History of Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge, Jeep, DeSoto, AMC, and Others
If you are interested in the history of a particular car, please see the vehicles page.
Chronologies
- See our new Chrysler and its cars and trucks, by year section
- Pictorial histories through 1966: Chrysler | DeSoto | Dodge | Plymouth | Imperial
Full-brand histories
Ancestors of Chrysler:
Alden-Sampson to Stoddard-Dayton- Airtemp
- American Motors Corporation and Jeep
- Jeep from Austin to Willys
- Hudson: reliable and upscale
- Nash: small and sophisticated
- Willys-Overland (and John Willys)
- Eagle, the shortest-lived brand
- Amplex and Oilite®
- Boats and Chrysler Marine
- Chalmers (and E.R. Thomas)
- Chrysler outside the US
- DeSoto
- Dodge cars
- Dodge trucks
- Fargo Truck
- Fiat
- Imperial
- Jeffery Cars and 4x4s
- Maxwell: the company that turned into Chrysler
- Mitsubishi and Diamond-Star Motors
- Plymouth
- Perkins, which supplied diesel engines to Chrysler
- Rootes Group: Hillman, Humber, Singer, Sunbeam
- Simca, makers of the best-selling car in France
Technologies
Alternative fuels and efficiency: turbines, hybrids, on-board computers, aerodynamics, and other interesting projects- Alternators
- Electric cars
- Railroad cars and railroad car trucks
- Lean Burn
- Chrysler technological innovations: work in transmissions, engines, and more.
- Chrysler’s CTC technology lab (1998)
- Electrojector: world’s first electronic-fuel-injection car ... from 1958
- Linen and velum drawings: history of a 1925 engineering drawing through 1985
- Torsion bar / leaf spring suspensions
- Fins and aerodynamic stability: 1957 report by Virgil Exner
- Prelubricated bearings
- Arizona Proving Grounds | Chelsea Proving Grounds
Vehicle types
- Fleet and squad cars: police cars, fire trucks, ambulances, and postal vehicles
Boats and marine engines- Campers and motor homes
- School buses
- Front-drive performance 1983-1993
- Military vehicles including tanks and aircraft engines
- Minivan including development information.
- Plymouth convertibles 1928-1971: concentrating on 1928-1955
- Plymouth delivery vehicles: sedan deliveries and panel trucks
- Plymouth wagons 1934-1954: from the woodies to the steel-bodies Suburban wagons
- Railroad cars
- Rockets (including the Moon rockets)
- Taxis and jitneys: Tough cars for tough duty
- 1928-1957 Model / Serial Number Guide
Historically significant vehicles and projects
- Chrysler military and space flight work (including the Moon rockets)
Racing: Some excellent articles on Chrysler's racing history, covering the Pettys, NASCAR, and much more- Valiant: details on the development and history of the Valiant and other A-bodies (Dart, Duster, Demon, etc.) in the United States, Australia, and elsewhere. Fascinating!
- Slant six: the famous, efficient, durable engine, with development stories from the engineers who created it.
- Plymouth Commercial Vehicles: a detailed article covering vans, fleets, and trucks.
- The first Chrysler (1924)
- Aerodynamics: from the beginning to the Superbird.
- Plymocoupe ("the flying Plymouth") airplane.
- Little Red Wagon: hemi-powered pickup, the first wheelstander
- Scat Pack and Rapid Transit System: muscle car collections
- MasterTech: the filmstrip-and-record training system
- The best and worst of the Daimler Decade, 2000-2009
The Walter P. Chrysler Museum
- Interview with the leaders of the museum
- Review of the Walter P. Chrysler Museum
- Allpar meet at the museum, 2006
- Inside The National Automotive History Collection
Fame
- Mopars in movies
- Christine, the reason why non-Mopar folk know the 1958 Plymouth Fury
- Bluesmobile (Dodge Monaco)
- Celebrities' Chrysler, Plymouth, Dodge, and Jeep vehicles
- Johnny Cash's Plymouth, and the Johnny Cash Plymouth contest
- Franklin D. Roosevelt's Plymouths
- Mopars on television
- Mopars in music
- Biographies of famous Chrysler folk, racers, etc.
