1942 Plymouth Special Deluxe - Manhattan Project
National Museum of Nuclear Science & History
1942 Plymouth Special Deluxe
The Chrysler Company was founded on June 6, 1925 by Walter P Chrysler when the Maxwell Motor Company was re-organized into the Chrysler Corporation. In the early days Chrysler produced cars for upper middle class and more affluent customers as oppose to Ford and Chevrolet who marketed affordable automobiles to the working class.
Chrysler Corporation was known for the advanced engineering and testing which went into their cars. Among the innovations would be the first practical mass-produced four-wheel hydraulic brakes, a system nearly completely engineered by Chrysler (with patents assigned to Lockheed) and rubber engine mounts to stop vibration. The original 1924 Chrysler included a carburetor, air filter, high compression engine, full pressure lubrication, and an oil filter, at a time when most autos came without these features.
Not content with ceding the economy class to his rivals, in 1928 Chrysler introduce the Plymouth. According to legend the name Plymouth came from the storied Massachusetts site where the Pilgrims landed and would invoke the image of a thrifty New England Puritan as was suggested by sales manager Joseph W Frazer. Mr. Chrysler wasn't sure people would make that connection, so Frazer mentioned another product well known to the ex-farm boy. "Every farmer in America has heard of Plymouth Binder Twine," he replied - so Plymouth it was.
Plymouth was a success from day one. Though it was first sold only through Chrysler dealers, by 1930 demand was so strong that franchises were extended to Dodge and DeSoto dealers. The low buck Plymouth helped to insulate Chrysler form the Great Depression where as rivals such as Duisenberg, Cord and Auburn could not survive selling only to the rich and famous.
For 1940, Plymouths underwent a major redesign which the rest of the Chrysler line up had received the previous year. In 1941 Plymouths would be available in three trim levels, P-11, P-11 Deluxe and the P12 Special Deluxe
With the United States entry into WWI radical changes would come to Plymouth as to the rest of the automotive industry. Supplies of critical materials for automobile production dried up as the Federal Government urged the auto industry to begin war production. Automakers were trying to sell every car they could, for as long as they could.
Production of 1942 Plymouths began in July 1941. Gradually more and more raw materials were designated as strategically necessary to the Lend Lease program and later the US war effort, started to disappear from the assembly lines, starting with chromium, which glinted on the 1942 Plymouths' all-new grilles. First, the side trim spears were radically shortened to save chrome Later, the trim castings were simply painted and those cars became known as "black out" models. Cars that didn't already have assigned civilian sales orders when they were built were immediately impounded by the government, mainly for military assignment. When auto production ended for good at Plymouth on January 31, 1942, production stood at 124,782 units.
It was a 1942 Plymouth Army Sedan which transported the plutonium core to the Trinity location. The sedan is seen in a photograph of the core being removed from the back seat on its way to the clean room at the McDonald Ranch House.
1942 Plymouth Special Deluxe - Manhattan Project
National Museum of Nuclear Science & History
1942 Plymouth Special Deluxe
The Chrysler Company was founded on June 6, 1925 by Walter P Chrysler when the Maxwell Motor Company was re-organized into the Chrysler Corporation. In the early days Chrysler produced cars for upper middle class and more affluent customers as oppose to Ford and Chevrolet who marketed affordable automobiles to the working class.
Chrysler Corporation was known for the advanced engineering and testing which went into their cars. Among the innovations would be the first practical mass-produced four-wheel hydraulic brakes, a system nearly completely engineered by Chrysler (with patents assigned to Lockheed) and rubber engine mounts to stop vibration. The original 1924 Chrysler included a carburetor, air filter, high compression engine, full pressure lubrication, and an oil filter, at a time when most autos came without these features.
Not content with ceding the economy class to his rivals, in 1928 Chrysler introduce the Plymouth. According to legend the name Plymouth came from the storied Massachusetts site where the Pilgrims landed and would invoke the image of a thrifty New England Puritan as was suggested by sales manager Joseph W Frazer. Mr. Chrysler wasn't sure people would make that connection, so Frazer mentioned another product well known to the ex-farm boy. "Every farmer in America has heard of Plymouth Binder Twine," he replied - so Plymouth it was.
Plymouth was a success from day one. Though it was first sold only through Chrysler dealers, by 1930 demand was so strong that franchises were extended to Dodge and DeSoto dealers. The low buck Plymouth helped to insulate Chrysler form the Great Depression where as rivals such as Duisenberg, Cord and Auburn could not survive selling only to the rich and famous.
For 1940, Plymouths underwent a major redesign which the rest of the Chrysler line up had received the previous year. In 1941 Plymouths would be available in three trim levels, P-11, P-11 Deluxe and the P12 Special Deluxe
With the United States entry into WWI radical changes would come to Plymouth as to the rest of the automotive industry. Supplies of critical materials for automobile production dried up as the Federal Government urged the auto industry to begin war production. Automakers were trying to sell every car they could, for as long as they could.
Production of 1942 Plymouths began in July 1941. Gradually more and more raw materials were designated as strategically necessary to the Lend Lease program and later the US war effort, started to disappear from the assembly lines, starting with chromium, which glinted on the 1942 Plymouths' all-new grilles. First, the side trim spears were radically shortened to save chrome Later, the trim castings were simply painted and those cars became known as "black out" models. Cars that didn't already have assigned civilian sales orders when they were built were immediately impounded by the government, mainly for military assignment. When auto production ended for good at Plymouth on January 31, 1942, production stood at 124,782 units.
It was a 1942 Plymouth Army Sedan which transported the plutonium core to the Trinity location. The sedan is seen in a photograph of the core being removed from the back seat on its way to the clean room at the McDonald Ranch House.