History
Founded in 1925 by Walter Chrysler, Chrysler is one of the leading automobile manufacturers in the world. Before the start of Chrysler, Walter Chrysler developed the Chrysler automobile for the Maxwell Motor Company. This early automobile contained several innovations. The Chrysler automobile utilized wheels that contained a ridged rim in order to prevent tires from flying off of the wheels. Over time, the entire automobile industry began to adopt this feature. During the next several years, Chrysler launched several new brands to categorize their automobiles by class and price. This included the Plymouth, Dodge, and DeSoto brands.
After several automobile companies had attempted to use an electronic fuel injection system unsuccessfully, Chrysler succeeded in 1957 and added it as an option on several of their 1958 models. Throughout the 1960s, Chrysler would continue to have breakthroughs in the automobile industry.
The 1970s brought a slump to the entire automobile industry, partially due to the gas crisis of 1973. By the early 1980s, Chrysler had bounced back and acquired the Jeep brand in 1987. After the acquisition, Chrysler created the Jeep / Eagle division. The Eagle brand would continue to be manufactured for a decade before being discontinued. Eagle was not the only brand that Chrysler discontinued, with Plymouth being discontinued in 2001.
Major Events
In 1955 Chrysler launched the Imperial as its own brand. They had been using the name Imperial since 1926; though, the Imperial was basically a higher end Chrysler. The intent of creating a new division of Chrysler using the Imperial brand was to target a wealthy market and compete against Cadillac and Lincoln. The same year that Chrysler unveiled the new Imperial, they also introduced the world’s first all-transistor car radio. Named the Mopar model 914HR, the transistor radio was a joint effort by Chrysler and Philco.
Chrysler became a truly international company when they merged with Daimler-Benz AG of Germany in 1998. This new company was named DaimlerChrysler AG; though, this was short lived, as Daimler fully acquired Chrysler the following year and renamed themselves DaimlerChrysler Motors Company. Operations would continue forward, with Daimler owning Chrysler, until Daimler sold over 80% of their stake in Chrysler to a private equity firm in America in 2007. Just a few days after the sale, Chrysler followed for bankruptcy and was bailed out by the United States government. In 2011, the majority of Chrysler became owned by Fiat after they purchased the shares owned by the United States Treasury. Once again, Chrysler became a foreign owned car company.
Chrysler has kept up with the latest technologies, including electric and hybrid vehicles. In 1992 Chrysler designed a concept electric vehicle, the Dodge EPIC minivan. This did not go into production; however, it did lead to the development of a limited-production electric minivan named the TEVan. Even though Chrysler did not develop many electric vehicles, they have made strides in the hybrid market with their Ram hybrid.
Going Forward
On New Year’s Day 2014, Fiat announced that they would be purchasing all of the remaining shares of Chrysler. This would make Chrysler a division of Fiat. The deal should be finalized by the end of January 2014. Since the hybrid and electric vehicles developed by Chrysler did not result in high sales, Fiat and Chrysler plan on focusing on alternative fuels, instead of pursuing further research into electric and hybrid vehicles.
As part of the restructuring, after being purchased by Fiat, the line of vehicles offered by Chrysler has been trimmed. Other than the Chrysler brand, their current divisions that are still in production include Jeep, Dodge, and Ram. Another division of Chrysler, Mopar, offers upscale versions of cars that are made by various Chrysler divisions. The Jeep brand is used to produce SUVs and Dodge produces budget vehicles, while the Chrysler brand is reserved for luxury vehicles. By focusing on a core set of vehicles, Chrysler can ensure quality automobiles for years to come.
