Start with what the Plymouth Belvedere is: a 2-door hardtop with 218 cuin Chrysler Flathead I6, built from 1954 to 1970, at the height of the post-war boom. What it meant takes a little longer.
How it came about
The Plymouth Belvedere is a series of American automobile models made by Plymouth from 1954 until 1970. The Belvedere name was first used for a new hardtop body style in the Plymouth Cranbrook line for the 1951 model year. In 1954, the Belvedere replaced the Cranbrook as the top trim and became a full model line with sedans, station wagons, and convertible body styles. The Belvedere continued as Plymouth's full-sized car until 1965 when it became an intermediate.
It was replaced after the 1970 model year by the Satellite, a name originally used for the top-trim level Belvederes. The word belvedere is Italian for "beautiful sight" or "fair view." Chrysler also had the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Belvidere, Illinois, which began vehicle production in 1965. However, the Plymouth Belvedere was never assembled there. During the 1950s and 1960s Chrysler Canada built the Belvedere for Commonwealth export markets such as New Zealand, India, and South Africa, in either CKD form or in factory right-hand-drive. Australia's local Chrysler operation built its own variation of the model until 1960.
The hardware
The engine is 218 cuin Chrysler Flathead I6. Drive goes through a 2-speed automatic. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 114.0 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.
Family and rivals
In the Plymouth line-up the Plymouth Belvedere has a clear place: it replaced the Plymouth Cranbrook; it handed the line to the Plymouth Satellite; the factory was Lynch Road Assembly, Highland Park, Michigan. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Mercedes-Benz 300 SL, the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, the Chevrolet Corvette. Its Plymouth stablemates include the Plymouth XNR and the Plymouth Laser.
Owning one today
There is no federal ownership record for the Plymouth Belvedere — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.