Plymouth Repair and Service PDF Manuals
In 1928, renowned American designer Walter Chrysler founded the Plymouth brand to create a car that could compete with the cars of companies such as Ford and General Motors. The first model of the new company was the Plymouth 4, which replaced the Chrysler 52. It was originally planned to produce low-cost versions of the Chrysler models under the Plymouth brand. The Plymouth factory was opened in 1929, and just a year later the second model of the Plymouth U brand was presented, and its key difference was the presence of a radio in the cabin, while maintaining the same price as the competitors.
In 1931, a whole range of eight Plymouth models were introduced, built on a single platform, but with different bodies. This allowed the American company to take one of the leading positions in the United States automobile market, which was especially important in view of the deplorable state of the market after the Great Depression of 1928. By 1932, the next generation of Plymouth cars was developed, called the PB, which in 1933 was modernized with a six-cylinder power unit with a capacity of 70 horsepower. Thanks to such an ambitious and successful strategy, just 6 years after the foundation of the company, the millionth Plymouth car was produced.
After the outbreak of World War II, the government of the United States of America issued a decree, as a result of which, all car companies in the country curtailed the production of civilian vehicles and switched to providing for the needs of the army, and the Plymouth brand, despite the fact that it was part of the Chrysler concern , successfully cooperating with the military and before the start of the war, was also forced to stop producing cars. The plants "Plymouth" launched the production of trucks and aircraft power units.
Thanks to beneficial cooperation and high production capacity, the Plymouth brand managed to get tangible profits from the production of equipment for the military, therefore immediately after the end of the war in 1945, the production of passenger cars resumed at the Plymouth factories. In the same year, the 14C model was introduced, which was developed by the company's engineers back in 1942. In 1946, this model was replaced by the Plymouth 15S, which was equipped with a 3.6-liter power unit with a capacity of 95 horsepower. In addition, the 15S platform became the basis for the creation in the future of new cars of the updated model range of Plymouth in 1948.
However, after two successful years of sales, in the early 50s of the 20th century, the interest of buyers in the Plymouth brand dropped so much that thousands of produced cars were forced to gather dust in the company's warehouses, and car dealerships refused to accept obsolete cars for further sale. After 5 years of work, the brand's lineup underwent a major modification, and the four and six-cylinder engines gave way to modern eight-cylinder power units, which worked in conjunction with a revolutionary automatic gearbox. And in 1958, the Plymouth Fury was introduced, which became one of the most popular cars in its price segment.
In addition, thanks to the release of a new model, the Plymouth company managed to enter the luxury car segment, which, coupled with a low price, allowed it to take a leading position among other automakers, and in terms of sales, the brand occupied 59% of the total number of Chrysler vehicles. ... In 1960, deliveries of European cars began to the United States market, which led to the creation of new segments, where Plymouth tried to gain a foothold by releasing the Plymouth Valiant in 1961. However, the subsequent cars of the company could not repeat the success of their predecessors, due to a sharp change in customer preferences, when large and massive cars again began to be in great demand.
In 1964, the Plymouth Barracuda model was introduced, which was built on the principle of minimum functions, maximum speed, highlighting a new class in the American automotive industry - muscle cars. Thanks to the low price of such cars, young buyers en masse switched to muscle cars, and the Plymouth, with its square design, became a real trendsetter. However, after the start of the massive modernization of such cars, which were supposed to become sports coupes with a standard set of options, the cost of muscle cars gradually began to grow, and, consequently, the final price of sales, which only alienated buyers.
The Plymouth Company has managed to rectify the situation with the introduction of the Plymouth Road Runner model, equipped with a 6.3-liter power unit with 335 horsepower. Thanks to the preservation of the basic principles of the muscle car, as well as the typical road design, this model managed to become the leader in the low-cost car market, holding out there until 1970.
However, the new decade was marked by another decline in demand for Plymouth cars, since the global fuel crisis began in 1970, and compact Japanese cars that consume a minimum of fuel were able to practically completely displace American manufacturers from the leading positions in the domestic car market of the United States of America ... In 1975, the management of the company, trying to again become a trendsetter in the market, introduced the Volare model, which, however, only 4 months after the start of sales, was recognized as unprofitable. By 1981, only 2 models of the Plymouth brand remained on the market, which barely covered the costs of their production, which pushed the brand to become even more dependent on financial investments from the parent company Chrysler.
In 1978, the development of a low fuel consumption model began, which was not crowned with much success, as a result of which Plymouth bought out a share of the European automaker Simca, adapting the Horizon model for the needs of US buyers and launching the model under its own brand. This allowed, finally, to receive a small profit, which, although it could not restore the financial independence of "Plymouth", but allowed to outline the further development of the company. However, the Reliant model, developed by the company's engineers based on the developments of the Simka company, became a truly successful car of that time for the brand, and the power unit of the Japanese company Mitsubishi was located under the hood of the model.
In 1983, Plymouth also released three Mitsubishi models under its own brand, concluding a cooperation and technological partnership contract with the Japanese brand. By 1989, a new sports car, the Plymouth Lazer, was presented, built on the basis of the developments of the Dodge company, also part of the Chrysler concern. In 1995, after a major update by Plymouth, which affected not only the model range, but also a significant restructuring of the company's production facilities, the Plymouth Neon was introduced, which became the best-selling car in the Canadian car market. In 1996, the Plymouth Breeze model was introduced. Under the hood of the new model were relatively economical 2- and 2.4-liter four-cylinder power units with a capacity of 133 and 154 horsepower, respectively.
However, sales of the Plymouth brand continued to fall steadily, reaching the 1999 minimum of 262,000 vehicles. In the same year, the revolutionary retro car Plymouth Prowler was presented, on the creation of which more than half a billion dollars were spent, but no more than 6 cars were sold in two years of sales, which led to the largest losses in the history of the legendary brand.
Chrysler management decided to close the unprofitable division by notifying Plymouth plant employees of a massive 2001 restructuring. By 2000, all current models of the company, which were presented under the Dodge brand in 2001, were discontinued. The production facilities of the legendary brand were transferred to Chevrolet, and the employees were sent on administrative leave, continuing to work from 2002 for a new employer - Dodge.
