COMPANY

Originally developed and manufactured by the Chrysler Corporation in 1928, DeSoto reached its peak in 1955 with its Fireflite and Firedome lines, comprised of seven models. Although several incarnations and models of the vehicle would come and go, Walter P. Chrysler had introduced the car during the summer of 1928 and the 1929 DeSoto Six immediately attracted hundreds of dealers.

DeSoto takes its name from the 16th century Spaniard, Hernando de Soto who had discovered the Mississippi River. The explorer had uncovered more North American territory than any other explorer of the time, although the Chrysler Corporation was no doubt in the dark about de Soto's notorious and ruthless murders on his conquering rampage. The name was a nod to American history in keeping with the Americana theme that Chrysler had unveiled with its Plymouth cars, which had named American cities, towns and other place names.

During its first year on the market, DeSoto broke previous records by selling 81,065 vehicles. The company had built more DeSoto vehicles that first year than Pontiac, Chrysler, or Graham-Paige, which was a record that stood for approximately thirty years. It is interesting to note that had Chrysler bought out the Dodge Brothers any earlier than 1928, the DeSoto never would have been introduced.

The first DeSoto models were mid-priced vehicles featuring six cylinders and 55 horsepower, Lockheed hydraulic brakes, an oil filter, automatic windshield wiper, brake light, full-instrumentation and even an included tool kit. The package was a bargain by any standards.

Along with the acquisition of the Dodge Brothers, Chrysler had the advantage of marketing two mid-range makes and the DeSoto was priced below the Dodge models.

During 1930, DeSoto returned with a top-of-the-line model called the DeSoto Eight. This bigger vehicle featured everything that customers wanted to see in a luxury car and it was hailed as "the world's lowest-priced straight eight". Despite being the first year of the Great Depression, the DeSoto built 20,075 DeSoto Eight models that year.

When wind tunnel testing had proved that cars moved more efficiently when classic body styles were reversed, the company introduced the DeSoto Airflow in 1934. The svelte body and smooth arch was a revolutionary design and most contemporary cars have followed in DeSoto's footsteps. Even so, DeSoto purchases declined by 47% that year and the Airflow line was cancelled by 1936.

DeSoto founded the rocket body design and the semi-automatic transmission by 1941. In 1955, DeSoto sold 115,485 cars before the vehicle began to steadily decline. The decision to close DeSoto was finally announced on November 30th, 1960.