestanding taillights. Distinctive, sure, but I preferred the “standard” Chrysler treatment of squared-off tails set into the tailfins. But everything else–brilliant.
You’re probably not in the minority; I suspect the taillights were a polarizing part of the design. They look to be easily damaged too. Virgil Exner really liked them though, so he kept designing them in.
My favorite incarnation of the freestanding taillights is on the ’61 Imperial, where they are under-slung and sit in notches at the back of the fins instead of atop the fender. They look more integrated into the design and less like an afterthought.
BOC, my favorite version of the free-standing taillights is on the 62 Imperial. Getting rid of those huge fins (never liked big fins) and giving the taillights a more modern, jet-age shape really did it for me. Watched the Beverly Hillbillies just to see Milton Drysdale’s beautiful Imperials come up the driveway!
CA Guy- you made me smile by saying you “Watched the Beverly Hillbillies just to see Milton Drysdale’s beautiful Imperials…” -and I thought I was the only car-crazed kid of that era who watched TV sitcoms -and movies for the cars more than the stories and characters! Now who can tell us what Jimmy Stewart’s character, “Scottie Ferguson” drove around San Francisco in “Vertigo”…? Clue…another 1956 Chrysler Corporation beautie!
I, too, was a child of the sixties and seventies who watched the TV shows for the cars. Yes, the Beverly Hillbillies featured a lot of nice Mopar models – Miss Jane had the various Plymouth and Dodge convertibles, for example. And the Quinn Martin cop shows featured Fords.
DeSoto Adventurer.One of the best looking American cars ever.
I’m virtually certain that was a ’56 Desoto Firedome Seville two-door hardtop, I have always watched for that car, it was my grandmother’s exact model.
The ’62 Imperial taillights were my favorite iteration, too, so sleek and aerodynamic, I was so disappointed when they didn’t reappear in ’63. Although I didn’t watch the Beverly Hillbillies on a regular basis, I, too, kept an eye out for Milton Drysdale’s Imperials whenever I ran across the show.
I always thought the ’62 looked, from a bit of distance, like they bolted Eveready flashlights to the fender tops!
I love those free standing taillights and also the free standing headlights used a couple years ! .
Just not on _my_ car , dig ? .
-Nate
+1 on the tail lites. They look tacked on, like an afterthought and like B.O.C. said, they look like theyre fragile as glass.
Friends of my parents had a ’55 Imperial. All white, if my childhood memory serves correctly. I was such a car buff in the ’50s, whenever they visited my folks, I was always out in the driveway looking over every square inch of their car. I would run my hands over those taillights, marveling at their detail, and my recollection is that they are far from fragile, probably die-cast metal, surprisingly strong. It would have taken a sledge hammer to dislodge them from their moorings.
Stunning and I thought I was the only 56 Mopar fan as everyone raves about the flashy 57s and ignore’s the previous models.These cars suit pastel colours so well,they’re so elegant and graceful.
I don’t care about it’s huge size and no doubt thirst a coral pink 56 Imperial is going in my lottery winning garage
Nice car, though I’d take the cleaner New Yorker.
I saw a Chevy Spark today in a pale shade of metallic pink. Standard colour or custom paint?
I think I’ve seen the same, that one may be factory. I know you can get a spark in a bright Metallic green as well.
The Honda Fit is (was?) available in a colour called “Blaze Orange”. I thought it was bordering on salmon.
In Japan they actually sell a special pink Fit marketed towards women, in the same vein as the Dodge La Femme.
the newer(est?) Prius model, I think it is the C, has an orange/pink color that is just a little more orange than this Imperial. I see two of them everyday on my way home, and they are usually within a half mile of each other in traffic. Often one of those WTF moment.
This car is off-the-charts cool and what a restoration! I did not know Imperials were so much larger than the New Yorkers. Also did not know those record players needed special records. If I understood JPC correctly in his Mercury Phaeton post, the 4-door hardtops in ’56 were a first for Chrysler?
That “Airtemp” decal is so damn space age and imaginative. It’s inviting you to step in and take a ride to the moon!
Yes, 1956 was the first Chrysler 4 door hardtop. Someone posted a picture here recently showing the really strange window mechanism on the back doors. There was a quarter window that pivited down outside of the regular glass as it lowered into the door. I don’t believe I have ever seen a real live 56 4 door hardtop with its windows up.
