Columnist drives Chrysler Imperial Concept

Matt Nauman got a chance to drive the Chrysler Imperial Concept last week, and he shares his thoughts in Mercury News column published Friday. While reaction to the Imperial concept has been 'lukewarm' at best, Nauman insists the car looks much better in person. Unfortunately, for the test drive, speeds were limited to 20 mph due to transmission problems. What's more, the show car's structure and suspension weren't representative of how a production model would actually handle. The Leftlane Perspective: Perhaps more interesting that the review itself is the fact that Chrysler allowed Mr. Nauman to drive the car and write about it. If there were no plans for production, Chrysler probably wouldn't continue to hype the car, but rather would let it fade away like other scrapped concepts. A report early this month suggests that the automaker was still seriously considering building the car to move the brand upmarket, toward Cadillac.