Riding the Roller Coaster

A History of the Chrysler Corporation: Great Lakes Books Series

By: Charles K. Hyde

Narrated by: Dave K. Lawson

From the Chrysler Six of 1924 to the front-wheel-drive vehicles of the '70s and '80s to the minivan, Chrysler boasts an impressive list of technological firsts. But even though the company has catered well to a variety of consumers, it has come to the brink of financial ruin more than once in its seventy-five-year history.

How Chrysler has achieved monumental success and then managed colossal failure and sharp recovery is explained in Riding the Roller Coaster, a lively, unprecedented look at a major force in the American automobile industry since 1925. Charles Hyde tells the intriguing story behind Chrysler--its products, people, and performance over time--with particular focus on the company's management.

The book covers Walter P. Chrysler's life and automotive career before 1925, when he founded the Chrysler Corporation, to 1998, when it merged with Daimler-Benz. Chrysler made a late entrance into the industry in 1925, when it emerged from Chalmers and Maxwell, and further grew when it absorbed Dodge Brothers and American Motors Corporation. Throughout, the colorful personalities of its leaders--including Chrysler himself and Lee Iacocca--emerged as strong forces in the company's development, imparting a risk-taking mentality that gave the company its verve.

Winner of the Michigan Notable Book Award. The book is published by Wayne State University Press.

©2003 Wayne State University Press (P)2015 Redwood Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"Carefully documented, well written and full of detail, history professor Charles Hyde brings facts and figures together into the often astonishing story of Chrysler, right up to the merger with Daimler in 1998." ( Old Cars Magazine)

"Charles Hyde's book, Riding the Roller Coaster, is a welcome addition to anyone's library of automotive history.... This volume will serve as a standard reference on the history of an American auto maker, its successes and its failures." (Larry Lankton, Michigan Technological University)

Lots of data, bad performance.

Dave K Lawson mispronounces the names of many car models and brands, which is inexcusable in a book about cars. Plymouth Vol-Air is said most often. French manufacturer Ren-all is used as well. These are modern names and mispronouncing them detracts from the story.

Bland and Dry

All numbers and statics, very little about the car makers themselves. The book on Henry Ford was much better.

Narrator doesn’t know how to pronounce names

Great book on Chrysler history. Accurate and full of details. Even good for the student of business. Excellent details on WP Chrysler early years. Lots of details in Chrysler history for the past 25 years as well. Worthwhile reading if you’re are Mopar fan or auto buff interested in knowing auto history.

Wonderfully written. Well read.

As one that loves automotive history, I was captivated from the very get-go. Awesome piece of work.

Detailed overview of the Chrysler Corp

Captured most elements of the various eras of the corporation and it's key players. At times it jumped around a bit and had some overlap but overall a good listen. Does not include the most recent era though, see publish date.