If I recall correctly, both Ford and Chrysler were caught off guard by the four-door hardtops GM rolled out for 1955 in the Buick and Oldsmobile lines. Their 1956 hardtop sedans were therefore somewhat of a rush job. (Note that the 1956 Lincoln was all-new, but didn’t offer a four-door hardtop body style until 1957.)
Interestingly, the 1956 Rambler was all-new, and featured both four-door hardtops and hardtop wagons, and neither looked like a rush job. But AMC knew it was going to phase out the two-door Ramblers for 1956. It no doubt still wanted to offer Rambler hardtops (the 1950-55 Ramblers had offered a two-door hardtop), so it had no choice but to offer four-door hardtops.
You are correct. Rambler’s solution was a fixed quarter window that – I think = didn’t open with the rear door.
The ’56s are my favorite Imperials – they are more cleanly trimmed than the ’55s, and the frenched headlights and fins look great. Although I do miss the full wheel cutouts, and the purity of the ’55 rear quarter shape.
Chrysler’s problem with its senior bodies was IMHO a lack of vision and/or (probably) funding to differentiate its sheetmetal the way GM did with the Olds 98, Buick Roadmaster, and Cadillac 62/De Ville. Using the same hoods, fenders, door skins and rear quarters made it hard to separate the cars at a glance. GM understood this, and you could tell an Olds from a Buick from a Cadillac, even though the body core and roof were the same.
Someone posted a picture here recently showing the really strange window mechanism on the back doors.
That would be me. 56 DeSoto at the all Mopar show at the Gilmore a couple weeks ago. The owner must be local to the Kalamazoo area as the car was at the big show and swap meet at the Gilmore the next weekend.
The window on the left is pivoting down behind the window on the right. The rear edge of the right hand window has a guide channel on the back of it to hold the left window close to it as they go down.
And here is the rest of the car.
For whatever reason, I’m not that crazy about 56 Chryslers or Dodges, but I love the 56 DeSoto and Plymouth.
Some really creative engineering there!
RE : ” That “Airtemp” decal is so damn space age and imaginative. It’s inviting you to step in and take a ride to the moon!”
Well ;
Chrysler Co. sold on ” Superior Engineering ! ” for like 45 years .
When the bean counters didn’t screw things up (Q.C.) it usually worked out pretty well .
Besides : it only took them 30 years before they discovered that left hand threads on the left side wheels, doesn’t stop the wheels from falling off , it just pI$$ed off all those Mechanics , Tow Truck Drivers and so on who didn’t know .
-Nate
Brendan, thank you for this well-researched and well-written piece. A great end of the week treat.
I have the November 55 and May 56 issues of Motor Trend. Their new car specs in the November issue indicate that the Imperial actually was not as wide as the Chrysler New Yorker, 78.8 in. vs. 81 in., though it was longer. The May issue includes a road test of the New Yorker sedan. One of the test cars included the Highway Hi Fi, air conditioning, and the gasoline heater. The writer refers to the New Yorker as a “luxury car” and that seems to have been the crux of the problem for the Imperial as it really did not convey that much additional status over the New Yorker in the luxury field and people still thought of it as a Chrysler.
These Imperials were really rare in the Midwest when I was a kid and you seldom saw one. I was intrigued by them and loved the big split grille and the microphone taillights but always thought the 55-56 Chryslers were overall better designs. One of our neighbors, a rather glamorous and mysterious single woman, was a secretary with a trust fund. She purchased a new 55 New Yorker two-door hardtop, all white with white leather (or high grade vinyl, I’m not sure) interior. Also a very gorgeous car and pretty competitive with Imperial for luxury and status.
Today I seem to see more of the 55-56 Imperials at car shows in SoCal and fewer of the New Yorkers.
I suspect those width numbers might be a typo, since the Imperial and Chrysler shared much of that same body shell, except for the Imperials wheelbase stretch at the rear.
Could be though the same numbers are posted in the Classic Car Database for the corresponding 56 Chrysler New Yorker C72 and Imperial C73 sedans. How did they measure then? Could bumper width account for the difference? As massive as the Imperial’s front bumper is, the Chrysler’s appears to be even wider. Granted the difference of 2.2 inches is not great.
http://www.classiccardatabase.com/specs.php?series=5234&year=1956&model=25355
http://www.classiccardatabase.com/specs.php?series=5245&year=1956&model=25485
Compare the corporate websites http://www.honda.co.jp & http://www.toyota.co.jp with http://www.mercedes-benz.de & http://www.vw.de to see what I mean. You have to browse around a bit, but I see that the Japanese seem to prefer primary colors; the Germans do not. It may have to do with kawaii, or being cute; there’s a Wikipedia article about it.
