Plymouth- Automobile Brand of Chrysler Corporation

THE HISTORY OF PLYMOUTH

PLYMOUTH Plymouth was a brand of automobile based in the United States, marketed by the Chrysler Corporation and DaimlerChrysler from 1928 to 2001. For much of its life, it was the number-three make, after Chevrolet and Ford ("the low-priced three"), but suffered greatly in the early 1960s. These problems were due to both a line of poorly styled cars in 1960–1962 that did not strike the public's fancy, and infiltration into its price territory by Plymouth's sister line, Dodge. Regaining success in the early 1970s primarily with its popular Valiant and Duster compact models, as a brand Plymouth never fully recovered from Chrysler's financial woes of the late 1970s. Marketing decisions had also reduced the Plymouth lineup so that it was no longer a full-line make. New models were increasingly given to the Dodge and Chrysler brands, and denied to Plymouth. By 1979, its' lineup consisted of only the domestically produced Volare and Horizon models, and a number of rebadged Mitsubishi imports. After deciding to kill off the Eagle brand instead of Plymouth, Chrysler was planning on expanding the Plymouth line with unique models before the corporation's acquisition by Daimler-Benz AG. The first model was the Plymouth Prowler, a modern-day hot rod. The PT Cruiser was to have been the second model. Both models had a similar grille, showing that Chrysler was intending to take a retro route with the Plymouth brand. Other than the Prowler at the time of the takeover, Plymouth had no unique products that were not also available in the Dodge line. Furthermore, whereas all Plymouth dealers also sold the Chrysler line of cars, many Dodge dealers sold only Dodge; thus it would cause much more dealer disarray to discontinue Dodge than it would to discontinue Plymouth. Consequently, DaimlerChrysler decided to drop the make after a limited run of 2001 models. The PT Cruiser was ultimately launched as a Chrysler, and the Prowler line was absorbed into that make as well. The Plymouth Voyager was also absorbed into the Chrysler make. Both the Prowler and Voyager have since ended production. While most US consumers do not miss the Plymouth brand, diehard Chrysler fans haven't taken it as easily, as they have made several demands to DaimlerChrysler to bring back the brand. While the brand will likely never see the light of day under DaimlerChrysler, there have been rumors that Chrysler may launch a youth-oriented brand similar to Toyota's Scion brand. More likely than not, the Plymouth name would not be revived if such a brand were to be launched. PLYMOUTH CAR MODELS Plymouth Acclaim (1989-1995) Plymouth Arrow (1976-1980, rebadged Mitsubishi Lancer Celeste) Plymouth Arrow Truck (1979-1982, rebadged Mitsubishi Forte) Plymouth Barracuda (1964-1974) Plymouth Belvedere (1954-1970) Plymouth Breeze (1996-2000) Plymouth Caravelle (1985-1988) Plymouth Champ (1979-1982, rebadged Mitsubishi Mirage) Plymouth Colt (1983-1994, rebadged Mitsubishi Mirage) Plymouth Conquest (1984-1986, rebadged Mitsubishi Starion) Plymouth Cranbrook Plymouth Cricket (1971-1975, rebadged Hillman Avenger) Plymouth Duster (1970-1976) Plymouth Fury (1956-1978) Plymouth Gran Fury (1980-1989) Plymouth Grand Voyager (1987-2000) Plymouth GTX (1967-1971) Plymouth Horizon (1978-1990) Plymouth Laser (1990-1994, rebadged Mitsubishi Eclipse) Plymouth Neon (1995-2001) Plymouth Plaza (1954-1958) Plymouth Prowler (1997-2001) Plymouth Reliant (1981-1989) Plymouth Road Runner (1968-1980) Plymouth Sapporo (1978-1983, rebadged Mitsubishi Galant) Plymouth Satellite (1966-1974) Plymouth Savoy (1951-1965) Plymouth Scamp (1971-1976, 1983) Plymouth Sundance (1987-1994) Plymouth Suburban Plymouth Superbird (1970) Plymouth TC3 (1979-1982) Plymouth Trailduster (1974-1981) Plymouth Turismo (1983-1987) Plymouth Valiant (1960-1976) Plymouth VIP (1966-1969) Plymouth Volaré (1976-1980) Plymouth Voyager (1974-2000)

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