IMPERIAL
BY Chrysler

 

 

I M P E R I A L
1 9 5 8

 

 

I n _1 9 5 8 . . .

 

Recession arrived with a vengeance to the shock and dismay of Americans who’d grown accustomed to prosperity. Inflation dipped below two percent, but unemployment approached and passed the seven-percent barrier. By June, 5,437,000 Americans were out of work—the highest figure since 1941.
Nota that everyone was suffering. Those fortunate enough to have a full-time job might expect average earnings of $3851 per year. College teachers averaged $6051, and factory workers approached the $5000 mark. Dentist average more than $14,000, and the median family income reached $5087. Car prices rose 3.3 percent as the model year began, but the average amount paid for a new car actually dropped—to $2990, from $3230 a year earlier.

In the wake of Congressional hearings, the Automobile Information Disclosure Act was passed. From now on, window stickers would have to display every new vehicle’s serial number and suggested retail price. Ever since, these documents have been known informally as “Monroney” stickers, after the U.S. senator largely responsible for the new law.
Nearly all cars were bigger and heavier (though use aluminum gres 13 percent). Chrysler adopted compound-curve windshields that reached into the roofline. That worked fine, but their new fuel-injected engines did not. Imperial output drops to 16,113 cars—down by more than half. Practically all makes adopted quad-headlamp setups, and horsepower ratings rose an average of seven percent (20 bhp).
The biggest new of the year was the arrival of the Edsel, Ford’s great hope for the middle-price field.
Imports took 8.1 percent of new-car sales—up more than tenfold since 1951—as the first Darsuns and Toyopets (Toyotas) arrived on the West Coast.
George Romney turned AMC’s full attention to compacts, including a revived reduced-size American. Still, many industry leaders echoed the thoughts of an anonimous GM executive: “If the public wants to lower its standard of living by driving a cheap crowded car, we’ll make it.”
In this worst economic setback of the postwar era, car sales dropped 31.4 percent for the model year. The influence of teenagers as car buyers was being noticed at last. A credit executive explained that at high schools, “far more students are car owners than most persons realice.”

Alaska became the forty-ninth state. America´s first satellite was launched from Cape Canaveral, and the Soviet countered with Sputnik III.

Economist John Kenneth Galbraith, in The Affluent Society, criticized the conformity and materialism of Americans. He also warned of decaying cities, driven through by gadget-laden autos. John Keats published The Insolent Chariots, a devasting but comic critique of the auto trade and car culture, featuring Tom Wretch doing battle with dealers.
Jack Kerouac’s On the Road, first published a year earlier as a “beat generation” chronicle, began to attract more readers. Best-selling books ranged from Anatomy of a Murder and Doctor Zhivago to Art Linkletter’s Kids Say the Darndest Things!.
Elvis Presley was drafted into U.S. Army. Folk music, after trailing far behind rock’n’ roll and jazz in popularity, began a resurgence, led by the Kingston Trio’s recording of “Tom Dooley.”
The Donna Reed Show appeared on TV, along with Chuck Connors in The Rifleman. So did 77 Sunset Strip (co-starring Edd “Kookie” Byrnes, adored by female viewers more for his pompadour hairstyle tha his acting skills). In a major scandal, quiz-show contestants pleaded guilty to having received answers ahead of time.
Moviegoers could see everithing from Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo to Auntie Mame and Cat on Hot Tin Roof. Kim Stanley turned in a devastating performance as a movie queen in The Goddess, while Robert Mitchum drove hard through mountain roads as a whiskey runner in Thunder Road. Weekly movie admissions dipped below 40 million, the lowest figure since 1922—evidence of TV’s impact.
Connie Francis sang “Who’s Sorry Now,” Peggy Lee belted out “Fever,” and records could be played in stereo. Van Cliburn became the first American to win the top classical-music competition in Moscow.

