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The Lounge
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17/08/2021 7:47 am
What a crime to call this piece of garbage an Imperial. Sad ending to what was once a proud nameplate.
17/08/2021 8:37 am
We had a '90 Imperial and kept it for years. It was primarily my wife's work car for her real estate sales, and it was both impressive and comfortable. It was our second K-car, and we had liked the New Yorker we had earlier. I agree that it didn't handle as well as the Mustang I was driving at that time, commuting my 50+ miles per day, but our small town/ rural life style and the Imperial worked well together. I liked it!
Frank Reed and Frank Reed reacted
17/08/2021 11:20 am
Good review of what has to be the ultimate K-Car. My wife had the New Yorker, that year and while these cars felt comfortable, fit an finish, at least on the New Yorker was not well done. The electronics and early touch screens were problematic. Hopefully, the Imperial was better. She switched to a Pontic Bonneville after two years. I'm glad David Holcombe's wife did well with her Imperial.
17/08/2021 11:52 am
What a crime to call this piece of garbage an Imperial. Sad ending to what was once a proud nameplate.
My thoughts exactly!
Topic starter
17/08/2021 1:45 pm
It was moves like this that sealed Lee Iacocca's fate. He just stretched the K Car platform too far. In the mid-to-late eighties, aside from the trucks and Jeeps, everything Chrysler offered was built on some modified version of the K Car with a few models based on the Aspen/Volare chassis. The Chrysler Fifth Avenue, Dodge Diplomat, and Plymouth Fury were all dressed-up versions of the Aspen/Volare. By the time the Imperial came out, the K-platform was hopelessly old and needed updating. It was unable to handle the increased horsepower that was becoming popular again, was far behind the times in interior packaging and road noise abatement and had been stretched and modified within an inch of its long life. Lee insisted on its continued use in order to save money. The LH cars were in the wings but it took someone like Bob Lutz to bring about the changes that were necessary. Lee was a genius but, in the long run, quality and innovation suffered under his watch.
John Kuvakas
Warrenton, VA
18/08/2021 5:33 pm
A better K experience [for us anyway] was my mom's '90 Chrysler LeBaron convertible with the Mitsubishi V6 and every bell, whistle and gee-gaw they could throw at it. One of the few droptops of the era with a glass window and electric defogger. She got it for her 70th, drove it for 18 years and I drove it for 7 more. Transmission rebuild, and she re-sprayed it bright red w new white top. Otherwise untouched.
