Alternators for Plymouth Automobiles

On July 7th, 1928, Chrysler Corporation introduced their new Plymouth brand in a special event held at New York City’s famed Madison Square Garden. Plymouth was Chrysler’s answer to the volume-selling Ford and Chevrolet cars marketed towards entry-level car buyers. Although Plymouth was intended to be an entry-level brand, the cars were priced higher than the competition. They did, however, offer many features as standard items that would’ve been costly add-on options on cars from other manufacturers. During the Great Depression, Plymouth sales kept Chrysler afloat and throughout the next decade, was one of America’s top-3 selling brands next to Chevrolet and Ford. In 1957, designer Virgil Exner introduced the “Forward Look”, which featured more extreme styling than what General Motors and Ford were offering at the time. A famous example of one of these “Forward Look” cars is the 1958 Plymouth Belvedere Fury seen in John Carpenter’s 1983 film, ‘Christine’, based off the Stephen King novel of the same name (although all 1958 Plymouth Furys left the factory in Buckskin Beige paint as no other color options were available that year). Plymouth reached its zenith during the 1960s and produced some of the most legendary and desirable models of the muscle car era. Powered by Chrysler’s monstrous HEMI V8, the 440 Super Commando, or the high-winding LA 340, Plymouth launched an attack against the Pontiac GTOs, Olds 442s, Chevrolet Chevelles, and Ford Mustangs of the day with a full lineup of tire-melting, straight-line street and strip bruisers. Models such as the GTX, Road Runner, Road Runner Superbird, Duster 340, and the Barracuda all command and fetch top dollars in today’s vintage muscle car collector’s market. Plymouth was also a dominant force on the racetrack, as well. Names like Dan Gurney, Sox and Martin, and perhaps Plymouth’s most recognizable face, Richard Petty, all scored slews of checkered flags and landmark wins behind the wheel of a Plymouth. Unfortunately, after the muscle car era faded away in the mid 70s, Plymouth became lost in the market and were hurting badly due to Chrysler’s financial troubles. Plymouth cars were becoming merely badge-engineered versions of other models produced by either the Dodge brand or from Chrysler’s foreign associates such as Mitsubishi. In an attempt to remedy their sales losses and declining public image, Plymouth was relegated back to Chrysler’s entry-level value brand but customers were not convinced as the Plymouth models were still not distinguishable from their Dodge corporate counterparts. After the disbandment of Chrysler’s Eagle marque and under new ownership by Germany’s Daimler AG, Plymouth’s final attempt to make headway in the market came in the form of a drastically unconventional, retro-inspired roadster designed by car customizer and future TV celebrity Chip Foose. This was the Plymouth Prowler, a 2-seat, low-slung roadster with open front wheels, lightweight aluminum construction, and a rear-wheel drive layout similar to that of a Chevrolet Corvette with its transmission mounted at the rear and connected VIA a torque tube. Prospects were high and enthusiasts waited with anticipation over the new machine, but were disappointed to learn that the car did not come with an available manual transmission or the Magnum V8 from Dodge’s Dakota and Ram truck lines. Coupled with an exorbitant price tag, the Plymouth Prowler failed to reinvigorate the car buying public and on November 3rd, 1999, 71 years since its inception, DaimlerChrysler announced the death of the Plymouth brand.

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