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Final Voyages of DeSoto, 1960-61


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"Collectible Automobile" magazine's October, 2004 issue has just arrived, and there is an excellent, full color article covering the 1960 and 1961 DeSotos.

As usual, there are many photos of styling proposals and models. One that I found particularly interesting was a 1957 model for a proposed 1960 DeSoto. The design featured a twin-nacelle grille design that was remarkably similar to the style that appeared on the 1959 Pontiac. That grille design was a great styling innovation that marked the start of Pontiac's "golden era" and dramatic sales increase. Since Pontiac dropped the twin-nacelle grille for the 1960 models (before bringing it back for '61), one wonders whether DeSoto could have benefited from the design -- and a body that differed from that of the Chrysler -- for 1960. Most likely, it was already too late to save DeSoto.

I've always been intrigued by the short-lived 1961 models. The article includes information about an individual in the DeSoto club who has documented about 75 of the '61 DeSotos and is on the lookout for others. Chrysler Corp. did not keep the final DeSoto, but the car's serial number and body data are known. There is some hope that the last DeSoto -- built on November 30, 1960 -- still exists.

I was seven years old when the final DeSoto was built, but I remember buying a "Car Life" magazine at the time. There was an article that marked the passage of the marque and was called "Epitaph for DeSoto". During the late 1970's, I was amazed to stumble across a 1961 DeSoto in a supermarket parking lot in Portland, Oregon. I saw this car a few more times as I traveled some of the lower income neighborhoods in search of interesting old cars, and have often wondered about this car's ultimate fate. A four-door hardtop finished in white with a red roof, it was the only '61 DeSoto I have ever seen.

"Collectible Automobile" includes its usual sections on DeSoto advertising and small-scale models. The 1960 promotional models are shown, but there is no mention of the current 1/25-scale Modelhaus kits for the 1961 DeSotos. These 1961 kits are the basis for the beautiful new promos offered by Wheat's Nostalgia as part of its Memory Lane Extras series. I've bought several cars from the series; the quality is superb, and there are many beautiful Exner-era Chrysler products currently offered. The 1961 DeSoto is definitely on my short list, and Wheat's will create these in any factory original color scheme you want. Here are the promos in two of the available colors:

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Here's the link to the Wheat's Nostalgia "Memory Lane Extras" listing. Enjoy looking at all of the Exner-era Plymouths, Dodges, Chryslers and Imperials -- they're truly spectacular. (Scroll down each of the pages for the images and descriptions.)

http://www.wheatsnostalgia.com/index.php?browse?search?E???00?99?1?100?y

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  • 2 weeks later...

Seems like, if I recall correctly from magazines I was reading back then, that production stopped on April, 1961? Maybe April 15th like the other mid-year discontinuations that Chrysler has done (E-body Challenger/Barracudas, 1981 Chrysler Newport/New Yorkers)? I do recall that then-current DeSoto owners were offered a $100 or $200 extra allowance to trade their vehicles for another Chrysler product, if they should desire. Seems like the last DeSoto did look more like a Chrysler (which they probably shared many body parts with beginning with the 1959 models) than the flashier earlier DeSotos.

In those earlier times, Chrysler's product divisions tended to mirror GM division for division. With more commonality in the mechanicals, it was easier for Chrysler to pull off a "consolidation or reconfiguration" of their model offerings than it would have been for GM to do similar. Better dealer support, other than "crash parts", too.

When all of the carline engines became "corporate" in post-Hemi (v1.0) days, that whole consolidation process became easier too. Prior to that time, each division's Hemi V-8 had different bore/stroke combinations with Dodge having the smallest and Chrysler having the largest CID. The DeSoto engines had the longer strokes of the bunch, yet smaller displacements than the Chrysler versions. Yet by about 1960, all of the displacements were the same for all carlines, but now with specific performance packages for each division's hot rod.

The DeSoto name lived on after the discontinuation of car production in the USA, as a truck brand in South America, I believe. Kind of like "Fargo"?

Enjoy!

NTX5467

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