Historiography: Chrysler at 100

This year marks Chrysler’s 100^th anniversary. A mark that almost did not happen.

It is a brand that has survived mergers, model shifts, and marketing strategies. Once a proud upper-middle-to-luxury brand that offered subtle luxury and, sometimes, flashes of brilliance, Chrysler soldiered on as the child of its namesake – Walter P. Chrysler.

The history of Chrysler has its roots with the namesake himself. The Kansas-born machinist found his footing around the transportation industry. He was also a railroad mechanic -one of the most essential jobs at the turn of the 20^th Century. His professional focus turned to automobiles when he met James J. Storrow, a director at Chrysler’s employer, the American Locomotive Company. Storrow introduced him to Charles W. Nash, the latter ran Buick at the time. Nash found a production chief to work Buick’s main factory in Flint, Michigan. Chrysler found new opportunities within an independent Buick. 

In1908, William C. Durant bought Buick to fold it into his new venture – General Motors. Just as Chrysler was tendering his resignation, Durant took a train to Flint to convince Chrysler not to resign. Instead, Chrysler stuck around to run Buick until 1919.

Chrysler was garnering power and money towards his next move. Ast first, he wanted to take over Willys-Overland. When that fell through, he set his sights on the Maxwell Motor Company. The company was not in good fiscal shape in the early 1920s. Chrysler came in, rescued the car manufacturer, and, in 1924, started a new brand of vehicles under his own name.

Eventually, the Maxwell name disappeared by 1925. Only Chrysler and his “stamp” logo remained. His company would eventually launch a low-priced brand, Plymouth, and a mid-priced one in DeSoto. By 1928, Chrysler would purchase the Dodge Brothers car company. That new brand would simply become Dodge. By the end of the 1920s, Walter P. Chrysler had a new entity ready to compete against the established automotive giants. 

As a brand, Chrysler was positioned as an upper-middle priced brand that offered everything from affordable premium cars to the luxurious Imperial. The latter would be the model that carried heads of state, corporate tycoons, and other notables through one of the toughest economic challenges the world has ever seen. Compared to Cadillac, early Lincolns, Duesenbergs, Packards, and other luxury cars, a 1930s Chrysler Imperial was an understated machine that offered its occupants style without a lot of a lot of flash.

That seemed to be how people viewed Chrysler’s vehicles throughout its history. It was a premium car without the extraordinary pretension of its rivals. It didn’t need to shout its arrival. You got a touch of class without massive amounts of embellishments. You drove a Chrysler because you were important enough to carry on your professional and personal lives. 

That ideal was put to the test with the introduction of the 1934 Chrysler Airflow. The Airflow design was at the peak of the Art Deco movement, introducing American consumers to aerodynamic styling. A typical car in the early 1930s was designed to be upright without much delineation between brands and manufacturers. The Airflow was a complicated vehicle, fusing new production methods with a challenging design. 

There was more body integration with the chassis, being the first unibody vehicle built in North America. The Airflow also integrated headlamps into the fenders, which were further integrated onto the main body. The aim was to improve airflow for better stability and improved fuel economy. It was a great idea that was ahead of its time. 

One could say that the Airflow was a failure. It did not sell as well as its rivals. However, the industry paid attention and noted its innovations. All of which would be seen in cars built from the end of the 1930s through World War II. 

Another design breakthrough was established with the 1942 Chrysler lineup. The designers played around with the front end shape of their cars by creating a wrap-around grille design with hidden running boards along the side. Going into World War II, these design elements were deemed too advanced for customers. When civilian automotive production resumed in 1945, the 1946 Chrysler continued with these design elements with a new grille texture. That helped Chrysler’s cause in the postwar era. 

It also helped that veterans coming out of World War II had G.I. Bills, jobs, and money to spend on everything – cars included. It also helped that Chrysler was able to diversify the design of its models. The big postwar attraction was a model that have been around for years called the Town & Country. Those wood-sided convertibles and station wagons sent customers running to Chrysler showrooms to take home one of these iconic models. 

The new postwar designs of the 1949 Chrysler lineup were deemed too conservative for customer’s tastes. Yet, Chryslers still sold because the economy continued to be strong for the most part, and customers were still wanting cars to own. Suburbs were sprouting out beyond the city center and the demand for automobiles fulfilled the new American lifestyle.

In the fall of 1954, Chrysler introduced the single most important model in their lineup. One that was seen as a] forerunner of the personal luxury coupe. Rather, more sporting than luxury. The C-300 melded the front end of a car from the newly spun-off Imperial brand with the hardtop coupe body of the New Yorker. This car may look like a luxury coupe, but its 300-horsepower HEMI V8 said otherwise. 

The C-300 was a smash hit. Customers were drawn to what it was capable of doing. It was fast – clocked at over 127 MPH in the Flying Mile. It ran in stock car races. Its performance was matched by the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, BMW 503, and Bentley Continental of the same era. That “100-Million Dollar Look” sealed the deal for the C-300 – all thanks to the pen of Virgil Exner. 

The 300 Letter Series attracted customers to Chrysler showrooms for combining the luxury and the air of subtlety in the way it carried itself with the performance of the HEMI V8. In reality, customers were drawn by the inherent value of its primary trim levels, such as the Newport and New Yorker. Chrysler’s peak arrived with the Fuselage design for 1969, giving the corporation’s car a hint of jet engine styling that offered sleek elegance to match its subtle luxury nature. 

