Plymouth was a brand of automobiles produced by Chrysler Corporation and its successor DaimlerChrysler.

The brand was launched in 1928 to compete in what was then described as the "low-priced" market segment that was dominated by Chevrolet and Ford. It became a high-volume seller for the automaker until the late 1990s.

Plymouth cars were marketed primarily in the United States and Canada. The brand was withdrawn from the marketplace in 2001. The Plymouth models that were produced up until then were either discontinued or rebranded as Chrysler or Dodge.

The Plymouth automobile was introduced at Madison Square Garden on July 7, 1928. It was Chrysler Corporation's first entry in the low-priced field previously dominated by Chevrolet and Ford. Plymouths were initially priced higher than the competition, but offered standard features such as internal expanding hydraulic brakes that Ford and Chevrolet did not provide. Plymouths were originally sold exclusively through Chrysler dealerships, offering a low-cost alternative to the upscale Chrysler-brand cars, listing the 4-door 5-passenger Touring Sedan at US$695.

 The logo featured a prow view of the ship Mayflower which landed at Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts. However, the inspiration for the Plymouth brand name came from Plymouth binder twine, produced by the Plymouth Cordage Company, also of Plymouth. The name was chosen by Joe Frazer due to the popularity of the twine among farmers.

The origins of Plymouth can be traced back to the Maxwell automobile. When Walter P. Chrysler took over control of the troubled Maxwell-Chalmers car company in the early 1920s, he inherited the Maxwell as part of the package. After he used the company's facilities to help create and launch the six-cylinder Chrysler automobile in 1924, he decided to create a lower-priced companion car, using lessons learned when he was running Buick under William C. Durant at GM. So for 1926, the Maxwell was reworked and rebadged as the low-end four-cylinder Chrysler Model 52. In 1928, the 52 was once again redesigned to create the Chrysler-Plymouth Model Q, although print advertisements called it Plymouth and did not mention engine size or model designation.^[6] The "Chrysler" portion of the nameplate was dropped with the introduction of the Plymouth Model U in 1929.

model q

The first Plymouth ever was the 1928 Plymouth Model Q. Unveiled on July 7, 1928, it was Walter P. Chrysler’s answer to Ford and Chevrolet's dominance in the budget car market. The Model Q rolled off the assembly line at Chrysler's Lynch Road plant in Detroit on June 11, 1928.

Unlike Ford and Chevrolet's budget cars, the Model Q offered four-wheel hydraulic brakes and full-pressure engine lubrication as standard equipment.

Chrysler was able to sell 58.000 Plymouth cars in the first year of production, leading Chrysler to build the Lynch Road Assembly plant in Detroit in 1929. For the rest of the 20th century, the Plymouth would become one of the top-selling American automobile brands, acting as Chrysler’s high-volume seller until the 1990s.

de luxe

The Plymouth De Luxe and Special De Luxe are full-sized automobiles which were produced by American manufacturer Plymouth during the 1933–1942 and 1946–1950 model years.

The Plymouth Deluxe Model PD appeared in 1933, shortly after the Plymouth Six Model PC which was the company's first six-cylinder automobile but offered a 107 in (2718 mm) wheelbase versus 112 for the De Luxe.

It was an upscale alternative to the Plymouth Six (1933-1934), Business Six (1935-1938) and Roadking (1938-1940). In 1941, the Roadking name was dropped for the low trim Plymouths, which were referred as P11 and not renewed in 1942, making the De Luxe, the entry level.

Between 1941 and 1950, the De Luxe was offered in two trim levels, the De Luxe and the top-of-the-line Special De Luxe. The engine in 1946 was a 95 bhp  3.6 L Plymouth Straight Six. In 1949 this engine was upgraded to produce 97 bhp.

suburban

The Plymouth Suburban is a station wagon produced from 1949 until 1978.

1949-1955

Prior to 1949, Plymouth had offered only a 4-door "woodie" station wagon, which was expensive not only to build, but also to buy. In 1949, Plymouth revolutionized the US station wagon market by introducing the industry's second all-steel body station wagon, following the Willy’s Overland “Jeep Station Wagon”, which was its direct competition.

The Suburban for 1950 was accompanied by a four-door Special Deluxe wagon, the last of the "woodies", for those wanting something a little more traditional. The Suburban continued to 1955 with few changes other than annual styling applications (including a new body in 1953 and again in 1955).

The 1954 models benefitted from a power upgrade to 117  bhp from the ageing L-head six, as well as an optional two-speed "Power-Flite" automatic. In 1955 Plymouth introduced a range of V8 engines, extending the power plant range to a 117  bhp  L-head six, a polyspherical-head 157  bhp  V8, a 167  bhp  V8, and a 177  bhp  V8.