- Pioneers of the American Auto Industry
Factories and manufacturing
- Chrysler factories (including autoworker stories)
- Empowered work teams and quality in the manufacturing plants (2005)
- Flexible manufacturing
- Chrysler Technical Center / Auburn Hills Complex
- Arizona Proving Grounds | Chelsea Proving Grounds
Engineering and design
- Styling and coloring cars in 1955
- Performance Vehicles Operations team (PVO)
- Vehicle Excitement Team (VXT)
- The platform team system: as described by Francois Castaing and Glenn Gardner; also see "Design of the LH series" below and the LH page itself (more in our Chris Theodore interview)
- Design and manufacturing of the LH series: innovations in the engineering and involvement process
- Cab forward: definition, how it was developed, and why it was important
- Auto development notes
- Using technology to engineer cars and trucks: see our technology page for more links
- Arizona Proving Grounds (2008) — both Wittman and Yucca
- Chrysler and the environment, 1993
- Chrysler Institute of Engineering
- Why Chrysler switched side marker light designs each year for three years
Engineering and design notes for specific cars
- Neon: innovations in engineering, assembly setup, and employee involvement
- LH series: innovations in engineering and employee involvement (see "the platform team system")
- Durango: Teamwork | Supplier partnerships | Simultaneous design and engineering
Suppliers
- The SCORE program - saving money by involving suppliers
- Extended Enterprise: Chrysler's highly successful supply-chain cost-reduction and innovation system, begun in the early 1990s and still surviving; examples from design of the Neon
- Durango supplier partnerships - $74 million saved before production
Branding and sales
- Logos: the logos used on the major Chrysler brands (see Dodge, Plymouth, Mopar)
- How Plymouth got its name
- Chrysler bankruptcy and dropping 789 dealers
- How Chrysler calculates sales figures
- eEngineering and DealerConnect - Web-based corporate communication portals
- Creation of the Dodge Ram symbol and other hood ornaments
- Chrysler at the 1964 World’s Fair in New York
Corporate information
- Five year plan (2009-2014) | 2008 Recovery Plan | 2009 Recovery Plan
- Airtemp
- Chronology of Chrysler: year by year, from before the company was actually created
- Biographies of key Chrysler and related folk
- Chrysler corporate culture
- Chrysler outside the US - organized by nation and by model.
- Dodge Brothers: how Chrysler gained the successful Dodge Brothers company
- When Chrysler was founded: 1924, 1925, or 1897?
- Factories
- Oopsies: Cerberus and Chrysler LLC • DaimlerChrysler era • Plant closings
Memories and stories
- Biographies and interviews
- Cannonball Run Duster: One Lap of America in a Plymouth (1989)
- Insider's History of Plymouth (and Chrysler): Chrysler Corporation 1950-1964, including Plymouth, Dodge, Chrysler, and Imperial.
- Inside The National Automotive History Collection
- Running amok with a borrowed Hemi Satellite: Racing a Street Hemi in its prime
- Chrysler's George Scott talks about the slant six and other engines
- Washer bags (short)
- Christmas in May: putting a 1949 Plymouth into emergency action
- Stories centering around particular cars:
Bits and pieces
- Car shows from CEMA to the Washington DC Auto Show
- Allpar meets
- Chrysler Momentos and Such
- Models and promos: model kits and promotional car replicas including reviews and assembly tips.
- Chrysler history books
- The first and oldest Plymouth
- Repeating a historic cross-country trip in a 1909 Maxwell
- Chrysler auction scene, 2007
- 200 miles per gallon: The California Carburetor
- Toyota history (link) in case you were curious about how much they “borrowed” from Dodge, Chevrolet, and Willys ... or about how the US Army gave them their basic quality system
- Pre-production Lebarons (Richard Benner)
- Valiants, Darts, Dusters, Pacers, Chargers, and other A-Bodies are at valiant.org
Chrysler History | History by Year | Chrysler People and Bios