“Moving Imperial production away from the Chrysler Jefferson Avenue plant made sense for three reasons: surging sales would require mixing too many Imperials with Chryslers on the assembly line; Imperial quality could be upgraded in a separate facility; and Chryslers and Imperials no longer shared any common sheet metal parts as they had in the past. The Imperial had finally become a completely different car from a Chrysler.
So beginning with the slightly facelifted 1959 models, Imperial assembly was moved across town to a 48 acre facility on West Warren Avenue in Dearborn, on Detroit’s western border. This large plant, designed originally by Albert Kahn, had been constructed as a Paige-Jewett facility in the mid-1920s. It had been the home of Graham-Paige Motors Corporation from 1927 to 1946, when Graham-Paige moved in with Kaiser-Frazer at Willow Run and sold the plant to Chrysler. In 1950 the plant was converted to building engines and bodies to supply De Soto’s nearby Wyoming Avenue assembly plant. But since De Soto now had much more in common with Chrysler than did Imperial, De Soto production was moved to Jefferson Avenue and the Imperial was moved to the former De Soto facility.
At the Warren Avenue plant, Imperials were given a lot of extra attention. Body seams were soldered and hand finished, primer coats were wet sanded by hand and seat bolsters and convertible tops were hand fitted. In addition, each Imperial was road tested before shipment.
Though Chrysler spent millions in renovating and equipping the new plant, this commitment to Imperial quality lasted only three model years. When an austerity-minded Lynn Townsend took over the reins of a once again troubled Chrysler Corporation in 1961, he quickly declared this Warren Avenue plant extraneous. The property was sold and Imperial found itself back at Jefferson Avenue in 1962, replacing De Soto, which had been discontinued in 1960.”
— Jeffrey I. Godshall, Automotive Quarterly (1983, p. 23)
RE:SOURCES
- Godshall, Jeffrey I.; 1983. “Imperial: Chrysler’s Flagship.” Automotive Quarterly. Published Second Quarter: pp. 1-26. Courtesy Imperial Web Pages.
ADVERTISING & BROCHURES:
- oldcaradvertising.com: Imperial (1960)
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