1956-1961

For 1956, the Plymouth station wagons were grouped in their own separate series  instead of being a part of the standard range of models. The 1956 models came with more V8 power upgrades, up to 180 bhp  V8, 187 bhp  V8, 200 bhp  V8, with a 240 bhp  V8 for the Fury. Tail fins featured for the first time, in what Exner christened the "Forward Look".

The separate Suburban series was discontinued for 1962, and the new and now smaller Plymouth station wagon models were instead included within the Savoy, Belvedere and Fury lines. However, the body for the 1961 4-door wagon was held over so that it could be used in the creation of the full-sized Chrysler and Dodge wagons for 1962.

1968-1978

For 1968, Suburban Wagon, Custom Suburban Wagon and Sport Suburban Wagon models were offered as part of the Plymouth Fury range. The Suburban badge returned to station wagons after having been retired in 1961. The Suburban, Custom Suburban, and Sport Suburban corresponded to the Fury I, II, and III models.

belvedere

The Plymouth Belvedere is a series of American automobile models made by Plymouth from 1954 until 1970.

The Belvedere name was first used for a new hardtop body style in the Plymouth Cranbrook line for the 1951 model year. In 1954, the Belvedere replaced the Cranbrook as the top trim and became a full model line with sedans, station wagons, and convertible body styles. The Belvedere continued as Plymouth's full-sized car until 1965 when it became an intermediate. It was replaced after the 1970 model year by the Satellite, a name originally used for the top-trim level Belvederes.

The word belvedere is Italian for "beautiful sight" or "fair view." Chrysler also had the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Belvidere, Illinois, which began vehicle production in 1965. However, the Plymouth Belvedere was never assembled there.

During the 1950s and 1960s Chrysler Canada built the Belvedere for Commonwealth export markets such as New Zealand, India, and South Africa, in either CKD form or in factory right-hand-drive. Australia's local Chrysler operation built its own variation of the model until 1960.

savoy

The Plymouth Savoy is an automobile which was produced in the 1951 through 1964 model years by Plymouth. As with Plymouth's Plaza and Belvedere models, the Savoy was named after an upscale hotel, the Savoy Hotel in London.

Plymouth used the name Savoy as a trim package from 1951 to 1953, as an upgrade of the base model Suburban station wagon.

barracuda

The Plymouth Barracuda is a two-door pony car that was manufactured by Chrysler Corporation from 1964 through 1974 model years.

The first-generation Barracuda was based on the Chrysler A-body and was offered from 1964 until 1966. A two-door hardtop (no B-pillar) fastback design, it shared a great majority of parts and bodywork with the Plymouth Valiant, except for the distinctive wraparound rear glass.

The second-generation Barracuda, though still Valiant-based, was heavily redesigned. Built from 1967 through 1969, it was available as a two-door in fastback, notchback, and convertible versions.

The third generation, offered from 1970 until 1974, was based on the Chrysler E-body, exclusive to it, and the slightly larger Dodge Challenger. A completely new design, the two-door Barracuda was available in hardtop and convertible body styles.

road runner

The Plymouth Road Runner is a muscle car introduced by Chrysler in the United States for the 1968 model year and marketed under its Plymouth brand. Initially based on the Belvedere, the brand's basic mid-size model, the Road Runner combined a powerful engine with a spartan trim level and a price that undercut increasingly upscale and expensive muscle cars such as the Pontiac GTO and Plymouth's own GTX. It was initially a sales success.

The Road Runner was built in three generations on the mid-size B platform. Like most muscle cars, its performance and sales declined in the 1970s due to an increasing focus on fuel economy and the adoption of more stringent U.S. emission standards. The nameplate became a trim package for the compact Plymouth Volaré for model year 1976—no longer offering any special performance capability—and was discontinued in 1980.

superbird

The Plymouth Superbird is a highly modified, short-lived version of the Plymouth Road Runner with applied graphic images as well as a distinctive horn sound, both referencing the popular Looney Tunes cartoon character Road Runner. It was the factory's follow-up stock car racing design, for the 1970 season, to the Dodge Charger Daytona of 1969, and incorporated many engineering changes and modifications (both minor and major) garnered from the Daytona's season in competition.

The car's primary rivals were the Ford Torino Talladega and Mercury Cyclone, a direct response to the Mopar aero car. It has also been speculated that a motivating factor in the production of the car was to lure Richard Petty back to Plymouth. Both of the Mopar aero cars famously featured a protruding, aerodynamic nosecone, a high-mounted rear wing and, unique to the Superbird, a horn mimicking the Road Runner's signature "beep, beep."

Superbirds equipped with the top-of-the-line 7.0 L Hemi engine with a pair of four barrel Carter AFB carburetors producing 425 hp  could accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.6 seconds.

