# How long was the 1973 Chrysler Imperial? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [February 3, 2007, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-was-the-1973-chrysler-imperial/390693 "2007-02-03T19:15:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2007, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-was-the-1973-chrysler-imperial/390693/1 "2007-02-03T19:15:11Z")
Last month I saw a 1973 Chrysler Imperial. It was the longest non-limousine car I’ve ever seen. It must have been 19 or 20 feet long. How long was it exactly? ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2007, 7:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-was-the-1973-chrysler-imperial/390693/2 "2007-02-03T19:56:29Z")
Sometimes I wish I could just answer Thread Titles. OPs ruin it by explaining what the poster _really_ meant. **How long was the 1973 Chrysler Imperial?** About a year. After that the 1974 Chrysler was imperial. ---
**Author:** ![Hostile\_Dialect](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/e495f1/32.png) [@Hostile\_Dialect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hostile_Dialect)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2007, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-was-the-1973-chrysler-imperial/390693/3 "2007-02-03T20:04:03Z")
Dang! Beat me to it. ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2007, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-was-the-1973-chrysler-imperial/390693/4 "2007-02-03T20:53:01Z")
A little under 20 feet. From [http://www.allpar.com/model/imperial.html](http://www.allpar.com/model/imperial.html) : > [@](#): > > The Imperials now stretched a full 235.3" long - due to the government mandated extra-length bumper guards fore and aft. They were 79.6" wide and 56.2" high. Front track width extended 62.4" with the rear track exactly one inch wider at 63.4". Head room was 38.3" in the front seat and 37.0" in the rear. Leg space for front-seat occupants was 41.9", and rear, 41.2". Shoulder room was 62.7" in both front and rear areas. Seat height reached 9.0" in the front and 11.5" in for rear passengers. Knee room in the rear was 6.9". ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2007, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-was-the-1973-chrysler-imperial/390693/5 "2007-02-03T20:57:30Z")
Well, **Yabob** beat me to it but, yeah, 19.6 feet according to [this site](http://www.e-car-buyer.ca/specs/car/2932/chrysler.html) as well. Well, 5975mm anyway. Conversion provided free of charge. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2007, 10:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-was-the-1973-chrysler-imperial/390693/6 "2007-02-03T22:07:50Z")
Amazing. How did people parallel park, I wonder? ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2007, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-was-the-1973-chrysler-imperial/390693/7 "2007-02-03T22:24:11Z")
You didn’t park it. You berthed it. ---
**Author:** ![Declan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ecae2f/32.png) [@Declan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Declan)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2007, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-was-the-1973-chrysler-imperial/390693/8 "2007-02-03T22:25:04Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] Amazing. How did people parallel park, I wonder? [/QUOTE] With Tug boats Declan ---
**Author:** ![Yeah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/dbc845/32.png) [@Yeah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Yeah)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-was-the-1973-chrysler-imperial/390693/9 "2007-02-04T00:15:22Z")
It wasn’t that hard. With the giant chrome-plated steel bumpers and a 6 liter engine you could just nuzzle up to the car in front and shove it a few feet forward, then move the car in the rear out of the way in the same way until you had plenty of room. ---
**Author:** ![racer72](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/racer72/32/3075_2.png) [@racer72](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/racer72)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 12:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-was-the-1973-chrysler-imperial/390693/10 "2007-02-04T00:45:35Z")
6 liter engine??? Try 440 cubic inches of big block Mopar, that is 7.4 liters. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-was-the-1973-chrysler-imperial/390693/11 "2007-02-04T02:42:23Z")
Amazing. My jaw dropped as I read all the measurements quoted in **yabob’s** post. I think I understood all of them except for “knee room.” That’s an odd designation, and it being a mere 6.9" I’m having a hard time figuring out what exactly they meant. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-was-the-1973-chrysler-imperial/390693/12 "2007-02-04T02:55:12Z")
FWIW, my first car was a 1962 Chrsyler Newport. At 17 feet long it was the baby of the Chrysler family. What was amazing wasn’t the length, but the width. The car was 7 feet wide. The front seat measured 5 feet. As for how we parallel parked, think about it. If all the cars were big, we were all working off the same point of reference. That and curb feelers. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 2:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-was-the-1973-chrysler-imperial/390693/13 "2007-02-04T02:59:34Z")
