cars and gotalot of helpful information from
owners. But one lessonIonlylearned after my
purchase is, if you really wantacar then you
should be prepared to bargain over the asking
price.Ishould have haggled more.
“Knowing the Chrysler had been unsold for
ayear Ioffered the dealer about 20% less than
he was asking and he accepted straight away.
Looking back,Iprobably should have hit him for
50% off and worked upward from there.”What’sinaname
Nonetheless, Peter had still bought himself a
great example ofararecar and onethat was
in several ways the last of the line. The Chrysler
Imperial, introduced in 1926, was Chrysler’s
range-topping model for much of the company’s
history, but Imperials were only produced with
the Chrysler name attached–usually as ‘Imperial
by Chrysler’–until the 1955 car’sintro duction.
Essentially,the Chrysler Imperial was a
Chrysler NewYorker withanicer i nterior.For
1953, the Imperial model was renamed the
Custom Imperial. Debuting on March 10, 1953,
the Custom Imperial Newport hardtop still
resembledaNew Yorker,but boastedalongerwheelbase and different side trim and rear lights.
New for ’53 was an eagle bonnet ornament
while standard equipment included power
windows, electric windscreen wipers, folding
armrests front and back anda‘Safety Crash’
padded dashboard.
Reshufflinghadresultedin three series for ’54,
the WindsorDeluxe, NewYorker and NewYorker
Deluxe, and Custom Imperial andCrown Imperial.
In to tal13,20 9examples were sold.Entry level
Newport for 1954 wasthe $2831Windsor Deluxe
Newport hardtop coupe, of which 3855 found
buyers. While the 1954Windsor and NewYorker
rode a125.5-inchwheelbase, the Imperial’swas
131.5-inches for the Newport (four-door Imperials
were 133.5-inches) with the extra length added
ahead of the firewall. Although the NewYorker
also came with the same331cu in Hemi V8, it
was ratedat195bhp, whileaCustomImperial
Newport likeour feature car had 40 extrahorses,
was the costliest hardtop coupe at $4560 (the
most expensive equivalent Cadillac was $4142)
and the rarest of the 1954 Newports, with only
1249 built.
The cost seemed justified since these were
verywell constructed, innovative cars. Chrysler’sCommanding view from the driver’sseat.Seating is leather. Dash isreminiscent ofajukebox.28 classic-american.com