Title: BangShift.com Top 11
Headings: The Top 11: Defunct American Car Makers
The Top 11: Defunct American Car Makers
Top 11 Defunct American Car Makers
Brian Lohnes

Content: It was launched as a mid-priced competitor for Studebaker and some GM models. In 1961 Chrysler killed the brand after basically steering it off a cliff. Instead of using its (then) five brands to appeal to different market segments, Chrysler allowed them all to compete with each other. In doing this, the other makes stole the entry level customers DeSoto was dependant on, and with lagging sales, it was only a matter of time before the other shoe dropped. 6) Plymouth: Ironically, the brand that did the most damage to DeSoto back in the day was Plymouth. Always positioned as a “bargain” brand Plymouth was introduced in 1928 just as DeSoto was. Plymouth’s early life was good, producing more than 400,000 cars in the late 1930s and actually passing Ford to be the number-two manufacturer in the country for a couple years in the 1940s. The end began slowly in the late 1970s when Chrysler was in the financial soup. Less and less time, money, and attention was paid to Plymouth, and eventually all Plymouths were simply re-badged Dodges.