Chrysler Australia

Chrysler Australia
legal form	Ltd.
founding	1951
resolution	1980
Seat	Adelaide , Australia
Branch	Automobile manufacturer
Website	www.chrysler.com.au

Chrysler Australia is the importer of the Chrysler , Jeep and Dodge car brands for the Australian market. However, there used to be a Chrysler Australia Ltd. who worked as an Australian automobile manufacturer from 1951 to 1980 .

Chrysler Australia founded

The DeSoto Diplomat was built by Chrysler Australia 1954–1957 as a sedan and Ute .

Chrysler Australia Ltd. was founded in June 1951 when Chrysler Corporation acquired Chrysler Dodge DeSoto Distributors (Australia) , a company founded in 1935 by 18 independent dealers.

Chrysler invested heavily in its Australian manufacturing facilities in the 1950s and 1960s, including a new assembly plant in Tonsley Park in 1964 and an engine block foundry in Lonsdale, South Australia in 1968 . It was then that Chrysler established itself as one of the Big Three among Australian automakers, including Holden and Ford .

Chrysler Australia initially complained about American Chrysler cars and commercial vehicles. Their most popular cars of the 1950s were the Chrysler-badged Plymouth Cranbrook , Dodge Kingsway and DeSoto Diplomat , all three of which were based on the 1954 US Plymouth . A Ute was also developed by Chrysler Australia and offered in nine different variants: the Plymouth Cranbrook, Sayoy and Belvedere , the Dodge Kingsway Custom, Kingsway Crusader and Kingsway Coronet and the DeSoto Diplomat Custom, Diplomat Regent and Diplomat Plaza . The Plymouth sedan was popular as a taxi , but Holden's increasing success in the 1950s led to the demise of these cars.

The Dodge Phoenix was built by Chrysler Australia from 1960 (as shown) to 1973.

In 1957, Chrysler Australia made one model out of the three brand models - the Chrysler Royal . This was a facelifted version of the Plymouth from 1954 and remained in the program until 1963. The Royal was an automotive curiosity: initially it had a side-controlled six-cylinder in-line engine and a manual three-speed gearbox with steering wheel shift. Then he was gradually imported from the United States-room facilities such as power steering , one operated with buttons on the steering wheel Powerflite -Automatikgetriebe and an overhead valve V8 engine. The design featured tail fins and twin headlights arranged one above the other at the front. The changes could not stop the slide in sales, as Holden dominated the Australian market and the Royal was considered unfashionable and expensive. In 1963 production was stopped.

The salvation for Chrysler at the time was the French Simca Aronde , a popular mid-range car with a four-cylinder engine that Chrysler assembled from CKD kits at its Keswick plant. Australian engineers designed an Aronde station wagon that was only built in Australia. The car had the then new crank window in the tailgate. The US parent company Chrysler bought Simca in 1958, which was the basis for this supply contract. The assembly and marketing of Simca Aronde and Simca Vedette were announced on July 1, 1959.

In August 1959 Chrysler Australia introduced the new Plymouth Belvedere , Dodge Custom Royal and DeSoto Firesweep , which were introduced as CKD sets from the USA and assembled at Chrysler's Adelaide factory . The Plymouth had a 5.2 liter V8 engine, while the Dodge and DeSoto had a 5.9 liter V8 engine.

Chrysler Australia also sold the Dodge Phoenix imported from the USA from 1960–1973 .

The Valiant years

→ Main article : Chrysler Valiant

1960s

Chrysler Valiant Series S. The Valiant was built by Chrysler Australia from 1962 to 1980.

From 1962, Chrysler Australia assembled the US model Plymouth Valiant and sold it as Chrysler Valiant. In 1963 an Australian version, the Valiant AP5, had been developed, the different design of which gave the car its own identity, different from the Plymouth and Dodge models from the USA. The reason for the different design was that the Australian manufacturer did not have the necessary financial resources to follow annual design changes to the US models. The changed appearance prevented the accusation that Chrysler Australia would offer "last year's model".

During the 1960s, Chrysler expanded the Valiant model range. A two-door hardtop model, a model with a long wheelbase ( VIP ) and a sports model ( Pacer ) were added.

When Chrysler USA took over the British Rootes Group in 1966, Chrysler Australia also took over Rootes Australia , including its factory in Port Melbourne. The main Rootes model in Australia was the Hillman Hunter . This car also sold well as Chrysler until 1973.

1970s

Prototype of the Hemi -245-R6 engine (4015 cm³ displacement)

In 1970 the only in Australia made Hemi -245 six-cylinder in-line engine, which had been brought out with the support of Stirling Moss , was introduced. The engine was marketed as "Right - for all the right reasons" and became the most powerful six-cylinder engine built in Australia, equipped with three Weber carburettors. The design of the engine was based on an engine that was used in the USA to drive commercial vehicles; but it was never built in the USA itself.

The Valiant sold well, but never matched its main competitors, the Holden and Ford Falcon .

In 1971 Chrysler Australia presented its most famous car: the Valiant Charger . This was a version of the Valiant with a short wheelbase (2667 mm), two doors and a hard top . The car had a striking, sporty design and a rear spoiler.

The base model of the Charger cost AU $ 2,750, - but there were also more expensive models with higher engine power or luxury equipment.

