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Ask the average American the next word they think of when they hear "Dodge, Chrysler..." and you'll get one answer: Plymouth. Plymouth was started in 1928 as a new subsidiary of Walter P.Chrysler's burgeoning auto empire. Within a few years, it led all other Chrysler divisions in production totals, and was a household name. But by the 1970s, the Plymouth market had become poorly defined, and people began to lose sight of what the one-time affordable performance car maker stood for. Though the line gained acclaim by introducing America to the mini-van (the Voyager) in 1983, its vehicles were largely just re-labeled versions of the mid-market Dodge, and the higher-end Chrysler. No one knew just where Plymouth fit. The 1998 "merger of equals" with Daimler-Benz was the final straw. Despite oddball successes with the Prowler and PT Cruiser, Plymouth was not to survive the gutting of Chrysler by Daimler, the now-clearly controlling partner in the deal. The final Plymouths rolled off the assembly line in the summer of 2001. For the most part, only Neons remain. Some models, such as the Voyager and the PT Cruiser, have been re-tagged as Chryslers. Others, such as the Prowler, have been discontinued altogether. |
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Plymouth