Even though compacts were in the works at each Big Three auto company, the threat from such sub-compacts as the Volkswagen Beetle and Renault Dauphine was deemed insignificant. The era of big barges had a few more years to go, and Detroit had another season of excess on the drawing board.

 

(LY1-H-43) 1958 Imperial LeBaron Southampton Hardtop Sedan

 

 

OWNERS REPORT

1958 IMPERIAL

from the Popular Mechanics’ National Survey

Popular Mechanics, July 1958

 


[Comments by Art Railton, PM’s Auto Editor]

 

 

Imperial Owners Say Ease of handling Is Tops

Imperial retains its styling only minor trim changes for 1958, styling which was so enthusiastically received last year. But this year, exterior styling places fourth in the best-liked list of 1958 owners. First on the list is handling ease with 54 percent mentioning it.
After handling ease comes riding comfort, followed by power and performance. Styling, roadability and torsion-bar suspension are next.
Here, in the words of owners of 1958 Imperials, are the reasons why they like their cars:

“The Imperial handles like a feather, so easy, so quick.”—New Hampshire realtor. [Delightful to drive. Steering is precise, wheel angle excellent. It has a lightness that is exhilarating—no sense of inertia. You feel it can turn, stop, start like a sport car—It can’t, but you feel that it can.]
“No other car, bar none (foreign makes included), handles anywhere near as well on the highway or can come anywhere close to cornering as well as Imperial. It is in a class by itself. It will corner comfortably at 110 miles per hour where other cars will do no better than 80.”—Minnesota executive.
“Most comfortable riding car I ever had the pleasure of driving.”—Wisconsin retailer.
“Has easy, firm ride which does not wallow and wander in corners.”—Oregon landlord.
“Accelerates fast.”—Pennsylvania dentist.
“Has a ‘live’ feeling found in no other automobile.”—California fire captain.
“I like the long, low look.”—Washington foreman.
“Styling and appointments generally indicate good taste on the part of the designers.”—Illinois manager.
“Roadability. No sway on any curve.”—California retired owner. [Fine road car. Long trips at high speeds are a pleasure on straight or winding roads. Excellent road sense. You don’t have to “drive” constantly.]
“Torsion-bar suspension is great. Big, powerful, capable car that won’t make you nervous when you push it around some sharp turns and over rough patches. On high-crowned roads it has no tendency to wander.”—Maryland foreman.

 

Here Are the Complaints

Almost 40 percent of the Imperial owners have no complaints at all about their cars. The others do, however, and the one that is mentioned most frequently is poor workmanship [a fault that seems to be chronic in the industry].

“Too much poor workmanship on fine details. Too much finishing left to incompetent dealers with no facilities or for help. Torsion-aire advertising is misleading.”—California flight test engineer.
“Body throw together. Doors improperly fitted. Hardware of poor quality.”—California physician. [There’s no excuse for a poor body job in a car costing as much as an Imperial, especially when this is the second year for the body. Lincoln has the “first year” excuse. Imperial has not.]

Second on the complaint list is the extreme lowness of the car and the resulting difficulty getting in and out. After that come body rattles, electrical troubles, poor paint and chrome and the inconvenience of the push-button shift, in that order.

“Decidedly too low for my passengers to get in and out of car. Too low for me, too.”—Pennsylvania owner. [Hardest of the three to enter and leave. Test car did not rattle. Front seat does not support accelerator leg adequately. On long trips this may be tiring to driver, but passenger will enjoy a smooth, relaxed ride.]
“Headroom too small for a large man. Seat is set to recline and is hard on my back on long trips. My ’56 was more comfortable.”—Illinois contractor.
“Rear set too low and car has too many rattles.”—Florida merchant.
“Windows not properly supported on side when part way up, causing rattles.”—Pennsylvania retired owners.
“Something was wrong with the electrical system, resulting in a fire in the left rear door. Evidently it was in connection with electric door lock or window lift. Dealer was advised to change wiring.”—Idaho executive.
“Finish on many plated and painted parts very poor. Rusted parts.”—Wisconsin retired owner.
“I don’t like push-button shift. Older system on steering wheel was easier to operate.”—Ohio physician.
“Buttons are in a vertical row and Reverse is in the middle, so you must look to make sure you don’t push the wrong button.”—California farmer.
“All controls are left handed and hard to reach.”—New York builder.
“Don’t care for directional-signal switch. Prefer it on the steering wheel. Also light, heater, wiper switches all must be turned instead of pulled.”—New York merchant. [Tyranny of the stylist. Can’t think of a single advantage to push buttons except styling. Instead of being easier than a lever, they are more awkward. Same for the turn-signal switch.]

