Nov 16, 2020 · DeSoto provided engineering advantages such as an oil filter and Lockheed hydraulic brakes that were either optional or not offered by contemporary makes. DeSoto niceties included standard automatic windshield wiper, ignition lock, brake light, full-instrumentation, steering hub controls for headlights, and a tool kit with grease gun.

Nov 16, 2020 · DeSoto was introduced to the public on August 4, 1928, after a private dealer showing in Detroit on July 7th. By year's end over 34,000 cars had been shipped to more than 1,500 dealers, most of whom handled DeSoto exclusively. DeSoto would set a sales record for a new make of automobile that would not be broken for over 30 years.

Nov 16, 2020 · The last use of the flat-head engines at Chrysler was in 1954 with the 264.5 cid six; at DeSoto, with the 1954 250.6 cid six. Plymouth and Dodge cars soldiered on until 1959 with the same 230 cid versions. Most Dodge trucks dropped the flathead six after 1960, when it displaced 230 cubic inches.

Nov 16, 2020 · 1950 DESOTO CUSTOM, S-14: DeSoto's new 12-inch brakes with cyclebond linings were among the largest used on any American passenger car. The introduction of bonded linings to De Soto and other Chrysler cars became another First. Shipments for the year rose to 136, 203 as De Soto passed the 100,000 sales mark for the second year in a row.

Nov 16, 2020 · Mildly restyled, DeSoto took on dramatic new dimensions through the use of the hidden headlamp concept, pioneered by the 1936 Cord 810. DeSoto's airfoil lamps hid beneath retractable panels at the leading edge of the fenders, advertised as "out of sight except at night." Clean fenders drew attention to the heavier, 37-tooth vertical grille.

Nov 16, 2020 · Depending on year, Chrysler offered the Royal, Windsor and DeSoto DeLuxe with Fluid Drive and the normal 3-speed manual. This was also the only way Fluid Drive was offered by Dodge prior to 1949. Fluid Drive first appeared on the 1939 Chrysler Custom Imperial, and spread to the rest of the Chrysler line in 1940, and then the DeSoto and Dodge in ...

Nov 16, 2020 · The Swiss postal services used DeSoto-based Mowag 3-ton vans between 1953 and 1988. Chrysler Antwerp, a wholly owned subsidiary, used to show all three makes at the Brussels show in the 1950s. When I worked in the Chrysler plant in the Netherlands in the 1960s, we made small numbers of Dodge trucks, but we could deliver them with a Fargo or ...

The DeSoto "Skyview" taxi, which appears to have been introduced around 1941, was a Waters innovation that was extremely popular in New York and other cities. This consisted of a long-wheelbase DeSoto sedan (the long wheelbase due to an NYC regulation at the time) with a plexiglas roof panel allowing tourists to oooh and ahh at the tall buildings.

Quality control was a problem throughout Detroit in the late fifties, but the sin seemed greater at DeSoto in light of the make’s previous high standards. Predictably, customers didn't return to DeSoto show rooms for 1958. Making matters worse was a recession. Unemployment topped 5.1 million, meaning fewer people could afford a new DeSoto.

Nov 16, 2020 · Sales of the DeSoto took off with a very strong start. The calendar year production showed 64,911 DeSotos with proud new owners. Over the first year of production, DeSoto built and sold 81,003 units. This was a sales record that stood for 30 years for a new car. DeSoto in the first five years of production stayed within 70% of Oldsmobile sales.