Classic Car Ads: The Low Priced Three | The Daily Drive | Consumer Guide® The Daily Drive

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1941 Chevrolet

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.

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.

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 brands were positioned on the bottom priced rung back then, as most contemporary makers compete in that space today. Gone are mid-price brands including DeSoto, Mercury, 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 branding exercise, certainly not one as successful. Today a similar effort might make reference to the low-price dozen.

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