1960 Valiant

Chrysler had its Valiant. It was conventional in layout, but actually was extraordinary in its new features.The Valiant was sold as separate brand in the first year, but subsequently displayed Plymouth logos. The first generation was launched in 1960 and lasted until 1962. It consisted of a unibody car. It was restyled in 1963 then totally redesigned in a style reminding of European cars of the time. From 1963, Dodge used the Valiant as a base for its Dart models.
Only survivor of the Detroit compacts, the Valiant lived up to 1976 when it was replaced by the Volare and its Dodge clone the Aspen. From its creation the Valiant and its various immitations had found a market, but although profitable, did not suffice to stop Plymouth from its of 1960s cars.
In fact, the paradox is that the success of the Valiant led Plymouth to make another costly mistake. Assuming the mood for smaller 1960s cars, it downsized its whole fleet. Unfortunately, the majority of customers still wanted larger cars, and Plymouth lost more market shares.