The origins of Plymouth can be traced back to the Maxwell automobile. In the early 1920s Walter P. Chrysler took over control of the troubled Maxwell-Chalmers car company. The inspiration for the Plymouth brand name came from Plymouth binder twine, produced by the Plymouth Cordage Company, also of Plymouth, MA.
The Plymouth automobile was introduced at Madison Square Garden on July 7, 1928. It was Chrysler Corporation's first entry in the low-priced field.
DaimlerChrysler decided to drop the brand name after a limited run of 2001 models. Sales had fallen from 973,000 to 200,000 units by then. They rebranded some models under Dodge and Chrysler.