Chrysler Album (Auto Review Album Number 190)

Here we have three Chrysler stories: the life of Walter P Chrysler, the Chrysler car brand he created and the Chrysler Corporation, which grew to become the third-largest US auto maker. Also included here is Imperial, which was sometimes a Chrysler model, and at other times a prestige marque in itself. Not described in these pages are Chrysler-badged cars produced in Europe, Australia or elsewhere. These have been covered in previous Auto Review titles.

After a highly successful career in railroad engineering and at Buick, Walter P Chrysler had made his fortune, but he then went on to be an automotive industry troubleshooter, rescuing failing companies. These included Maxwell and Chalmers Detroit, which he reorganised under the Chrysler name. More marques were then added, in a structure similar to the successful General Motors grouping, where each brand targeted a different market sector. This process included the acquistion of Dodge Brothers in 1928 (see Auto Review 183). Two new makes were created by Chrysler Corporation, Plymouth and DeSoto, to be described in a future Auto Review publication, which will also describe Valiant, Barracuda etc. From a firm foothold in the American big three auto makers, Chrysler lost its way, and lost market share. It fell into foreign ownership, first to Daimler-Benz of Germany, then to Fiat of Italy. In January 2021 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group (Peugeot, Citroën etc) merged to create a new international conglomerate; Stellantis