 

Suggestions for Industry

Imperial owners have some suggestions for the auto industry as a whole that are of interest. These are not directed at Chrysler Corporation alone, but at all the American automotive manufacturers.

“Design and make cars first for dependability, ease of handling and comfortable riding. Add gadgets only after these fundamentals are assured.”—Florida owner.
“Give more consideration to headroom and natural seating with higher seats.”—Wisconsin executive.
“Cut down on length.”—Washington D.C. owner.
“Don’t make cars any fancier.”—Connecticut executive.
“Fewer sharp objects, inside and outside.”—New York engineer.
“Industry is making a grave error in pushing larger and more powerful cars. This may seem a contradiction in view of the Imperial we own. However, I would be just as happy with a smaller, less powerful car if it held the road as well and was as comfortable to drive.”—Illinois housewife. [She brings up a good point. If you are wealthy you must buy a big car, even if you are small, live in a big city, with no children at home. You still must drive a big car. As watches get more expensive, they get smaller. Why not cars?]
“Most cars today look like back-alley modifications, adding wings here, gadgets there and a bunch of chrome strips.”—Florida retired owner.
“Make a luxury car with all the comfort features, but smaller.”—Maryland physician.

 

More Best-Liked Features

Here, in order of frequency of mention, are quotations by the owners describing more of the features they like most about their new Imperials:

“Well-built car with a luxurious interior.”—Nebraska real-state broker. [With eyes closed you know you’re in luxury. You feel it in the fabric and the hardware. But the inside door handles are dangerous. With arm on door armrest, tendency is to hold onto the door handle. In a emergency, you might pull back, opening the door.]
“I feel confident in it and relax in utmost luxury.”—Illinois office worker.
“Has plenty of room without appearing bulky.”—Florida sales manager.
“Terrific brakes. Very roomy for a convertible and smart looking, especially with the top down.”—New York interior decorator.
“I like the six-way adjustable front seat. On a long trip I change my angle when I get tired.”—New Jersey owner.
“Wonderful visibility. You don’t feel like you’re sitting inside the car. You see all around.”—California contractor.
“I like the electric door locks. Both doors on this two-door hardtop can be locked from either side.”—Illinois lawyer.
“Has all the conveniences you can imagine. It has completely automatic door locks, windows, radio, antenna and seat for ease of driver.”—Nebraska sales manager.
“I have driven 5300 miles to date and on long trips average 16.5 miles per gallon. Operating cost are very little more than for any of the three low-price cars, except for the tires.”—Delaware executive.
“I like the visibility of the speedometer, various gauges and clock.”—California retired owner.
“I like its bigness. I feel safer somehow. And the engine is so quiet that sometimes I think it’s stalled. What could be better?”—Michigan housewife.
“I like the Imperial because the oil and gas expense is hardly greater than the low-price cars and I use the car to impress people in the real-state market.”—California real-state broker. [Who says Cadillac is the only prestige car?]

 

More Complaints, Too

Here, in order of frequency of mention by the owners, are quotations describing additional complaints. These range in frequency from 4.7 percent down to 2.3 percent.