It really depends on the model. Middle-of-the-road family cars tend to be available and ordered in the same range of muted colors we get in the States. Lots of gray and white.
At least in the U.S., subcompact and compact cars have always been offered in more colorful hues. It’s likely an attempt to appeal to younger buyers, especially those who are buying (or whose parents are buying for them) their first car. Despite these colors being offered, I never actually see many of them on the road.
For me, the golden era of the American automobile began about 1941 and reached its apex with the 55-56 model years. Powerful, comfortable, well appointed and well built machines, unmatched anywhere. From then on, they started losing their preeminence until Europe took over around the middle 60s. Meanwhile the japanese… Perhaps somebody like Ate up with Motor could provide a better insight on the matter, with further sociological and psychological analisys.
Great looking car. Love the ‘Elegance is her way of life’ add. You would need AC to protect those records, and if they ever got left in the car on a hot day, that would be the end of them. Still, the push button trans and record player were the wave of the future in with 1950’s technology limitations. Rare find indeed. Fifties Flashy Flamboyance.
What a handsome car. The color combination really works. I think one reason these colors don’t work on modern cars is the lack of white wall tires, along with not much chrome – particularly along the sides – to break up the color. It also helps that this car has a white roof. If the entire car were painted coral pink, it would be too much.
Two reasons there weren’t a less expensive version of the Imperial were that the car shared its body with Chrysler (and Desoto) during these years, and was sold in Chrysler dealerships. An Imperial too close in price to a New Yorker would probably start stealing sales from the latter.
My recollection is that pink was almost always part of a two- or three-color combination back in those days. The Mary Kay cars are representative of the horror of all pink.
Too much pink? I’m not so sure about that….
There is nothing–NOTHING–I don’t love about this car! Between this and Paul’s Mercury find at the bank drive-up, this has been a pretty colorful week at CC.
Here is the competition: my father’s ’57 Cadillac Coupe de Ville. It also was a great car! NB the pics are a 62 coupe..not my dad’s C deV!
Nice car except for the tacked on tail lights Ive never liked those why Chrysler couldnt or wouldnt mould the tail lights into the bodywork as was the modern 50s style is beyond me.
It’s not that they couldn’t. If you look at a 1956 Chrysler (not Imperial), the taillights are integrated into the back edge of the fins. Virgil Exner, head of styling at Chrysler, personally loved these “gunsight” taillights.
Magnificent! I can’t think of a single modern car that matches this for sheer impact.
This IS a great looking car. Unlike most ’50s sleds, its not overwrought or over chromed….pretty simple and clean. But put me in the camp that isn’t down with driving a powder pink car. In a turquoise, itd look great. OR, dumped in the weeds flat black outside, and brothel red inside.
I saw a ’59 Ford yesterday in colours similar to this, perhaps a bit more orange. It really stood out in the sea of blacks and whites!
The charcoal and pink were popular colors then, and all companies had a variation of this shade. My late father had a new ’56 Buick Century in this color scheme, although I think the color was a deeper shade of coral than pink.
As a side note, the Chryslers did not suffer from having Powerflite, although Torqueflite was obviously better. I once owned a ’59 Dodge Coronet, which still used Powerflite, and you never felt you had insufficient “go” from a stoplight.The Powerflite had an overall torque multiplication of 4.47:1, compared to 3.82:1 for Hydramatic, 3.11:1 for Merc-O-Matic and 2.45:1 for Dynaflow. It was also lighter and used fewer parts.
It was the mainstay for only two years, however, intro’d in 1954 and superseded by Torqueflite during 1956 on the bigger engines.
What a gorgeous specimen! If I had been in charge of design, I would have put the tail lights in the fins; however, this feature accomplishes the probable intent of making the car “unique in all the world”. By the way, I can’t recall which maker used that phrase in its advertising, but I’m sure I saw it in a magazine ad; maybe Cadillac or Thunderbird.
Unique in all the World was used by Thunderbird for years and years. It was apt only through 1966…
I really love all the ’55-’56 Mopars and although I’m always hesitant to pick favorites, this model (along with the 300B) is definitely in my Top 10 American cars of the decade. It’s really such a great representation of what made that era’s automobiles so great and the harder I think about it, the more I think that it may even be the finest single example of it’s species.
