Chrysler in Sweden
Marten Carlsson wrote:
Chrysler had an assembly plant over here in Nykoping (the ANA factory, later a subsidary of Saab) so the the cars came over here CKD. Most De Sotos sold here were the Diplomat, but in the later fifties, US versions came over as well.
Saw recently one of these ultra rare '61 De Soto wagons for sale in Finland. Don't think any of them was sold here, but the "regular" '61 did sell a few.
There also was a special stretched version of the Plymouth Plaza, but I can't remember its actual name. [Coronado?]
You mentioned that the Mayfair was basically a Belvedere. Have seen one '56 Mayfair and it had the sidetrim of the Savoy. Maybe they also took what they could find in left over boxes, since I've also seen the '59 Kingsways, with both Dodge and Chrysler Saratoga sidetrim.
Due to shipping delays '57s could sometimes be designated '58s and so on. So some De Sotos has been designated as '62s.
Have also been trying to get hold of pics of the De Soto Coronado sold in 55-56, but I don't think that was a special export model.
Mopars are very poular over here (Yes, we do have loads of classic Mopar like 300 convertibles, De Soto Adventurer and Imperials) But due to latter years of imports, the original Swedish assembled models are really rare nowadays.
Most rare must be the one '61 De Soto convertible (US model) that was restored over here. It was found as a derelict on a wrecking yard in the US, and research points out it was factory built. Anyone knows any else?
In a scrapyard outside Stockholm stands a really odd piece. A '59 Imperial 2dr wagon!
Have heard rumours that they actually made some prototypes, probably by Ghia, but nobody seems to know anything for sure.
By the way, all Mopar cars sold here to day are badged "Chrysler".
Mattias Johansson wrote:
The Plymouth Valiant was a very popular car among the Swedish police. They started using Valiants when it came out in 1960 and continued buying Valiants as police cars as long as they were made. Though, as far as I know, they never bought the newer Volare / Aspen cars, so it was an era that ended in 1975.
The Valiant had a very good reputation for reliability, they said that "It was so good that even a cop couldn't break it." And today, it is one of the most famous cars that the Swedish police has used, among with the Volvo 122 "Amazon."
Unfortunately, that's about all we have right now on Mopars of Sweden. Anyone else care to contribute?
