So true. They weren't afraid of sticking their necks out and doing something different. Sometimes it works and, well, sometimes not. Thanks for your comment and for checking out my video! -Chris
My family used to have a 2007 Chrysler 300 back when I was a kid and though the car looked beautiful it was a gas consuming monster resulting in soon enough being sold off.
Hey Pat, thanks. I enjoyed your intro video on your truck. I can't wait for more video from ya. I also subscribed as well. As for that Cadillac, man, that thing got beat up. Also, the announcer in that promo video said something about teeth in a curry cone. Huh?
The truth is that customers actually preferred the Cadillac ride. On actual roads, not test tracks taken at a constant 40 mph no matter how jarring, the Cadillac was more comfortable. Chrysler engineers chose much firmer spring rates than Cadillac and Buick and as a result they sacrificed ride quality for superior handling. It also wouldn't surprise me at all if we learn that Chrysler rigged the Caddy in that test to make the door and trunk fly open. The latches are pretty positive and would normally stay closed no matter what the suspension was doing. Cadillacs in these years were body on X-frame, very rigid and not prone to falling apart on a few nasty bumps. Wikipedia reports that the 1957 Chrysler corp cars torsion bar suspension system was prone to breakage, and the car bodies rusted pretty badly.
@@dlwatib Chrysler torsion bar front and leaf rear did offer better handling for decades, but in that one specific test it's not 100% fair because they spaced the bumps to coordinated w/the ChryCo. cars wheelbase....I THINK. I could be wrong. Either way, I love all cars, but that Caddy should not fly apart that easily. Have seen the rest of that test with "Uncle" Tom McCall(or is it McCahill?), and it's killer!!! McCall's favorite personal car of all time was the '63 era Imperials. Being an owner of a Dodge, 2 Plyms and an Imperial I prefer the better handling but still having an excellent ride. The GM X-frame I believe was strong torsionally, but except for the Buick which had a combined ladder/x-frame, I think they weren't as strong horizontally. I did love my '50s/'60s Bucks and Cadillacs though very much, and a couple Lincolns! BTW, they fixed the metallurgy in '58 for the torsion bars and then became the 1st US company to dip their bodies in a vat of zinc primer and have galvanized rockers. They paid the price for those '57s for sure though!
The "Flash Gordon" instrument panels on the early "6o's Chryslers were a sight to behold...3-D gauges and beautiful background lighting that outshines any other dash I've ever seen.
I had a 1965 Plymouth Barracuda with a 225 slant 6, drum brakes all round. It was the best car I have ever owned. I'm from Minnesota and she went through -27 deg F temperature during the winter. It sat out side and started every time. Also I never had any problem with the brakes. The best mileage I got was 28 mpg. I also owned a 1990 Dodge Dakota Pick-up. 127000 miles and only had to change the switch for the aircon. I now own a 1937 Plymouth 82 years old and We just took a 260 mile round trip with no problems. The engine has never been cracked nor the trans and rear end. Chrysler built great cars up to the 70's.
Beautiful car. I remember going car shopping with my Dad in 1961. I was 13 at the time and I loved the 61 Desoto he was considering - black with, I believe, a red interior. Worried about future parts and maintenance for the Desoto, he opted for a 61 Plymouth Fury.
The first car I bought was a 9 year old Chrysler New Yorker. 4 door, sedan with a 413 engine. Very similar to the DeSoto. Great car. My dad had a 59 DeSoto Fireflite Sportsman. Another great car. Would love to have both today.
In the 60's growing up, one of the neighbors had a 58' DeSoto, black & yellow 2 tone exterior with all black interior. Man that was one beautiful automobile. The kids mom drove it, she had cat-eye framed glasses & wore skin tight pedal pushers. This was like 1963, I was 6, cool memories....
I owned a 1959 Imperial & a 1962 Newport both superb cars (one of which saved my life) - Tom Cahill's test of the 57 Imperial vs. 57 Fleetwood is hilarious - If memory serves not only did the Cadillac have an early 1940's suspension system it was still using vacuum wipers - Chrysler had gone to electric in the late forties or early fifties. The other element worth mentioning is the Torque Flite transmission it had 200 fewer moving parts than the GM Hydramatic and was much less prone to problems especially when going into passing gear. Your DeSoto is an absolute jewel - than you for putting this excellent video on youtube.
