Chrysler

Founded in 1925 by namesake Walter Chrysler, the Chrysler Corporation emerged from the ashes of the Maxwell Motor company. An engineer by trade, Chrysler built his reputation at Buick as highly-effective production chief. After exhausting his three-year contract for an unprecedented $10,000 a month with a yearly half-million-dollar bonus at Buick, Chrysler set his sights on the ailing Willys-Overland Motor Company of Toledo, Ohio.

After helping to rescue Willys-Overland from the brink of insolvency, he was summoned to Maxwell Motors to perform a similar triage. In the process of revitalizing the company, he launched the Chrysler 70 model (sometimes referred to as the “70 B”) while simultaneously laying the groundwork for the new corporation that would bear his name. Maxwell dissolved in 1925, and the newly christened Chrysler Corporation absorbed its assets. The value-focused Plymouth and mid-priced Desoto brands joined the 70 in 1928. Chrysler then purchased the Dodge Brothers Company and renamed it Dodge to round out Chrysler’s lineup.

True to his engineering pedigree, Chrysler wasted little time implementing technological advances that were not available on most vehicles at the time. High-compression engines with pressured lubrication, air and oil filtration, rubber engine mounts, wheels designed to retain the tire during a blow-out, and mass-produced hydraulic braking systems (developed in unison with Lockheed) all appeared in the early years of the brand.

One misstep was the 1934 “Airflow” model. Always keen to push the envelope, Chrysler dedicated a significant amount of time and money installing the industry’s first wind-tunnel to develop the aerodynamically-advance models; unfortunately, the designs did not resonate with the public. Thankfully, Chrysler kept a handful of its earlier, less radical models in production to weather the downturn. In 1955 the Imperial, Chrysler’s most expensive model, was spun off into a singular marque and featured the first all-transistor automotive radio.

In 1979, high profile CEO Lee Iacocca would famously ask for and receive a $1.5 billion-dollar government bailout loan from the U.S. government on behalf of Chrysler, which it would eventually repay in full. The highly successful minivan in debuted 1984, followed by a timely acquisition of the American Motors Corporation, which included Jeep, positioning Chrylser to benefit significantly from the coming sales boom of sport-utility vehicles.

In 1998 Chrysler entered a highly controversial “merger of equals” with Daimler-Benz with dubious results for both parties; Cerberus Capital stepped in and purchased over 80 percent of the stock in 2007. Fiat announced it was entering an agreement with the maker to form a global alliance in 2009 and Chrysler filed for bankruptcy protection shortly thereafter. After a significant reorganization, it emerged from bankruptcy as the Chrysler Group LLC.

Currently, Chrysler is part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA), along with the Alfa-Romeo, Dodge, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, and Ram brands. It builds and sells only two models, the Chrysler 300 luxury sedan and Chrysler Pacifica minivan.