From Muscle Cars to Minivans: The History of Chrysler

Finding used cars for sale is easy now that the internet is a gateway to all kinds of online classified sites, and most dealerships are posting current inventory on their websites. What’s confusing is finding a high-quality one. If you’re in the market for a used minivan, quality is essential. They’re family cars, and families put a high premium on safety. The best way to find a safe, reliable minivan is to zero your search in on a used Chrysler dealer in Lexington. Why? Chrysler is all about minivans. Well, it might be more accurate to say that Chrysler is mostly all about minivans. But, that wasn’t always the story.

Founded in 1925 by Walter Chrysler, a former executive at Willys (as in Jeep), Chrysler began its nearly 100 years of existence by manufacturing the Chrysler 70, an affordable six-cylinder car that Mr. Chrysler began developing while still at Willys. Flash forward to today, and the company is now owned by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and currently manufactures four models, including a hybrid minivan. What happened in between those years? Let’s look at the history of Chrysler.

Chrysler’s Early Days

As a standalone brand, Chrysler wowed the automotive market by introducing many new technologies, including a high-compression engine and the first-ever mass-produced hydraulic braking system. Soon, the company began to strategize and develop a scheme of nameplates to capture additional market share. This strategy would continue to appear throughout Chrysler’s 100-year history.

In 1928, Chrysler launched its Plymouth brand, and soon, the company would acquire Dodge. Plymouth sat at the low end of Chrysler’s product range, and its vehicles were essentially rebranded Chryslers. Under the Dodge nameplate, a line of trucks––called the Fargo line––was also introduced. At one time, Chrysler marketed six different nameplates, including Valiant (which later became a Plymouth model), Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto, Chrysler, and Imperial.

The company acquired Jeep and AMC in 1987. Right after, it added the Eagle nameplate, which Chrysler discontinued in 1998. Soon after, the Plymouth name was also retired, leaving Dodge, Jeep, and Chrysler. The last major shuffle involved the Dodge line of trucks and rebranding them under the Ram Truck name. Woven throughout this history is the iconic Mopar name, which became synonymous with Chrysler products. Mopar is a portmanteau of Motor and Parts, and the moniker is still used today in association with Chrysler vehicles.

In 2014, Fiat Group acquired Chrysler, and the two companies merged to create Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA). The merger came after Chrysler, Ford, and GM requested a bailout from the U.S. government in 2018 when the companies were facing bankruptcy. Nearly $81 billion in relief funds funneled into Chrysler and GM (Ford declined, electing to cut costs instead), with Chrysler receiving approximately $23 billion. The program, dubbed the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), cost taxpayers roughly $10.2 billion in the end.

Notable Niche Performance Cars

Chrysler launched the beefy Barracuda under the Plymouth nameplate in 1964. Since it beat the Mustang to the market, the history books reflect that the Barracuda was the first pony car. Unfortunately, the Barracuda shared too many physical attributes with its very low-end, inexpensive sibling, the Valiant, so sales were anemic, especially after the Mustang launched.

What’s notable about the Barracuda, though, is its popularity among muscle car enthusiasts today. It was manufactured for ten years – from 1964 to 1974 – and it underwent three generations of redesigns during that time. All models made had only two-door, Plymouth manufactured only two trims, a fact that’s not well known. The first, named the Barracuda, was its standard trim. Still, the Hemi ‘Cuda – launched in 1969 – was a high-performance special edition vehicle that today fetches as much as $3.5 million at auction. In all, Chrysler manufactured roughly 18,000 ‘Cudas over its lifespan. It’s unknown how many still exist.

Plymouth isn’t the only Chrysler nameplate with a storied performance car-making history: Dodge is right alongside it. No other vehicle personifies Dodge’s commitment to performance than the Dodge Viper. Introduced in 1992, Dodge manufactured the Viper on-and-off until 2015.

Marketed as a two-seater roadster, the Viper commanded an aggressive rally-car curb appeal that was hard to miss. Its engine – a V10 – was built in partnership with Lamborghini, and at its largest 8.4-liter size, output 645 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque. In other words, it was a monster.

The Viper endured five generations but maintained its essence throughout. Even as sports coupes got smaller and sleeker, the Viper remained brawny. Unfortunately, customer tastes changed along with the category, and sales dipped. Despite aggressive pricing and a rejiggering of trims, the Viper was discontinued in 2017.

Cornering the Minivan Market

These days, Chrysler equals minivans. FCA US has restricted the Chrysler model lineup to all minivans, except the Chrysler 300 sedan. While there were plenty of rumors that the 300 was on its way to discontinuation, company spokespeople continue to deny it. Still, the full-size sedan market isn’t where Chrysler dominates anyway.

Beginning with the Dodge Caravan, the Plymouth Voyager, and the Chrysler Town & Country, Chrysler – now FCA US – has sold over 15 million minivans over the past 35 years, enjoying a better than 50 percent market share practically since the beginning. They’ve doubled down on the segment, launching the first-ever hybrid minivan and the only hybrid minivan available today, the Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid.

The idea behind the minivan body style emerged when Chrysler recognized that consumers needed more space than a traditional sedan-sized vehicle could offer. Still, they weren’t comfortable purchasing a pickup truck or cargo van-style vehicle. The minivan was designed to provide the space of a van but drive like a car.

The rise in popularity of sport utility vehicles has taken a bite out of the minivan segment for sure, but Chrysler remains committed to the category, selling roughly 100,000 Pacificas in 2019, representing approximately a 25 percent market share. The numbers are consistent with 2018 sales figures, which demonstrate steady and continuing demand.

The number of automotive brands sold in the United States has ebbed and flowed over the past 100 years, often driven by mergers and discontinuations, and Chrysler is undoubtedly no exception. From its beginnings in the 1920s, when it manufactured just two models, to the company’s heyday through the 1970’s muscle car obsession, Chrysler always did one thing right: listened to its customers.

Today, under Fiat’s ownership, Chrysler offers a streamlined range of models but is focused squarely on the minivan category, a category it has dominated for all of the 36 years it has existed. The nameplate is even dipping its manufacturing toe in the alternative-fuel waters, launching the Pacifica Hybrid in 2017. Today, it’s the Pacifica line’s flagship, with a 520-mile driving range and a very affordable MSRP of just $39,995. This new hybrid technology keeps the Pacifica line fresh and reminds everyone that Chrysler is still very focused on the minivan segment. It’s a comfortable niche that Chrysler shows no signs of abandoning anytime soon.

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