The Plymouth automobile is gone now. But in 1937, things looked pretty good. This low priced marvel even had an oil filter.
This 1937 film advertisement for Plymouth is about ten minutes long, but it's some fascinating footage.
A little over 20 years later, they looked like jet aircraft. And had push button transmissions. Do the early '90s cars look as antique when compared to a 2011 model?
What happened to Chrysler? Why did they let the once mighty Plymouth die?
The Cumberland Post
My Backyard, Six Miles from the Cumberland River
Don't forget the beautiful DeSoto with PUSH BUTTON DRIVE because that car,well...it's Delovely, it's Delirious, it's Delightful, it's DeSoto. My dad had one and the push button drive was AWSOME! (loved those fins too).
ReplyDeleteDan, visit your local Plymouth/DeSoto Dealer, and when you do, tell'em Groucho sent you.
Why did they let the once mighty Plymouth die?
ReplyDeleteCoz Dodge is the New Plymouth, just as Chevy is the New Pontiac/Olds.
That said, the Ol' Man bought a '59 Plymouth station wagon just before he retired from the AF... the most gawd-awful salmon color you could imagine... and I rode in the back of that thing from Washington DeeSee to San Jose, CA in the summer of 1960, back when the term "road trip" had an ENTIRELY different meaning than today. Think two-lane blacktop, Route 66, and all that.
George: Heh. Say the secret word, win a hundred dollahs!
Why the Plymouth disappeared? Look at Chrysler Corporation's internal problems at the time of it's demise. A great car died because they felt if they gutted it anymore it would not sell. Remember the "K" cars? A good example. The "K" was Chryslers Vega!
ReplyDeleteGreat commercials by the way.
George, When Joyce and I bought our first new car in 1964, it was a Dodge 330 4door sedan with pushbutton drive. We put a set of those clear plastic Fingerhut seatcovers on her and drove her for 2 years till we had to downsize when we returned to grad school. The push button drive took a little getting used to at first, but never gave us any problems.
ReplyDeleteBuck, Road trips were definitely another animal in those days. In the early sixties, when Joyce and I took trips, almost all of them involved at least some travel on those two lane "blue" highways. That was because most of the interstates were only partially finished. You lost time, but gained some local color. We never took a trip West though, so we didn't get to do Rte. 66. That's gotta be a great memory, even in a 59 Plymouth wagon.
Scooney, The K cars were definitely ugly and if I remember right, not very reliable. The thing that kept Chrysler afloat during those years was their mini van. They were out in front on that one.