'57 Imperial Revs Man's Engine

from Detroit News, October 2004

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Tim Hogan's 1957 Imperial has a black-light instrument panel, a radio with search-and-seek functions and power antenna, a manually adjustable front-bench seat, a rear-window defogger and crank windows.

By Richard A. Wright / Special to The Detroit News

Owner: Tim Hogan

Age: 56

Home: Grosse Pointe Park

Favorite wheels: 1957 Imperial

Favorite road to drive: Lake Shore Drive in Grosse Pointe

GROSSE POINTE PARK - For some people, cars are just sources of convenient, personal transportation. But for Grosse Pointe Park resident Tim Hogan, 56, they're a source of fun and inspiration.

These days, Hogan can be seen in his 1957 Chrysler Imperial with its 392-CID Hemi engine and torsion-bar suspension.

A friend told him about the car and Hogan, who has owned three Imperials during the past decade, decided to indulge his penchant for flamboyance.

The '57 black four-door sedan has a black-light instrument panel, a radio with search-and-seek functions and power antenna, a manually adjustable front-bench seat, a rear-window defogger and crank windows.

Hogan's other favorite car is a 1965 Dodge Polara convertible with a 426 "factory street wedge" under the hood.

He bought the Dodge at an RM Classics auction in Novi a few years ago. Hogan said he suspected it might have this powerful, unusual engine but couldn't tell and bid as if it was slower and less valuable.

He outbid the competition but wondered if he had made the right move because the Dodge wouldn't start when it was time to move it from the auction block.

"It just needed a new starter," he said.

Hogan's everyday car is a Cadillac Sedan de Ville.

One of Hogan's most interesting automotive buys, though, may have been a pair of 1957 BMW Isettas.

Once, Hogan and a friend managed to roll one of the Isettas on its side on a fast-braking stunt. Another motorist observed the situation but instead of asking Hogan if the passengers were all right, the witness wondered if the little bug-eyed, front-opening vehicle was fun to drive. (Yes, Hogan told him.)

Now, Hogan's thinking about moving on to a Dodge Neon SRT-4. "It offers a lot of performance for the money," he said.

Richard A. Wright is a Metro Detroit free-lance writer.