Car models

Chrysler History

The company was founded by Walter Chrysler (1875–1940) on June 6, 1925, when the Maxwell Motor Company (est. 1904) was re-organized into the Chrysler Corporation.

Walter Chrysler had originally arrived at the ailing Maxwell-Chalmers company in the early 1920s, having been hired to take over and overhaul the company's troubled operations (just after a similar rescue job at the Willys car company).

In late 1923 production of the Chalmers automobile was ended.

Then in January 1924, Walter Chrysler launched the well-received Chrysler automobile. The Chrysler was a 6-cylinder automobile, designed to provide customers with an advanced, well-engineered car, but at a more affordable price than they might expect. (Elements of this car are traceable back to a prototype which had been under development at Willys at the time that Walter Chrysler was there). The original 1924 Chrysler included a carburetor air filter, high compression engine, full pressure lubrication, and an oil filter, at a time when most autos came without these features. Among the innovations in its early years would be the first practical mass-produced four-wheel hydraulic brakes, a system nearly completely engineered by Chrysler with patents assigned to Lockheed, and rubber engine mounts to reduce vibration. Chrysler also developed a road wheel with a ridged rim, designed to keep a deflated tire from flying off the wheel. This safety wheel was eventually adopted by the auto industry worldwide.

Following the introduction of the Chrysler, the Maxwell was dropped after its 1925 model year run, although in truth the new line of lower-priced 4-cylinder Chryslers which were then introduced for the 1926 model year were basically Maxwells which had been re-engineered and rebranded. It was during this time period of the early 1920s that Walter Chrysler assumed the presidency of Maxwell, with the company then ultimately incorporated under the Chrysler name.

1960s

Starting in the 1960 model year, Chrysler built all their passenger cars with Unibody (unit-body or monocoque) construction, except the Imperials which retained body-on-frame construction until 1967. Chrysler thus became the only one of the Big Three American automakers (General Motors Corporation, Ford Motor Company, and Chrysler) to offer unibody construction on the vast majority of their product lines. This construction technique, now the worldwide standard, offers advantages in vehicle rigidity, handling, and crash safety, while reducing squeak and rattle development as the vehicle ages. Chrysler's new compact line, the Valiant, opened strong and continued to gain market share for over a decade. Valiant was introduced as a marque of its own, but the Valiant line was placed under the Plymouth marque for US-market sales in 1961. The 1960 Valiant was the first production automobile with an alternator (generating alternating current, paired with diodes for rectification back to direct current) rather than a direct current electrical generator as standard equipment. It proved such an improvement that it was used in all Chrysler products in 1961. The DeSoto marque was withdrawn from the market after the introduction of the 1961 models due in part to the broad array of the Dodge lines and the general neglect of the division. The same affliction plagued Plymouth as it also suffered when Dodge crept into Plymouth's price range. This would eventually lead to the demise of Plymouth several decades later. An ill-advised downsizing of the full-size Dodge and Plymouth lines in 1962 hurt sales and profitability for several years.

In April 1964, the Plymouth Barracuda, which was a Valiant sub-model, was introduced. The huge glass rear window and sloping roof were polarizing styling features. Barracuda was released almost two weeks before Ford's Mustang, making the Barracuda the first pony car. Even so, the Mustang outsold it 10-to-1 between April 1964 and August 1965. Perception of the Barracuda as nothing but a reskinned Valiant was not aided by sharing front-end sheetmetal.

Chrysler's target buyers were obviously men, and attracting female buyers was not apparently a high priority, for a 1967 sales brochure proclaimed, "At last--specifications your wife can understand." (This was, perhaps, an improvement over the Dodge La Femme option of 1955, for it recognized women were at least reading the specifications.)

Expansion into Europe

In the 1960s Chrysler expanded into Europe, attaining a majority interest in the British Rootes Group in 1964, Simca of France and Barreiros of Spain, to form Chrysler Europe. For the Rootes Group one outcome of this takeover was the launch of the Hillman Avenger in 1970 (briefly sold in the U.S. as the Plymouth Cricket), which sold in Britain alongside the rear-engined Imp and the Hunter. During the 1970s the former Rootes Group got into severe financial difficulties. The Simca and Barreiros divisions were more successful, but in the end the various problems were overwhelming and the firm gained little from these ventures. Chrysler sold these assets to PSA Peugeot Citro?n in 1978, which in turn sold the British and Spanish truck production lines to Renault of France .

