The Pilgrims arrived at Cape Cod Massachusetts in 1620. They traveled from England on a 100-foot, three-masted sailing ship called the Mayflower. It moored in the harbor at a large rock the Pilgrims named for the home city of Plymouth. 308 years later, in 1928, Chrysler Corporation introduced a new, low-priced car they named Plymouth. The Mayflower ship became the symbol for Plymouth and enthusiasts often refer to their favorite car as a “Mayflower.”
The new brand was aimed directly at the huge market segment dominated equally by Ford and Chevrolet. Plymouth rapidly built credibility and the trio became known as the “Low Priced Three.” For over 30 years the triangle owned about 50% of the total domestic market. Being the smallest of the three, Plymouth worked hard to provide more bang for the buck and by the mid-thirties, Plymouth’s effort produced some remarkable and beautiful cars that were critical to the survival of Chrysler Corporation during the Great Depression years. They became so popular that they were sold by all three divisions, Chrysler, DeSoto and Plymouth, during that trying period. 
Jack Neal has been fascinated with cars since childhood. A native of Alabama, his family moved to Detroit where he landed a coveted spot in the General Motors styling department. With an artistic eye and a craftsman’s hand, Jack fit perfectly, building wooden models where the design teams tested new ideas that could only be visualized in three dimensions. His diverse bio included hobbies from team inline skating, cycling and “playing with cars.” Plus, his professional life was in a variety of engineering jobs, which ultimately landed him in Arlington in 1988.
Jack and his wife Sally have enjoyed a variety of “toys” in their garage over the years. The most recent was a ’33 Plymouth that they reluctantly sold to a friend who just “couldn’t live without it.” Like all of us who are similarly afflicted, they wanted another collector car. They found the beautiful 1936 Plymouth Deluxe Business Coupe featured here in Portland, Oregon, four years ago. The 90+-year-old owner was reluctantly selling his collection of 20 Plymouths, and he saved his favorite, the Blue Mayflower, for the last. He was happy that it was going to a home where it would be appreciated and driven. The car has been fully and authentically restored. The exterior glitters in its original color, Middy blue. The interior and undercarriage look like the day it rolled off the line in Detroit 90 years ago. It came with the original owner’s manual, a showroom brochure, and the first license plate with the number 2-0000, representing the second car registered in Oregon in 1936. It has the style and features of a luxury car but carried a “sticker price” of $580! The perfectly proportioned and streamlined body sports rare dual side-mounted spare tires, held snug in the fender wells with giant chrome wing nuts. A sculptured body highlighted with lots of tasteful chrome surrounding an interior upholstered in fine pleated wool. Even the “banjo” steering wheel is elegant, and there is a radio that still works in the art-deco dash. It also has optional dual wipers and taillights.
Jack really enjoys time behind the wheel of his stunning coupe. “It drives beautifully…. amazing how reliable and competent it performs. All original except for a 4-speed manual transmission from a Dodge truck. It’s like an overdrive … cruises effortlessly at 65. And I installed turn signals and outside mirrors just to be safe.” It is powered by an upgraded 218 cubic inch, 97 HP, “flat head” inline six-cylinder engine that Jack says is as “smooth as silk.”
1936 was a historic year with America’s domination of Hitler’s German athletes in the Olympics … the first live TV coverage of a sports event. Franklin Roosevelt won his second term and Babe Ruth was one of the first five players inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame. It was also the year that Chrysler Corporation built 26,856 Plymouth Business Coupes. With less than a 1% survival rate of cars over 80 years old, that means there are only a few of these lovely coupes left. It would be safe to wager that this one would surely win Best 1936 Mayflower.
