The Big Three US car manufacturers have always
had several divisions competing at different
sectors of the market, and Plymouth has been
at the low-end of the Chrysler range. The name
was the brainchild of then Chrysler Sales Manager
Joseph Frazier, he using Plymouth Rock for his
inspiration – the place where the Pilgrim
Fathers first set foot on American soil. Much
like the competition, Plymouth borrowed heavily
from the parts bin of its parent company, but
where it was different was in how advanced those
parts were. While Ford and Chevrolet still used
wooden frames and mechanical brakes, the Plymouths
used an all steel body and hydraulic brakes.
This made them a little more expensive than the
competition, but they were undeniably a superior
car in every way. It was pretty obvious to most
just how superior the Plymouth was, and they
enjoyed immediate sales success. In 1930, at
the beginning of the Great Depression, Plymouth
sold some 68,000 cars, quite a feat for a division
barely 2 years old! To keep costs down, the early
Plymouth’s used 4 cylinder engines, but
unlike the competition the engines were mounted
via rubber bushes, giving them unrivalled smoothness
for a four cylinder. It quickly assumed 3rd position
on the US sales charts, even beating parent Chrysler.
A six cylinder engine arrived in 1933, this addition
to the line-up helping the marque go from strength
to strength. In 1940, when Walter Chrysler died,
Plymouth were manufacturing a half-million cars
per year. After the war new Chrysler chief K.T.
Keller insisted on a sensible three-box style
for the new Plymouth’s, instead of the
more forward looking “streamliner” style
that was becoming increasing popular. Sales took
a dive, and continued to slide until revolutionary
stylist Virgil Exner was brought in during the
1950’s.
He brought Plymouth into the “tail-fin” era
long before the competition, and once again Plymouth
were a “style leader” rather than
follower. The heady days prior to World War 2
were never to be revisited, but the marque was
at least salvaged. Plymouth pre-empted the move
toward more compact cars in the early 1960’s,
the resultant Valiant being popular – never
more so than in Australia. In the late 1960’s
came such wonderful iterations as the Fury and
Belvedere, along with the Mustang punishing Barracuda.
Also see: The History of Plymouth
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1958 - 1960
Featuring in Stephen King's horror flick "Christine"
did little to enhance the reputation of the Plymouth
Fury as a sought after classic for the collecting connoisseur,
nevertheless it remains as one of the finest examples
of stylist Virgil Exner's 'Forward Look' period at Chrysler,
a watershed in 50's contemporary design. More >> |
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1958 - 1960
While many cars have benefited from the aerodynamic enhancements
added to cars to make them suitable for the race track,
probably of most note in Australia being the Torana A9X,
the Plymouth Road Runner takes the award for having the
most ridiculous aerodynamic enhancements, putting even
the Subaru WRX bonnet scoop to shame. More >> |
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1964 - 1966
Released only 2 weeks before the Mustang, the stylish
2 door Barracuda coupe was really only a tidied up version
of the Valiant 4 door sedan, however it did feature a
dramatic fastback roofline incorporating a large wrap-around
rear window. More >> |
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1975 - 1978
By 1978 the Fury was Plymouth's largest car. TorqueFlite automatic transmission and power steering were now standard on all Fury models. Very few appearance changes were made from 1977, and this would turn out to be the final year for the Fury (and similar-bodied Dodge Monaco, which it was renamed in 1977 from Coronet, while the big Dodge became the Royal Monaco in 1977 before it was dropped after that one year). More >> |
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1976 - 1980
Chrvsler's domestic sales leader of the late 1970s was the Plymouth Volare - a good example of this country's middle-of-the-road sedan offering of the era. Considerably trimmer than the Plymouths of old, the Volare range included two six cylinder models for the economy minded; and even the 5211cc version of the V8 options developed only 155 horsepower (net). More >> |
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1978 - 1990
Following the release of the Simca Horizon, which was sold in Europe as an intermediate model between the 1100 and the Chrysler Alpine, Chrysler released the Horizon in the USA - a rather different car carrying a Plymouth badge. More >> |
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1984 - 1990
What made the Voyager special was the fact that it was "garageable". Prior to 1984, American built people-movers, including the first Chrysler people mover to use the Voyager moniker, were "full-size", and whilst offering capacious seating and space for a family as big as the Brady Bunch, their main drawback was that they were too large to fit through a standard height garage door. More >> |
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