First year of the Imperial



To better compete with luxury brands Cadillac and Lincoln, Chrysler made the Imperial a stand-alone brand in 1955. The Imperial's wheelbase was stretched four inches over the big Chryslers and all models came with a 5.4-liter FirePower V-8 engine making 250 horsepower mated to a two-speed PowerFlite automatic transmission. An option was air conditioning for $535. This 1955 model was found in a auto graveyard near Denton, Texas.
(Photo by Peter Hubbard)