"Tom McCahill"...and the Torque-Flite was the world standard for automatics for decades, while Ford flailed with the Ford-O-Matic and Chevy with the Powerglide, both lame two-speed transmissions while the TF was a super strong three-speed. You could treat the TF like a manual, shifting up AND down on the go, while the PG and Fordo couldn't do that for lack of, well, another gear...
I had a 63 imperial what a boat of a car I think was like 23ft long lol I just bought a 56 Desoto Fireflite for my channel but it’s a parts car and I’m sending out most of the parts to a subscriber in Norway it’s been a very cool experience all thanks to RU-vid
All the 1960 and 1961 DeSotos were nothing but badge engineered Chrysler's. According to Collectible Automobile had the plans for a 1962 DeSoto gone forward it would have been nothing but a rebadged 1962 Chrysler Newport.
@@vintageappliguy Actually Pat, a complete redesign of the 1962 Chryslers was planned. What would've been the `62 DeSoto looked quite a bit different from the Chrysler. This was early `59. Then Chrysler MIS-heard the rumor at a cocktail party about GM downsizing their big cars, and we NOW know what happened to the `62 models.
I could see a man stopping at a body shop in one of these to use the phone booth. When he comes out of the booth, the body man is standing there looking at the front of it, and says, "Gonna cost ya 'bout 900 bucks, mister!"
Packard introduced torsion level suspension front and rear in 1955, and push button drive in 56, plus reversible seating, and A/C which Packard introduced in the 30's.
Packard was THE luxury up until 1956, almost the end. The problem was Packard was only Packard that was all the company had to sell. The 57-58 Packards were rebadged Studebakers and were seen as unworthy of the Packard name.
@@Disques13Swing Yes, everyone knows the sad saga of 57-58. If Packard had been bought by Ford when they had the chance, we'd still be driving Packard's. Unfortunately, they'd likely be SUV's.
Front drum brakes were still standard on most cars at the time, that those were not servo or self adjusting was a little weird though. Chrysler was an early adopter of front disc brakes though, as they were with alternators and electronic ignition. They were leaders in design and technology back then, and they were known for it. The torsion bar front spring setup was a way to reduce unsprung weight on the suspension.
Thank you for the De Soto video. My older brother-in-law and my sister bought a brand new '61' De Soto, late '60'. It was a white 2door hardtop. Powder blue interior. I can't remember any other things about it. they owned it 9 yrs. Garage kept. It sure was a nice car.
I encourage others to watch "Testing of 1958 Cars (Parts 1 & 2)' on youtoobs. Tom McCahill was the notoriously beloved car tester for Popular Mechanic Magazine. ChyCos. strength and handling got even better in 1960 when all but Imperial went to uni-body construction. Thanks again for this vid of this precious piece of history!
Ah, DeSotos! I’ve always been fond of them, as my Uncle bought two or three new ones when I was a kid. I think his last was a ‘55 or ‘56. And if anybody ever built a more beautiful, classy ride than the ‘55 through ‘58 DeSotos, I haven’t seen it! I still have a factory DeSoto vanity mirror hanging above my garage work bench that a friend gave me decades ago. That’s as close as I ever got to owning one, but it always makes me smile. I have to admit that the styling of the last couple of production years was a bit quirky, but GM was offering some odd styling at the end of the fifties as well. Then, too, compared to many of the Chrysler Corporation cars in the early sixties, your DeSoto’s lines are clean and restrained! Thanks for a great video!
AkronDave just bought a 56 Desoto Fireflite for my channel for one of my subscribers I’m currently shipping parts over to Norway for him it’s been a very cool experience
Beautiful car!! By 61 it was getting a little weird. Still very cool though. 57 and 58 across the Mopar board was the pinnacle years for the 50s. My 55 Custom Royal with elements of the forward look but retaining the 50’s styling also a head turner.
I absolutely like even love your video! I was born in 1958 so I got to grow up with lots of those cool ole outlandish cars. When I was a little tot we had a beautiful black 58 Impala SS convertible with all the cool extras the Impala had then. When I turned 16 (,1974) our neighbor sold me her old 57 Dodge Coronet. I had no idea back then it had all that torsion suspension or even what a hemi was. But I sure loved that car.
Great video of an awesome car. I suddenly find myself wondering why Chrysler discontinued the torsion bar suspension. Now I'll be up till 2 am researching that. I believe the DeSoto was discontinued because it fell right between Dodge and Chrysler. The corp wanted to slim down the inventory to reduce costs. Eventually the same fate happened to the Plymouth.
