[FWDLK] How many MoPars are left?

["Robert Whitman" <rwhitman@xxxxxxxx>]

Every now and then I see a car for sale or I read a book that mentions
how many of a certain car are left.  Example: "only 50 known to exist!"
 How do these people find this information out, or are they guessing?  I
would like to know if another 1960 DeSoto exists (registered) in my
state or city.  I would think this information would be available by
doing a simple DMV search.  Has anyone attempted this?  I would think a
lot of owners would want this information and a book would have been
written on the subject by now, if this information is available.

The other night, "Public Eye with Bryant Gumble" had a special on
'65-'70 Mustangs blowing up and killing people.  They said the problem
was similar to the Pinto's, but Pintos have all gone to the junkyard,
but Mustangs are kept on the road, and still killing people.  They said
60% of these Mustangs are still on the road (1.6 Million), and the
number is INCREASING as more are restored.  My first question is why
would anyone want a Mustang, but second; how do they know how many are
registered?  What % of DeSoto's are still registered?  I doubt 1% are
still alive.

I would love to research this, please let me know if there is a way!
-Robert Whitman
1960 Desoto Adventurer