Subscribe to our Newsletter!

Tag: mopar

January 26, 1979 – The Dukes of Hazzard premiers
26Jan By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
This Day

January 26, 1979 – The Dukes of Hazzard premiers

“Ooooh, those Duke boys!" Cousins Bo and Luke Duke and the rest the cast of The Dukes of Hazzard first crashed onto the small screen on this day in 1979. The CBS action comedy brought cars into the starlight, especially Bo and Luke’s 1969 Dodge Charger, the “General Lee.” This car often stole the show as the boys made their get away from Sheriff Rosco P. Coltrane.  Top: Still from the Dukes of Hazzard 2005 movie. Above: Opening credits imagery. The premise revolves around the Duke boys, who are on probation for distilling moonshine and aren’t allowed to leave Hazzard County. Through their daily shenanigans they tend to find themselves foiling the plots of corrupt county commissioner Boss Hogg. Aside from the General Lee, the show featured Daisy Duke’s 1974 Plymouth Road Ru...
Read More
January 24, 1957 – The 10,000,000th Plymouth
24Jan By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
This Day

January 24, 1957 – The 10,000,000th Plymouth

If you wanted a cheap car in 1928, you had quite a few options. Ford's first all new car since 1908, the Model A, could be had that year for around $500. A similar sized Chevrolet could be parked in your driveway for less than $100 more. Or, if you wanted something your neighbor didn't have, you could drive off in a Plymouth for around $675. Chrysler launched Plymouth, one of the first engineered brands, in July of 1928 to compete directly with low priced Fords and Chevys. Though about $175 more than a Ford (roughly $2,500 in 2021), Plymouths did have features its competition didn't, such as hydraulic brakes. Are you sold yet? Above: 1928 Plymouth Model Q. By DougW. Top: The 10 millionth Plymouth When the Great Depression began the next year, it would be Plymouth that would ensu...
Read More
January 5, 1924 – The first Chrysler car debuts
5Jan By Brian CoreyNo Comments
This Day

January 5, 1924 – The first Chrysler car debuts

Visitors to the lobby of the Commodore Hotel in New York City on this day in automotive history in 1924 may have been treated to the public unveiling of the first Chrysler car to use the trademarked name. Released under Maxwell as the Chrysler Six during the New York Motor Show, the car had only began rolling off the assembly line on December 20, a few weeks prior. Getting to this point was no easy task for proprietor Walter Chrysler. Maxwell-Chalmers hired Chrysler to head the ailing automobile brand just a year before. They had high hopes that Chrysler could save the company, as he had recent success revitalizing Willys-Overland. Among the first steps Chrysler took to get MC out of the hole: shutting down production of Chalmers in 1923. This left Maxwell on its own. To give the c...
Read More
December 5, 1977 – Chrysler Corp debuts FWD compacts Omni & Horizon
5Dec By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
This Day

December 5, 1977 – Chrysler Corp debuts FWD compacts Omni & Horizon

The first mass produced front wheel drive cars from the Chrysler Corporation debuted on this day in 1977. The subcompact Dodge Omni and Plymouth Horizon would help save the company. They became a popular alternative to economical imports at a time when Chrysler was losing major money. Aside from being the first FWD cars from Chrysler, they're among the first from any American automaker. Previous domestic FWD cars include the Cord 810/812, introduced for 1936, followed by the Oldsmobile Toronado, first offered in 1966, and the 1967 Cadillac Eldorado. The cars remained in production for eleven years with few changes. Some 2,500,000 Omnis and Horizons left the factory by the end of their run in 1990.
Read More
November 14, 1914 – The first Dodge car leaves the factory
14Nov By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
This Day, Videos

November 14, 1914 – The first Dodge car leaves the factory

Horace Dodge (left rear) and John Dodge (right rear) in “Old Betsy” in front of John Dodge’s Boston Boulevard home on November 14, 1914. Guy Ameel, superintendent of final assembly for Dodge Brothers is driving. This is likely a pre-production vehicle. After finding massive success as a partsmaker in Detroit's blossoming auto industry in the early 1900s, the Dodge Brothers, John and Horace, signed a deal to build parts exclusively for Ford. Since Henry Ford didn't have the capital to pay them directly for their services, he awarded them $10,000 in Ford Motor Company stock. As the brothers produced engines and other parts for the new Ford Model T starting in 1908, Ford's success amplified their own wealth beyond their wildest dreams. However, the two were not content building other peop...
Read More
November 2, 1983 – The first minivans from Chrysler leave the assembly line
2Nov By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
This Day

November 2, 1983 – The first minivans from Chrysler leave the assembly line

Lee Iacocca with the first Plymouth Voyager A few years before automotive executives Lee Iacocca and his Mustang sidekick Hal Sperlich found themselves kicked to the curb outside of Ford headquarters, the two spearheaded a new concept car known as the Carousel. Henry Ford II, who often butt heads with Iacocca, was less than impressed. It's design was radical, unlike anything else on the road. The Edsel fiasco also weighed heavy on Hank's shoulders, reducing his will to take a chance on a new vehicle. In the late 1970s, Iacocca and Sperlich both ended up fired from Ford and then hired by the struggling Chrysler Corporation. With Iacocca as president (later chairman and CEO), the two brought their concept back to life. Renamed the Magic Wagon during development, the project would res...
Read More
Cheap(ish) Mopar – One Owner 1971 Dodge Charger – $8,800
10Oct By Automotive History1285 Comments
Cheap Classic Cars