While we're in the department of corrections, contrary to the narration, the DeSoto was not introduced in response to the Mercury, a car that was launched a decade after the DeSoto.
God that was an ugly car. But a guy who drives that car today, probably restored, has a good sense of humor, the kind of guy who sports a huge handlebar moustache.
A couple of things. The entire line of 1961Desotos was produced during 1960. First off, the last of the 1961 Desotos went out the factory door late in November of 1960 so the entire 1961 model lineup was built in 1960. I'm not saying the last ones were sold in 1960 but that's when they were built. Exner's 1957 models turned out to be a curse on Chrysler. They sold like hotcakes but they were slapped together to keep up with demand. The cars had a wide range of quality issues and many were returned to their dealers (most new cars had only a 90 day warranty back then) more than once. This cost Chrysler a huge amount of money in the form of lost future business. My favorite Desoto was the 1956 model. It would have had been the top trim level and would have gotten a 392 hemi or maybe later a 413 with the two 4 bbl carb setup if it would fit.
Love your comment and yeah, I gotta agree with ya. To be a car designer in the 1950's, you had to have some wild and outlandish ideas. The best part is that crazy thinking actually made it into production. Car Designer: Let's do wild fins! Hey, how about canted headlights! I got an idea - double grills!
Todays designers are constrained by the safety regulations. That’s why cars look the way they look today. When you tell to the carmakers that their car is ugly, they won’t bat an eye. But when you tell them that their car got 4 stars on a car crash test, it’s code red for them.
When I was a kid my dad always bought Mopar cars. We had a 53, 55, and 57 Plymouth and then a 57, 60 and 61 DeSoto. The 60 DeSoto was a total lemon so it got traded in on the new 61. About a week later Chrysler announced they were going to stop building DeSotos and my dad had had it with Chrysler. He traded the new DeSoto in on a 61 Caddy and never bought another Chrysler car again. I later bought a 73 Plymouth Satellite which was also a massive lemon.
Great job. It was refreshing to say the least to hear an owner dish the bad with the good. I grew up in the 50's with all these GREAT cars. IMHO, the 50's were far and away the best of auto design. I still absolutely love these cars. We lived 4 blocks away from main street and we used to sit on the front porch when I was about 12 and name the brand and model of the cars flying through the intersection 4 blocks away. I remember an 10 year old kid (younger than my crowd) who would join us on occasion. He was amazing never missed a model or a color. Some 6 years or so later he drove a gorgeous 55 windsor.
Love your comment and thanks for checking out my Desoto video. If you'd like to see more than be sure to check out part 2 here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2x9ArO0WEKU.html&lc=UgxobBRORLZ1ed-nXQZ4AaABAg
Bet you can't do that nowadays...all the cars seem to take the dumbest styling cues and bond them together for that euro (ugh!) look. Many suggesting a huge horizontal Hoover vacuum cleaner. Don't get many color options anymore, either.
Love the car and even though this represents Desoto's last gasp, it was quite a way to go out. I also appreciate learning about Chrysler's advanced Torsion Bar suspension. Laughed at watching that video. Unbelievable... but, what a great way to demonstrate it in action! Thanks for the post!
Extremely ugly grille! I wonder if Chrysler was intending to end production of the Desoto and didn't want customers saddened by dropping the Desoto line?
Over here in the UK the GM subsidiary, Vauxhall were using torsion bar front suspension from the early thirties to 1951. It's quite a complex arrangement but gives a comfortable ride. The only downside is that when braking the front of the car tends to rise which does take a bit of getting used to! That's a superb Desoto. Great video.
Howdy. Thanks for the tour of your DeSoto. I'd like to have a 1959 Adventurer convertible (only 97 built) and an oil well to go with it. I'll bet some accountant at Chrysler said they only needed one green light to indicate the turn signals were on since the driver must know if they were going to turn right or left.....makes you wonder. You might want to upgrade your drum brakes to discs. 🤔🙂😮🚦
I think it's high time & long overdue that tailfins make a comeback why not ? I'd like to see the outrageous style of the '59 & '60 Chevrolets return with a vengence.
My parents bought a 1961 Chrysler sedan, I was 12 years old at that time and just sort of becoming a car geek. They had it long enough that I learned to drive on it, with the pushbutton auto transmission on the dash. By the time I was in high school, they'd bought a new Oldsmobile Delta 88, the first car they ever owned with air conditioner. I don't honestly remember much about the Chrysler, although I do remember my mom never liked the color, which was a pale green. Not sure if that's why they traded it for the Olds or not.
