In recent days, I’ve been on a mission to review Cohort material that I may have missed sharing with the larger CC readership. And here was one from a few months ago that’s quite a find, especially if you’re a Mopar fan: a 1967 Imperial with the “Director’s Chair” package found in San Jose, CA, posted by William Garrett. An option available only in limited numbers back then, and a true rarity now. Let’s go for a closer look…
As per the brochure, it’s the “Mobile Director option”, which consisted of a revolving front passenger seat, folding table, and reading lamp. Available only in the 2-door hardtop body, the Mobile Director chair would turn “your lavish personal coupe” into a “traveling board room or office”. Walnut wood covered the swiveling table, and the reading lamp was stored under the seat. All while surrounded by the best materials that Chrysler could offer in ’67.
Last, and not least important, the brochure added: “Or, with the addition of your table linen and the adjustment of two levers, your Crown Coupe is transformed into an intimate roadside dining suite. Just for two.”
So, business and pleasure with the Mobile Director. And now, am I implying more than I should with those words? Or have I just watched too many Mad Men episodes? (Don Draper did prefer Cadillacs, but also got behind the wheel of a ’64 Imperial at least once).
1967 was a big year for Imperial, the first full reworking of the model since 1957. The car rode on a new unibody chassis, in keeping with the production methods of all of Chrysler’s products then. Styling was more corporate than before, wrapped in the Continental-like boxy lines that VP of Design Elwood Engel preferred. The design spoke distinguished, restrained luxury, both outside and inside. As for its fittings, Chrysler was as good as Ford and GM at creating a luxury ambiance, offering leather, a variety of fabrics, and electric options galore.
All ’67 Imperials rode on a 127″ wheelbase, and body styles included a 2-door hardtop and convertible, and a 4-door sedan and hardtop. Power came via Chrysler’s 440CID V8, which provided a hefty 350HP. As for its performance, period reviews thought of it as the best handling luxury offering of the time. Not something to go darting around twisties, but sure-footed and well-planted for its size.
In all, a product that reviewers found measurably equal to a Cadillac or Lincoln. Question was whether the marque could overcome its “image as a car for old ladies”, as a period review stated. Which seems like a biased statement to me, but looking at old Vintage Photos, I wonder if there was some truth to it.
Back to our featured, and unique, Director’s Chair. If you wonder, the option added a substantial $597.40 on its own, about $5,778.11 today. Pretty hefty then, and now. That, on top of the Imperial’s cost, which may have lagged behind Cadillac and Lincoln in sales numbers, but otherwise occupied the same rarified market position.
So, an exclusive luxury car then, and with the Mobile Director’s chair, a true rarity today. And in this shot, with the sunlight falling on it, a place to spend a placid afternoon. All while playing chess with a martini in hand.
Related CC reading:
Vintage Car Life Review: 1967 Imperial – A Renewed Imperial To Battle In The Luxury Leagues
Car Show Classic: 1967 Imperial Crown Coupe – For The Last Time, It’s Not A Chrysler!
I’ve read about it but didn’t think any still existed. In a four-door with less elegant upholstery, this would have been a useful gadget for family trips or traveling salesmen.
I’ve always loved Imperials, especially LeBaron. IMO this option would have been better on a LeBaron. The Crown Coupe doesnt make sense, with limited entry for rear passengers.
From what I understand, the center pillar on a four-door sedan or hardtop would block the seat from swiveling. It was the same for 1970s GM colonades that offered swivel bucket seats (with only 90° swivel to aid entry/exit) in coupes only.
I believe some consider the 1967 Imperial to be the beginning of the end for the marque, with the switch to unibody construction from BoF being the culprit. IOW, the 1967 Imperial became nothing more than just the most fancy Chrysler and, as the years went by, it became more and more apparent. I can’t really blame Chrysler all that much, either, considering the low sales volume.
With that said, the Imperial’s Mobile Director package would be resurrected somwhat with the Swivel ‘n Go option for the 2008 Chrysler minivan. While initially selling well, it quickly fell from favor and was dropped after the 2010 model year. And anyone who ever experienced them would easily figure out the reason. I don’t know about the Mobile Director option, but Swivel ‘n Go was extremely awkward, to say the least. It used a variation of the uncomfortable Stow ‘n Go seats, except they didn’t have the desired feature of folding into the floor, and were virtually unusable for adults. In order to swivel properly, the front seats had to be moved forward, making them uncomfortable, as well. Even then, after ‘swiveling’, in practice with the table installed, both second and third rows became a tight squeeze, too, even for children. In effect, it just wasn’t feasible to try and jam a table (of any size) in-between the second and third rows.