More successfully, at this same time the company helped create the muscle car market in the U.S., first by producing a street version of its Hemi racing engine and then by introducing a legendary string of affordable but high-performance vehicles such as the Plymouth GTX, Plymouth Road Runner, and Dodge Charger. The racing success of several of these models on the NASCAR circuit burnished the company's engineering reputation.

The 1970s

The 1970s were tumultuous for Chrysler. U.S. anti-trust laws prohibited U.S. automakers from forming Japanese- or European-style industry consortiums which helped their foreign competitors to save costs on regulatory regimes of car safety and emissions. No cost-sharing was possible; each company had to solve each problem on its own, and Chrysler's lower sales volumes meant these new development and implementation costs made up a larger proportion of a vehicle's cost compared to Ford and General Motors. To avoid pricing themselves out of the market, they had to retrofit and detune their existing engines to meet emission requirements, which resulted in lower fuel economy when fuel prices were rising. There was a rush of sales for the compact Dodge Dart and Plymouth Valiant, but the 1973 oil crisis sharply reduced demand for the large, fuel-thirsty vehicles Americans had previously bought in large number and which made up the bulk of Chrysler's product line.

At mid-decade, the company scored a conspicuous success with its first entry in the personal luxury car market, the Chrysler Cordoba. The hurried introduction of the Dodge Aspen and Plymouth Volar? in 1976 brought enormous warranty costs to repair faulty design and shoddy construction, and destroyed the longstanding loyalty built up by the Dart and Valiant predecessors. Chrysler Europe essentially collapsed in 1977, and was offloaded to Peugeot the following year, soon after having helped design the new Plymouth Horizon and Dodge Omni. In 1980, Chrysler Australia, which was producing the locally developed Chrysler Valiant and the Mitsubishi Galant based Chrysler Sigma, was sold to Mitsubishi Motors and changed its name to Mitsubishi Motors Australia Limited. The subcompact Horizon was reaching the US market as the second gas crisis struck, devastating sales of Chrysler's larger cars and trucks, and the company had no strong compact line to fall back on.

1980s and the Government loan guarantees

On September 7, 1979, The Chrysler Corporation petitioned the United States government for US$1.5 billion in loan guarantees to avoid bankruptcy. At the same time former Ford executive Lee Iacocca was brought in as CEO. He proved to be a capable public spokesman, appearing in advertisements to advise customers that "If you find a better car, buy it." He would also provide a rallying point for Japan-bashing and instilling pride in American products. His book Talking Straight was a response to Akio Morita's Made in Japan.

The United States Congress reluctantly passed the "Chrysler Corporation Loan Guarantee Act of 1979" (Public Law 96-185) on December 20, 1979 (signed into law by President Jimmy Carter on January 7, 1980), prodded by Chrysler workers and dealers in every congressional district who feared the loss of their livelihoods. The military then bought thousands of Dodge pickup trucks which entered military service as the Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle M-880 Series. With such help and a few innovative cars (such as the K-car platform), especially the invention of the minivan concept, Chrysler avoided bankruptcy and slowly recovered.

In February 1982 Chrysler announced the sale of Chrysler Defense, its profitable defense subsidiary to General Dynamics for US$348.5 million. The sale was completed in March 1982 for the revised figure of US$336.1 million.

By 1983, the loans were fully repaid, several years ahead of time, resulting in a profit of $350 million to the U.S. government. New models based on the K-car platform were selling well. A joint venture with Mitsubishi called Diamond Star Motors strengthened the company's hand in the small car market. Chrysler acquired American Motors Corporation (AMC) in 1987, primarily for its Jeep brand, although the failing Eagle Premier would be the basis for the Chrysler LH platform sedans. This bolstered the firm, although Chrysler was still the weakest of the Big Three. In 1987, Chrysler surprised the industry by purchasing Italian sports car maker Lamborghini, with the acquisition heavily driven by Iacocca. Lamborghini would subsequently be sold off in 1994.

