Classic Car Ads: The Low Priced Three

You can’t exactly say that Plymouth created a market segment, but the new-for-1928 Chrysler division went to great lengths to define one. Plymouth was founded specifically to tackle the “low-cost” competition, which at the time was primarily Chevrolet and Ford.

More classic car ads

The Low Priced Three

From the start, Plymouth advertising made reference to the “low-cost field,” which quickly gave way to the “the low-cost three.” Though period ads rarely identified the competition by name, consumers understood that the “three” were Chevrolet, Ford, and Plymouth.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayrf3m1cVO8

The Hudson, Pontiac, and Studebaker ads below are interesting, as the ad copy makes reference to the low-cost three, which feels something akin to Burger King discussing special sauce. But again, consumers of the era understood the terminology.

Chevrolet and Ford marketers seemed reluctant to engage Plymouth on its own level, and—per my research—made less use of the low-priced-three terminology. That said, the 1941 Chevrolet ad below is pretty enlightening—especially the quiz.

It’s interesting to consider that just three volume brands were positioned on the bottom-price rung back then, as most contemporary makers compete in that space today. Gone are mid-price brands including DeSoto, Mercury, and Oldsmobile.

For whatever reason, probably the emergence of Rambler and import brands, the low-cost three terminology faded completely away in the Sixties. I can’t think of a similar automotive-branding exercise, certainly not one as successful. Today a similar effort might make reference to the low-priced dozen.

More classic car ads