Chrysler was founded by Walter Chrysler on June 6, 1925,[1] when the Maxwell Motor Company (est. 1904) was re-organized into the Chrysler Corporation.[2]

Walter Chrysler had originally arrived at the ailing Maxwell-Chalmers company in the early 1920s, having been hired to take over and overhaul the company's troubled operations (just after a similar rescue job at the Willys car company).

In late 1923 production of the Chalmers automobile was ended.

Then in January 1924, Walter Chrysler launched an eponymous automobile. The Chrysler 70[5] (also called the B-70) was a 6-cylinder, designed to provide customers with an advanced, well-engineered car, at a more affordable price than they might expect. (Elements of this car are traceable back to a prototype which had been under development at Willys at the time Chrysler was there).

Engineering innovations[edit]

The original 1924 Chrysler included a carburetor air filter, high compression engine, full pressure lubrication, and an oil filter, at a time when most autos came without all these features.[8] Among the innovations in its early years would be the first practical mass-produced four-wheel hydraulic brakes, a system nearly completely engineered by Chrysler with patents assigned to Lockheed. Chrysler pioneered rubber engine mounts to reduce vibration; Oilite bearings; and superfinishing for shafts.

Chrysler also developed a road wheel with a ridged rim, designed to keep a deflated tire from flying off the wheel. This safety wheel was eventually adopted by the auto industry worldwide.

Following the introduction of the Chrysler, the Maxwell marque was dropped after the 1925 model year. The new, of lower-priced 4-cylinder Chryslers introduced for 1926 year were badge-engineered Maxwells.[10] The advanced engineering and testing that went into Chrysler Corporation cars helped to push the company to the second-place position in U.S. sales by 1936, a position it would last hold in 1949.

Early models[edit]

• Chrysler 70
  • Chrysler Touring

  Vehicle marques

   

  1931 Plymouth

  In 1928, Chrysler Corporation began dividing its vehicle offerings by price class and function. The Plymouth brand was introduced at the low priced end of the market (created essentially by once again reworking andrebadging Chrysler's 4-cylinder model).[11] At the same time, the DeSoto marque was introduced in the medium-price field. Shortly thereafter, Chrysler bought the Dodge Brothers automobile and truck company and launched the Fargo range of trucks. By the late 1930s, the DeSoto and Dodge divisions would trade places in the corporate hierarchy. This proliferation of marques under Chrysler's umbrella might have been inspired by the similar strategy employed successfully by General Motors. Beginning in 1955, Imperial, formerly the top model of the Chrysler brand, became a separate make of its own,[12] and in 1960, the Valiant was introduced likewise as a distinct marque. In the U.S. market, Valiant was made a model in the Plymouth line and the DeSoto make was discontinued for 1961. With those exceptions per applicable year and market, Chrysler's range from lowest to highest price from the 1940s through the 1970s was Valiant, Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto, Chrysler, and Imperial. After acquiring AMC in 1987, Chrysler fulfilled one of AMC's conditions of sale by creating the Eagle marque in 1988 to be sold at existing AMC-Jeep dealers.[13] The Eagle brand lasted a decade, being discontinued in 1998, while Plymouth was ended three years later.[14]

  By 2001 and as of September 2009, the company had three marques worldwide: Dodge, Jeep, and Chrysler. Effective October 2009, however, a fourth brand was established with the creation of the Ram brand, a breakout from the Dodge marque. Initially, the new brand consisted of the Ram full-size pickup, Dakota compact pickup and the Sprinter van.[15] During the unveiling of Chrysler's business plan on November 5, CEO Sergio Marchionne indicated that the Ram brand will be augmented by Fiat-sourced vehicles, including a smaller van than the Sprinter, which itself would be replaced by a Fiat-based vehicle. In 2011, however, Fiat became Chrysler's fifth brand with the North American introduction of the Fiat 500.