1970 Imperial

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The 1970 Imperial was slightly restyled, mostly visible on the exterior. Up front, the grille received a mesh with bigger squares and the turn signals had a bigger glass surface. A new rear bumper had the tail and back up lights aligned in one line, segmented in ten chambers total. Above the tail lights was a prominent "Imperial" script consisting of individual letters. The side marker lights became part of the rear bumper chrome shields. On the sides, no chrome molding was mounted. To enhance the belt line, a color-coordinated pinstriping was standard. Combined front side marker and cornering lights were now of a longitudinal design and replaced the three slanted lenses found on '69 models. New wheelcovers with a cleaner design graced the wheels. The rear wheel openings came without fender skirts, but featured a chrome wheel opening molding. Inside, a new door panel design was one of the notable changes. The lineup consisted of the LeBaron 2-door and 4-door Hardtop and the less expensive Crown sedan, 2-door and 4-door Hardtop. While LeBarons featured a small rear window to create a more private atmosphere for rear seat passengers and came with vinyl roof standard, the Crowns had the larger Chrysler rear window and came standard without vinyl roof. Interiors also differed, with the standard Crown front seat being a cloth bench seat while LeBarons featured a cloth 50/50 split bench seat design with optional leather.

	This two-page ad explains the virtues of the 1970 Imperial and encourages readers to compare with the other two luxury auto makes.
	The headline of this ad reads, "The Imperial ride has been imitated on another luxury car. One of our competitor's most expensive models." This refers to the Cadillac Eldorado which also had torsion bar suspension up front.
	This ad's headline reads, "The idea that Imperial is priced a lot higher than other luxury cars is reasonable. But false." This makes reference to the standard features of the Imperial which would make its price attractive in comparison. The copytext above the small image reads, "A man is understandably proud of the things that please him most." How true!
	Another two-page ad. This one had a straight and "in-your-face"-approach basically informing the reader that only a rich man can afford an Imperial.
	This photo was found in a special U.S. military sales brochure and shows an Imperial LeBaron in Burgundy Metallic.
	This color photo can be seen in the 1969 corporate annual report.
	This is a press photo of an Imperial LeBaron four-door hardtop.
	Another press photo, showing the rear of a 1970 Imperial LeBaron four-door hardtop.
	Another press photo, showing the front of a 1970 Imperial LeBaron four-door hardtop.

	Another print ad of a whole series to promote the 1970 Imperial. This one opens with an explanation of the torsion bar suspension and proudly remarks that one competitor uses it on his most expensive model. That is obviously a reference to the 1967 and later Cadillac Eldorados that featured front torsion bar suspension because of their rather complicated front wheel drive setup.
	Here's an ad that shows a green two-door hardtop.
	This ad shows a cheaper 1970 Imperial Crown four-door hardtop on which the vinyl top was optional. However, the copy text makes no reference to the model shown.
	Listen to the 1970 Imperial radio commercial.

Check out the 1970 Chrysler price list to see what the Imperial models and the available options cost.

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