The Plymouth Valiant (first appearing in 1960 as simply the Valiant) was an automobile manufactured by Plymouth in the United States from 1960 to 1976. It was created to give the company an entry in the compact car market emerging in the late 1950s. The Valiant was also built and marketed, without the Plymouth name, worldwide in countries including Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina, Brazil, Finland, Sweden, and Switzerland, as well as other countries in South America and Western Europe.
Road & Track magazine considered the Valiant to be "one of the best all-around domestic cars".
For 1970, the Valiant was carried over with detail changes, including a new black plastic grille sculptured differently from 1969's metal item. The central portion protruded flush with the forward edge of the hood, while the remainder of the grille was set back from the front plane. The two-door sedan was dropped, replaced by the new Duster coupe.
In 1976, the Plymouth Volaré and Dodge Aspen F-body cars were introduced mid-year replacing the Valiant and Dart, respectively. Production of the A-body shifted to Saint Louis Assembly while Hamtramck Assembly was dedicated to the new F-body, which unfortunately, did not maintain their predecessors' reputation for quality and durability and in fact reversed it. The change hurt Chrysler's reputation and profitability, contributing to its near-bankruptcy in 1979–80.