The dashboard is right out of a Dodge and is completely different from a Chrysler's. The body is almost completely identical to a Chrysler with trim, tail light, and grille differences to differentiate it. They weren't trying too hard and pretty quickly dropped DeSoto after a couple of months. Sort of like the 1960 Edsel. Dead cars driving.
I’ve always liked cars that make a statement and your 1960 DeSoto definitely makes one. I bet when driving down the road everybody stops and looks and says, “did you that car that is one wild looking car.” Virgil Exner definitely lived up to his nickname Virgil Excess.
That was Virgil's downfall...Chrysler execs decided his engineering became too baroque in styling at the time. Exner worked at Studebaker at the time Chrysler hired him. He was part of the Studebaker moonlighting styling team that helped Ford with their new 1949 car lineups.
I love DeSoto's. In '63 I learned to drive on a 1956 DeSoto Firedome my dad bought new and drove it for the road test to get my license. Dad also bought a '59 DeSoto Firedome. Unfortunately the car was a lemon. Spent more time at the dealer than in our garage. Dad got rid of it in 1960 for a Pontiac Bonneville. He didn't buy another Chrysler product until he bought a 1964 Dodge Dart. The Dodge was a very reliable car. Dad gave up on Chrysler after he bought a 1976 Plymouth Volare. It was another lemon and so was my new 1973 Plymouth Fury III. That was the last Chrysler product I ever owned.
This car is weird, wild, wacky........... And wonderful! DeSotos were really handsome cars in their era; they should have been sold more, like the Imperial. But they were not as popular as the other divisions. That was a shame, because the cars would look good in anyone's garage, and would be totally ready for the road.
Please understand hydraulic drum brakes. The hydraulic pressure is the same on both sides of the system, so adjustment will not make the car pull one direction or the other. Adjusting the brakes will allow the pedal position to be higher or lower, that's all.
Hey man, thanks so much for the comment and kind works. I really do appreciate that. I've got a few other Desoto videos in playlist on my channel so If you're interested and have a moment be sure to check them out! -Chris
Sorry, pal, the Exner "forward look" ran through 1962, but without fins on the C body cars and minor fins on the smaller Dodge and Plymouths that trended sideways. It was 1963-64 when the "slab-side" design was melded somewhat curiously in with the Exner design, then 1965 when it became THE design of Chrysler until the 1969 "fuselage" styling.
So, you ask @7:06 if "you" would drive a car like that? Though I was just a kid in '61, my answer would have been the same, no. Not because of the size (had a '66 Bird and a '68 Le Sabre and driven shuttles and vans etc. for work), or the exterior styling, but because of that busy over done dash. To paraphrase McCoy, "Dammit, Jim I'm driving a car not summoning the Wizard of Oz." Maybe because my Dad was a truck guy, I got used to and came to prefer a simpler, clean design.
Factual errors and omissions. Production of this hardtop sedan was only 2123 and the coupe only 911. The engine is a 361 V-8 2 BBL with 265 horsepower. The poor quality of 1957 Mopars badly hurt DeSoto sales afterwards and the similar 1961 Chrysler Newport killed off the brand. Also, the Mercury was introduced in 1939, ten years after the DeSoto. Walter Chrysler created DeSoto because he wasn't sure he would be able to buy Dodge Brothers. Chrysler was able to buy Dodge but kept DeSoto anyway. In 1933 Dodge moved downward and DeSoto moved upward in the hierarchy but initially DeSoto was more competitive with Pontiac than Oldsmobile.
Very well done and not an uninteresting moment. Did you mean "Ji-ro Ride" [my phonetic spelling] instead of "Guy-ro Ride" where the former pays homage to the gyroscope?
In 1957, it was the main sponsor for Groucho Marx's "You Bet Your Life." The commercials were very glam to highlight the bling. One of my favorite 50's cars.
My grandfather and father worked at Chrysler dealers. I rode in many Chrysler products over the years including some of the "Foreward Look" cars. I loved their design...almost in your face sci-fi future with a flair. The changes within the corporation doomed DeSoto which led to this "odd" one year model and would result in the quirky 62's (which I still like) that were neither as Exner planned nor the "safe" option quick fix that corporation counted on. So many good ideas wasted during the reshuffle and that would kill DeSoto (although it took a few years in some regions for the name to vanish) and eventually Plymouth too.