[QUOTE=kunilou] As for how we parallel parked, think about it. If all the cars were big, we were all working off the same point of reference. That and curb feelers. [/QUOTE] Not all cars were that large. I was wondering how anyone driving a 19-foot car could find a space between cars big enough to get into. FWIW, my fist car was about three inches less than 13 feet long. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-was-the-1973-chrysler-imperial/390693/14 "2007-02-04T03:05:50Z")
[QUOTE=bienville] Sometimes I wish I could just answer Thread Titles. OPs ruin it by explaining what the poster _really_ meant. **How long was the 1973 Chrysler Imperial?** About a year. After that the 1974 Chrysler was imperial. [/QUOTE] Highlight the title in the OP. Enter CTRL+C Click on the **Post Reply** button at the top left or bottom left of the page rather than the **Reply** button at the bottom right of a post. Click inside the **Title:** box. Enter CTRL+V to insert the title into your post. Then, in the **Message:** box type “ **From September 1972 to mid-July 1973** ” ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 5:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-was-the-1973-chrysler-imperial/390693/15 "2007-02-04T05:42:48Z")
[QUOTE=kunilou] FWIW, my first car was a 1962 Chrsyler Newport. At 17 feet long it was the baby of the Chrysler family. What was amazing wasn’t the length, but the width. The car was 7 feet wide. The front seat measured 5 feet. As for how we parallel parked, think about it. If all the cars were big, we were all working off the same point of reference. That and curb feelers. [/QUOTE] I learned to drive on a 1963 Newport. Small world. While that car was wide, it was not as wide as my '68 Plymouth Fury. My Fury was at least a foot wider than the Newport. ---
**Author:** ![jasonh300](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/46a35a/32.png) [@jasonh300](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jasonh300)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-was-the-1973-chrysler-imperial/390693/16 "2007-02-04T06:13:27Z")
I almost bought a 1972 Imperial LeBaron a few years ago. It was painted black and had all of the windows including the windshield tinted. Awesome looking car. You’d expect a bunch of guys named Guido to get out with machine guns. Unfortunately, the rocker panels consisted entirely of Bondo, and while it looked good, it probably wouldn’t have stayed looking good for long. Anyway, I have to point out that there was no Chrysler Imperial, the _make_ was Imperial. It was made by Chrysler just as Dodge and Plymouth were made by Chrysler. They haven’t made one since the early 90s…there was an Imperial that was pretty much the same as a New Yorker or Dodge Dynasty. Prior to that, I think 1980 was the next-to-last year they made one, which looked exactly like the small(er) Cordoba with a few modifications to the headlights and taillights. Frank Sinatra had one of these. The Imperial was always the highest trim level of any Mopar…Plymouth being the lowest. Prior to the 1980 model, the Imperial was always a C-Body, which was the largest platform of any Chrysler product. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-was-the-1973-chrysler-imperial/390693/17 "2007-02-04T06:27:23Z")
Yes-the big Mopars were something. My last was a 1977 Plymouth Grand Fury Brougham. It was like driving your easy chair-the thing was huge, with power everything and a 400 engine that drank premium. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 7:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-was-the-1973-chrysler-imperial/390693/18 "2007-02-04T07:56:00Z")
[QUOTE=jasonh300] Anyway, I have to point out that there was no Chrysler Imperial, the _make_ was Imperial. It was made by Chrysler just as Dodge and Plymouth were made by Chrysler. [/QUOTE] While it is true that from 1956 (1955?) through 1975, the _Imperial_ was its own _marque_, few people in the public really noticed the difference. I’m sure the beanies at Chrysler paid attention to that distinction, but all the kids I knew whose dads were engineers and stylists at Chrysler (I lived in suburban Detroit) and all my high school classmates who spent hours poring over new cars and college classmates who looked for used yachts to drive, continued to call it the “Chrysler Imperial” throughout the 1960s. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 8:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-was-the-1973-chrysler-imperial/390693/19 "2007-02-04T08:49:49Z")
[QUOTE=Johnny L.A.] Amazing. How did people parallel park, I wonder? [/QUOTE] While I haven’t driven the 73 model, I learned to drive in a 71 Newport (and have a 69 Newport) which are essentially the same cars, with lower level trim packages and the steering on the cars is _amazingly_ responsive. I’ve driven many newer and lighter cars which didn’t handle as well as the old C-body barges. Mind you, if the powersteering goes out, you’d better have arms the size of trash cans if you want to drive the car, but with the powersteering working, you could handle the car as well as a sports car. It’s worth noting that the Plymouth and Dodge variants were _the_ police cars of that era. (That’s also what the Blues Mobile was.) They were insanely powerful and the handling meant that you could keep up with the baddest of the baddies. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2007, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-was-the-1973-chrysler-imperial/390693/20 "2007-02-04T12:14:25Z")
My first car was a ['62 Olds 98](http://www.plan59.com/images/JPGs/olds62gate.jpg) But I can’t seem to find any specifications on it. I do know you could put a 10 speed bike in the trunk without taking off the wheels or anything. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-long-was-the-1973-chrysler-imperial/390693.md?page=2)