Chrysler Group LLC · Auburn Hills, MI United States

The company marketed cars and light trucks under the Chrysler, Dodge, Eagle, Jeep, and Plymouth brands. Chrysler's success in the years before its acquisition stemmed in large part from the popularity of the minivan. But the sport utility vehicle (SUV) had supplanted the minivan in America's heart, and in that segment SUV maker Jeep faced stiff competition. To rev up excitement for its lineup, Chrysler rolled out aggressively styled cars and trucks (such as its redesigned Chrysler Concorde sedan and Dodge Ram Quad Cab pickup). In 1998 it also unveiled its first new-model price cuts in 20 years.

When the Maxwell Motor Car Company entered receivership in 1920, a bankers' syndicate hired Walter Chrysler, former Buick president and General Motors (GM) VP, to reorganize it. Chrysler became president in 1923 and in 1924 introduced his own car, the Chrysler, which borrowed from WWI aircraft in the design of its six-cylinder engine. The next year Chrysler took over Maxwell and renamed it after himself.

In 1928 the company acquired Dodge and introduced the low-priced Plymouth and the more luxurious DeSoto. Its research and development budget never decreased during the Depression, and innovations included overdrive and a three-point engine suspension on rubber mountings. In 1933 Chrysler's sales surpassed Ford's, and two years later Walter retired.

To minimize costs, Chrysler kept the same car models from 1942 until 1953, while other makers were adding yearly style modifications. The company lost market share and slipped to third place by 1950.

Chrysler misjudged customer demands in the 1960s, when it introduced small cars, and in the 1970s, when it maintained production of large cars, resulting in massive losses. Facing the prospect of bankruptcy, Chrysler negotiated $1.5 billion in loan guarantees from the federal government and brought in Lee Iacocca, former Ford president (and the man behind the Ford Mustang), as CEO in 1978.

Iacocca became one of the most visible CEOs ever, appearing in TV commercials, publishing his autobiography, and making an issue of Japanese trading practices. Chrysler reorganized, closed several plants, and cut its workforce; by 1983 it had repaid all guaranteed loans, seven years ahead of schedule. The next year it introduced the first minivan.

The company diversified, buying Gulfstream Aerospace (corporate jets, sold 1990), E.F. Hutton Credit, and Finance America for a total of $1.2 billion. In 1986 Chrysler created a joint venture with Mitsubishi (Diamond-Star, sold 1993) to sell Mitsubishi cars in the US, and the following year it purchased American Motors. Between 1989 and 1991 Chrysler bought Thrifty, Snappy, Dollar, and General car rental agencies.

Corporate raider Kirk Kerkorian bought about 10% of Chrysler in 1990. An economic downturn in 1992 forced the carmaker to sell nonautomotive assets. Iacocca stepped down as chairman late that year and was replaced by GM's head of European operations, Robert Eaton.

Making progress on its pledge to shed some noncore businesses, Chrysler in 1996 sold most of its aerospace and defense holdings to Raytheon for $475 million. In 1997 the automaker sold its electronics unit, Pentastar Electronics, to investment group PEI Acquisition and spun off the Dollar Thrifty Group, which operates Dollar Rent A Car and Thrifty Rent-A-Car.

In 1998 Daimler-Benz completed its acquisition of Chrysler. The combined company, named DaimlerChrysler, was incorporated in Germany.

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