Chrysler
(1921 - today)
Brand:
Country:
United States
Walter P. Chrysler founded his own car factory in 1925 and expanded it into a multi-brand group modelled on General Motors in 1928. The history of the smallest of the ‘Big Three’ was much more chequered than that of its competitors and was characterised by a constant alternation of great successes and glaring failures. At the end of the 1970s, Chrysler came within a hair's breadth of bankruptcy. After partnerships with Mitsubishi and Daimler-Benz, the Americans joined forces with Fiat in 2014. Since the merger with PSA in 2021, Fiat-Chrysler Automobiles has been part of Stellantis. Today, the muscle cars of the Chrysler brands Dodge and Plymouth as well as the ‘letter cars’ of the 300 series are particularly popular.
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From 1934 to 1937, Chrysler (and its sister brand De Soto) built the Airflow, the first mass-produced streamlined vehicle. Although the car was not a commercial success, it had a major impact on the car industry and caused quite a stir. In a very special article, the car is not only briefly described, but also examined from different angles in two contemporary newspaper reports. Even Professor Porsche has his say. This article shows the Chrysler Airflow in current and historical pictures, as well as in sales literature and photos from the time.
At a time when Chrysler mainly built very voluminous and expansive shapes, Chrysler President K. T. (Kaufman Thuma) Keller found a new man in Virgil Exner, who revamped the company with its dusty design and brought a breath of fresh air into the automotive industry with several breathtaking Idea Cars. The elegant K-310 made the start, as a promoter of the new V8 Hemi engine, so to speak. This report describes the genesis of the design milestone Chrysler K-310 and shows it in many illustrations, as well as in a brochure published at the time and in the original press releases.
Based on the Chrysler K-310 coupé, Virgil Exner built the C-200 convertible, which was presented at the 1952 Paris Motor Show. The next stage was the Chrysler D'Elegance, again a coupé, but on a shortened chassis. All these creations remained one-offs, only the D'Elegance is believed to have survived. This report describes the background to the creation of the Chrysler C-200 and D'Elegance models, illustrated with contemporary and current pictures, some of which have never been shown before.
In 1955, the Flight Sweep I convertible and the Flight Sweep II hardtop version of the Chrysler concept car series were presented to the public. A DeSoto production vehicle served as the basis, but the body and interior were completely new. With these vehicles, Chrysler also approached the tail fin. This article describes the two vehicles and their impact on Chrysler's automobile design, illustrated with pictures and the brochure from the time.
The period after the Second World War was characterized in aviation by the emergence of jet propulsion and the first supersonic flights. This new achievement was also reflected in automobile design. This was particularly evident in American dream cars, which were equipped with jet noses, airplane cockpits or tail units. One of the most extreme examples is the Ghia Gilda Streamline X, which Chrysler presented at the 1955 Turin Motor Show. This report goes into the history (up to the present day!) and the special features of the 1955 Ghia Gilda Streamline and shows it in historical and current pictures.
The Chrysler ST Spécial Coupé from 1955 was the final of a whole series of special versions on Chrysler chassis that were created in the early 1950s. They were all characterized by simple design and beautiful proportions. The coupé portrayed was auctioned by Artcurial in early 2012. This report traces the history of the vehicle and shows it in its heyday, but also in its current condition.
The Chrysler car brand pursued an ambitious project in the 1960s: they wanted to create a new car model that used a gas turbine instead of a reciprocating piston engine as the drive technology. In order to determine the feasibility and marketability, they turned to journalists and everyday drivers. Almost sixty years later, we know that the gas turbine was not successful at the time, so it is all the more interesting to read in this historical report what people thought about it at the time. In addition, many original photos and even two manuals on the Chrysler turbine car have been published.
From 1964 to 1968, Chrysler built the New Yorker model, which flitted across many a television screen when it appeared in series such as "The Man from U.N.C.L.E.", "The Green Hornet", "Mission Impossible" and "Batman". However, only a few people in this country were able to buy this noble automobile with its 7.2-liter V8, as it cost almost as much as six VW Beetles. This driving report presents a Chrysler New Yorker from 1966 and tells the story of the model in detail.
They were already exotic in our latitudes in 1974: the Saab 99 L, the Triumph Dolomite Sprint and the Chrysler 2 Liter. With completely different approaches and characteristics, they were looking for buyers and wanted to be an alternative to market-dominating Opel or Ford models. The magazine 'hobby' compared the three on a road trip in England and came to some Solomonic conclusions. This article reproduces the original wording of the comparison test at the time and shows all three cars in historical pictures and sales brochures.
In 1989, Chrysler unveiled a new sports car in Detroit that completely shattered the image that people had of luxury-oriented, pseudo-sporty American cars at the end of the 1980s. With no air conditioning and only a manual gearbox, the 1.5-ton two-seater with a soft top was announced for 30,000 dollars, not to mention with an eight-liter V10 engine behind the front axle. It turned out to be a little more expensive and a little more suitable for everyday use than the concept car, but the Dodge/Chrysler Viper RT/10 remained true to its spirit. This driving report tells the story of the Viper and shows the concept car and its successors in many pictures. There is also a sound sample!
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All 106 Chrysler models
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