Falls Church (home), Charlottesville (college), Virginia, USA
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Imperial LeBaron
Imperial LeBaron 1971
In 1955, Chrysler created the Imperial brand to compete head-on with Lincoln and Cadillac. Unfortunately, Chrysler's foray into the luxury field never achieved great success and by 1971 the brand was on shaky ground. For this model year, Imperial was reduced to a single model line. The 1971 LeBaron, a name previously applied to only the top-of-the-line Imperials, was offered in only two bodystyles: two- and four-door hardtops (pillared sedans were discontinued after 1969).
Along with the rest of Chrysler’s full-size products (full-size in this case means 19 feet (5.8 meters) from end to end), the Imperial had been fully redesigned in 1969 and given a new “fuselage” body. Yearly styling updates kept the Imperial looking fresh (including an all-new but similar-looking body in 1972) until Chrysler full-size models received a significant redesign for 1974.
All 1971 Imperials had a 440-cubic-inch V-8 (7.2 liters) with 335 horsepower and 475 foot-pounds of torque paired with an automatic transmission.
Standard equipment on 1971 Imperials included power steering, power windows, power brakes, reclining front passenger seat, glove compartments in each door, carpeted trunk, and vinyl top. Options included air conditioning, AM/FM radio, 8-track player, rear defroster, cruise control, power door locks, sunroof (2-door models only), and headlight washers.
A unique option that was new for 1971 Imperials was Bendix 4-wheel anti-lock brakes. The 1971 Imperial was the first American production car to be fitted with this feature, although its high price (more than $350) meant that not many buyers selected this option (about 230 according to one source).
Production totaled 10116 four-doors (base price: $6276) and only 1442 two-doors (base price: $6044) for the 1971 model year, but Imperial’s days as a separate brand were numbered. The last Imperial branded cars were sold in 1975.
I photographed this immaculately imperious and imposingly impressive 1971 Imperial LeBaron four-door hardtop in Midnight Blue Metallic one October evening in the parking lot of a hotel in Charlottesville, Virginia. I saw it from the bus, not immediately recognizing what it was, and was sufficiently intrigued that I got off at the next stop and backtracked on foot for a closer look. When I realized it was an Imperial, I knew I'd made the right decision. I love Imperials and for once my camera actually had plenty of battery life, so I may have gone a bit overboard on the number of pictures.
This car has belonged to Jim Corbett of Virginia since Fall of 2006 and more information about this particular car is on his page at ImperialClub.org: Jim Corbett's 1971 (Chrysler) Imperial LeBaron
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