In 1971 the Charger was awarded the title “Car of the Year” by Wheels magazine . The car also sold very well and was to the Australians what the Ford Mustang was to the Americans or the Ford Capri to the British or Germans.

Sales of Valiant models stagnated in the mid-1970s as a number of factors negatively impacted Chrysler Australia:

• The 1973 oil crisis led to the growing popularity of small, fuel-efficient cars with four-cylinder engines.
• Japanese manufacturers increasingly appeared in the Australian market and four-cylinder models were one of their strengths.
• The Valiant was increasingly considered out of fashion - despite a facelift in 1971, which was sold as a “completely new model”, but was actually just a new body around the old mechanics. The new design looked old sooner than other cars, and in 1973 and 1975 the body received only two minor facelifts. A major facelift in 1976 stopped the fall in sales, and so the Valiant could still be built until 1981.

Chrysler KB Centura

In 1975 Chrysler introduced the Centura , which was available with 2.0 L R4, 3.5 L R6 or 4.0 L R6 engines, as well as two trim levels - XL and GL. He was Chrysler's mid-range competitor for the Holden Torana and Ford Cortina .

The Centura was based on the European Chrysler 180 that was introduced in Europe in 1970, but had a modified front and rear. Presumably it was originally intended to be a Sunbeam , but it never reached production readiness.

The introduction of the Centura was delayed by a few years because of the embargo on imports from France, which severely hampered the supply of parts. (The embargo was imposed on France's nuclear bomb tests in French Polynesia ).

When the new model finally arrived in Australia, it looked a bit out of date. The Centura could not establish itself on the market either. In 1978 he quietly disappeared from the market.

Chrysler Australia and Mitsubishi Motors Australia

Chrysler CM Regal Wagon. The production of the series CM and Regal was continued by Mitsubishi after the acquisition of Chrysler Australia.

Chrysler Australia's parent company began working with Mitsubishi Motors after they acquired 15% of the company's shares in 1971. As a result, Chrysler Australia built the Mitsubishi-built Chrysler Valiant Galant . The cooperation with Mitsubishi also brought Chrysler Australia another successful model: the Chrysler Sigma from 1977. With its four-cylinder engines with balance shafts, affordable prices, "Japanese" style and the additionally available, luxurious SE version with leather upholstery on request (back then in Australia a brand new equipment detail) the Sigma ensured increasing sales figures at Chrysler Australia. The Sigma soon became the market leader in its class.

In 1979 Mitsubishi Motors Corporation and Mitsubishi Corporation each acquired one-sixth of the shares in Chrysler Australia, and in April 1980 the two companies also bought the remaining shares from the American Chrysler Corporation. The company name was renamed Mitsubishi Motors Australia Ltd. on October 1, 1980 . changed. Valiant with Chrysler emblem were built until August 1981 and the construction of the Sigma was continued as Mitsubishi Sigma until 1987. The Mitsubishi models Colt , Magna , Verada and 380 were then manufactured until the production of cars was stopped in March 2008. The company continues to exist as Australia's largest importer of road vehicles.

Chrysler returns to Australia

Chrysler returned to the Australian market in 1994, where the Jeep Cherokee was initially offered. Later the Neon (until 2002), the Jeep Grand Cherokee , the Jeep Commander , the Chrysler PT Cruiser , the Chrysler Crossfire , the Chrysler 300 C, the Chrysler Voyager and the Dodge Caliber were also available. In the beginning, the Jeep model range was very inexpensive, when the first cars also acquired a reputation for inferior quality.

In the 2000s, the vehicles from the USA , Canada , Mexico and Austria were introduced (from 2009, in addition to the Voyager, the 300 C and Grand Cherokee models will also be manufactured in Austria). The Chrysler 300 C has found a successful niche in the market as an alternative to the Australian luxury cars - usually upper mid-range cars with an extended wheelbase, such as the Holden Statesman / Caprice and the Ford Fairlane / LTD .

Web links

• Chrysler Australia (English)
• Historic photos of Chrysler Australia's Finsbury, Mile End, Keswick, Lonsdale and Tonsley Park factories

literature

• David Brimble: Chryslers Before The Chrysler Royal, A look at Dodge Plymouth De Soto Manufactured in Australia between 1953 and 1957 . Restored Cars Magazine No. 87, July / August 1991, pp. 14-15

Individual evidence

1. ^ The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring (1986). P. 86
2. ^ New Plant Built in Record Time . The Adventurer. Friday, October 2, 1964, p. 26
3. ^ ^{A b} The Australian Chrysler Royal, Plainsman and Wayfarer . Allpar.com
4. ^ Plymouth, Dodge & DeSoto Coupe Utilites . www.roadkillontheweb.com
5. ^ Now it's Chrysler-Simca . Australian Motor Sports. July 1959. p. 271
6. ↑ ^{a b} News Review, Three Chryslers . Australian Motor Sports. August 1959. p. 314
7. ^ The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring (1986). Pp. 120-121
8. ^ Sales prospectus for the Chrysler Valiant (1962). Odcarbrochures.com  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
9. ^ ^{A b} The Macquarie Dictionary of Motoring (1986), p. 310
10. ↑ Tony Davis: Aussie Cars , (1987), p. 155
11. ↑ Press release on the closure of the plant. Mitsubishi Motors Australia