Imperial Firepower V-8 Trivia Question of the Week:  1. What was the last model year in which the name ‘Imperial’ appeared on a Chrysler product?  2. Can you name the movie in which Lee Marvin drives and repeatedly smashes a 1967 Imperial convertible?  3. Who was president of the United States in 1950?  Was it, A. Teddy Roosevelt; B. Dwight D. Eisenhower; C. John F. Kennedy; or D. Harry S. Truman?  4. Born March 2, 1950, this American singer/songwriter, who performed as a duo with her brother, was known for hit songs like ‘Close to You’ and ‘We’ve Only Just Begun’.  Who was she?  5. Clinical psychologist Phillip Calvin McGraw, born on September 1, 1950, is better known as?  6. A pop song from the year 1950, and a wedding reception perennial favorite to this day... ‘Daddy’s Little Girl’ was sung by, A. Perry Como; B. Dean Martin; C. The Mills Brothers or D. Nat King Cole?  7. Besides Imperial, what other model names were used by Chrysler in model year 1950?  8. The population of the city of St. Louis in the year 1950 was, A. 235,698; B. 856,796; C. 1,018,091 or D. 1,678,253?  Do you know the current population of St. Louis?  (Answer at end of this story.)    
Trivia Sidebar:  Couch potatoes celebrate 1950 as the year in which the first television remote control is introduced.  The Zenith Corporation appropriately called the device, ‘Lazybones’.
Answers to these trivia questions, and more on the 1950 Imperial Crown Limousine, may be found at the FIN MAN’s web site at http://www.thefinman.com. 

Watching the inauguration of our 44th President of the United States, I was captivated by the beautiful, big, black presidential Cadillac limousine that was specially-built for our new president, Barack Obama.  As it made its way through the streets of the capitol city, twisting and bending through turn after turn, that daring new Cadillac ‘plowshare’ front end-- a recent styling theme which permeates the Cadillac lineup, made an elegant and powerful statement.  It caused me to reflect back on presidential limos of days gone by, and the ‘factory’ limos which were the mainstay of the limo business during that period in our history. 
Back in ‘the day’ you didn’t have the ‘chop shop’, stretch limo industry that cropped up in the early eighties and has been the rage for wedding parties to ‘let’s go out and get loaded and stupid’ groups.  These limo builders have been ‘stretching’ everything from the traditional, Cadillac, Lincoln, etc., to the, bordering on ridiculous, VW bugs, Hummers, ‘57 Bel Airs, Mustangs, Camaros... and the list goes on ad infinitum.  In the ‘Golden Age of American Automobiles, however, if you needed, or just wanted, a limo, you went to your local Cadillac, Lincoln or Chrysler Imperial dealership to plunk down your hard earned dollars.  The 1950 Chrysler Crown Imperial sedan shown above seated eight (utilizing the fold down ‘jump seats; and including the driver or chauffeur) was considered a limousine of sorts, however, the designated ‘limousine’ model differed in that it had an elegant, padded vinyl roof which enclosed the rear passenger compartment providing an enhanced level of privacy for the occupants.  The padding covered up the rear quarter windows shown in the sedan version above.  Call it coincidence if you will, but the Crown Imperial sedan and limousine sold for darn near a dollar per pound– the sedan at $5,229.00 and 5,235 pounds... the limo at $5,334.00 and 5,305 pounds.  
The 1950 Imperial Crown was Chrysler’s top-of-the-line land yacht—the ‘inaugural’ luxury liner, if you will, for the new decade.  The Imperial moniker, first introduced in 1926, had always been an indicator of the ‘high line’ Chrysler automobiles for any given period.  Beginning with the 1955 models, Imperial became a ‘marque’ in its own right, separate from the Chrysler line.  This move on the part of Mopar marketing, was seen as a way to position the Imperial as a more direct competitor to Ford’s Lincoln and GM’s Cadillac.
Options were few on these behemoths, as most everything one could want or need was included at the factory base price, including power windows (on Crowns).  One of the items on the list, however, was ‘wide whitewalls’.  Copywriters used the term ‘wide’ in a conservative manner as this rubber had sidewalls more like what we would call ‘gansta whites’ in twenty-first century jargon.  The lengthy Imperials looked almost as if they were rolling on four huge, Hostess powdered sugar donuts!
Other options included a Mopar radio; Mopar heater; locking gas cap; weatherproof ignition; vent deflectors and exhaust deflectors.  And although they weren’t offered from the factory, I’m sure your local Chrysler dealer, like L.M. Stewart in Clayton, Missouri, could install a set of ‘curb feelers’ if you so desired.  And they may have been a wise choice, as these land yachts rode on a massive 145.5 inch wheelbase and had an overall length of 235 inches!
These boats were powered by 323 cubic inch, straight eight engines with, believe it or not, a single-barrel Carter carburet or, and produced a modest 135 horsepower while churning along at 3,200 rpm.  Power to the rear wheels was handled via the ‘Presto-Matic’ transmission (the only one offered) with Fluid Drive.  Tipping the scales at over two and a half tons (5,305 pounds to be precise)… well you can imagine the thrill level of acceleration.  Now I’ve never driven one of these automobiles, however, I can only imagine that coming off the line from a dead stop was much like shoving the throttle forward on a forty-two foot Chris-Craft Constellation.  And when it came time to stop these big cars, assist was rendered by what many consider to be the industry first, ‘self-energizing’ disk brake system made by Ausco-Lambert.
You’re not likely to see a 1950 Chrysler limousine listed in Auto Trader’s Classic Cars and Parts or Deals on Wheels, but a quick search of the internet turned up one with an interesting provenance.  A nicely original example that was once owned by movie mogul Lou Mayer is being offered for sale.  Many photos are posted of the car including all exterior views, under the hood, seats, dash, trunk, etc.  Mayer was picked up daily in this car and taken to the MGM studios in Hollywood.  The interior door panels are upholstered with the initials ‘LM’.  What a cool car that would be to own!
 
