Q: Greg I’ve always been a big fan of Chrysler vehicles, especially their niche vehicles like the Prowler and Viper. Why did Chrysler give up on the Plymouth brand, as I always felt Plymouth was more popular than Dodge? Can you give us some background on these subjects? Albert J., a veteran from near Cape Cod and I see your columns on Google Newsfeed and enjoy them.
A: Thanks Albert for you kind words and I agree with your feelings about the Plymouth brand. When revisiting the car’s history, Plymouth played a major role in battling head-to-head with Chevy and Ford for entry-level consumer dollars. Dodge was a step up, and took on Mercury and Oldsmobile / Pontiac models as its major sales competitors.
Let’s begin, however, with the Chrysler Corporation vehicles I’ll call the “niche” brands, which are vehicles released that the company knew would never be top sellers yet displayed unique build qualities to attract those who really wanted something different. Although this is a feature column devoted to Chrysler vehicles, Ford produced perhaps one of the most unique “niche” vehicles in history when it took a Pinto drivetrain and mounted a 1932 Ford body on it and released the car in a limited edition model back in the mid-1970s. I saw this car in person at Sunbury Motors in Sunbury, Pa., one of the most popular Ford franchises that is still in operation to this day.
The Plymouth Prowler, meanwhile, was one of the most distinctive niche cars ever to be offered in a mass production capacity. If you were into street rods, hot rods and sports cars, the 2-seat Prowler was right up your alley. It successfully combined the open wheel; convertible attributes of a street rod with a modern day, V-6 powered drivetrain to arrive at its final aesthetic presentation.
The Plymouth Prowler, later the Chrysler Prowler, was offered from 1997 to 2002 by then owner Daimler Chrysler, and based on the 1993 concept car of the same name. The Prowler was a single generation front-engine, rear-drive, rear-transmission configuration of which 11,702 were sold. A notable option was a $5,000 “look alike” Prowler Trailer that expanded the very limited luggage space.
As for the Dodge Viper, sports car enthusiasts of all makes and brands had to respect the new “niche” vehicle aimed at the 2-seat sports car crowd. Prior to the Viper, if you wanted an American built sports car you had basically one choice, the Chevrolet Corvette. With all due respect to the Ford Shelby Cobra and Ford GT40 Lemans style sports cars, the Dodge Viper was a mass produced vehicle available at your Dodge dealer from 1992 to 2017 with non-production years in 2007 and 2010 to 2012. With massive power, thanks to a V-10 engine and aerodynamic stylizing, Viper was indeed a readily available sports car that could hold its own against many of the world’s best sports cars, from Ferrari, Lamborghini and Jaguar.
The second most unique Chrysler Corporation niche car was the powerful, V-10 engine Dodge Viper, a true sports car that gave the Corvette a good run for its money. Although never a sales leader by any means, to this day the Viper has a dedicated group of owners and enthusiasts. (Chrysler)
Most notable is Viper surviving for five generations, although its first generation was crude in comparison. Pacing the Indy 500 in a pre-production model in 1991, the first gen Viper RT/10 roadsters released in 1992 had no door handles, a canvas convertible top, sliding side windows, and no air conditioning. Yet when it came to power, a howling 400 horse, 488 cubic-inch V-10 made up for the lack of amenities.
By Viper’s last year of 2017, all amenities were in place along with a now 645-horsepower V-10 measuring 512 cubic inches. A total of 27,605 Vipers were sold in the U.S. during its production run, and in its final year was respected as one of the finest sports cars in the world by many motoring journalists, including this scribe. Notable was a second Indy 500 pace car appearance in 1996 with its beautiful Viper GTS, featuring air conditioning, a solid rooftop and glass side windows.
Now, onto a bit of Plymouth, times past.
Plymouth’s history dates back to 1928 when the first Plymouth rolled off the assembly line. Through the years we’ve grown to enjoy all those special Plymouth models, from Savoy to Belvedere to Road Runner 426 Hemi.
Although not a niche by any means, Plymouth for 1966 promoted the brand’s powerful and new 426 Hemi engine, which developed 425-horsepower in street tune. These Hemi cars would go on to collector immortality, as today they generate some of the highest bids at auctions like Mecum and Barrett-Jackson. (Plymouth)
The person responsible for bringing Plymouth to the market was Walter Chrysler himself, who knew a low cost entry-level automobile would help build consumer awareness of Chrysler Corporation. Although Plymouth never outsold Ford and Chevy in an average sales year, it did compete well with Ford and Chevy shopping those aforementioned entry-level marquees. Its’ best year was 1973, when 750,000 Plymouths were sold during the oil crisis, government clean burn mandates and unleaded fuel days.
However, the oil crisis nearly ended Chrysler Corporation as it fell deep into debt. Thanks to a few decent models in the early 1980s and a loan from the U.S. Government, Chrysler persevered and then enjoyed an industry smash hit with its all-new and at the time “niche” minivan, mentioned above in the photo cutline and introduced in 1983 as a 1984 model. The Plymouth brand lived on until the late 1990s when Neon, Breeze and Prowler made up the automobile offerings alongside the still popular Voyager minivans.
Plymouth fans will surely remember Plymouths from the 1950s, like the 1952 Cranbrook Club Coupe, the 1956 all-white with gold trim Fury, and surely the huge finned 1959 models. How about the 1961 Plymouth Valiant? It was a success right from the start in the new compact class.
The Plymouth Prowler was perhaps the most radical of Plymouth’s niche cars, featuring an “open wheel” design that was a mix between a hot rod and a modern, two-seat sports car. (Barrett-Jackson)
In 1962 Plymouth played a major role on the street scene and drag strips with its 413 Ram Induction 2-door Savoy models. Then in 1965 and 1966, the 426 Hemi was under the hood of some Belvederes and Satellites and headed for muscle car immortality.
At the box office, car-loving moviegoers should recall Chris Farley and David Spade as they saved the “Callahan Brake Company.” The duo motored across America in a metallic blue 67 GTX convertible selling brake pads in the 1995 hit “Tommy Boy.” Also popular was the 1983 horror flick directed by John Carpenter called “Christine,” which featured a 1958 Plymouth Fury in a starring role.
Although at the time many viewed the Dodge Caravan and Plymouth Voyager minivans, both built on the K-Car chassis as “niche” vehicles, both became massive sellers starting in 1983 as 1984 models. These vehicles saved the company and went on to impact the entire car industry as within a few years, all manufacturers were forced to build minivans or miss out on the profits. (Chrysler)
On June 28, 2001, the last Plymouth rolled off the assembly line in Belvidere, Illinois – a 2001 silver Neon 4-door that was purchased by a Chrysler executive. Today, Plymouth joins DeSoto and Imperial on the Chrysler model “suspended” list, although in the car business model name resurrections are common. Unfortunately, I don’t foresee any Lazarus type surprise for the Plymouth brand automobile and for you trivia fans, Belvidere in Illinois is spelled correctly, as “Belvedere” the car stands for “beautiful sight.”
(Greg Zyla is a syndicated auto columnist who welcomes reader questions and comments on auto nostalgia, collector cars or motorsports at 303 Roosevelt St., Sayre, Pa. 18840, or email him at greg@gregzyla.com.)
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