Cars, trucks, and Chrysler-Plymouth-Dodge-Jeep histories for various years
This is a new chronological arrangement — you can also visit the old “by brand or topic” page.
The pre-Chrysler years
- The many companies that became Chrysler, starting with Electrobat in 1894
- Chronology: 1864 - 1911 * 1912 - 1919
Dodge Brothers starts up in 1914- John Willys starts selling cars in 1900
- Repeating a historic cross-country trip in a 1909 Maxwell
- Maxwell: the company that turned into Chrysler
- Graham Brothers: makers of Dodge trucks
Chrysler begins with revolutionary cars
- Chronology: 1920 - 1939
- 1928-1957 Model / Serial Number Guide
- The first Chrysler, 1924 • Launching the first Chrysler at the New York Auto Show
- Chrysler cars, 1924-1966
- Plymouth cars, 1929-32 — ahead of the pack
- Plymouth of 1930: the Model 30U
- Plymouths of 1931-32: the revolutionary new Plymouth PA
- Plymouth of 1932: the PB
- Plymouths of 1933: the PC, PD, and PCXX
- Plymouths of 1934: more innovations in the PE, PF, PG, and PFXX
- Plymouths of 1935: The PJ and others, first commercial van, and innovation; comparison to 1935 Ford. Plymouth when it clearly smoked the competition.
- Plymouths of 1937: see the many advantages of Plymouth in a record sales year
- Imperial, 1937-38
- Plymouths of 1938: many improvements but sales fall - albeit less than competitors. Includes the PT57.
- Dodge cars of 1939
- Plymouths of 1939: the engineering improvements continue, including a radio, downdraft carb, and fuel pump
- Plymouths of 1940: the best new Plymouth ever? Advanced styling and engineering threatened Ford's #2 position.
- Fargo Truck
- Hudson: reliable and upscale
- Nash: small and sophisticated
The war years
- Chronology: 1940 - 1949
- Chrysler during the War Years
- Military work: Chrysler helps build the arsenal of democracy
Postwar: filling the demand for cars
- Chronology: 1940 - 1949
- Kaiser jumps the gun
- Chrysler 1946-48
- Chrysler 1949-52
- Chrysler 1953-54
- Dodge cars of 1946
- Plymouth 1946-1959: the full book
- Christmas in May: putting a 1949 Plymouth into emergency action
- Growing up with the post-war Mopars
The high-style body-on-frame cars, 1950s-1959
- Chronology: 1950 - 1963
- Dodge cars of 1954: Meadowbrook, Coronet, Royal
- Chrysler Corporation cars, 1955-56
- Dodge cars of 1955: the Coronet, Royal, and Custom Royal, with the Hemi Red Ram and PowerFlite transmissions.
- Styling and coloring cars in 1955
- Chrysler Corporation, 1957: hot styling, poor quality
- Chrysler Corporation, 1958: better quality, same styling, poor sales
- Insider's History of Chrysler: the 1950-1964 period of Chrysler Corporation, including not only Plymouth but also Dodge, Chrysler, and Imperial. There is a lot of information in this well-written series, much of it not readily available anywhere else.
- Jim Benjaminson’s book Plymouth 1946-1959 (Reprinted by permission)
- Plymouths of 1949-1952: the Deluxe, Special Deluxe, Cranbrook, Cambridge, and Concord
- Plymouths of 1953-1954: the Belvedere, Savoy, and Plaza with new automatic transmissions.
- Plymouths of 1955: the Belvedere, Savoy, and Plaza with the first Plymouth V8
- Plymouths of 1957: the Bevledere, Savoy, Plaza, and Fury with TorqueFlite, torsion bars, and more
- Electrojector: world’s first electronic-fuel-injection car ... from 1958
- Christine, the reason why non-Mopar folk know the 1958 Plymouth Fury
- Inside Chrysler series: 1954 • 1955 • 1956 • 1957 • 1958 • 1959
Unit-body to muscle: the 1960s
Chrysler had several major technological transitions through the years; arguably, the first was the move from body-on-frame to unit-body, and they handled it with startling speed. Instead of switching one model or body size at a time, they moved just about every car at once, only leaving behind models with very small sales. Amazingly, they managed the change almost flawlessly.
