grafted on the rear of the car, while the front end gained dual (vertically stacked) headlights. These changes failed to arrest the slide in sales, as General Motors-Holden came to dominate the Australian market, and the Royal was viewed as being outmoded and expensive. Production ceased in 1963. The saving grace for Chrysler at this time was the French Simca Aronde—a popular 4-cylinder compact car which Chrysler Australia assembled from CKD kits at their Forestville factory. Local engineers developed an Aronde station wagon unique to Australia, with a then-novel wind-down rear window and tailgate. (Chrysler USA had acquired an interest in Simca in 1958, the basis for sourcing of this car). The assembly and marketing of Simca Aronde and Vedette models by Chrysler Australia was announced on 1 July 1959. In both 1958 and 1959 Chrysler Australia released Plymouth Belvedere, Dodge Custom Royal and DeSoto Firesweep models which were imported from the US in CKD form and assembled at Chrysler's Adelaide facilities. The Plymouth was fitted with a 318-cubic-inch V8 engine and the Dodge and de Soto models featured a 361-cubic-inch V8. Assembly of the three models was discontinued in 1960 and they were replaced by a single model, the Dodge Phoenix, which was produced by Chrysler Australia through to 1973. In 1964 Chrysler opened its Tonsley Park assembly plant located in the Adelaide suburb of Clovelly Park. An engine manufacturing plant was opened at Lonsdale in November 1967. These new factories replaced facilities at Keswick, Mile End and Finsbury. During this time, Chrysler Australia established its position as the third of the "Big 3" Australian motor manufacturers behind General Motors-Holden and Ford Australia. Valiant years 1960s Beginning in 1962, Chrysler Australia assembled the American Plymouth Valiant, marketed as the Valiant by Chrysler. By 1963, they had developed a local version, the AP5 Valiant, with distinctive styling giving the car a separate identity from the US Plymouth and Dodge variants. The reason for developing different styling was concern that the local manufacturer could not afford to make substantial styling changes as quickly as in the US. Hence, a modified appearance would minimise the risk of accusations that Australia was selling "last year's model". Through the 1960s, Chrysler expanded the Valiant range, with 2-door hardtop, long wheelbase (VIP) and sporty (Pacer) variants. Also, in 1966, with the Chrysler USA acquisition of the British Rootes Group, Chrysler Australia took over the Rootes