Cheap(ish) Mopar – One Owner 1971 Dodge Charger – $8,800

It may not be a Hemi, but it's got a V8! This 1971 Dodge Charger for sale just popped up on Craigslist near Tacoma, Washington, with the seller claiming it to be a single family car since new. This basic muscle car is a little rough around the edges and it's showing a little gray (literally, see below for the primer shots), but it'll clean up well. With cars like this going for near $30,000 in slightly better condition, I believe this here's a pretty dang good deal. Let's take a closer peek. This green Dodge Charger 500 is equipped with the 318 V8 and an automatic, possibly the same ones it left the factory with, but it doesn't say for sure. Correct me if I am wrong, but with base muscle, I believe matching numbers are less critical to value. In any case, it may not be the most excitin...
Read More
June 28, 2001 – The final Plymouth
28Jun By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
This Day

June 28, 2001 – The final Plymouth

Chrysler introduced Plymouth in July of 1928 as its entry into the low cost auto market. It was an immediate success thanks to its affordability, a trait that allowed the company to carry Chrysler, Dodge and DeSoto through the Great Depression. By 1931 the brand peaked as the number three best selling car in the United States.  Above: 1928 Plymouth, the first year of productionTop: The final Plymouth, a Neon Following World War II, the low priced automobile and its Chrysler siblings spent $90 million to update designs. Marketing efforts for 1949's "Great New Plymouth" reveal a primary goal, make sure men can comfortably wear their hats. Ads read, “The American motorist is tired of having his hat knocked off every time he gets in or out of a car." Fastforwarding through a decade ...
Read More
February 10, 1955 – Chrysler 300 goes on sale
10Feb By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
This Day

February 10, 1955 – Chrysler 300 goes on sale

The original Chrysler 300 hit the market on this day in 1955, aptly named for its 300 horsepower V8. Chrysler drew a lot of attention to the car with its HP rating, and rightfully so, as no previous American mass produced car broke the 300 horsepower barrier. To many, the 300 is a direct predecessor to the muscle car era that would arrive a decade later. The original 1955 Chrysler C-300 featured a top speed of 126 miles per hour. When it hit the track in NASCAR its paint scheme claimed it as the "World's fastest stock car." Despite some success on the track and interest from the crowds, only 1,725 units sold that year. Above: 1965 Chrysler 300L, the last year of the 300 letter series. By Greg Gjerdingen from Willmar, USA. CC BY 2.0. Top: 1955 Chrysler C-300. By Greg Gjerdingen...
Read More
Dusty & Rusty – 1917 Dodge Brothers Roadster – $8,995
18Oct By Automotive HistoryNo Comments
Cheap Classic Cars, Classifieds, Dusty & Rusty

Dusty & Rusty – 1917 Dodge Brothers Roadster – $8,995

Horace and John Dodge are among the most fascinating automotive pioneers, at least in this author's opinion. They started a machine shop in 1900 that would supply engines, transmissions, axles and other parts to numerous automakers including Oldsmobile and Ford. The pair made a fortune from to Henry Ford before jumping ship to start their own car company, Dodge Brothers. They finished their first car in 1914 and were soon pumping out some of the most durable automobiles in America. In 1917 the Dodge Brothers introduced the Model 30, which was available in several body styles. You could opt for a coupe, sedan, Tourer, or like this one, a Roadster. This running and driving 1917 Dodge Brothers Roadster is located in Sturgis, South Dakota and is on Craigslist for $8,995. It's sad to think tha...
Read More

This Day in Automotive History is a transportation history, car history and general automotive history website dedicated to providing informative and entertaining content. Our goal is to enlighten our readers by producing and publishing automotive content on a wide range of topics, including famous cars, important automotive inventors and engineers and other historic automobile related events, places and people. We encourage you to share our page and connect with us on Facebook or sign up for our automotive history newsletter at the top of this page. If you have any questions about the content we publish, including our car videos and car history pictures and text and the use of them, please don’t hesitate to contact us using the below email address. On occasion we post classic cars for sale from Craigslist, Facebook and other online marketplaces. We utilize imagery from those ads in a fair use fashion. This includes barn finds for sale, muscle cars for sale, vans for sale, station wagons for sale, trucks for sale and other affordable old cars for sale. If you’d like your car featured, reach out to us!

Facebook Twitter Instagram

Contact Us

©2022 Cars & Copy Media Co.

This Day in Automotive History is product of Spare Change Multimedia LLC, DBA Cars & Copy Inc.

Proud Member of the Port Gardner Vintage Auto Club
Click the Logo to Read Our Privacy Policy

If you learned something today,

please buy me a beer!