“The back deck of my car has been one continuous headache. It seems impossible to keep the trunk lid from popping up when I hit a good-size bump at a fair rate of speed.”—Illinois sales manager.
“Transmission trouble. Howls.”—Wisconsin supervisor.
“The hardest car to heat that I ever had. In fact, we have never had it warm.”—California electrician. [The only cars that seem to think rear-seat riders get cold are Lincoln and Cadillac. Imperial still tries to warm the rear by blowing air from the front.]
“Floor mats not fitted as well as they could be.”—Florida salesman.
“Power steering defective. Pulley sheared off while turning corner. Ash trays poorly planned.”—Massachusetts attorney.
“Can’t find ash tray at night because it is the darkest instrument panel I have ever seen.”—Maryland executive.
“Poor placement of parking-brake release. It could be mistaken for light switch right next to it which would be disastrous if parked on a step hill at night. You get out of car, notice lights are still on, reach in to put out lights and accidentally release brake!”—California securities trader. [With any car that can’t be parked in gear (and the Imperial can’t) it would be safer to have a mistakeproof release for the parking brake.]
“Places where doors join in four-door models are wide open and ugly.”—New Jersey salesman.
“Water stays on top of the dummy spare tire on the trunk lid and I’m afraid it may cause rust.”—New Jersey owner.
“There is no parking gear and my car is forever sliding down a hill when the emergency brake isn’t on tight enough.”—California executive.
“Bad door hardware.”—Illinois banker.
“I am inclined to think that the designer must ride a bicycle as anyone who has driven the car could surely have found out that the defroster will not keep steam and frost off the windshield and that the driver can’t reach the ash tray and cigarette lighter and that you can’t put on the turn signal as easily as you should be able to.”—Nebraska live-stock broker.
“Back doors on this four-door hardtop open too hard.”—Wisconsin realtor.

[More comments: It’s a big car, but the driver isn’t aware of it, so easy does it handle. Vision is excellent except for minor windshield reflection in sunshine. At night, black light illuminates dials eliminating glare and reflections. Rest of the dash (knobs and ash tray) is unlighted. Clock in direct line of driver’s vision—now if it would just keep time. Center of front and rear seats useless on long trips due to lack of padding. Too much creep in transmission. Wiper action excellent except at end of stroke.]

That is what the owners of the Imperial like and don’t like about their cars.

 

 

SUMMARY OF IMPERIAL OWNERS' OPINIONS:

 

 

OVER-ALL RATING: __Excellent 82.5%___ Average 12.7%___ Poor 4.8%

 
Best-liked Features What make was traded?
Handling ease
54.1%
 Imperial
22.5%
Riding comfort
47.3%
 Other Chrysler make
27.1%
Power, performance
32.6%
 Cadillac
17.8%
Exterior styling
24.0%
 Other GM make
16.3%
Roadability
16.3%
 Ford Motor make
5.4%
Torsion-bars
5.4%
 All other makes
3.1%
Most-frequent complaints
No trade, no answer
7.8%
None at all
39.2%
 What make will buy next time?
Poor workmanship
15.5%
 Another Imperial
51.2%
Too low, hard in, out
15.5%
 Chrysler
11.6%
Body rattles, squeaks
7.0%
 Other Chrysler make
0.8%
Electrical trouble
6.2%
 Cadillac
5.4%
Poor paint, chrome
5.4%
 Other GM make
2.3%
Push-button shift
5.4%
 Ford Motor make
2.3%
Had trouble with engine?
Undecided, no answer
27.1%
No trouble
86.3%
 Have ever owned a Cadillac?
Some trouble
11.3%
 Yes, have
48.8%
Considerable trouble
2.4%
 No, have never
47.3%
What was engine trouble?
No answer
3.9%
Carburetor
4.7%
 What other car now owned?
Starting trouble
2.3%
 Chrysler
7.0%
Engine noisy
2.3%
 Other Chrysler make
17.0%
How is dealer service?
Cadillac
3.1%
Excellent
61.2%
 Other GM make
12.4%
Average
27.3%
 Ford Motor make
12.4%
Poor
11.5%
 Other U.S. car
4.7%
Would buy from him again?
Foreign car
1.5%
Yes, would
48.1%
 None, no answer
44.2%
No, would not
8.5%
Undecided, no answer
43.4%

