About Plymouth

(Sources: Allpar, The Plymouth Bulletin, Wikipedia)

"The Plymouth" was introduced on July 7, 1928. It was the Chrysler Corporation's first entry in the low-priced field, then dominated by Chevrolet and Ford. Plymouths were actually priced a little higher than the competition, but they offered extra standard features (like hydraulic brakes) that the competition did not provide. Plymouths were originally sold exclusively through Chrysler dealerships. The logo featured a rear view of the Mayflower ship which landed at Plymouth Rock, hence the name "Plymouth" as the brand.

While the original purpose of the Plymouth was simply to cover a lower-end marketing niche, during the Great Depression of the 1930s the car would help significantly in ensuring the survival of the Chrysler Corporation. Beginning in 1930, Plymouths were sold by all three Chrysler divisions (Chrysler, DeSoto, and Dodge). Plymouth sales were a bright spot during this dismal automotive period, and by 1931 Plymouth rose to the number three spot among all cars.

For much of its life, Plymouth was one of the top selling American automobile brands, along with Chevrolet and Ford ("the low-priced three"). Plymouth even surpassed Ford for a time in the 1940s, as the second most popular make of automobiles in the U.S. During that time, Plymouth as a car, became Plymouth Motor Division; offering varied models. Through 1956, Plymouth vehicles were known for their durability, affordability and engineering. In 1957, Chrysler's Forward Look styling theme produced cars with much more advanced styling than Chevrolet or Ford, although Plymouth's reputation would ultimately suffer as the cars were prone to rust and sloppy assembly.

The Plymouth brand lost market share in the early 1960s. While Plymouth was a styling leader from 1957 to 1958, its 1959 through 1962 models were awkwardly-styled cars that failed to strike a chord with the public. Plymouth also found itself in competition with its own corporate sister division, Dodge, when the lower-priced, full-size Dodge Dart was introduced for 1960. Rambler, and then Pontiac, would assume the number three sales position for the remainder of the decade. Plymouth went into a decline from which it would never fully recover.

The brand regained market share following the introduction of the Barracuda. Sister companies Dodge and Chrysler had nothing that could compete with the small powerhouse. It would be years before Dodge and Pontiac could respond to the gauntlet thrown down by Plymouth's Barracuda and Ford's Mustang. Plymouth regained its traditional third place in the sales race in 1971 and 1974, primarily with its popular Valiant and Duster compact models and the highpowered 'Cuda cars. Unfortunately, the end of the muscle car era and parent company Chrysler's financial woes of the late 1970s all but doomed the brand. Marketing decisions reduced the Plymouth lineup to the point that it was no longer a full-line make. New models were increasingly given to the Dodge and Chrysler brands, but denied to Plymouth. By 1979, its lineup consisted of only the domestically produced Volare and Horizon models, and a few re-badged Mitsubishi imports.

In the late 1990s, Plymouth languished with only four vehicles sold under its name: the Voyager minivan, the Breeze mid-size sedan, the Neon compact car, and the Prowler sports car. After discontinuing the Eagle brand in 1998, Chrysler was planning to expand the Plymouth line with a number of unique models. The first model was the afrementioned Plymouth Prowler, a modern-day hot rod. The PT Cruiser, paying homange to Plymouth's popular PT Suburban wagons, was to have been the second. Both models sported similar front grilles, showing Chrysler's intent to take the entire Plymouth brand down the retro path. But then, Chrysler Corp. merged with Germany's Daimler-Benz.

At the time of the merger, Plymouth had no unique products that were not also available in the Dodge line other than the Prowler. Further, all Plymouth dealers also sold the Chrysler line of cars, but many Dodge dealers sold only Dodge. If a brand was to be discontinued, Plymouth was the logical one to axe. Consequently, DaimlerChrysler decided to drop the make after a limited run of 2001 models. The last new model sold under the Plymouth badge was the second generation Neon for 2000-2001.

You can learn more about Plymouth Division Allpar and Wikipedia.

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