At the dawning of the automobile age, there were an incredible number of companies manufacturing automobiles of all types. The internal combustion engine, which was in competition with itself over competing fuel systems, was competing with the steam engine and various other configurations. As time went on, though, consolidation took hold.

The number of major, global, modern-day, car manufacturers can now be counted on your hands. The rampant consolidation From the Great Depression through the latter part of the 20th century led to some confusion over which company owned which manufacturers (even crossing international boundaries). Chrysler solved this problem for themselves with Mopar.

The name, Mopar, derived from shorthand for 'motor parts.' It has been the parts and service division for all of Chrysler's domestic brands since the 1930s. After Chrysler merged with Daimler-Benz in the late 1990s, the resulting company--Daimler-Chrysler--kept the Mopar name for all of Chrysler's domestic lines. This sort of parts branding is relatively common in today's market because of the sheer number of brands under single corporate umbrellas.

Mopar Means American Parts
The Chrysler Group is the division of Daimler-Chrysler that oversees the current brands of Dodge, Chrysler, and Jeep. In the past, Chrysler also offered the Plymouth brand, the DeSoto brand, and the Imperial brand. Chrysler was, and is more so now, an international car company, but only their American products were given the Mopar name.