1961 Desoto Quirks and Achievements

[hullinger]

I recently put together a video on my '61 Desoto highlighting some of the weird and wonderful aspects of the car.  I did this video from the prospective of a person who doesn't know old cars or Mopars.  Have a look and let me know what you think.

 

Chris

 

 

[michel88]

I liked the video and agree the '61 Desoto was a very different looking car especially the grille.  I was interested in the Torsion bar suspension test showing GM cars following the Chrysler car, and the torsion bar suspension was much better handling the bumps.  I remember the first time I saw a '57 Plymouth walking to school at the age of 12 years old and was shocked how different (and good) it looked!  A friend of mine's father traded his '55 Buick in for a '57 Plymouth 2 door hardtop and it felt really stable and cornered very flat compared to the Buick.  I very much liked the '57 Chrysler line up but my favorite was the great looking '57 Desoto.

[hullinger]

Hey, thanks so much for checking out my video and for your comment and memories.  Your friends dad going from a Buick to a Plymouth must have been quite  a switch.  But than I can see how that Plymouth won over a whole bunch of new buyers too.   I love those old promotional videos showing how one car brand handily defeats the contender, but than, the opposing brand conducts their own test and easily beats the others.  One that comes to mind is the Falcon and Corvairs.  They both show how they're better than the others.  

 

Chris

[36 D2 Coupe]

Fantastic video! Very well done. Now I REALLY want one

[hullinger]

Thanks for checking it out.  I enjoy making these type of videos on each of my vintage cars as a way of remembering all of the weird, unusual and cool features of the car.  Thanks again for watching.  -Chris

[Xander Wildeisen]

Well done, I got sea sick watching that poor old Mercury. That Cadillac took a beating in that test. 

[hullinger]

1 hour ago, Xander Wildeisen said:

Well done, I got sea sick watching that poor old Mercury. That Cadillac took a beating in that test. 

I wonder if those GM cars were put on a used car lot right after that Promo video was made.  Imagine seeing that brand new Cadillac for sale with a mangled rear door and trunk lid, shocks ripped out and a destroyed front suspension and wondering what the hell happened.

[Xander Wildeisen]

It was put back together, and given away at a local county fair. 

[ragtop4two]

That was a great video, that 7+ minutes seemed too short. I've watched your videos in the past and think you should post more regularly. 

[hullinger]

24 minutes ago, ragtop4two said:

That was a great video, that 7+ minutes seemed too short. I've watched your videos in the past and think you should post more regularly. 

Thanks for the comment and your thoughts about more videos.  I plan on creating a bunch more over the next few weeks, before the weather gets too cold here in Delaware.  It's surprising however the number of hours it takes and level of effort needed to make a simple little 7 minute video.  Regardless, look forward to a few more in the coming days and weeks.

 

Chris  

[Walt G]

Great video, most enjoyable, well edited and filmed. As the creator/host/producer for a for the local volunteer community cable tv studio I can sincerely appreciate all your time and effort that goes into your production and thought of how to present this . JOB WELL DONE, please keep it up.

[8E45E]

Absolutely loved the video.   Well done presentation and all.

 

Too bad your car is not equipped with the unique drum-type 'digital' clock.

 

If I have to give criticism, 1961 was not the actual end of Desoto production.  Some foreign markets outside the USA continued with cars for a few years and one could still buy Desoto trucks that were made in Turkey up until a couple of years ago.

 

Craig

 

[hullinger]

Hey Craig, thanks!  I enjoyed making it and especially educating folks on this car and the whole Forwardlook era.  Thanks too for sharing how Desoto lived on outside the USA and I too wish I had that super cool dash clock.  Since this video was posted a few days ago I received a bunch of feedback on how I missed a few notable things about the car.  So... I've got a follow-up video in the works now and expect to have it uploaded on Friday.  Look forward to it!

 

Chris  

Edited September 4, 2017 by hullinger (see edit history)