1990s

In the early 1990s, Chrysler made its first steps back into Europe, setting up car production in Austria, and beginning right hand drive manufacture of certain Jeep models in a 1993 return to the UK market. The continuing popularity of Jeep, bold new models for the domestic market such as the Dodge Ram pickup, Dodge Viper (badged as "Chrysler Viper" in Europe) sports car, and Plymouth Prowler hot rod, and new "cab forward" front-wheel drive LH sedans put the company in a strong position as the decade waned.

2000s and Daimler-Benz partnership

In 1998 Daimler-Benz purchased Chrysler, forming DaimlerChrysler AG. Chrysler Corporation then was legally renamed DaimlerChrysler Motors Company LLC, while its total operations began doing business as Chrysler Group. This was initially declared to be a merger of equals, but it became evident that once Chrylser Chairman and CEO Bob Eaton retired, that Daimler would take majority control. Other executives like President Thomas T. Stallkamp, once considered the heir-apparent of Eaton, and Vice-Chairman Robert Lutz were soon forced out. Eaton, Stallkamp, and Lutz had been described as the "triumvirate" responsible for Chrysler's successes in the late 1990s, with much credit going to Lutz's platform design teams.

Then-Daimler-Benz CEO Juergen Schrempp had "promised a marriage made in heaven and huge synergies". However, it proved to be a disaster for Daimler, which poured billions of dollars into Chrysler, draining management and resources, and repeatedly dragging down its Mercedes-Benz luxury vehicle subsidiary. Chrysler President James P. Holden was responsible for misjudging the launch of the all-new 2001 minivan that resulted in an expensive surplus of 2000 models, losing considerable market share to rivals (Chrysler had created and long dominated the minivan market), and also underestimated demand for the surprisingly popular PT Cruiser, resulting in a $512 million third-quarter loss in 2000 that led to his firing later that year. 

Dieter Zetsche was appointed CEO of the Chrysler Group in 2000. The Plymouth brand was phased out in 2001, and plans for cost cutting by sharing of platforms and components began. The Mercedes-based Chrysler Crossfire was one of the first results of this program. A return to rear-wheel drive was announced, and in 2004 a new line of full size cars, spearheaded by the Chrysler 300 using some Mercedes-Benz technology and a new HEMI V8 engine appeared and was successful. The partnership with Mitsubishi was dissolved as DaimlerChrysler divested its stake in the firm. Financial performance improved and Chrysler was generating a significant part of Daimler-Chrysler's profits from 2004–05, as the other subsidiary, Mercedes-Benz, incurred costs for restructuring. By 2005, Chrysler was said to be the healthiest of the Detroit Three automakers (compared to General Motors and Ford Motor Company). 

As a result of Zetsche's apparent success in a turnaround of Chrysler, Juergen Schrempp, the CEO of parent company Daimler-Chrysler, was pressured to retire early. Zetsche was elevated to CEO of Daimler-Chrysler on January 1, 2006, and Thomas W. LaSorda became President and CEO of Chrysler Group. However, in 2006, while DCX's other subsidiary Mercedes-Benz turned a profit, Chrysler swung to a loss and analysts believed that the profitable years of 2004-05 would be unlikely to be return in the future. That led to suggestions that the eight-year merger would come to an end, as Mercedes (which made up around 33% of Daimler's $200 billion in 2006 revenues) did not get any competitive boost from Chrysler, and that Daimler would be a stronger and more profitable group without the U.S. unit. Zetsche admitted that Chrysler offered no serious scale of advantages, though he initially insisted a spinoff was not being considered and said that management's first priority is to fix the problems at Chrysler by trimming production and redoubling efforts to boost its competitiveness. 