The styling is flawless as far as I’m concerned; it’s got a lot of the far-out Jet Age details that are synonymous with ’50s Detroit, but they’re integrated in a way that doesn’t distract from the elegance and sleek lines of its basic shape. The transition from bulkier and upright early post-war styling to the over-the-top Forward Look (and similar) of the late 50s was rapid and fairly abrupt for all the American makes, and a car this understated could only have existed within a small window of time. I think the “Suddenly it’s 1960” Mopars and the cars they influenced are fun and cool, too – but none of them have the natural good looks of this Imperial. That also makes it look somewhat more modern, in a way, than the cars that followed at the end of the 50s; more like an early 60s design when styling transitioned back to a less flamboyant and unadorned take on “longer, lower, wider”. There are subtle hints of European influence at work throughout as well, no doubt thanks to Chrysler’s close ties to Ghia at the time. It’s distinctly American, but with a few minor tweaks, it could easily have been a convincing and attractive Facel-Vega too.
The FirePower Hemi under the hood was legendary and although Ford and GM had caught up by this point in the V8 power wars, the addition of the TorqueFlite for ’56 put Chrysler in a class of their own for some years to come. This was really one of the first cars where the addition of an automatic transmission didn’t come along with a huge performance penalty, and the TorqueFlite was still as silky smooth as anything short of a Dynaflow. This became the model drivetrain for fullsize American cars over the next 30+ years and the TF was still in production, significantly modified but sharing the same basic design as the ’56 original, up until 2007.
Another reason I like them is simply because they’re underdogs; unsung classics. Even with the factory limo Crown Imperial at the top of the food chain, they never got the respect that Cadillac got, never sold as well as Lincoln, and even today they’re more commonly viewed as “Chrysler Imperials” rather than a distinct make. Within the Mopar hierarchy the early Chrysler 300s far outshine them as do the Forward Look cars, which is fair because both are more significant conceptually, but it’s kind of amazing that history has given the first Imperials so little attention in comparison. Fine with me, though – I see these cars as a glimpse into a late 50s Americana that might have been, had we not gotten high on fins, skegs, chrome and other assorted baubles. But I love the campy and wild detour automotive styling took during those years, it’s just that this one is more my speed.
Great find, great article and great comments too! The pink and white two-tone is terrific, but I’d take mine in either white or black. Boring, I know… but it looks so damn good!!
Here’s the car that showcases the very best attributes of Chrysler Corporation while minimizing it’s worst. Those flagship lines, the robust construction and choice of high quality materials and intelligent engineering exudes from its pores. And clearly there was no bean-counting for this model. 1956 and 1965 were the twin high water marks for Imperial, in my opinion.
And I completely agree about the incomprehensible lack of color choice for today’s cars. I can only attribute the lack of choice to two effects:
1.) The Apple-effect: Apple’s fetish for black and titanium grey, which tumbles down to the rest of industry (kitchen appliances, autos, airlines, etc..
2.) The risk-adverse nouveau riche car buyer. The luxury and luxury ends of the market are flooded here, in the UK and China with people new to money. Deathly fearful in taking a wrong step, the very last thing they would want to do is choose the wrong color for such a highly visible expression of one’s taste, the car. And people keep their cars so much longer today, so any wrong choice would have the owner literally advertising his/her bad taste for years to come. Either that or expensively shedding the offending vehicle at a loss.
The fifty shades of grey (and black) as far as choice is concern is simply to falsely demonstrate to customers that they still offer “choice”. A choice of just three color swatches (white, black and silver) online or in a brochure would be embarrassingly feeble to the likes of Mercedes BMW and Audi.
A wonderful car in any color, and for me that color always works on a classic Fifties ride. I’d take one of these over a Cadillac or Lincoln from that era anytime. It’s clean and simple design has, in my opinion, aged much better than many of its contemporaries. Also, there’s a ’59 DeSoto Fireflite near us with the opposite color scheme – most of the body is kind of a cream color, and the roof and side spears are coral.
I think the reason that modern palates are so muted is that the cars themselves have become appliancesrather than icons. The same thing happened to radios and televisions, as well as all appliances. Initially, the exterior reflected the wonder of the creation, hardwood radio and TV cabinets made as fine furniture, fridges with 50s era chrome strips and “frost free” logos splashed across the front, it all morphed into efficiency as the item became integrated into everyday life. Same with the car, today most look the same, most are very competent and they are viewed as functional conveyances, thus the palate.
