Chrysler By The Decade

The 1970's and 1980's

Chrysler's reach not only extends around the world - in the 1970's, it even reached beyond the world - literally launching astronauts in the Saturn 1 and 2 launch vehicles Chrysler produced for the U.S. Space Program.

The early 1970's environmental concern and the price of gasoline led to a push for smaller cars. As the smallest of the Big 3, Chrysler felt the burden of the changing market place heavily.

Despite attempts to adjust to the market changes, Chrysler began a gradual financial decline that lead Walter Chrysler's Corporation to edge of disaster by the end of the 1970's.

One of its successes, despite the slowly building pressure, was the introduction of one of the most popular small-cars world wide. The Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon.

The crisis came to a head in 1979, when Chrysler's Supplemental Unemployment Fund went broke. That year Lee Iaccoca became chairman and came up with a novel plan: he approached the US government to lend Chrysler the money to stay afloat. Chrysler had to withdrawal fully from the world market.

After reorganization, Chrysler introduced the K-car, the success of which guaranteed the new Chrysler's survival.

Just a few short years later, in 1984, Chrysler Corporation introduced one of the most legendary vehicles ever - the minivan. Marketed as the Plymouth Voyager and the Dodge Caravan, this revolutionary vehicle marked the beginning of Chrysler's revival.

In 1985, Chrysler and Mitsubishi formed a joint-venture company, Diamond-Star motors, with a plant scheduled for construction in Normal, Illinois.

In 1987, Chrysler bought Nuova Automobile F. Lamborghini. Chrysler also acquired American Motors Corporation. Included were Jeep products, three vehicle assemble plants, 1,600 dealerships and the Beijing Jeep Corporation joint venture in China.

Chrysler re-entered the international scene in 1987 through five European countries. Chrysler recognized that the auto industry is a competitive one, and that a company cannot remain viable in its home market unless it also has global presence. Because of this, Chrysler began to pursue a more active international strategy, starting largely through sales agreements with distributors in overseas markets.

1988, the Diamond-Star Chrysler-Mitsubishi joint venture started production in Normal, Illinois.