The Freewheelers Car Club

Marque of the Month

DeSoto
May

	was introduced in 1929 in the same market as newly-acquired Dodge.
	was moved upscale from Dodge in 1933.
	was all Airflow in 1934.
	was comprised of all six cylinder cars from 1933 - 1951.
	was discontinued during the 1961 model year.


1930 Series CF	1935 Series SF Airflow	1942 Series S-10C Custom	1956 Firedome	1957 Firesweep	1960 Adventure	1961 DeSoto

DeSoto was originally created to fill the gap between Chrysler and Plymouth, but Dodge was purchased at the same time that DeSoto went to market, making DeSoto almost superfluous. This was a harbinger of things to come. DeSoto was moved up-market from Dodge in 1933, but lost most of it’s market share in 1934 when the only DeSoto model offered was an Airflow. More conventional models were offered in 1935, but damage was done. Lack of eight-cylinder engines and little differentiation from Chrysler models did not help DeSoto win hordes of purchasers over.

DeSoto did get a little daring in 1942, featuring hidden headlights, the first on an American mass-produced car since the Cord 810/12. The famous DeSoto teeth (a favorite grille motif of hot-rodders in the 1950's) appeared in 1941 and lasted through 1955. The launch of Imperial as a separate, top-tier division in 1955 was the beginning of the end, as Chrysler moved down-market into DeSoto territory. At the end of 1960 DeSoto was dissolved and Chrysler Windors filled existing DeSoto orders.

Did You Know?

DeSoto sold 81,065 cars it's first year, an industry record for a first-year model until 1960.
DeSoto was named after a Spanish explorer.
DeSoto received a hemi engine in 1952, 1-year after Chrysler, 1-year before Dodge.
DeSoto Coronado introduced, along with Dodge and Buick, three-tone paint jobs in 1955.
DeSoto was merged with Plymouth in 1960.