 

 

AN ENGINEER'S ANALYSIS

by DALE KELLY, SAE

Registered Professional Engineer

 

1958 IMPERIAL TEST DATA

Model Tested: 1958 Imperial Crown four-door hardtop with four-barrel carburetor, dual exhausts, automatic transmission, power brakes, steering, seat and windows, plus air conditioning.
Rear-axle ratio: 3.15 to 1. Wheelbase: 129 inches. Tires: 9.50 by 14. Weight: 5295 pounds with gas tank half full (56 percent on the front wheels, 44 percent on rear).
Mileage on car at time of test: 1500 miles. Barometer: 29.34 inches. Temperature: 69 degrees F. Payload: 200 lb.

 

ACCELERATION TIME FROM STANDING START (in seconds)

Ignition time for:
0 to 20
0 to 40
0 to 60
0 to 80
1/4 mile
Regular gasoline
2.5
5.7
11.1
18.5
18.35
Premium gasoline
2.5
5.7
10.9
18.55
18.3
Super-premium gasoline
No improvement

(Gasoline used had the following octane ratings by Research method: Regular 90; Premium 97; Super-premium 105.)

 

 

FUEL ECONOMY (miles per gallon)

Ignition timed for:
Steady 30 m.p.h.
Steady 50 m.p.h.
Steady 70 m.p.h.
Traffic Route
Regular gasoline
16.3
14.7
12.9
8.3
Premium gasoline
16.7
14.7
12.1
8.0
Super-premium gasoline
No tested (see OBSERVATIONS below)

(In traffic test, car makes 10 full stops per mile and is driven fast enough to average 15 miles per hour.)

ESTIMATED AVERAGE ANNUAL GASOLINE BILL: $237 for 10,000 miles

(Based on use of regular by 75% and premium by 25% of owners)

 

 

SPEEDOMETER ERROR (miles per hour)

Speedometer reading
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
True speed
21
31
41
50
60
69
79

ODOMETER ERROR (miles traveled)

Odometer registeres 99 miles for an actual distance of 100 miles.

 

DRIVER'S VISION

Driver could see part of road 18 feet in front of car, full width of road 22 feet in front car.

 

GROUND CLEARANCE (unloaded car)

Worst dip that could be clossed
30-ft. radius
Worst hump that could be crossed
25-ft. radius
Deepest rut that could be negotiated
7.0 in.
Curb clearance for door opening
13 in.

 

MISCELLANEOUS

Steering
Steering-wheel turns for 100-ft. circle
0.80 turns
Curb-to-curb turn-circle diameter
48.5 feet
Wall-to-wall turn-circle diameter
51.5 feet
Steering-wheel turns, lock-to-lock
3.4 turns

 

Center of gravity
23 inches

 

Trunk capacity
12 cartons (one cubic foot each)

 

Water resistance
Good
Splash-pan test No leaks. Brakes only slightly affected
High-pressure Slight leakage tops of two doors

 

 

OBSERVATIONS

The instrument panel carries a full set of five pointer-type instruments. Readability at night is excellent (in daytime also) because the instruments have special markings illuminated with “black” light. This light is not itself visible, but it makes the markings on the dials glow distinctly without any glare whatever. Speedometer extremely accurate in the important 40 to 70 range.
Accessibility in the engine compartment is poor. The ignition-timing adjustment is very hard to reach. You can’t check the fluid level in the automatic transmission without removing the air cleaner and you can’t do this without tools.
The car needs several feet more street width to complete a U-turn than other cars of its size.
Because no improvement in acceleration was noted with the spark advanced for super-premium fuel, there is no reason for using this extra-cost gasoline. Therefore, no fuel-consumption test was made with super-premium gas. Actually, as the test data shows, there is little reason for using anything but regular gasoline in this car until it becomes badly carboned.
Power-brake reserve vacuum was enough to provide two full applications with the engine dead.
The gasoline tank held 23 gallons. When the car was allowed to run out of gas, the gas-gauge needle moved off the zero mark with less than a gallon being added to the tank. This is a desirable feature as you know that when the needle points to Empty you must refuel immediately.

