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----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, November 17, 2004 8:20 AM
Subject: This week in Auto History
This week in automotive
history
Chrysler's DeSoto, named
after Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto, was a hit even before the first model
was built in the summer of 1928. When Walter P. Chrysler announced that his
Chrysler Corporation intended to build a mid-priced vehicle boasting
six-cylinders, dealerships signed on immediately, and in the first 12 months of
production, the DeSoto set a sales record that stood for 30 years. The
innovative designs of the DeSotos of the 1930s were as daring as their namesake
... 1934 saw the introduction of America's first affordable automobile with
aerodynamic styling, and the 1937 DeSoto was hailed for its safety innovations.
The large and gracious 1940 DeSoto was advertised as "America's Family Car," and
the American family agreed, giving DeSoto its best sales in the first few years
after World War II. During the 1950s, the DeSoto became adventurous again, and
the 1955 DeSoto featured power styling to match its powerful engine. By 1956,
DeSoto was 11th in the industry. In 1958, DeSoto's designers introduced their
most flamboyant cars ever, the Firesweeps, Firedomes, and Fireflites, but the
public failed to embrace these new models, and all but the Fireflite was dropped
in 1959. On Nov. 20, 1960, Chrysler announced the termination of the DeSoto
marque.
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