Imperial Measures

DaimlerChrysler is teasing us with a new Imperial. I wonder whether it's intended to be a Chrysler Imperial, or an Imperial Imperial. Poor Imperial has had an identity crisis for much of its intermittent life.

For its first 26 seasons, Imperial was the mightiest Chrysler. Introduced in 1926 as the Imperial 80, it bore hallmarks that set it apart from lesser Chryslers - a set of distinct bonnet flutes borrowed from Vauxhall. By the time of the Full Classic™ 1932 it was more like the rest of the line. In 1941, it was nearly traveling incognito.

By 1953, Imperials were getting their own faces, and in 1954 there was a different grille for each flavor of Chrysler. Small wonder, then, that 1955 Imperials not only had their own features, they had their own name as well. No longer sold as Chryslers, the cars with the microphone taillights of Virgil Exner's d'Elegance were Imperial both in name and appearance.

In 1957 came distinctive roofs, microphones embedded in the new corporate fins, along with the first of the "doughnut decks" that the wags indelicately call "toilet seats." For the first time a convertible was offered. The 1958 grille was mercifully bland compared to some of the competition, but I find the hungry grin of the 1960 models a bit overbearing.

For 1961 came what I call the consummate Imperial. The hanging microphones were a bit much, but the car's lines were stunning. The free standing headlamps were exquisite, well worth the trouble it took to wash them. Nick Pagani's '62 Crown convertible, one of 554, is testament to this elegance, though the microphones had turned into gunsights. Sixty-three was an anticlimax, both in its grille and its taillights borrowed from the 1964 Valiant.

For '64 it was ex-Ex and all Engel, as in goodby Virgil, hello Elwood. Elwood Engel, newly from Ford, liked perpendiculat themes, though he allowed himself a bit of a bustle. By 1968, Imperial was into Chrysler's cubist period, shorn of the bum bump but keeping the Electrolux motif. The end came in 1975, by which time Imperial was into standup grilles.

To be sure, there was a brief revival from 1981-83 with a coupe that crossed Cadillac Seville sculpture with Lincoln Mark VI coziness - most memorable was the Frank Sinatra edition with "blue eyes" interior and full set of FS audio cassettes. Thereafter, Imperial became just another Chrysler K-car model.

So what to make of this new Imperial concept? I see it as muscular, a mighty fortress, styled, perhaps, by the person who did Rolls' New Phantom (and who, I suspect, formerly worked at Freightliner). Maybe it should be called "Imperial Majesty."

CarPorters with Imperial aspirations should visit the Online Imperial Club, from which some of our illustrations are linked. Imperial Club is a cybermeetingplace with vast resources, like a complete catalog of models, spotter's guides and information archives. Dave Duricy's Imperialist is a intellectual information center with multimedia methods. Check 'em out.

International Intrigue

International's building pickups again. Perhaps we should say PICKUPs, as the smallest one comes in at 14,000 lbs. GVW. They're a far cry from the K-1 "Cornbinders" my generation saw on the road when we were growing up.

Actually, it's not out of character. Although the first International trucks were light duty high wheelers, from 1915 to 1931 International Harvester built nothing smaller than a 3/4 ton truck. The S (for "Speed) series of 1921 became popular, culminating in the Six Speed Special of 1928, with four wheel brakes and a two-speed rear axle that doubled the ratios from the three-speed transmission. At the dawn of the 1930s, the 3/4-ton A series chassis was the smallest truck in the catalog.

The first half-ton International was the Model D-1, introduced late in 1932, essentially a "badge engineered" Willys C-113. International's own C series debuted in 1934, and remained the mainstay of the light-duty line until introduction of the stylish D-series in 1937. The new barrel-front K series bowed in mid 1940. The K-1 at the top of the page was offered at the Mansfield, Massachusetts, swap meet a few years ago for $750, a reasonable price considering the rare "man on a tractor" IH-logo grille guard.

After the war, the K became the KB, with the addition of some chrome trim and higher prices. The first postwar redesign came in 1950 with the more muscular L-series, now with overhead valves. With minor styling changes the L became the R in 1953 and the S in 1956.

To mark its first half century, International returned to the beginning of the alphabet and rolled out the A-Line Golden Anniversary trucks in March 1957. To keep up with Chevrolet and Ford's flush-sided pickups, the A-Line was available with a cab-wide pickup box, two-toned if desired. A quad headlight B series was produced in 1959 and 1960, and a C series from 1961 to '63. A succession of new grilles distinguished the 1965 D series through 1968. V8 engines became available in pickups in 1959.

The last new "full size" light duty International was introduced in 1969. Cued from the slab-sided Scout, it remained in production through 1975, after which the stretch-tail "Terra" version of the Scout became the sole International pickup.