Only 209 Crown Imperial sedans and 205 limousines were produced for model year 1950.
At the last official census in 2000, the population of the city of St. Louis was 348,189. As of July 1, 2007, the population had shown a small increase to 350,759 (estimated).
For the answers to this week’s trivia questions and other 1950 Crown Imperial images, visit the FIN MAN’s web site at http://www.thefinman.com.  To e-mail him, click on this link: mailto:the_fin_man@msn.com.
 
EVENT ANNOUNCEMENTS: The FIN MAN will be appearing at St. Clair Square in Fairview Heights, Illinois on Saturday, March 7th, 2009 for the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s mall walk.  Watch the FIN MAN’s web site for details.  http://www.thefinman.com.
 
You can e-mail him at mailto://the_fin_man@msn.com.
 
‘The FIN MAN’TM is available for your group’s special occasion.  In addition to his seminar schedule, he has been a guest speaker at group meetings including car clubs, engineering clubs and other professional associations.  He has also acted as host or emcee at a number of special events including trivia parties, holiday parties, social and professional club events, benefits and fund raisers.  There are still a few open dates for December, 2008 and we are now accepting bookings for calendar year 2009.  During his appearances, he presents an overview of the collector car hobby plus a detailed look at American cars from the fifties and sixties.  His program includes a fascinating Power Point presentation with images of collectible automobiles and various associated nostalgia and Americana.  Guests also have the opportunity to play “FINS for FUN,” the video game he produced in 1987 which inspired his nickname, in which players compete to identify the year, make and model of cars from tightly cropped photos of fins and taillights.  Those who score the highest win auto-related prizes donated by supporting Fin Man sponsors.  Be sure to sign up for the program which is being presented at the secluded YMCA Trout Lodge in April and May of 2009.  For more information, click on this link:  http://groups.msn.com/the-fin-man/seminaragenda.msnw. 
 
Bruce Kunz is a member of the Society of Automotive Historians, the St. Louis Chapter of the Buick Club of America and the Monte Carlo Owners Association of America.  He welcomes your comments and suggestions.  To e-mail him, click here > mailto:the_fin_man@msn.com.

Bruce Kunz- a.k.a. "The FIN MAN"