 

 

 

 

 

McCahill Tests
By Tom McCahill

 

THE IMPERIAL

Mechanix Illustrated
July, 1958


“In my bald-headed opinion, the outstanding car built in America, bar none, is the 1958 Imperial,” says Uncle Tom of this big, quite-running and highly maneuverable 120-mph luxury automobile.

 


In the modern industrial world of high-pressure claims and counter-claims it’s sometimes impossible to separate the good guys from the bad guys. However, in my bald-headed opinion, the outstanding car built in America, bar none, is the 1958 Imperial.
What makes the Imperial so outstanding? Well, let’s toss all the parts on the table and take look. Basically the ’58 is very much like the ’57, only with a wheelbarrow of improvements, all of them good. In the old days (and in Europe today) when a model was introduced, that was the model the company stuck with for anywhere from five to ten years—and in some cases longer. It is an engineering impossibility, under the pressure of today’s mass set-up, to bring out totally new models every year and have them bug-free.
In Europe, the finer cars are undergoing constant refinements to their basic designs. If you think all of Europe’s first models are any more bug-free than ours, you’re completely mistaken. Such top brands as Mercedes, Bentley and Rolls and similar classics experienced growing pains whenever new models were introduced. In this country, just about the time we have figured out why the trunk leaks, why the body squeaks, why the air-conditioning doesn’t air conditioning and a hundred other things, we scrap the whole design and start out all over again.
The Imperial was our choice as Top Car of 1957, even though it had its normal crop of bugs, being a radically changed design from ’56. Some people feel Chrysler should have made another complete model switch-over for ’58. I, for one, am glade they didn’t. It would be like a guy holding a Royal Flush and calling for a new deal. In sticking with the same basic design in 1958, the annoyances have been eliminated and the car is outstanding, with one exception. That is the asinine location of the Reverse button. It’s right between Drive and “2”, the accelerating gear, making it virtually impossible for anyone but Cyclops to reduce gears from Drive without taking his eyes of the road. Why didn’t they put it at either end of the vertical row of buttons?

 

TEST CAR SPECS
Model Tested
Imperial Two-door Southampton
Engine
OHV V-8, 392 cu-in
Power
345 bhp
Torque
450
Compression ratio
10 to 1
Bore
4 in
Stroke
3.9 in
Fuel required
Premium
Standard axle ratio
2.93
Wheelbase
129 in
Lenght
225.0 in
Height
57 in
Width
61.2
Weight
4,590 lb
Gas tank capacity
23 gals
Turning circle diameter
49.1 ft
Tire size
9.50 x 14
Price (without optionals)
$4,753.56
Performance
0-30 mph
3.2 sec
0-50 mph
7.2 sec
0-60 mph
9.4 sec
Top speed
120 mph
(All times recorded on corrected speedometer)

 