I think the reason that modern palates are so muted is that the cars themselves have become appliancesrather than icons. The same thing happened to radios and televisions, as well as all appliances. Initially, the exterior reflected the wonder of the creation, hardwood radio and TV cabinets made as fine furniture, fridges with 50s era chrome strips and “frost free” logos splashed across the front, it all morphed into efficiency as the item became integrated into everyday life. Same with the car, today most look the same, most are very competent and they are viewed as functional conveyances, thus the palate. Today, I’m at the dedication of the Lincoln Motor Car Foundation Museum at the Gilmore in Hickory Corners, MI. Over 100 Lincolns here to celebrate…want to see colors????
Glad you gave this one the full CC treatment Brendan, a really beautiful car. I would take this over a 300B in an instant, though I really like those too.
Oh, and a very pretty lady in the background too! 🙂
I’m only about a year late replying to this Tom, but I’m glad you noticed. I have to shots from this angle, one with the girl in it, one without. It’s no coincidence I chose this one to use 🙂
Man I’m way late to this as well. What a fantastic write up and the car to show it. Welll I own a 1956 Chrysler Imperial Southampton Crown Royal. We call our car “green car”. It is the late model of ’56 with the 3 speed torquflite and still no “park” button. Mine is green over green with factory green tinted windows. It is about 95% restored.
If you can buy one these already restored do it. Far too expensive to restore without very deep pockets. And mine has something I have never seen on any other, except a 1954 Chrysler New Yorker which had been owned by Howard Houghes. It has a trunk mounted A/C unit in which he had turned into an air filtration device.
But yes the best the time had to offer in luxury. Yet still no tilt wheel or cruise control, or seat belts.
Brendan, we miss you.
Aww 🥰. I appreciate it.
Beauty of a car. I wonder if that Air Conditioning blew anything more than recirculated air from the trunk. It might have been a few degrees cooler perhaps, and I doubt it would have removed any humidity from the interior.
It probably was similar to GM’s trunk-mounted A/C systems of the same time (e.g., Cadillac). I see fresh-air scoops on the rear fenders; they would have drawn fresh air into the car’s interior (Cadillac had adjustments for how much fresh air came in). It looks like there’s an intake or two behind the back seat for the recirculation return. It probably worked and performed very similarly to GM or Ford trunk-mounted systems. Definitely, though, it took moving everything up front to give us the integrated heating/cooling systems we take for granted now.
What a beautiful car, I love the two tone color combination which is something you never see now. Back in the ’50’s and ’60’s automobiles were available in a wide shade of colors: Greens, blues, reds, yellows along with metallic colors like turquoise, golds, really vivid metallic reds and the like. Interiors were also far more colorful-white, red, blue, turquoise and so forth. Now most of the interiors are a generic grey or tan. Today about all the colors I see are black, grey, silver and white. About the only exception seems to be the Toyota Prius. I’ve seen several that are a salmon orange color-they really stand out.
Imperial paid attention to details, but they didn’t pay attention to the seats. Caddy and Lincoln were no better. From 1935 to 1950, EVERY car had more luxurious seats than these. Soft cloth, rounded edges, cozy back seat in six-window models, fat padding on the front seatbacks. Around 1951 EVERY car switched to hard-edged sharp plastic, with beads and wires that cut off circulation in your knees. Finally around ’63 they started returning to previous standards of comfort.
Brendan, you wrote a great essay on this car. Thanks. One Dodge dealer from my days working at Chrysler in the ’70’s told me about the fine build quality of the ’55’s and ’56’s. Then came the ’57’s and as he said, “Somebody forgot about quality, which ruined the marque’s reputation across the lineup of five.” Always loved the ’56’s myself.
Tom McCahill (remember him?), when he tested the Imperial called the taillights sparrow strainers. He also nicknamed the hood ornament Herman the Coot, but that may have been on a different year Imp.
Thanks for reposting this great article. The car is stunning. Compare it to the fat and bulbous Cadillacs and this is clearly the winner for me. Lincoln went off the rails in 58. I have to think hard to picture a 55 Lincoln that didn’t look like a Mercury.
I agree about car colors. You can get any color you want now as long as it’s Black, White, Silver or Gray. I drive an orange car and people think I am insane.