Another big issue with any of these swiveling seat efforts may be the fact that they can’t be swiveled while the vehicle is in motion: there just isn’t enough room, and the vehicle has to be stopped and passengers exited to do it. Even a convertible top can be raised or lowered with the vehicle in motion (albeit at a very low speed) with the occupants remaining seated.
The Toyota Sienna offered 2nd row swivel bucket seats too, though without a table. Again, they were less practical than the alternative bench seat because the swivel seats were non-removable and didn’t fold down, whereas the bench could at least be removed to make space. Some VW vans also had swivel 2nd row seats and I think a folding table in some of them. Spotlights on the ceiling rather than a gooseneck lamp.
These Mobile Director Imperials are cool indeed, and this one seems to be in excellent shape. They do show up every now and then on sites like BaT, which is indeed surprising as there were reportedly fewer than 100 ever sold.
For what it’s worth, I’ve read that the idea around which the interior was designed is that the “director”(s) who are mobile would be seated in the rear, and the reversing front passenger seat was in fact intended for the director’s secretary. Seated facing the boss, she (and of course in 1967 it would be “she”) could take dictation, type, etc. Usually these cars are photographed with a typewriter on the table, indicating that the typist would be sitting in the front seat, typing. The 1967 and 1968 option was based on a 1966 show car (called the Mobile Executive) which had a whole car full of fabulous mid-1960s technology installed…including a dictaphone, a fax machine, a mobile telephone, and of course a television. I think that the car as actually produced didn’t come with any of the technology and only had the table, a gooseneck lamp, and the reversing seat.
There are photos and a write-up of the 1966 show car here:
https://www.web.imperialclub.info/Articles/66Executive/index.htm
Less “not in 10 years has a luxury car changed so much”, more “we couldn’t afford to make it distinct anymore so now it shares a basic platform and body with a two-year-old Plymouth. But we stretched it a few useless inches between the firewall and front wheels so you can say “mine’s bigger!”….
Almost $6K (adjusted) for an RV table and lamp, plus hardware to make the front passenger seat swivel? Wonder what the markup was on this option. I doubt many of these got used for the owner giving dictation for the secretary in the back seat to type up on a manual typewriter (no place to plug in a Selectric), or intimate dinners for two in a secluded place under the light of a Tensor lamp. The chess set was more like it, it was good for keeping the kids occupied on a longer trip. Legroom looks tight for adults.
Better be a game of speed chess or a long, straight and smooth road trip.
I’ve played chess on road trips; they make portable car chess sets that fold up like a book, and have magnetic squares and pieces that stay in place through turns and bumps.
Is it just me, or does the thought of using a manual typewriter in a moving car make anyone else reach for the Dramamine?
It’s not just you, but me too. On the other hand, over the years I have worked with several people who were quite happy to sit in the passenger seat next to me and type away on their laptops while I drove.
I’ve got to believe though that not only typing, but facing backwards (I can’t even do that on a train) would not be a happy situation for most people.
Using a laptop doesn’t cause quite the same wave of incipient nausea, and I’ve never had much problem typing on a phone while moving, probably because then I’m holding it. The typewriter gets to me because I know manual typewriters are fairly heavy and would have to be braced on the little table or tray, and with a manual typewriter, there’s the whole carriage return issue. So, it’s like there are several inertial frames of reference that don’t quite line up, and the thought of it makes me feel like I have Space Adaptation Sickness.
Travelling backwards and typing or taking dictation, that accessory alone costs more than the car, was he/she on the option list or aftermarket fitment? Cheaper than a real Limo I guess.
Looking at this beauty maybe also made for old men……
Rich ones .
I well remember my chum’s father’s new 1967 Chrysler New Yorker in maroon…..
This is quite the find .
-Nate
Cool car! I always thought the styling of these was way too busy. Fillers and chrome, more fillers, more chrome, there are just too many styling elements, just on the front end. Then you get to the rest of the car. Perhaps they were trying too hard to out luxury the other luxury cars in the market. I don’t find these restrained luxury at all, they were rather flamboyant.
I would have been much happier to just buy a Chrysler than one of these, at the time.