The Lincoln-Zephyr was marketed separately from the Lincoln due to the fact it was so much cheaper than the big Lincolns. The Lincoln Zephyr competed against the LaSalle and the Chrysler New Yorker. It was not replaced by the Mercury. The Mercury was introduced for 1939 to fill the gap between the Ford and Lincoln-Zephyr. The last Lincoln-Zephyr was 1942, but the 1946-48 Lincolns were Zephyrs in all but name. Companion makes : Oakland - Pontiac (1926 and on) Oldsmobile - Viking (1929-30) Buick - Marquette (1930) Cadillac- LaSalle (1927-40) Nash - Ajax (1925-26) and LaFayette (1934-36) Hudson - Essex (1919-32) and Terraplane (1933-37) Studebaker - Erskine (1927-30) and Rockne (1932-33) Paige - Jewett (1922-27) Chandler - Cleveland (1919-26) Reo - Wolverine (1927-28) Marmon - Roosevelt (1929-30) Companion cars were sold at the same dealer as the parent make. Thus the Jewett was sold only at Paige dealers, for example. Plymouth and DeSoto were not companion makes, They were set up with their own dealer networks and their own marketing firms. The Erskine, for example, was built and sold by the Studebaker Corporation. Plymouth was built and sold by the Plymouth Motor Corporation, a subsidiary of the Chrysler Corporation. Similarly, the DeSoto Motor Corporation, the Fargo Motor Corporation and the Dodge Brothers Corporation handled DeSoto, Fargo and Dodge Brothers / Graham Brothers production and sales. Chrysler converted their subsidiary corporations into divsions around 1934. Plymouth, DeSoto and Fargo were all introduced in an effort to expand the Chrysler Corporation along the lines of General Motors Corporation. Remember, Walter Chrysler cut his auto teeth at General Motors. He was president of the Buick Motor Company and a vice-president of General Motors from 1916 to 1920. Bill Vancouver, BC ----- Original Message ----- From: "Bill K." <pontiac@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> To: <L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> Sent: Friday, May 14, 2004 12:44 PM Subject: Re: [FWDLK] those 22 American cars in 1939 > It's probably something like the '56 Packard Clipper and the '60 Plymouth > Valiant, which were being considered seperate makes at their respective > times. Most of your major companies in the 30's had a subsidary line - I > can't think of all of them, but Terraplane, LaSalle, Pontiac (from Oakland), > plus Buick and Olds had theirs who's names escape me at the moment, seems > like Studebaker had the Rockne for a while, etc.. Zephyr would be the baby > Lincoln, until the Mercury ended up replacing it. > > I would imagine the Plymouth and DeSoto were outgrowths of that same > movement in the industry, given their 1929 introduction - not too many other > makes introduced in that time would last past the end of the 30's (Pontiac > one of the others). > > > > Bill K. > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Tony Boatman" <acboatman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> > To: <L-FORWARDLOOK@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> > Sent: Friday, May 14, 2004 12:10 PM > Subject: [FWDLK] those 22 American cars in 1939 > > > > Hi List, > > > > > > > > Several people responded to my quiz about the 22 American cars listed in > > LIFE Magazine in 1939. Here is LIFE's list: > > > > > > > > Ford > > > > Mercury > > > > Lincoln > > > > Lincoln Zephyr (?) > > > > Cadillac > > > > LaSalle > > > > Buick > > > > Oldsmobile > > > > Pontiac > > > > Chevrolet > > > > Plymouth > > > > Dodge > > > > DeSoto > > > > Chrysler > > > > American Bantam > > > > Hupmobile > > > > Graham > > > > Nash > > > > Hudson > > > > Packard > > > > Studebaker > > > > Overland > > > > > > > > The ones in Boldface are now extinct, i.e. 11 of the 22. It's odd that > > they separated Lincoln Zephyr from the Lincoln. I don't agree that, but > > if you agree it would be 12 extinct and 10 survivors. > > > >
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