Profile : Chrysler Company

The Chrysler Corporation was founded in 1925 by Walter P. Chrysler. Chrysler was a veteran in the automotive business by that time, having been president of Buick Motor Company and vice president of Willys-Overland Motor Company. When he was hired to revitalize the Maxwell Motor Company, Inc. he, instead, purchased its assets and launched his own car company.

Following General Motors' multi-car brand strategy, Chrysler created the Plymouth and Imperial brands to compete against Chevrolet and Cadillac respectively. Later, the company would purchase Dodge from the Dodge brothers and have it, with the internally-created DeSoto brand, compete in the mid-segment market. Later, Chrysler would purchase the remains of the American Motors Corporation to obtain the Jeep brand.

The 1970s proved disastrous for the automaker. The gas crisis, new emission standards, Japanese and German competitors, and changing consumer taste drove the company to petition the federal government for $1.5 billion to avoid bankruptcy. Using the funds, the company bounced back, using the profits from its "K-Car" platform and sales of minivans to repay its loans seven years early.


In 1998, German automaker Daimler-Benz merged with Chrysler to form DaimlerChrysler. Some of the new vehicles resulting from the new company include the phenomenally successful Chrysler 300, the Dodge Magnum, and the Chrysler Crossfire (discontinued).

In 2007, DaimlerChrysler announced it was separating its two parent companies.

2009 Chrysler 300 Specifications

• 2,736 cc 2.7 liters V 6 front engine with 86.0 mm bore, 78.5 mm stroke, 9.7 compression ratio, double overhead cam and four valves per cylinder EER
• Unleaded fuel 87
• Multi-point injection fuel system
• 18.0 gallon main unleaded fuel tank 15.0
• Power: 133 kW , 178 HP SAE @ 5,500 rpm; 190 ft lb , 258 Nm @ 4,000 rpm