- Chronology: 1950 - 1963 • 1964 - 1971
- Dodge cars of 1960: the Dart, Polara, and Matador (in progress)
- Dodge trucks 1960
- Plymouths of 1960: the Belvedere, Fury, Savoy, and Valiant; unit-body; TorqueFlite; SonoRamic engines; and more
- Inside Chrysler series: 1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963
- Chrysler Corporation of 1961
- Jeep 1958-61 - Jeep 1965
- Chrysler Corporation of 1962: Fury, Sport Fury, Valiant, restyling, unit-body, and more
- Plymouths of 1963: Chrysler's ill-timed downsizing and other details, including the Fury Super Sport.
- Plymouths of 1964: the Fury, Savoy, Belvedere, Valiant, and Barracuda; the Hemi; Canada; and racing.
- Plymouths of 1965: the Fury, Belvedere, Valiant, and the rest; Canada; racing. Lots of details and photos.
- Dodge cars of 1966: Polara, Monaco, Coronet, Charger, Dart, Sportsman vans
- Plymouths of 1966: the Belvedere, Fury, and Valiant, the Street Hemi, and racing
- Why Chrysler used different side marker lights in 1968, 1969, and 1970
- Chrysler boats - 1966 | 1969
- Chrysler Corporation cars, 1966
- Chrysler Corporation cars, 1967
- 1969 car prices
- Imperial, 1969-1973 (the other Chrysler boats)
- Plymouths of 1967: the Belvedere, Fury, Satellite, GTX, and Valiant
- Plymouths of 1968: the Barracuda, Fury, GTX, Belvedere, and others.
- Dodge Charger - by Burton Bouwkamp, Manager of Dodge Passenger Car Product Planning
- Running amok with a borrowed Hemi Satellite: Rick Ehrenberg tells what it was like to race a Street Hemi when the muscle car was still in its prime
- Boats and Chrysler Marine
The 1970s: downsizing and depowering
- Chronology: 1964 - 1971 • 1972-1980
- Chrysler Corporation 1970
- Chrysler cars of 1971: Imperial Lebaron, New Yorker, Town & Country, Newport
- Dodge cars of 1973: Polara, Monaco, Challenger, Charger, and Dart
- Plymouth cars of 1973: the Barracuda, Duster, Valiant, Fury, GTX, Satellite, and Road Runner meet the Colt and Cricket
- Chryslers of 1974 - 1975: New Yorker, Newport, Town & Country
- Jeep for 1975-76
- Plymouths of 1975: the Valiant, Fury, and Road Runner in transitional years.
- Chrysler Corporation cars of 1977: technology, engines, Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth
- 1977 Dodge trucks
- Chrysler Corporation 1978
- Plymouths of 1978: a bunch of imports and a bunch of stalwarts
Front wheel driven, electronically controlled: the 1980s
- Chronology: 1981-1992
- Chrysler Corporation snapshots: 1981 - 1984 - 1986 - 1988
- Chrysler front-drive performance 1983-1993
- Jeep 1987-89
- Dodge cars of 1983: rebadged Mitsubishis, Daytona, K-cars and EEKs, Omni, Omni Charger, Mirada, Diplomat
- Dodge trucks of 1983
- Plymouths, Dodges, and Chryslers of 1986: want variety? Mitsubishis, EEKs, Gran Fury, Horizon/Turismo, and Voyager!
- Cannonball Run Duster: One Lap of America in a Plymouth (1989)
The 1990s: from losses to industry-leading profits
- Chrysler Corporation full-year views: 1992 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998
- Model year changes: 1995 • 1998 • 1999
- Fast Facts, 1997 shows the pride of accomplishment just before the takeover.
- Chrysler and the environment, 1993
- 1998 was the final year of Chrysler Corporation.
Under the thumb of Daimler (1999-2007) and Cerberus (2008-09)
- 2000: from global success story to impending disaster
- Model year changes for: 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2007
- Car prices: 1969 - 2000 - 2002 - 2003 - 2003/04
- Model year changes 2008 - 2009
- “Cut costs to growth” bankruptcy / recovery plans: 2008 Recovery Plan • 2009 Recovery Plan
Resurrected as part of Fiat: 2009 and beyond
- 2010: carryover cars and some new Daimler-Cerberus-Fiat launches
- 2011: critics start to praise the new cars
- 2012: the year the turnaround gathered steam, “halftime in America,” with car prices
- 2013 (what we know, what we project)
- 2014 (what we know, what we think)
- 2015: coming soon
- Five year plan (2009-2014) • Four year plan (2013-2016)
- Moving from CATIA to NX
- The fateful 2011 Eminem Super Bowl ad and the controversial 2012 Clint Eastwood Super Bowl Ad
Chrysler Heritage • History by Year • Chrysler People and Bios • Corporate Facts and History