Dodge Kingsway: the Plymouth-based Dodge for export markets

The Dodge Kingsway is an automobile that Dodge built for export markets, with the name adopted for the 1940 models. Kingsways were rebadged Plymouths, usually fitted with Dodge bumpers and trim, and were meant to help overseas Dodge dealers sell cars in a lower price class.

Dodge Kingsway at a glance

Based on one source: the English Wikipedia article on the Dodge Kingsway.

History of the Dodge Kingsway

The first use of the Kingsway name was in Canada for the 1940 model year, model D14, basically Dodge’s rebadged version of the Plymouth. The base model came with one tail lamp, one sun visor and one windscreen wiper, all on the driver’s side. The body was Plymouth with Dodge nameplates, a Dodge hood ornament and a grille that fitted the Plymouth front end, and the body styles were a business coupe and two- and four-door sedans. For 1941 the name continued on model D20 in base and Special versions, the Special costing about 25 dollars more, with the same body styles plus a five-passenger coupe with fold-up auxiliary seats in the rear compartment. For 1942 the Kingsway name was replaced in Canada by DeLuxe, although other export markets kept the Kingsway name.

Chrysler of Canada brought the Kingsway name back for 1951 as the Canadian Dodge version of the Plymouth Concord, replacing the DeLuxe name used on 111-inch wheelbase models in 1949 and 1950. The 1951 Kingsway came as a two-door business coupe, a two-door fastback sedan, a two-door Suburban wagon and a two-door Savoy wagon, the Savoy using interior and exterior trim similar to higher-priced models. The business coupe was dropped for 1952, and like the Plymouth Concord the Canadian Kingsway was discontinued for 1953.

In the export line-up the Kingsway was the lowest-priced Plymouth Deluxe model in 1949-1952 on a 111-inch wheelbase, in 1954-1958 based on the Plymouth Plaza and in 1959 on the Plymouth Savoy. The Kingsway DeLuxe was based on the Plymouth DeLuxe of 1946-1950 on a 118.5-inch wheelbase, then the Cambridge of 1951-1953, the Savoy of 1954-1958 and the Belvedere of 1959. The top Kingsway Custom was Dodge’s version of the Plymouth Special DeLuxe of 1946-1950, the Cranbrook of 1951-1953, the Belvedere of 1954-1958 and the Fury of 1959, and for 1959 only there was a Kingsway Lancer based on the Sport Fury. With the introduction of the Dodge Dart for 1960, the Kingsway line was dropped.

The Kingsway was built in several countries. In Australia, Chrysler released the D43 series Kingsway in 1953 with major panels pressed locally on Australian tooling, and D49 series Kingsways were assembled from 1954 to 1957, differing only in grilles and badges from the Plymouth P25 and DeSoto SP25 Diplomat also built there; an Australian-developed coupe utility version appeared in 1956. In India the Kingsway and the Plymouth Savoy were assembled in Bombay by Premier Automobiles until the late 1950s, and in Sweden Kingsways were assembled between 1955 and 1957 at the ANA factory in Norrköping.

Design and features

• Plymouth base: Plymouth bodies with Dodge badges, bumpers and grille.
• Three lines: Kingsway, Kingsway DeLuxe and Kingsway Custom, following Plymouth trim levels.
• Local assembly: built or assembled in Canada, Australia, India and Sweden.
• Australian utility: a locally developed coupe utility version from 1956.

Dodge Kingsway versions

• Kingsway (1940-1941): the first Canadian models, D14 and D20.
• Kingsway DeLuxe: based on the Plymouth DeLuxe, Cambridge, Savoy and Belvedere.
• Kingsway Custom: the top line, based on the Plymouth Special DeLuxe, Cranbrook, Belvedere and Fury.
• Kingsway Lancer (1959): a single-year model based on the Plymouth Sport Fury.

The Kingsway was a Plymouth-based stablemate of the Dodge Meadowbrook and Dodge Royal generations, and it was replaced in export markets by the Dodge Dart. More Dodge models are in the Dodge collection.

Sources

• Dodge Kingsway, English Wikipedia: versions, Canadian history, Australian, Indian and Swedish assembly