One can wonder why, with pickups in the ascendant, International chose to exit the market at that point. Perhaps they could see that mass production would be the province of the Big Three and they couldn't compete. Why, then, these big pick-em-ups now? At 14,000 lbs. GVW the MXT rivals Ford's F-350 and F-450; the RXT and CXT, at 25,000 and 25,999 lbs. respectively are in a class by themselves. Or are they trying to head off DaimlerChrysler's Freightliner?

CarPorters interested in International trucks should visit the Old IHC Special Interest Group, from which some of the illustrations are linked. Those who need to know more should seek out Fred Crismon's book International Trucks, published by Motorbooks' Crestline imprint in 1995.

Truck Stop

Richard Guerrera, Sr., loved trucks. As he built his hauling business from one truck to a fleet, he began collecting them, particularly trucks of the 1950s. "The trucks of the 50s had souls; they were alive," he said. "They had a different look to them and a different sound." In 1998 he formed the Golden Age of Trucking Museum to preserve them and others like them. He died before construction began on the museum, but his widow and family dedicated the new facility in Middlebury, Connecticut, in 2002.

Today the Golden Age of Trucking Museum is home to more than forty vehicles, including the Guerrera collection of trucks and boats. They range from a tiny Crosley to Guerrera's own International tractor, and from a rare unrestored 1917 Republic to a 1974 Dodge Bighorn. There are military trucks and a Jeep, and Tractor Mac, a Farmall Cub that's been immortalized in a children's book.

Small museums have a tendency to put too much in too little space. Golden Age of Trucking has managed to avoid this pitfall, saving open spaces for visitor touring and viewing. Other celebrities on show include a two-cylinder Autocar bus, once owned by the late Henry Austin Clark, Jr. and a regular at Hershey. Nearly forgotten trucks include a 1928 Pierce-Arrow and a Norwalk, Connecticut-built Barker. Local history is represented by a 1941 Federal that once hauled for the Thermos plant in Norwich, and a cab-over-engine 1953 Fageol van from Hartford's Barrieau Moving and Storage.

Truck museums often overdose on Macks. Golden Age has the obligatory bulldogs, but seasons the mix with other makes like Sterling and Autocar, and more commonplace working trucks like a barrel-front Ford wrecker. Recently, the trucks have been joined by a retinue of local race cars. The demonstration engine is a favorite of popular author and lecturer Dennis David.

The Golden Age of Trucking Museum is located at 1101 Southford Road in Middlebury, half a mile from Interstate 84. It's open year round Thursday though Sunday, except for major national holidays.

Long-Nosed Falcons

Lee Iacocca denies fathering Ford's Mustang, and, referring to the numerous other men who have claimed paternity, implies that Mustang's mother was a tart. While the the matchmaker responsible for Mustang's conception remains elusive, the car's DNA leaves no doubt about its parents: in horsebreeding terms, it's out of Falcon by Fairlane.

The original Mustang was a parts-bin special, but in the way that a child can be more than the sum of its parents so was the Mustang more than its ancestors. Neither economy car nor intermediate family sedan, the Mustang ran the gamut from a $2368 "secretary's car" to a hairy-chested 271 hp Challenger High-Performance V8. Mustang used not only the Falcon/Fairlane running gear; it utilized the parent cars' architecture, evident from an under-the-hood peek. While slightly different in shape, the shock towers and cross bracing of the Falcon appear prominently in Mustang. In effect, the Mustang is a Falcon extruded for short butt and prominent proboscis. Its name and wild horse logo gave rise to the term "pony car."

Introduced April 17, 1964 at the New York World's Fair, Mustang found instant acceptance and sold 418,000 cars in the first twelvemonth. Mustang interiors were trendy and elegant. An attractive fastback 2+2 coupe arrived in September and on March 2, 1966 the millionth Mustang was minted. Carroll Shelby prepared the hearty GT350 Mustang for racing, having 100 cars for homologation at the beginning of 1965; in '66 Hertz offered a rent-a-racer version (reprised for its 40th anniversary at the 2006 New York Auto Show).

Mustang grew two inches for 1967, and a further four in 1969. Big block engines arrived with a 390 in '67, 427s and 429s in '68. Boss versions, 302 and 429, had sports car racing heritage, Mach 1 was a stiff-suspension 351 V8 car, and a dressed-up Grandé model was available with most power train options. One of the strengths of Mustang was its diversity of models, one, to paraphrase Alfred Sloan, for every purse and proclivity. Big block engines disappeared after 1971, but even in the final model year of first-generation Mustang production, 1973, power choices ran from a 95 hp six to a 156 hp 351 cid V8.

You'll never get a Mustang jockey to admit it, but they're all really long-nosed Falcons.

BONUS QUESTION for the CarPort's Mustang Mavens: The two-millionth Mustang was a 1968 coupe. On what day did it come off the line?