Chrysler. American through and through
LEGENDARY. AMERICAN. CAR. Just like this, in capital letters. Chrysler is a part of the United States’ Big Three, together with Ford and General Motors. These three companies, located in the Detroit area, won the hearts of Americans. This brand is a symbol of the US, while the Chrysler Building is a landmark of New York City. Chrysler is a Holywood star and a winner of many races. Chrysler cars have always been products of creativity and innovation. Chrysler is Dodge, Plymouth, Eagle, and of course, Jeep! And all of them have long had extraordinary popularity.
Being truly American, the Chrysler brand is 100% owned by the Italian-American Fiat Chrysler Automobiles N.V. concern, the 8th in the ranking of the largest players of the world automotive market. This concern owns such brands as Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Maserati, Ferrari, Lancia, RAM, and truck brand IVECO. Although Chrysler has been owned by Fiat for 6 years, it has not lost its individuality and corporate identity, still covered with the glory of the Big Three. Chrysler has always been a cutting-edge indigenous car. American through and through.
A story of ups and downs
The Chrysler company was created by a man nicknamed a miracle maker. Walter Chrysler was a genius in the automotive industry. He made such companies as General Motors, Willys, and Maxwell Motor Corporation successful. The entire history of the Chrysler brand is like a rocky path with huge ups and downs. Its models have become either legendary or completely rejected. A lot of innovative developments and bright sports achievements did not save the brand from being on the edge of the abyss. Chrysler always ran counter the fashion and wanted to surprise its audience day after day. When streamlined silhouettes started to become fashionable in the ‘50s, Chrysler continued to produce massive cars of rectangle shapes. When linear cars started to return to the ‘60s, Chrysler stopped their production by switching to compact models. Well, in the ‘70s, when the world was seized by the fuel crisis, and all car manufacturers quickly began to produce cars with cost-efficient engines, Chrysler still produced gas-guzzling, impractical models, losing the last customers and endangering the financial welfare of the company. But Chrysler was always reborn.
Chrysler is not just a car – it’s a symbol of the USA, while Chrysler Building is a long-term business card of New York. A 30 meters high building was considered the tallest in the world for a year. It’s the benchmark of art déco, one of the most beautiful in the US, and commonly recognized as the best creation of the ‘20s.
Chrysler is also a Hollywood star! Chrysler 300 °C starred in the Warriors of Light, a vampire thriller from 2008. And for the movie, they used a powerful rear-drive Chrysler LX with the elements of Mercedes-Benz W210, characterized by a special front optics. This model is powered by an 8-cylinder 340-hp engine with a torque of 529 Nm. A duel between Chevrolet Monte Carlo and the deep red first-generation Chrysler Fifth Avenue took place in 2 Fast 2 Furious, which can be called the largest sedan of this manufacturer. The futuristic police cars in The Island are nothing but modernized Chrysler 300 LX of 2005, which really looked like cars of the future. And the Chrysler has also flown into the deep space in 1952. After winning the NASA contest, Chrysler Jupiter missiles won the honorary right to lift two test monkeys to a height of 350 miles. The joint activities of NASA and Chrysler continued in 1961 when the automotive giant designed a series of Redstone and Apollo rockets and planned the legendary docking of the Soyuz-Apollo.
Despite its size and apparent clumsiness, Chrysler cars have always been loved by the police. In the '80s, the entire American police force was driving practical Dodge Diplomat for city patrolling. In 2017, one-third of the Australian police were driving the legendary SRT-modification Chrysler 300 powered by the 477-hp 6.4-L Hemi V8 engine.
Chrysler won numerous motor races. The greatest supercar in America was born in virtue of the passionate love of President Chrysler Bob Lutz for the legendary 427 Cobra. Lamborghini specialists, who have had a great experience in designing sports cars, were involved in the work on Viper. The Italian engineers adapted the most powerful V10 engine from Dodge pickups for the dimensions of a sports supercar, getting an output of 8-L 400 hp unit. GTS-R, the first truly racing modification, was really iconic and won a number of outstanding races: Rolex Daytona, Le Mans, ALMS championships, SCCA Speed World Challenge GET, and Formula D – nothing was impossible for the most powerful sedan in the world! When this car won half of NASCAR’s 40 races, the contest organizers decided to eliminate it from all the races until it has such a powerful engine.
