Chrysler Belvedere

The Plymouth Belvedere had a few spectacular personalities. A hardtop coupe released in the early 1950s. A top of the line series known for its elegance and flair. But surprisingly, the Belvedere is far from a household name. In fact, many attribute the name “Belvedere” to a witty butler from a sitcom that aired in the 80s, not to one of the most overlooked collectible cars in history.

An Account of the Plymouth Belvedere

For a short time in the late 1940s, General Motors had gone through a pillarless coupe phase. Shortly afterward, a two-door hardtop was introduced to the world, the Plymouth Belvedere. Much to the detriment of the Chrysler Corporation itself, Plymouth had often been late to the party after World War II had ended. At the time of the Belvedere’s release, it was in direct competition with Ford’s Victoria and Studebaker’s Starliner.

The fault should not be put entirely on the shoulders of Plymouth’s executive team. The company as a whole started in 1928, 25 years after Ford and 16 years after Chevrolet. It had some catching up to do. Even though it was behind in automotive field, Chrysler had a strong showing in 1929 allowing it to finish in the top 10. In 1930, Plymouth finished fifth ahead of Essex, Studebaker and Plymouth’s sister divisions, Chrysler and Dodge.

Even as the Great Depression was coming to a close, Plymouth was able to double sales with over half a million models sold by 1936. Chrysler was able to stay competitive with General Motors, Buick, and Chevrolet. By 1954, the company was able to reach the number five spot behind Buick and Oldsmobile, but was well behind Ford by a bewildering 70%.

The postwar dip in sales for Plymouth wasn’t strictly due to a lack of style, but it’s a good place to start. The president of Chrysler at the time, Kaufman Thuma Keller believed in practicality of the products the company produced. He was a fine art connoisseur, however, he often sacrificed aesthetics and beauty for utility when it came to the car company. He wanted cars to be smaller on the outside and bigger on the inside. The Chryslers of 1949 had boxy bodies, a lot of headroom and looks that weren’t impressive.

As a result, Plymouth felt the heat of customer dissatisfaction.

The Belvedere to the Rescue

The Plymouth Belvedere was not the first reasonably priced hardtop of the time, but it wasn’t the last either. What made it stand out was the combination of a reasonable price and good looks.

In the late 1940s, Plymouth had suffered by not offering a fully automatic transmission in its vehicles. Chevrolet had established this convenience with its low priced two-speed Powerglide that was released in 1950. Ford had their three-speed Ford-O-Matic transmission. Even Studebaker had a slushbox. To make matters worse, the sale of GM vehicles soared with their release of the industry’s first hardtop convertibles.

1950 was the year that change was on the horizon for the struggling Plymouth organization. K.T. Keller had become chairman of the company after serving a tenure of 15 years as president, a role filled by Lester Lum Colbert- “Tex” to his friends. A man named Virgil Exner was recruited by Keller from Studebaker. Exner was to head the advance design section of Plymouth and Chrysler. By 1952 and 1953, he scrubbed and modified existing designs to take the company in a new direction.

The repurposed Belvedere now had pillarless roofline for a light and overall improved appearance. The three-piece wraparound rear window complemented the roof and lower body with their contrasting colors. The Plymouths of 1951 were built with new front sheet metal that gave them more prominence than previous models. The Belvedere moved further into its own space thanks to its new “saddleback” two-tones and trunk lids whose color matched the roof of the vehicle. Hardtops were making a comeback in 1952 and the hard-topped Belvedere outsold its convertible counterparts more than three to one. After pondering their failure, the executive at Plymouth celebrating their victory.

The Plymouth Belvedere held its position as the top of the line series all the way through 1958.