Collector Car / Cars We Remember; Imperials, 1950 Decade Car Production, RX-7 and Pioneer Stereo

By Greg Zyla —

One ‘57 Imperial sold; another one bought

Q: Hi Greg, your past columns on Chrysler Imperials have all been pretty good. As it turns out with my ’57 4-door Imperial I told you about last year, and that a man named John tracked me down and said, “I’ve been looking for that car for 30 years!”

His uncle Casimir bought the car new in Madison, Wisconsin in 1957 and always kept it in a heated barn and covered with a WWII parachute until it was sold in the early 1980s, and with just 18K miles on it. John and his brothers all grew up with the car. 

Anyway, we worked out a deal and I delivered the car to John yesterday in Minnesota. 

Since I always wanted a Virgil Exner “Forward Look” car, I picked up this ’57 Imperial over the summer. It has just 24K original and documented miles! Anyway, here are a few pictures. Erik Carlander (He splits his time between Moline and Chicago, Illinois.)

A: Erik thanks much for the info on these two beautiful 1957 Chrysler Imperials.  I’ve featured your now sold Imperial in the past and am happy to hear you bought another one.

Car production numbers from the 1950 decade

Q: Hello Greg, and thank you for all of your columns. I enjoy most of the articles on cars from the 1950s and am wondering if you can tell your readers and I which American car manufacturer sold the most cars during the great decade of 1950 to 1959? I know it is the Chevy that sold the best. Thank you. Charlie K., Lancaster, Pa.

A: Charlie, you are correct that Chevy was the top seller of the decade. Chevy outsold second place Ford by over a million cars, 13,419,048 to 12,282,492. Third place on the list, and way behind with 5,653,874, was Plymouth, followed by Buick in fourth with 4,858,961 and Oldsmobile in the top five with 3,745,648 sales.

Rounding out the top 10 were Pontiac at 3,706,959, Mercury 2,588,472, Dodge 2,413,239, Studebaker at 1,374,967, and finally Packard with 1,300,835.

Interesting is that of the top 10 in sales through 1959, only Chevy, Ford, Buick and Dodge have survived. All other makes either disappeared, or, in the case of Studebaker and Packard, their company went out of business.

Notable is that there were 24 different makes in 1950 competing for consumer dollars, including from 11th on Chrysler, Cadillac, Nash, Desoto, Rambler, Hudson, Lincoln, Kaiser, Henry J, Edsel, Imperial, Willys, Continental, and Frazer, all in order of sales. Of these last 14 brands, 10 models are no longer available. Additionally, this is a listing of cars only, as makes like Jeep and truck sales do not show up in this report.

In ending, the decade of 1950 to 1959 was one of hope and excitement as the war was over and baby boomer families started to grow up. It was a decade of spectacular car design, ice cream trucks making the rounds during the summer, new villages popping up all over the country, and words like God and America the Beautiful welcome anywhere, any time, along with waving our American flags. 

The advertisements, too, were spectacular and done by artists with a paintbrush and easel, including Norman Rockwell. Television grew in its infancy and produced some of the noteworthy car commercials and hit shows tied to cars we have grown to love. Thanks to car shows, newspapers, radio and the Internet, we can still enjoy those wonderful times.

I’m sure glad I had the opportunity to gain experience up in that special decade. If you love cars, there was no decade like it. Thank you also to Consumer Guide publications, where I dug up the numbers from my book Cars of the 1950s by James M. Flamming, and the editors of Consumer Guide (now out of print but available used). 

Thanks for the question, Charlie.

Noted author loves the Mazda RX-7 Wankel  

Q: As a classic car owner I’ve enjoyed your weekly articles in our Pennysaver here in Owego, New York. I own a 1985 Mazda RX-7, and I realize Japanese sports cars are not looked upon with great enthusiasm at local car shows.

However, the engine in my Mazda is a Wankel, as Mazda’s use of this rotary engine was a pioneering breakthrough. It is also used in racing cars, aircraft, and a variety of small-engine devices. At car shows I always here, “Oh, I used to have one of those.” 

I’ve since refurbished the upholstery, replaced the wheels, and restored the exterior to its original condition. As of last summer, I believe it’s one of four RX-7s in the Southern Tier of New York / Pennsylvania. Signed, Bob White, Owego.

A: Bob, first, my apologies as your letter has been sitting in an unused file for several years. As for me, the first Wankel I drove was a Mazda R100 sedan back in 1971, and boy did it have power.

Thanks for your letter and photo. I included your website for your books, and your page looks interesting. Bob is a writer and earned a B.S. in Aeronautics and Meteorology from St. Louis University. He worked as a meteorologist on the first six TIROS and early Nimbus weather satellites. See his homepage page for more at www.booksbybobwhite.com.

VW Beetle with Pioneer Cassette Deck

Q: Hi Greg. I enjoy reading your column in the “Susquehanna County Weekender.” I’m your “neighbor” in Montrose, Pa., and found your recent column on old and new car accessories quite interesting, particularly the part about “cassette decks.”

I have driven VW Beetles since I could first wrap my hands around a steering wheel, and that was in 1972. In 1975 I purchased what I think was the first AM-FM-cassette unit, a Pioneer KP-4000, which fit right “into the radio hole” for this VW vehicle.

I paid $250 (a lot of money for me at the time), which in today’s dollars, is something like $1,450. Three VW’s later, it is currently parked in my 1972 Super-Beetle (purchased in 1984), it still works, and very well thanks to Hyle’s Audio in Johnson City, N.Y.

My VW Beetle has been lovingly restored, tastefully modified, and runs like a clock. Attached is a photo of the dashboard, just for fun. Dig the custom knobs on the unit, and the clock and gauges in the spaces where the original speaker lived. I moved the speakers to the door panels, not bad for 1984 technology!

Okay, Greg, keep up the good work. Have a nice evening! John Siedlecki, Montrose, Pa.

A: John thanks much for the photo and kind words. During my days of purchasing stereo components and in-car decks of all kinds, Pioneer was one of the absolute best top brands available and even though they were not cheap, like you note, they worked forever and sounded great. Pioneer also sponsored several nitro funny cars back then and used the NHRA drag racing series to promote its products to the young and older age demographic.  

Enjoy your cool Pioneer sounds!

 (Greg Zyla is a syndicated auto columnist who welcomes reader input on collector cars, auto nostalgia and motorsports at extramile_2000@yahoo.com or greg@gregzyla.com. Snail mail to Greg at Roosevelt St., Sayre, Pa. 18840.)