xiao cars caught this Imperial on the go in Germany. It’s licensed to Dinkelsbühl, Bavaria, but I can’t say if that’s where the shots were taken. Who cares? A ’69 Imp is a sight to behold anywhere in the world.
And what a fine example of the breed it is. Very original looking, with the accurate factory-style turned down dual exhausts instead of the all-too common straight pipes. The OWL tires are not exactly correct, but I can overlook them.
Now there’s a study in contrasts: the Imperial in front of a Suziki WagonR.
My favorite year for the imperial. I loved the look of the cornering lights (what ever happened to those?!) and the sequential turn signals.
This was the last, truly great styled Imperial. This one had a clean grille with a horizontal bar while successive years had a lesser egg-crate style grille with somewhat matching taillights. Then there were the ones with the big ‘ole opera lamp turn signals hanging off the ends of the front bumper.
As someone else mentioned, it’s a shame the fuselage cars were so poorly built relative to previous years. They weren’t to everyone’s taste but there’s no denying they made a statement for a truly full-size car.
My favorites are the convertibles, specifically the 300s. And, just like with the Imperial (and for the same reasons), my favorite year would the 1969 version.
I remember seeing them on the turntable at the Detroit Auto Show. That fuselage style was new and different at the time. Smooth styling.
Simply stunning!
Fuselage Chrysler products were my childhood rides, so I know them too well to want one. They can be quite attractive, but their quality was very disappointing. I’d like my Imperial to be either from the 1953-1956 generation, or the 1965-1968 generation.
I’m still imagining trying to drive one of those barges down urban streets there.
Glad to see that it is being driven the only proper way to drive a four-door hardtop: With all four windows down, even though it is just a single driver in the car.
Perfection! Than green is stellar.
Many German students attending college with my son (2010s) wanted to buy his ’91 Crown Vic.
Why such interest from the land of Mercedes, BMW, Audi, etc.?
They said the car would be a “chick magnet”.
I can only imagine the magnetic properties of this handsome Imperial.
BTW, he didn’t sell it.
A lot of room for a lot of chicks in that Imperial.
Hopefully they can be convinced to chip in for gas…as I’ve got to believe that the operating costs for something like this in Germany are going to be quite astronomical.
Beautiful car…I love that shade of green.
Perhaps the appeal for said chicks is that the driver must be wealthy to be able to afford the gasoline.
Just jaw-dropping! Quite the find anywhere, let alone Europe.
I’ve never cared much for the fuselage cars – too large – and I liked the previous iteration more. But CC love for them has caused me to re-evaluate these cars in recent years. I still don’t care for such big cars but the styling is growing on me. Adam Wadecki posted this video of Syd Mead’s personal car that he recently acquired. The styling evaluation is interesting and fun. On his site there is another video introducing the car.
Not what I would expect to see going down the road in Germany! Beautiful.
Nice find! I would keep that Suzuki in the trunk just for emergency purposes.
May already have a BMW Isetta (or two) back there.
Brilliant – great looking car if a bit big for a medieval German town.
Does anyone know how the drag coefficients of the fuselage cars compared to those of their predecessors and descendants?
Each and every one a brick.
With the high fender lines, they really needed to either raise the greenhouse or enlarge the side glass downward. The small proportion of glass just isn’t pleasing. The ’74s are much better looking.
You nailed why, as it was mentioned the last time the fuselages came up, they look their best as wagons, ok as sedans and 4-door hardtops, and the coupes seem like afterthoughts.
Even today I would be hard pressed to identify any year of Imperial between 1969-71. Chrysler seemed to work really hard to make changes as minimally or as unmemorable as possible in that stretch.
Looking at it now, I really like the details on the 69.
My favorite is the ’70: the one year they decided to forego the fender skirts. Not that the fender skirts on the ’69, ’71 etc. look bad or are even all that obtrusive, but I do prefer the more open-wheeled look on most cars. And on these Imperials, the car definitely looks a little lighter on its feet without them.