Junkyard Find: 1991 Chrysler Imperial

by Murilee Martin

December 11th, 2014 9:00 AM

By 1991, Chrysler was using the K platform as the basis for everything from penny-pinching econoboxes to minivans to the once-majestic Imperial. One thing about the Whorehouse Red Interior Era (approximately 1983 through 1994), though, was that enough red velour and gold-plastic emblems could make even an Iacoccan front-wheel-drive first cousin to the Plymouth Reliant-K into a quasi-credible luxury sedan. Here’s a ’91 Chrysler Imperial that I found in California a couple of weeks ago.

I see a fair number of these cars in wrecking yards, but only this ’92 has graced the pages of this series prior to today.

If the K-based Imperial (technically a Y-body) had evolved into an early-2000s luxury SUV, this Imperial Eagle emblem would have been enlarged to dinner-plate size and slapped on the tailgate.

#1990s #1991 #1991ChryslerImperial #BigFatLuxuryCars #Chrysler #ChryslerImperial #DownOnTheJunkyard #Imperial #Junkyard #JunkyardFind

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2 of 157 comments

Jeff S on Dec 12, 2014

Guess that rose is not as popular as it once was, I haven't seen one in 20 years.

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Jimal on Dec 12, 2014

My father ordered a 1985 Olds 98 Regency from the factory that didn't look all that different from this. His was a metallic red with a tan velour interior. Aside from the choice of the cloth interior (he had a hatred of leather at the time that he go over in later cars) the car was loaded with every gizmo available in a top of the line 80's Oldsmobile, including a trip computer and a pre-federal law CHMSL. He drove the car until I got my license, which made the insurance more than we could afford. He sold it, picked up a mid 70's Dodge window van to get back and forth to his job at GM, and pocked the difference. I made it up to him years later by lending him my '91 Z-28 convertible long-term as a commuter. By that time I was onto VWs and the Camaro was becoming a bit of a money pit.

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