1956 Imperial (1955 to 1983)

The 1956 Imperials were similar to the 1955 cars but had small tailfins, a Hemi V8 enlarged to 354 cubic inches with 280 horsepower, and a new four door Southampton hardtop sedan. The wheelbase grew by three inches to 133, the longest ever for an Imperial and, with an overall length of 229.6 inches, longer than any non limousine American car of the postwar years until the 1970s. A push button transmission arrived mid year, and Chrysler and Philco offered the first all transistor car radio as a 150 dollar option. Production was 10,268.