Some suggest that Detsche's tenure was a mixed success, with Chrysler still relying heavily on gas-guzzling SUVs, and most of its product lineup was unsuccessful, despite using Mercedes-derived technologies. Despite radical restructuring and improved models, analysts said that it was difficult to expect a solid recovery at Chrysler, due to the negative dynamics of the U.S. auto market and Chrysler's legacy labor and health care costs. In 2006, Zetsche had starred in the "Dr. Z" ad campaign which cast him as an all-knowing, German-accented wizard of the auto industry, in TV spots and a website. The strategy was to communicate that Chrysler was backed up by the same Teutonic know-how and discipline that has long made Mercedes-Benz one of the world's most prestigious brands. However, the campaign was moth-balled in 2007. Eight years since the merger, most customers did not know that Chrysler was owned by the same company that also produces Mercedes-Benz luxury cars. Some surveyed thought Zetsche was so smooth on screen—even to the point of head-butting a soccer ball perfectly in one take—that he was an actor and not the actual CEO. 

2008 financial crisis

In October 2008, Cerberus and General Motors discussed an exchange of GM's 49% stake in GMAC for Chrysler, potentially merging two of Detroit's "Big Three" automakers. These talks did not come to fruition, and were discontinued the next month. On October 24, 2008, Chrysler announced a 25% cut (5,000 jobs) in its salaried and contract workforce in November 2008. Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm announced that she, along with 5 other governors, sent a letter to Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke requesting emergency funding for the Detroit Big Three Automakers. On the same day, General Motors asked the Treasury Department of the United States for $10 billion to help restructure both their company and possible future sibling, Chrysler so that in turn, they can become one massive company.

On October 23, 2008, Daimler announced that its stake in Chrysler had a book value of zero dollars after write offs and charges.

On November 5, 2008 it was published that Chrysler sales in the US market have fallen 34.9 percent in only 12 months. A week later, Chrysler CEO Robert Nardelli said, in a speech at an Ernst & Young conference, that the company can only remain viable by forming an alliance with another automaker, domestic or global, as well as receiving government assistance in the form of an equity stake. Several days later, Chrysler together with Ford and General Motors, sought financial aid at a Congressional hearing in Washington D.C. in the face of worsening conditions caused by the automotive industry crisis. All three companies were unsuccessful and were invited to draft a new action plan for the sustainability of the industry.

At the beginning of December 2008, amid the 2008 automobile crisis, Chrysler announced that they were dangerously low on cash and may not survive past 2009. After the defeat of the auto bailout in the Senate, Chrysler stated that they would most likely file for bankruptcy and shut down all operations permanently. On December 17, 2008, Chrysler announced that it planned to halt production at all 30 of its manufacturing plants through January 19, 2009. In addition, Chrysler announced that it would charge fees on dealers holding inventories of new cars and trucks that are unsold after more than 360 days, and will require immediate payment of all remaining balances on inventories of used vehicles that remain unsold after six months. On December 19, President George W. Bush announced a $13.4 billion rescue loan for the American automakers, including Chrysler.

Chrysler's 2008 performance was hard hit among the Big Three U.S. automakers, with 398,119 automobiles and 1,055,003 trucks sold during the year.

On March 13, 2009, LaSorda told the Canadian House of Commons finance committee that the initial GM-CAW deal was insufficient and that Chrysler would demand an hourly wage cut of $20, breaking the Canadian Autoworkers's negotiating pattern set by GM. He suggested that Chrysler may withdraw from Canada if it fails to achieve more substantial cost savings from the CAW. Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne has also threatened to walk away from the merger if the CAW did not make sufficient concessions to match the wages of the "transplants" (foreign automaker's US and Canadian plants), which the union eventually agreed to by cutting benefits. Chrysler LLC has since filed for bankruptcy, though Fiat would continue to implement the strategic alliance. 

On March 7, 2009, Chrysler Vice-Chairman Jim Press stated that current sales volume is sufficient to keep the company going as sales should rise in the coming months. The Chrysler executive also noted the automaker’s February retail sales were better than Ford’s as Chrysler continued to curtail lower-margin fleet sales. He also said the volumes being forecast for 2009 are within the estimates Chrysler envisioned in preparing its viability plan for the federal government.

On March 30, 2009, the White House announced it would provide an additional $6 billion in further support to Chrysler contingent on the company finalizing an alliance with Fiat before the end of April.