Chrysler memos of September 1969 show that the sales programming staff were preparing to handle 1920 Superbirds for 1970, but published figures say as many as 2783 were built. The current figure generally accepted is 1935 Superbirds built and shipped to United States dealers, with some 34 to 47 allegedly shipped to Canada.

trial duster

The Dodge Ramcharger is a large sport utility vehicle built by Dodge from 1974 to 1993, based on a shortened-wheelbase version of the Dodge D series/Ram pickup chassis. A Plymouth version, named the Plymouth Trail Duster, offered from 1974 to 1981, was Plymouth's only SUV.

The Ramcharger was mostly produced as a two-door, 4×4 vehicle, although a two-wheel-drive version was available. As a full-size SUV, it competed with the Chevrolet K5 Blazer and the 1978–1996 Ford Bronco.

The Ramcharger was discontinued at the end of the 1993 model year in North America. In Mexico, however, production continued until 1996. It was then brought back from 1999 to 2001, still as a two-door SUV and sharing the design of the contemporary Ram pickup. Approximately 30.000 were produced, with all examples being two-wheel-drive only.

reliant

The Plymouth Reliant and Dodge Aries are mid-size cars introduced for model year 1981 as the first "K-cars" manufactured and marketed by the Chrysler Corporation. The Reliant and Aries were the smallest cars to have the traditional 6 passenger 2 bench seat with column shifter seating arrangement favored by customers in the United States (Chrysler marketed the car as being able to seat "six Americans"), similar to larger rear-wheel drive cars such as the Dodge Dart and other front-wheel drive cars such as the Chevrolet Celebrity.

The Reliant was powered by a then-new 2.2 L I4 SOHC engine, with a Mitsubishi "Silent Shaft" 2.6 L as an option (this engine also featured hemispherical combustion chambers, and all 1981 models equipped with it featured "HEMI" badges on the front fenders). The Reliant was available as a 2-door coupe, 4-door sedan, or as a 4-door station wagon, in three different trim lines: base, Custom and SE ("Special Edition"). Station wagons came only in Custom or SE trim.

The Reliant and Aries were selected together as Motor Trend magazine's Car of the Year for 1981. Initial sales were brisk, with both Reliant and Aries each selling over 150,000 units in 1981, with cumulative sales of million Aries and 1.1 million Reliant units over the nine-year run.

acclaim

The Plymouth Acclaim is a four-door, front-engine, front-drive mid-size sedan manufactured and marketed for 1989–1995 model years, replacing Plymouth's E-body Caravelle and the K-body Reliant. Chrysler marketed badge engineered AA-body variants for its Dodge and Chrysler brands, the Dodge Spirit, the Chrysler LeBaron sedan, and the export-market Chrysler Saratoga. The Acclaim was replaced by the Plymouth Breeze in 1996.

The Acclaim was a version of the Chrysler Corporation's AA-body 4-door sedan, an evolutionary development of Chrysler's extended K-car platform. Acclaim (and Dodge Spirit) production ended on December 9, 1994, after a short 1995 model year and introduction of the model year 1996 cab-forward Plymouth Breeze. As one of the last K-car derivatives produced by Chrysler, Acclaim production reached just under half a million over its 7-model year run.

The Acclaim was available with several different engines. A 2.5 L Chrysler inline-4 engine producing 100 hp with throttle-body fuel injection was standard equipment. A 3.0 L Mitsubishi V6 producing 141 hp with multi-point fuel injection was standard on Acclaim LX, optional on the others. Also available on base and LE models from 1989 through 1992 was a turbocharged version of the 2.5-liter four-cylinder producing 150 hp. In 1993, 1994 and 1995, a flexible-fuel Acclaim was offered, powered by a 107 hp  multipoint fuel injected version of the 2.5-liter engine specially modified to run on fuel containing up to 85% ethanol.

final years: 1990s–2001

By the 1990s, Plymouth had lost much of its identity, as its models continued to overlap in features and prices with its sister brands, Dodge and Eagle. Chrysler attempted to remedy this by repositioning Plymouth to its traditional target market as the automaker's entry-level brand. This included giving Plymouth its own new sailboat logo and advertisements that focused solely on value. However, this only further narrowed Plymouth's product offerings and buyer appeal, and sales continued to fall.

Chrysler considered giving Plymouth a variant of the highly successful new-for-1993 full-size LH platform, which would have been called the Accolade, but decided against it. By the late 1990s, only four vehicles were sold under the Plymouth name: the Voyager/Grand Voyager minivans, the Breeze mid-size sedan, the Neon compact car, and the Prowler sports car, which was to be the last model unique to Plymouth, though the Chrysler PT Cruiser was conceived as a concept unique to Plymouth before production commenced as a Chrysler model.

From a peak production of 973.000 for the 1973 model year, Plymouth rarely exceeded 200.000 cars per year after 1990. Consequently, DaimlerChrysler decided to drop the make after a limited run of 2001 models. The last new model sold under the Plymouth marque was the second-generation Neon for 2000.

concept cars