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.
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