Chrysler Plymouth (1937) - Classic Car Commercial -- A Brief History of Plymouth during the 1930s

https://youtu.be/s_LPmYkKOBQ

The Plymouth was initially envisioned as a parts bin car, essentially a patchwork of existing parts, and therefore inexpensive to build. A closely-guarded secret in 1927, it was named Project Q in early 1928 and began production in June of that year. On one hand, the car was loosely based on the old Maxwell, but it also had numerous features that the Ford and Chevrolet did not have. One of its main features was rubber motor mounts – the precursor to a Chrysler feature called floating power. This innovation isolated the car from the road, and resulted in a far quieter ride. Additionally, the Plymouth had full-pressure lubrication, a waterproof distributor, and aluminum alloy pistons, along with hydraulic brakes. As an ad in the Saturday Evening Post proclaimed: “We have named it the Plymouth because this new product of Chrysler engineering and craftsmanship so accurately typifies the endurance and strength, rugged honesty, the enterprise and determination of achievement and freedom from old limitations of that Pilgrim band who were the first American colonists.”⁴³

            Key to Chrysler’s success during the 1930s was a number of changes in the design of the Plymouth. In 1931, an all-new Plymouth was introduced, the PA, which was longer and more powerful than the Ford Model A at a price that was sure to be attractive to Depression-era buyers:  $535 to $645. It was said that Walter Chrysler took the third Plymouth PA off the line, drove it to Henry and Edsel Ford’s Dearborn offices, sat for an hour with the two, then gave them the car and took a taxi home. By the end of the year nearly 94,000 units were sold, and Plymouth became the number three seller in America. With the success of minor improvements over the next two years, one out of every four cars sold in America were Plymouths.