My test car was delivered to me in Florida by Brewster Shaw, the driving dealer who won the MI Acceleration Trophy again (for the fourth time) this year. It was a two-door Southampton model with all red leather upholstery. This costs only a few bucks more and looks to me like a thousand dollar more as I’ve never been a fan of combination fabric-and-imitation leathers. This is the real McCoy and the only upholstery the have in a car, for my dough.
The air-conditioning system was one of the thing that held the most interest for me. In 1957 all manufacturers were under-conditioned (for the increased glass areas) and the Imperial was no exception. Our new test job had Chrysler’s latest dual air-conditioning, which means you not only get it from the now-conventional front unit but also from an additional booster unit located in an unusable part of the trunk. Thus you have air-conditioning in front and behind. It’s effective enough to blue the lips of an Eskimo blubber collector parked inside a blast furnace.
To test this car we took it deep into the Florida Everglades and the temperature on a deserted airstrip we found was well over 110°. Parked in the broiling sun on this airstrip (which is the acid test for any air-conditioner, since it has no forward rush of air to help the evaporators) I was able to get the inside cab temperature below 60° and by playing with thermostat it was easy to hold it at a more comfortable range, between 68°-70°. This is real air conditioning and will prove a Godsend to anyone who must travel in 100°-plus weather such as I do during mid-summer.
From the airstrip we ploughed through muddy Everglades roads. This car was equipped with a limited-slip differential which, when tied up with its tremendous 9.50 x 14 tires, gives it all the traction of a Jeep. I had used a ’57 Imperial test car for covering field trials over gook as slimy as a riverboat con-man and I reported about the terrific traction last year. With this limited-slip differential its traction is even better in ’58. At one spot we spied an eight-foot alligator and stopped for a look-see. When we decided to take off again, the tires had sunk an inch or two into the muck. As I stepped on the gas gently there was just the slightest trace of wheelspin, so I got off it instantly. The temperature in here was high and as we were miles off the beaten path, our plight could have been pretty nasty. We were surrounded by swamp on each side, loaded with cottonmouth moccasins and, as we now knew, alligators.
Stepping out of the car for a better appraisal of the situation wasn’t too comforting. I slipped the Imp into the Low range and applied the gas as soft as a 30-second egg. When this didn’t start me moving I threw caution to the winds, like the kid with the Seventh Veil, and clomped it. There were a couple of Voom! Vooms! And out we shot like a pebble from a slingshot. I feature we’d probably still be there, as no guy in his right mind ever came down that path.
On the road (the hard kind, that is) it immediately becomes evident why this ’58 Imperial is America’s outstanding car. To start with, it’s a big car in every way but behind the wheel you feel it’s small. That’s because the steering is so light, accurate and positive. And the suspension, the best in the country, lets you maneuver as if it were 2,000 pound lighter and several feet shorter. There is no car made in America (with the exception of the Chrysler 300) that can match it around a hard bend.
At high speeds (meaning well above 100 mph) it’s as unwavering as the white line down the center of the road. We tried a number of emergency cuts, such as you might experience when some village dunce pulls out in front of you, and there was no breakaway. I’ve driven many sports cars that didn’t handle half as well. We made a series of picture of the car at an airport, taking a hard corner at better than 70 mph, but you won’t see the pictures because this car corners so flat that there’s absolutely nothing to show. Using an automatic Nikon camera that takes three pictures a second the printed results of 36 photos of hard cornering look like a group of parked still shots.
We’ve talked about the great Chrysler full-time power steering before and it’s still the best. But in this day when there are several types of suspension systems available, including the newer air suspensions, one must be best when such radical differences in design are involved. At this writing I have two test cars with air suspension at my front door, plus the test Imperial. The air suspensions give excellent rides, especially over rough stuff, but when the chips are really down, there is no comparison—Chrysler’s Torsion Aire suspension is miles ahead in every respect, particularly in safety and control. Unlike air suspension (which is a plumber’s nightmare at best and is only slightly less complicated than the human brain), there is nothing to service.
