Chrysler Australia is a trading name for DaimlerChrysler Australia/ Pacific Pty Ltd. It is the importer of Chrysler, Jeep and Dodge vehicles for sale in the Australian marketplace. However, there was another "Chrysler Australia Ltd" which operated from 1951 until 1981.

Chrysler Australia and Mitsubishi Motors Australia

Chrysler departed the Australian car market in 1981 when it sold the remainder of its shareholding in Chrysler Australia Ltd to Mitsubishi Motor Corporation of Japan. The new owner renamed the company "Mitsubishi Motors Australia Ltd" and this company continues to operate today as a manufacturer and importer of Mitsubishi vehicles. Mitsubishi Motors Australia Ltd. ...

Establishment of Chrysler Australia

Chrysler established its presence in Australia in 1951, when it acquired the long established South Australian motor body builder TJ Richards. Richards had built bodies for North American Chrysler chassis for many years in their factory at Keswick in Adelaide. This building still stands today, with faded "Chrysler" signage still visible. (The building is now a furniture retailing warehouse).

During the 1950s and 1960's, Chrysler made a substantial investment in Australian manufacturing facilities, including building a new assembly plant at Tonsley Park in 1966 and an engine foundry in 1967. During this time, Chrysler established its position as the third of the "Big 3" Australian motor manufacturers (the others being General Motors-Holden and Ford).

Initially, Chrysler Australia asembled North American Chrysler passenger cars and trucks. Their most popular car in the 1950s was the US sourced badge engineered trio: Plymouth Cranbrook, Dodge Royal and De Soto Diplomat (each based on the 1954 US Plymouth). The Plymouth was a popular choice for taxi cab usage. However, the rise in popularity of the Holden during this decade led to the decline of this range of cars.

In 1956, Chrysler Australia consolidated each of the badge engineered marques in one car- the Chrysler Royal. This was a facelifted version of the 1954 Plymouth, and it was to continue in production until 1963. The Royal was an automotive curiosity. Starting life as a side valve 6 cylinder manual, with 3 speed manual column gearchange, it was progressively modified, with the addition of US sourced engineering features such as power steering, the push button "Powerflite" automatic gearbox and an OHV V8.

On the styling front US "Forward Look" style tailfins were grafted on the rear of the car, while the front end gained dual (vertically stacked) headlights.

These changes failed to arrest the slide in sales, as General Motors-Holden came to dominate the Australian market, and the Royal was viewed as being outmoded and expensive. Production ceased in 1963.

The saving grace for Chrysler at this time was the French Simca Aronde- a popular 4 cylinder compact car which Chrysler Australia assembled from CKD kits at their Keswick factory. Local engineers developed a unique to Australia Aronde station wagon, with a then novel for Australia wind down rear window and tailgate. (Chrysler USA acquired an interest in Simca in 1958, hence providing the basis for sourcing of this car). The Simca Aronde was a family car manufactured by the French automaker Simca from 1951 to 1963. ... This article does not cite its references or sources. ... Simca Rallye 2 Simca is a now-defunct French automobile manufacturer, which also produced cars in Brazil and Spain in the 1960s. ...

The 1960s- the Valiant years

In the 1960s and 1970's, Chrysler initially imported, then assembled the Valiant- developing a unique Australian version of the Chrysler A body car.

Initially, Chrysler assembled the Plymouth Valiant- rebadged "Chrysler", but by 1964, they developed a local version, with distinctive styling, so that the car would have a separate identity from the US Plymouth and Dodge variants. The reason for developing a distinctive car was concern that the local manufacturer could not afford to make substantial stying changes as quickly as in the US. Hence, a modified appearance would minimise the risk of accusations that Australia was sellng "last year's model".

Through the 1960s, Chrysler expanded the Valiant range, with 2 door hardtop, long wheelbase (VIP) and sporty (Pacer) variants.

Also, in 1966, with the Chrysler USA acquisition of the British Rootes Group, Chrysler Australia took over the Rootes brands in Australia as well as the operation of their Port Melbourne factory. The principal Rootes model sold in Australia was the Hillman Hunter and this car became a steady seller for Chrysler until 1973. The Rootes Group is a now-defunct British automobile manufacturer. ... 1974 Sunbeam Rapier 1975 Humber Sceptre The Hillman Hunter was an automobile produced under the Hillman marque by the Rootes Group (later Chrysler Europe) from 1966 to 1979. ...

Valiant enters the 1970s

In 1970, they introduced the unique to Australia "Hemi" 6 cylinder engine- launched with an endorsement from Stirling Moss. Billed as being "Right- for all the right reasons", this engine went on to become the most powerful 6 cylinder engine produced in Australia (equipped with triple Weber carburettors).

This engine was based on a US engine design for trucks. However, it was never produced in North America.

The Valiant was a good seller, but never quite gained the level of market acceptance as its major competitors- the Holden and Falcon. This article is about the Australian car manufacturer. ... Species About 37; see text. ...

In 1971, Chrysler Australia released what is their most memorable car- the Charger. This was a short wheelbase (105 inch) two door hardtop version of the standard Valiant. The car had distinctive sporty styling, including an integrated rear spoiler. Place setting with red charger. ...

By any standards, the Charger had "muscle car" looks- with performance to match.

Clever marketing meant that you could buy a base model Charger for $2750, and the range extended upwards with high performance and luxury models.

