Photos from the Cohort by tbm3fan.
There was little of the Imperial name by the time I was in my early twenties, other than a few worn-out ones from its failed ’80s revival. So whenever one of these American style luxury flagships from the Pentastar shows up I pay some attention. After all, it’s only through these rare survivors that I can take a brief glimpse at these Cadillac-Lincoln challengers.
And here’s one, captured last October in California, looking quite sedate and dignified in its stately white color.
’67 was a defining year for the Imperial nameplate when a wholly new model appeared. Due to slow sales, the model ditched its body-on-frame D-platform and now rode on Chrysler’s unibody C-platform; so less Imperial, and more Chrysleresque. Yet, to keep some Imperialness in those underpinnings, an additional 3in. wheelbase were added.
Elsewhere, the car carried all the bells and whistles associated with the segment, as previous CC posts have told (links below).
Meanwhile, the exterior carried all the stately cues that Chrysler’s VP of design Elwood Engel liked to emphasize during that period, though peppered with a bit of space age fancy. A unique mix of Lincoln Continental formality with a rear carrying a jet age and sci-fi prop feel. Ideas that were falling behind the times by the late ’60s, but in keeping with Chrysler’s conservative styling of the period.
Today’s 4-door hardtop was the most popular Imperial of that year, with about 9K units sold. A figure that paled against the numbers pulled by Lincoln and even more so, Cadillac. In period reviews, when it came to specs, the model was found to be a good solid offering, with driving dynamics above its Detroit competitors.
Styling efforts aside, the ’67 Imperial only improved its numbers marginally over the ’66 generation.
Talking about those old reviews, one complained a great deal about the damage-prone location of the cornering lights (they’re not turn signals, those are on the bumper). Something today’s find seems to confirm.
Those blemishes aside, today’s Imperial is a fairly intact time capsule. The attractive formality of the early ’60s with hints of the earlier Space Age fascination; arguably, two eras in the same package.
Related CC reading:
Curbside Space Traveler: 1967 Imperial Crown Coupe – The Empire Strikes Backward
Car Show Classic: 1967 Imperial Crown Classic – For The Last Time It’s Not A Chrysler!
Vintage CL Review: 1967 Imperial 4-door Hardtop – A Renewed Imperial To Battle In The Luxury Leagues
CC Outtake: 1967 Imperial Crown Coupe – Ode To My First Curbside Classic
think of how elegant it would have been if it had suicide rear doors.
This is one of my favorite Imperials, and there’s a lot of them that I like. This car in black with a contrasting interior would be it for me.
Looks nice to me, oddly I usually like wide white walls but not here .
In 1967 my buddies father, a physician, bought a new 1967 Imperial in Burgundy .
It was majestic, silent and smooth as it took us to some out of state weekends .
-Nate
The wide whitewalls are wrong. The crossover year for wide to narrow (although not usually all that narrow) was 1962. A 1962 Lincoln could come with either type of tire.
The 1967-68 Imperial had the best taillight treatment. Unfortunately, Chrysler lost the plot a bit with the front grille. The 1968, in particular, was overwrought.
Stylewise, things got better in the following fuselage years, but were offset by a nosedive in quality which did the entire Chrysler C-body line-up no favors.
The fuselage cars lost their body mass/DLO balance, which detracted from their clean lines.
Not many American cars had stand up hood ornaments in ’67, and Imperial dropped it for ’68. I credit the ’71 Eldorado with bringing them back to popularity, but could this Imperial have inspired its designers? I remember a family in our scout troop had a bright red ’69 de Ville convertible with a big 40s Cadillac hood goddess.
A gold/black top, one of these was a “daily/weekly”, appearance in my hometown.
Can recall seeing it “rumbling about” as late as “83-83”.
Remember the fade, rust being quite apparent by “1979”.
Elegance par excellence! Thanks for the find and for presenting it to us. Beautiful execution of design that I have always admired, could not afford, but admired.
Beautiful car, looks great in this creamy color, even better without a vinyl roof
My great-grandmother had one just like this. She always called it her “white cloud.” Traded in for a Toyota Cressida, also white, in the mid-’70s. The original California plates and a location that looks a bit like Sacramento almost make me wonder if this could literally be hers.
Oh my. The hit on the left front corner is going to be an expensive repair. The last thing you want on your classic! Looks pretty recent because I see no rust yet.
Wouldn’t fit my garage or my life, but I wish it could. Lovely car.
Very conservatively styled, to my eyes. Upon first look, I would have guessed this to be from 1963 or 1964. !965 would be pushing it. It’s competition in 1967 look radically more modern IMO.
Would today’s garages accommodate the big cars of that era? I can’t see many of them doing so.
Years ago, I owned a 1958 Chrysler Saratoga and it fit nicely into my stand-alone, wooden garage, albeit a bit of a squeeze on the sides.
However, I can’t see my garage today being able to accommodate its length.
This was and still is a phenomenal automobile. A customer on my newspaper route had this exact car. It was a deep dark green-black. He called it aqua-marine. I always looked forward to seeing this car parked in his driveway as he kept is so shiny and detailed.
67 Caddy was way too big and stretched imo. The last pretty Cad was 65-66. The Lincoln was trying its best to fit extended fenders and width onto the small 61-65 platform. The 66-69 Lincoln’s looked as if the body was too big for its platform. The Imperial looked better all around to me. The 64 -66 Imps were my favorites. It’s a shame Chrysler Corp. didn’t have deep enough pockets to compete successfully with the big 2. I’ll take an Imperial over them anytime though.
My grandfather had a “67 LeBaron Imperial.He traded in a “61 LeBaron on it.He always bought Imperials up until he passed.I have Super 8 millimeter home movies of my grandfather and grandmother and my mom and dad “out west” taking a trip all over the western USA.And the “67 was a big star of the trip as it was practically in every scene.In one scene it is half sticking out of one of the famous “drive through” trees in the upper California Redwood Forest.And in another scene it was in Yellowstone National Park where my grandfather was sticking his arm out the window feeding the bears.My mom and dad and grandmother actually slept in the Imperial while my grandfather slept out on the ground a few nights when they couldn’t find a hotel.Try sleeping in a new current compact jelly bean of a vehicle that is on the market today.Granddad always talked fondly of his “67 LeBaron but after awhile things get old and everyone wants to keep up with the times so my grandfather traded his “67 in on a brand new “74 Imperial LeBaron.He special ordered the “74 as a gift to himself as he had recently retired as a OTR trucker.But that’s another story for another time.