When GTS-R, the first truly racing modification, won half of NASCAR’s 40 races, the contest organizers decided to eliminate it from all the races until it has such a powerful engine.
First ever
Chrysler cars have always been examples of the most innovative ideas and technical research. They were the first in the world to test the Floating Power technology, isolating the bodywork from vibrations by using a rubber engine mount. Next come carburetors with downward airflow, replacement of oil filters with the interchangeable option, and a single curved windscreen.
One of the patented inventions of Chrysler, the starter and ignition key developed in 1949. It was followed by power windows in 1950, power steering in 1951, and a cruise control system in 1958, combining automatic transmission with 4WD in 1963.
The first Chrysler’s own model was the Chrysler Six of 1924. It had hydraulic brakes on all its wheels. This system was a special device, combined with the braking system to help control the behavior of the car in extreme conditions. In other words, it was designed for effective braking when a sufficiently strong pedal impact was required. For example, the Audi 100 received a hydraulic booster only by the mid-‘80s. Besides this curiosity, the model has found aluminum pistons, replaceable oil and air filters, tubular front axles, and shock absorbers, which allowed the first year to sell more than 30,000 cars, and the car manufacturer - instantly become the 5th in the industry.
And the impressive and elegant 375-hp Chrysler 300 was the world’s first muscle car with a range of imitations – from Ford Mustang to Chevrolet Camaro. Since its introduction in 1950, this luxury car has won all kinds of circuit races many times, setting a speed record of 230 km/h. It owes such excellent results to the best Hemi engine mounts developed by Chrysler at that time. In 1951, the Hemi V8 engine mount was developed, which had a unique performance. It served as a platform to create the legendary 426 Hemi. This engine with an output of more than 400 hp was produced especially for sports cars. Many people believe that the Hemi engine is still one of the best.
In 1963, Chrysler created a gas turbine engine! The turbine engine in a car was something new. Its principle of operation was very similar to that of modern jet engines. Up to 100 km/h, the Turbine Car accelerated in 10 seconds, taking into account the start delay! The maximum speed was limited to 195 km/h, but few people dared to accelerate an experimental car to such a speed… They claimed that the Turbine Car could be fueled with anything that burns. For advertising purposes, it was filled with peanut butter, tequila, and even Chanel perfume. The main fuel recommended was diesel, which is kerosene or lead-free gasoline. But the most common in the US of these years leaded gasoline could result in the destruction of the gas-turbine engine and was prohibited to use. It was quite difficult to fill up the Turbine Car. Yes, it was probably the most daring Chrysler experiment ever.
Turbine Car can be fueled with everything that can burn. For promotion purposes, it has been fueler with butter, tekila, and even Chanel perfume.
It was the Chrysler that opened a new sector of the market in 1983, the production of minibusses. They made a revolution, changing the lives of many American families. And today’s Chrysler dominates the American market of minibusses and makes about 20% of the European one. Only Chrysler gives a 7-year warranty on its cars. The warranty concerned both the engine components themselves and the bodywork. Chrysler specialists claimed that after 100,000 miles no rust should appear on the body. It was in 1998 that Chrysler was the first to put airbags in all his cars, making them standard equipment. After merging with German Daimler-Benz, Chrysler became DaimlerChrysler and gave us the famous Cherokee and Grand Cherokee jeeps, developed the Dodge Viper, Chrysler 300M, and many others.
In 2016 Chrysler made a revolution in the car market, launching the first hybrid Minivan. The colossal investment of almost $750M to modernize the factory and develop of the hybrid car allowed to create a model with an unrivaled level of functionality and technology. As an engine mount, the car received a combination of a 3.6-L gasoline V6 engine and two electric motors, which together provided fuel savings of up to 3-L for every hundred kilometers. On a single battery charge, the hybrid has been able to cover 33 miles. If the entire power factory is used, the maximum distance will be 566 miles. The lithium-ion battery hidden under the second row of seats can be recharged from a 240V socket.
So what is Chrysler? It’s one of the greatest American carmakers, with a unique style, interesting solutions, bold appearance, and behavior of a winner. Chrysler is a talented team of engineers, designers, and other intelligent specialists who have excelled in both military and space exploration. Chrysler is a symbol of America, which together with its founder, its models, its building entered into automotive and world history, literature, and cinema, depicted in magazines and postcards. Chrysler is a legendary brand. Despite all its agreements and mergers with other companies, it remains both cutting-edge and unique company.
