I've been meaning to cover the final Chrysler Imperial for some time now. The only Imperial featured in this series so far is a collection of the early Eighties version, which was a very expensive and complicated pet project failure of Lee Iacocca. Today's Imperial is the follow-up model to that boxy rear-drive PLC. Let's check out the longest and most luxurious K-car variant ever made.
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By 1978, the Detroit-based automotive world was in the midst of a huge transition, but the full impact hadnât been fully expressed. While the companies were building cars like the Ford Pinto and Chevrolet Chevette â as well as the all-new Omni and Horizon from Chrysler â a few automotive dinosaurs continued to roam the landscape. Among them was the new Mercury Grand Marquis.
Perhaps itâs unfair to call the Grand Marquis a dinosaur. It was a large, family-sized sedan that was handsome in appearance, large in size, and offered the type of luxury that promised to comfortably cradle the driver and passengers. But by 1978 those attributes werenât enough. The U.S. government was compelling the Detroit companies to build more fuel-efficient automobiles, and 45 years ago that translated into smaller cars with smaller engines, and with fewer bells and whistles. The industry was mostly answering that call and so were most consumers. But not everyone w
Article content
By 1978, the Detroit-based automotive world was in the midst of a huge transition, but the full impact hadnât been fully expressed. While the companies were building cars like the Ford Pinto and Chevrolet Chevette â as well as the all-new Omni and Horizon from Chrysler â a few automotive dinosaurs continued to roam the landscape. Among them was the new Mercury Grand Marquis.
Perhaps itâs unfair to call the Grand Marquis a dinosaur. It was a large, family-sized sedan that was handsome in appearance, large in size, and offered the type of luxury that promised to comfortably cradle the driver and passengers. But by 1978 those attributes werenât enough. The U.S. government was compelling the Detroit companies to build more fuel-efficient automobiles, and 45 years ago that translated into smaller cars with smaller engines, and with fewer bells and whistles. The industry was mostly answering that call and so were most consumers. But not everyone w
Article content
By 1978, the Detroit-based automotive world was in the midst of a huge transition, but the full impact hadnât been fully expressed. While the companies were building cars like the Ford Pinto and Chevrolet Chevette â as well as the all-new Omni and Horizon from Chrysler â a few automotive dinosaurs continued to roam the landscape. Among them was the new Mercury Grand Marquis.
Perhaps itâs unfair to call the Grand Marquis a dinosaur. It was a large, family-sized sedan that was handsome in appearance, large in size, and offered the type of luxury that promised to comfortably cradle the driver and passengers. But by 1978 those attributes werenât enough. The U.S. government was compelling the Detroit companies to build more fuel-efficient automobiles, and 45 years ago that translated into smaller cars with smaller engines, and with fewer bells and whistles. The industry was mostly answering that call and so were most consumers. But not everyone w
Junkyard Find: 1979 Ford Granada
Thanks to rental-car companies, the Granada was once seen in great numbers on American roads. The Granada remained a fairly common sight well into the 1990s, but they’re just about all gone now. We saw this Crusher-bound ’77 Granada Ghia in California last month, and I found today’s Junkyard Find in a nearby East Bay wrecking yard on the same trip.
One thing about junkyard Granadas (and Monarchs) is that the front brake parts always get grabbed by the first person to spot the car. That’s because everyone knows that Mustang guys will pay good money for these bolt-on-to-1960s-Mustangs parts.