Charger won the "Wheels" magazine Car of the Year award in 1971. It was also a winner in the sales stakes, capturing the imagination of the Australian public in the same way as the Ford Mustang did in the US and the Ford Capri did in the UK.

By the mid 1970's, sales of the Valiant range stalled, as a combination of factors worked against Chrysler Australia: 1. The Oil Crisis led to the rise of smaller economical 4 cylinder cars; 2. Japanese competitors made significant inroads into the Australian marketplace, and 4 cylinder cars were their forte; 3. Valiant was increasingly perceived as being outmoded- notwithstanding a major facelift in 1971 (billed as an "all new" model) with a new body surrounding the existing mechanicals- the styling rapidly dated compared with other new cars, and the body was only lightly facelifted in 1973 and 1975. A significant facelift in 1976 arrested the slide in sales, and the Valiant continued to sell steadily until 1981.

In 1975, Chrysler introduced the Centura with a choice of a 2 litre 4 cylinder or 3.5 litre or 4.0 litre 6 cylinder engines, and two trim levels- XL and GL.

This was a medium size competitor for the Holden Torana and the Ford Cortina. The Holden Torana was a car produced by General Motors Holden (GMH), the Australian subsidiary of General Motors. ... The Ford Cortina was a medium sized family car sold by Ford of Britain in various guises from 1962 to 1982. ...

The Centura was based on the European Chrysler 180(which had been introduced in Europe in 1970), with facelifted front and rear styling (reputedly based on the intended design for a Sunbeam version of this car, which never reached production). The Chrysler 180 was the base name for a series of large saloon cars produced by Chrysler Europe. ... A sunbeam is: a ray of sunlight. ...

The launch of Centura was delayed by several years as a result of embargos placed on French imports which impeded the supply of parts (the embargos were due to France conducting Pacific nuclear bomb tests).

By the time the car arrived in Australia, its appearance was dated and as a result, the Centura did not generate significant market interest. It quietly disappeared from the market in 1978.

The Mitsubishi influence increases

Chrysler Australia increasingly relied upon Japanese sourced Mitsubishi cars- commencing assembly of the Galant in 1972, then adding the Lancer and commercial vehicles. Interestingly, between 1972-5, the Galant was sold as the "Valiant Galant". In music, Galant was a term referring to a style, principally occurring in the third quarter of the 18th century, which featured a return to classical simplicity after the complexity of the late Baroque era. ... Volunteer Representative Squadron of the City of Poznań in the uniform of the 15th Uhlan Regiment of Poznań from 1939 A lancer (uhlan) was a cavalry soldier who fought with a lance. ...

The association with Mitsubishi gave Chrysler Australia another winner- the 1977 Chrysler Sigma. With a range of 4 cylinder "Silent Shaft" engines, competitive pricing, "Japanese" style and the availability of a luxurious "SE" version, with optional leather trim (an innovative sales approach in its era), the Sigma marked Chrysler's sales comeback. Sigma soon became market leader in its class.

At this time, Chrysler US staged its retreat from Australia, progessively selling its interest in Chrysler Australia Ltd to Mitsubishi- and finally departing in 1981.

Chrysler returns to Australia

Chrysler re-entered the Australian marketplace in the early 1990s, initially selling the Jeep Wagoneer, then expanding the range to include Grand Cherokee,Commander, PT Cruiser, Crossfire, 300C, Voyager and Dodge Caliber. Jeep Wagoneer (XJ model) The Jeep Wagoneer was the first mainstream SUV, produced under varying marques from 1963 to 1991. ... The Jeep Grand Cherokee is a mid-size SUV made by Jeep, a division of DaimlerChrysler. ... Commander is a military rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. ... The Chrysler PT Cruiser is a retro-styled wagon from DaimlerChrysler. ... A crossfire (also known as interlocking fire) is a military term for the siting of weapons (often automatic weapons such as machine guns) so that their arcs of fire overlap, yay. ... The Schweizer 300C Schweizer 300C Cockpit // Overview The Schweizer Aircraft Corporation model 300C is a piston-powered light utility helicopter. ... Look up voyager in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... The Dodge Caliber is a compact car produced by the Dodge division of DaimlerChrysler. ...

Initially, the attraction of the Jeep range was "value for money" although the first cars became known for poor reliability.

Chrysler today

The current range of vehicles are imported from the United States, Mexico, Germany, and Austria.

The Chrysler 300C has rapidly carved out a successful niche as an alternative to Australian prestige cars(which are extended wheelbase versions of traditional Australian "family" cars) - the Holden Statesman and Ford Fairlane. Indeed, sales of the Fairlane have declined to the stage that there is speculation it will be discontinued. In this respect, the 300C can be viewed as a successor to the large cars previously marketed by Chrysler Australia Ltd (Chrysler Royal, Dodge Phoenix, Valiant Regal, VIP and "Chrysler by Chrysler"). The Chrysler Corporation has used the designation Chrysler 300C to refer to two different vehicles, which are described in separate articles. ... Export success: the 2001 Chevrolet Caprice, identical in most respects to the Holden Statesman The Holden Statesman is a full-size luxury automobile built by Holden of Australia dating from 1971. ... 1955 Ford Fairlane Crown Victoria 1957 Ford Fairlane 1966 Ford Fairlane GTA 1997 Ford Fairlane Ghia The Ford Fairlane was an automobile model sold between 1955 and 1971 by the Ford Motor Company in North America. ...

External links

• Chrysler Australia
• DaimlerChrysler Australia Pacific

References

Iacocca- an Autobiography Lee Iacocca