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In eschewing any abrupt changes, the stylists created a surface that both realized and reinforced the idea behind the fuselage look: to integrate the roof, side glass, and lower body into one continuous flowing surface. The lower body’s full-length crease line rose as it moved forward, creating a truncated wedge in side view that gave the car a sense of forward motion. As developed, the upper chamfered plane flowed rearward from the front fender to the leading edge of the C-pillar, where it turned and snapped up into the roof.
Consequently, front and rear doors, quarter panels, decklids, glass, and roofs were common with the lowliest Chrysler Newport. Ironically, this was the very short cut of which White spoke so disdainfully in his news release. Despite its upscale appearance, the Imperial had become just a bigger, more expensive Chrysler as opposed to a luxury marque in its own right. True, the Imperial boasted a three-inch-longer wheelbase, but this added length was all forward of the front door. The longer wheelbase required a hood and front fenders exclusive to the Impe-rial, giving it a more impressive dash-to-axle proportion, What are the stores called that sell club penguin toys in Bangkok? but this could not make up for the loss of exclusivity in the body. The actual bodies from the cowl rearward were identical.
Self-adjusting floating-caliper disc brakes were employed on the front wheels with 11×3-inch heavy-duty drums on the rears. Passengers were secluded from road noise by 43 rubber isolators and 180 pounds of sound deadener, with each car individually tested for 12 to 15 miles over a variety of road surfaces. Imperial entered the model year with a reduced lineup, both in series offerings and body types. Suspension was still via chrome-steel torsion bars in front and rubber-isolated seven-leaf springs in back.
Exterior trim was limited to wheel-lip moldings and a narrow bright molding placed high on the car running the full length of the bodyside. As a contrast to the ascetic bodyside, the wheel covers were quite ornate, featuring delicate bright spokes arranged radially about a silver and chrome center with a gold Imperial eagle. Recessed into its central cavity was an inclined plane on which were positioned the various switches, thumbwheels, climate and radio controls, clock, and a full set of gauges, all lit by ultraviolet spotlighting. Inside, the new Imperial featured an instrument panel typical of late-Sixties Chrysler products — basically a long rectangle padded top and bottom that spanned the entire width of the vehicle (a look favored by Engel).