Which brings us to the 1970s. Chrysler Corporation was in trouble. Their finances were in tatters. Build quality was its lowest point. The OPEC Oil Crisis started to effect owners with higher fuel prices to fill up their large Chryslers. Something had to happen to keep the company going. 

Then, Lee Iacocca arrived at Chrysler's Highland Park headquarters. After he was just fired by Henry Ford II in Dearborn, Iacocca was tasked to right the sinking Pentastar ship. He had a plan to turn the corporation around – including the Chrysler brand. 

In the meantime, some immediate measures were put into place for the Chrysler brand. One, was the introduction of a personal luxury car built on the corporate mid-size platform – the 1975 Cordoba. It offered a relatively more efficient car to help ease the pain of higher gas prices, while delivering on luxuries expected in a Chrysler – such as “rich Corinthian Leather.” It also gave actor Ricardo Montalban the spokesperson's job, helping to instill some confidence in Chrysler when the brand and corporation needed it. 

The next move was to introduce a smaller and equally luxurious model line. The 1977 Le Baron was built on the M-Body platform that would keep Chrysler afloat for the next decade or so. It scaled the comfort and expectations of customers down to a more manageable style, while keeping an eye on more expensive rivals. Steve Martin once said that it was cool to “get small.”

Meanwhile, Iacocca brought over a set of rejected vehicle ideas with him from his former employer. If executed well, it should be able to pay back the government-backed loans that helped the Chrysler Corporation stay in business. Immediately, it was not known how the new product program would affect the Chrysler brand. We would soon find out by the fall of 1981. 

The K-Car turned the company around for the 1981 model year. Plymouth and Dodge would benefit from a pair of front-drive sedans that spoke to customers looking for basic transportation. After a year on sale, it was Chrysler’s turn. 

The result was the 1982 Le Baron. It rode on the same wheelbase as the Dodge Aries and Plymouth Reliant, with a slightly longer body. The styling was in line with American luxury of the early 1980s. However, you did not come for the sedans and the wagon. It was the convertible that you craved. The 1982 Le Baron convertible marked the return of open top cars when it was unfashionable to do so. It also went against all safety regulations that were imposed on a post-oil crisis automotive industry. 

The 1982 Le Baron heralded a new era for the Chrysler brand. It gave the corporation permission to work on a scale that enabled this flexible front-drive platform to expand the brand’s lineup to include new segments it has never competed in. The 1984 Laser became the Chrysler brand’s first domestically produced sports coupe with its premium interiors and turbocharged power. 

There was one significant model that helped drive Chrysler’s expansion as a brand. The 1990 Town & Country became the third minivan in the corporation’s lineup. The popular people mover was the right fit for the brand as it distinguished itself from the Dodge and Plymouth versions with luxurious interiors and an air of executive transport for upwardly mobile families. The minivan would become the mainstay of Chrysler – even today. 

When the K-Car platform ran its course, Chrysler turned to a new platform concept called "Cab Forward." Although the front-drive platform saved the company from oblivion, Chrysler needed to push the envelope of design and engineering. Cab Forward did exactly that, by increasing cabin room and reducing under hood space for more efficient drivelines. It maximized space utilization across the board.

For 1993, the Chrysler Concorde started this new chapter. This was followed by a pair of larger sedans – the 1994 New Yorker and LHS. The latter would cause a stir with its astounding styling and sportier approach to the Chrysler flagship sedan. It was seen as the resurrection of the Chrysler 300, which became exactly that. 

That famous nomenclature returned in the form of the 1999 300M. With Daimler AG now a part of the Chrysler corporate structure, the 300M was seen as Auburn Hills’ European executive sedan competitor. Except, it was not successful beyond North America. However, points were given for a well-executed large sedan with a European flair – even if it wasn’t Mercedes-Benz enough to be remotely European. 

The LH cab forward platform was successful. However, there was a push to move the final drive axle to the rear instead of continuing to make large front-drive cars. Chrysler was gifted by their “Merger of Equals” partner Daimler an older Mercedes-Benz E-Class platform as the basis of a new flagship sedan.

Under the design leadership of Ralph Gilles and Tom Gale, the 2005 300 was the culmination of a long history of Chrysler cars that continued the legacy laid down by the 1924 Six. It stayed true to the brand’s original mission as a premium/luxury brand of fine automobiles that lacked pretension and gained accessibility by those who made it. The last two generations of the 300 gave us a Chrysler that exactly fulfilled its long-standing mission. 

By 2025, Chrysler has been reduced to selling minivans. Don’t get me wrong – the Voyager and Pacifica are style-leading people movers. We have been waiting for new vehicles to join the two minivans in the lineup. We’re still waiting. 

What we’re seeing is an indifferent cloud cover above the 100-year-old brand. Before Carlos Tavares left the merged company, he continued to threaten the reduction of brands across the Stellantis corporate family. A number of our colleagues have often predicted that Chrysler would be one of those soon-to-be-vanquished brands.

One would hope that would not happen.

It would be affront to the legacy of Walter P. Chrysler. A legacy that built a company that has often saved itself from oblivion. A brand that has been to “hell and back.”

While the American side of the mega merger of French, Italian, and German automakers has been seen as poor cousins by the corporate brass in Hoofddorp, one should never shut them out completely. That should be the message for this 100th anniversary of the Chrysler name. 

To celebrate, we must remember the impact Walter P. Chrysler had on this industry. It’s resilience to battle the low points and raise them to new heights. It’s place in the automotive landscape. Plus, it’s hope for the future. 

Here’s to 100 years of Chrysler! We hope this story never ends. 

All photos by Randy Stern