Chrysler's new flagship, the Imperial LeBaron, was nearly six meters long and had a wheelbase of more than three meters. The model reached the market just as the Middle East was once again in turmoil. In late 1973 the oil crisis broke out, bringing high fuel prices and shortages in the United States. For a car with a 7.2-liter V8 that burns roughly one liter of gasoline every four to five kilometers, the timing could hardly have been worse.
In the Netherlands the crisis even led to car-free Sundays. In the US, fuel prices shot up and demand for fuel-efficient cars grew. The American car fleet was generally not fuel-efficient, as a V8 was the norm at the time. The Japanese brand Honda profited from this situation: in 1972 it launched the Civic, which was extremely fuel-efficient by American standards.
The Imperial had a long history going back to the 1920s, when Chrysler launched it as a response to luxury brands such as Duesenberg, Cadillac and Lincoln. Only from 1955 did Imperial operate as an independent brand. However, the success of its competitors never materialized, and General Motors with Cadillac remained the strongest in the luxury segment. After the LeBaron, Imperial disappeared as a brand, apart from a later attempt at revival in the 1990s. The model lived on in a slightly modified form as the Chrysler New Yorker.
Technically, the LeBaron offered several features that were notable for its time. All four wheels had disc brakes, and the front suspension used remarkably long torsion bars attached to the chassis with special rubber mounts to limit vibrations transmitted to the occupants. The brand called this 'Torsion Quiet Ride'. The solid rear axle had coil springs, and the car came as standard with radial tires, with a warranty for 40,000 miles. The left windshield wiper swept an arc of nearly thirty degrees at its midpoint, so it covered a slightly larger part of the windshield. Every Imperial also received a test drive, which other brands only did on a random sample basis.
The interior was likewise generously finished. Notable is the absence of a B-pillar running up to the roof. The seats and rear bench had button-tufted cushions, which Imperial called 'Floating Cushion Seats'. To the left of the steering wheel was a digital clock labeled 'chronometer', a reference to a certificate from a Swiss testing institute. There was also automatic climate control and a Dolby sound system. The front seats had three-point safety belts and the rear seats had lap belts. The engine would only start once the belt was fastened.
During the test drive, the silence stood out most. Almost no chassis noise reached the interior, and wind noise was also limited. The suspension absorbed potholes and bumps better than many American cars of that era. However, the steering feel was barely present, and at nearly 2.3 tonnes with its wide body, the car was less suited to narrow country roads, let alone old town centers or mountain passes. The 7.2-liter V8 delivered 158 kW or 215 SAE hp at 4,000 rpm and 434 Nm of torque at 2,000 rpm, good for a top speed of 176 km/h and a 0 to 100 km/h sprint in 7.9 seconds. Average fuel consumption was 23 liters per 100 kilometers.
The tested example had 6,470 miles on the odometer and was offered for sale at the time of the test drive for 11,900 euros. In the report the car received an average score of 6.8, with praise for its comfort and presence and criticism of the numb steering and floating road feel. According to the testers, this is the last real Imperial, and thus the end of an era.