Once Rock-Solid Plymouth to Be Retired

DaimlerChrysler confirmed Wednesday that it plans to phase out the Plymouth brand at the end of the 2001 model year, in an effort to eliminate overlap with other Chrysler models.

‘Chrysler has great momentum right now that we intend to keep going. As we move forward with our global growth strategy, Plymouth, as a U.S. brand only, did not contribute to that growth,’ Chrysler President Jim Holden said in a statement.

‘This was an emotional decision because Plymouth will always be an important part of our heritage.’

The move had been expected for months. DaimlerChrysler had announced no new products for Plymouth, and each of the vehicles sold under the Plymouth name has a sibling in the Dodge and Chrysler lines, with the exception of Prowler. DaimlerChrysler has combined many of its dealerships to sell Chrysler and Dodge vehicles. The Plymouth brand was eliminated in Canada last year, and the firm recently stopped putting the Plymouth emblem on the Voyager minivan.

Chrysler said it will sell Voyager minivans as Chryslers starting in December, and will end production of the Plymouth Breeze sedan at the end of 1999. Neons and Prowlers will continue to be sold as Plymouths until 2001.

The Plymouth brand dates to 1928, when Chrysler Corp. introduced a four-cylinder car to compete against Ford and Chevrolet for customers looking for and inexpensive car. After World War II, Plymouth stayed competitive, and in the ‘60s it staked out a place in hot-rodders hearts, bring out smaller and medium-sized cars with huge engines.

“Plymouth was sort of the mainstream product for Chrysler for many, many years,” said David Cole, director of the University of Michigan’s Office for the Study of Automotive Transportation.

But the Plymouth brand has aged and lost muscle-car aura, and been known more as Chrysler’s low-cost leader. During Chrysler’s financial troubles in the late 1970s and ‘80s, Chrysler sold nearly identical cars under the Dodge and Plymouth names, leaving the public confused. After Chrysler rebounded in the late 1980s, it gave Dodge a sporty image but was unable to give Plymouth a distinguishing identity.

Sales began to sag. In 1973, when Richard Petty was winning stock-car races in his Road Runner, the company was selling 750,000 Plymouths a year. Last year, it sold 307,000. For the year to date, Plymouth sales are down 9% over the same period a year ago, and for October, Plymouth sold 30% fewer cars and minivans than it did in October 1998.