One new feature which is extra equipment and was on my test car is Chrysler’s 1958 Auto Pilot. In many ways this resembles the automatic governor on the old Silver Ghost Rolls-Royce back in the days around World War I. I owned a number of Rolls and took advantage of this feature in hundreds of miles of cross-country travel. With the old Rolls, which had a new-forgotten gas throttle on the steering column, once in high gear you could set the notched hand throttle for, let’s say, 50 mph—uphill, downhill and around corners. It had one drawback that Chrysler’s new gizmo doesn’t—you kept on going at this speed even though the Twentieth Century Limited might cross your path, until you slapped the throttle down. As all but the last model Silver Ghost had two-wheel brakes, stepping on the pedal had about as much effect as slowing down the Queen Mary by dragging your foot.
Chrysler, with their new Auto Pilot, has cut this job touch the brake pedal the whole thing’s called off. For example, suppose you get the Imperial going and you want to cruise a turnpike at 60 mph. You set the marker on the instrument panel to “6”, then build up your speed as usual. When you reach 60 mph you’ll feel a decided backing pressure against your foot which means you’ve arrived at the desired plateau. The you push a small button in the center of the control, remove your foot from the accelerator and you’ll keep going a steady 60 mph until you do one of several things: the first is canceling-out by touching the brake.
If you wish to lower or raise speed without calling off the Auto Pilot you can turn the speed dial down to 30 mph and the car will come down to that speed and hold a steady 30 mph. Or you can shove it all the way up to “9” (which is 90 mph) and you’ll be doing 90 mph. While you’re doing it you can have your feet parked in the glove compartment, if that’s the way you like to drive. Below 30 mph and above 90 mph, however, you’ll have to re-sort to the old-fashioned methods and do it the hard way by pushing your foot down on the gas pedal. For an extra burst of speed, floor the accelerator and when you remove your foot the car will return to the pre-set speed automatically.
Now this sort of device usually comes under the head of “gadget”—which it is—but it’s a pretty useful gadget for guys like me. I travel thousands of miles every year on turnpikes and the open road where this gizmo would take a lot of the fatigue out of long trips. For example, with this Auto Pilot it would be conceivable to drive all the way from New York to Chicago and only have to touch the accelerator four or five times, after stopping for tolls. Aside from the fatigue-lessening feature, it is probable that many drivers will get as much as two more miles per gallon using this on long runs, as the speed will be constant and power will only be increased as needed. After having observed thousands of drivers I realize that a large percentage of them drive as if they had pebbles in their shoes or a mild case of St. Vitus’ dance. Only the really good drivers maintain a steady pace mile after mile and even this gets tough to do for the best of them after a few hours. I think this is a great feature and after the hundreds of miles I’ve used it in open-country running. I feel it should prove very popular, especially with the arrest-prone boys who unconsciously have a way of slipping above speed limits with expensive consequences.
In summing Up, here are a few of the features which make this car so outstanding: First, few will deny its looks (I personally think they’re the best). But the car is no boulevard dandy; it is just as much at home on any road in America as any car built. For ’58 it has a new turn indicator switch which is great (last year’s was a horror) and in each front door there are deep door pockets. The mammoth trunk (McMichael reports it the biggest he’s tested) is lined with deep carpeting to keep your luggage from being chewed up. The brakes are tops and even that damnable side mirror can now be adjusted from the inside. The car will top 120 mph; do 0-60 in under 10 seconds and is as quit as Gimbel’s Basement on Christmas morn. In four words—It’s America’s Finest Car.

 

1958 IMPERIAL: Models

 
Weight
Price
Production
LY1-L (wb 129.0)
23 Southampton hardtop coupe
4,640
4,839
1,801
41 sedan 4-door
4,590
4,945
1,926
43 Southampton hardtop sedan
4,795
4,945
3,336
LY1-M Crown (wb 129.0)
23 Southampton hardtop coupe
4,730
5,388
1,939
27 convertible coupe
4,820
5,729
675
41 sedan 4-door
4,755
5,632
1,240
43 Southampton hardtop sedan
4,915
5,632
4,146
LY1-H LeBaron (wb 129.0)
41 sedan 4-door
4,780
5,969
501
43 Southampton hardtop sedan
4,940
5,969
538
Crown Imperial (wb 149.5)
  limousine 4-door
5,960
15,075
31
1958 engines: Type and cid
bore x stroke
bhp
availability
V-8, 392.0
4.00 x 3.90
345
S-all exc Crown Imperial
V-8, 392.0
4.00 x 3.90
325
S-Crown Imperial

 

1958 IMPERIAL: Links

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

 

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