Plymouth cricket
Plymouth | |
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Plymouth Cricket Notchback
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Cricket | |
Production period: | 1971-1973 |
Class : | Small car |
Body versions : | Limousine , station wagon |
Engines: |
Petrol engines : 1.5 liters (52 kW) |
Length: | 4115-4239 mm |
Width: | 1588 mm |
Height: | 1387-1395 mm |
Wheelbase : | 2500 mm |
Empty weight : | 864-887 kg |
The Plymouth Cricket was a small car offered by the US automobile manufacturer Plymouth from 1971 to 1973 . It was a Hillman Avenger that was adapted to the US approval regulations .
As small cars imported into the USA became increasingly popular, the large US automobile manufacturers entered this market in the 1971 model year. Ford and GMC brought specially developed models, the Pinto and the Chevrolet Vega . Chrysler, however, relied on the renaming (rebadging) of existing small cars from Japan and Great Britain . The base model for the Plymouth Cricket came from the Rootes group, which was part of the Chrysler group at the time . The Hillman Avenger was considered a mid-range car in Europe , but because of the much larger vehicles in the US, it was sold there as a small car.
The first shipment from Great Britain reached the United States on November 20 and was sold there as a 1971 model year. The adjustments included headrests integrated into the seats , four round lights as headlights and the elimination of the weaker engine. A 1.5-liter four-cylinder with an overhead camshaft and 70 bhp (52 kW) was offered, which optionally transmitted the power to a rigid rear axle via a manual four-speed gearbox or a three-speed automatic transmission . The four-door hatchback sedan was followed by a five-door station wagon in 1972 .
The name cricket (German: grasshopper) was chosen to benefit from the success of the VW Beetle , but cricket was anything but a success for Plymouth. The new car was plagued by a number of teething troubles and suffered from inadequate rust prevention. From 1972 onwards, cricket was no longer imported; vehicles from the 1973 model year were only sales from the previous year. The exact number of copies sold is not known; In 1971/72 41,564 units were sold.
Cricket came to the US market too early in two ways: The model was not yet mature enough in 1971, and a later model launch would have enabled Chrysler to identify and fix problems that occurred. Before 1973, small cars were difficult to sell in the USA, it wasn't until the 1973 oil crisis that people rethought, but that came too late for cricket, which had already been discontinued.
The car brand Dodge , which also belongs to Chrysler , offered the Dodge Colt , a renamed Mitsubishi Lancer . This cooperation proved to be much more successful, so that from 1976 Plymouth also offered a renamed Mitsubishi, the Plymouth Arrow .
Web links
source
- Covello, Mike: Standard Catalog of Imported Cars 1946-2002 , Krause Publications, Iola 2002, ISBN 0-87341-605-8