What I find funny is that so many Americans verbally abuse these cars, even though they SET the state of the art in almost every practical area. For example, when Rolls-Royce finally went to an automatic transmission, what did they use? GM Hydramatic. When they finally woke up to air conditioning? GM Harrison Radiator Division. Monteverde, Jensen, Ghia, Facel needed an engine and transmission? Chrysler. These cars were the pinnacle of their era. The problems began at the head office: they were mastodons, unable to see that there were going to be new automotive areas to dominate, and companies like Toyota and Honda ate them alive. The brains were there. The corporate will wasn't...
That quick shot of the mid 1980's Chrysler (New Yorker? Fifth Avenue?) was a design I really liked even when I was a kid. It had an ordered yet natty appearance. I'd like to have one today.
Even though I don't think The 80's model K cars had the same kind of brakes, they still gave a lot of problems. They nearly killed our Family when a car pulled out in front of Us, and all of a sudden, the car pulled to the right. Then, the left rear wheel hit a speed limit sign. That spun Us around and sent Us down a 20 foot embankment, we went down that with the passenger side dragging the ground. Then I guess We hit some more trees, and the car landed back on the wheels and stopped. The local Chrysler Dealer here in Asheboro North Carolina fixed $4700 worth of bodywork damage to it. We asked about the brakes and We even tried them out before We left the dealership with it. They worked ok, until a year later when My Sister was driving home from school. She popped over a hill and there was a school bus stopped in the road and a kid going across the road. She knew it wasn't going to stop. It was pulling to the left with Her, it had pulled to the right with me. She plowed up a guy's yard with it, but didn't hit the bus or the kid. Later that day, My Dad left Black Marks up and down the road We live on. Because if You were going 35 miles per hour, it would stop perfect, but if You were going 40 or higher, It might go left one time, or right the next time. The Dodge Dealership never would admit that there was a problem with the brakes, but We know there was, and we will never own anything they build again!!!!!!
1961 and 1960 and 1934 air flow are the 3 ugly DeSotos were ever built, it's not hard why chrysler had problem selling the 1960 and 61 that's when they went all out on uglyness and that came into play. People don't want something so ugly that you wouldn't go out on a date with. That's why Chrysler lost and gave up on DeSotos. The most beautiful DeSotos were ever built was the 1958 and more so the 1959 they did a every good job in designing the 59.
This could just be the worst looking car that Chrysler Corp. ever made, but they did make some very ugly cars. Instead of just ending production, on a high note, and stopping in 1959 they allowed two more terrible years to go by before pulling the plug. Maybe Groucho had something to do with it!
There was supposed to be an Adventurer for 61, but it was never actually produced, or was it? I have heard rumors off and on over the years that a tiny handful DID escape, and I used to see, when I was a kid, a 61 DeSoto with GOLD, rather than chrome, nameplates. I also used to see one driving by with the 5 chrome strips on the trunk lid. Has anybody found any 61 Adventurer pilot-line cars that were supposed to be crushed, but were sold instead?
Jason, thanks for watching and for your comment. I appreciate you. As for the Desoto, I just started with a Craigslist ad and listed the car on a Facebook page too. We'll see who is interested in the coming week or two. Take care. -Chris
My friend John Pimintel was a Chrysler road test engineer and made those 57 road handling films. A lotta testing was done in northern Nevada cause of the wide open spaces and no speed laws in Nevada. He told me a stock 57 Saratoga non hemi would go 128 mph. Most cars were done at about 110 even though the speedos might be showing a lot more. Corvette owners were upset as the new imperial would out run them. By the way if you forgot starting in 60 all mopars but imperial were unibody.
Was a little boy back when Desoto was made back in the late 1950s; they are good-looking cars. When Chrysler gets back to profitability again they should revive the Desoto brand.
A friend had one in 1972. We burnt up old country roads of Seminole County Oklahoma. The strongest car ever drove. Could take rough pot holed roads like a military vehecal.
LOL--In the comparison test video, the Cadillac looked like it buckled the quarter panels coming down over the bumps! So springy and loose, the driver had to fight the steering to keep the damned thing going straight!
there was one of these at a local car repair shop parked on the lot for years when i used to walk to school back in the 70's . it was cool then and cool now
Very cool, love your DeSoto and Vigil Exner designs. If you're not a purist and want to make it a daily driver, not to mention, have the cash, think Wilwood Brakes. I'm sure they even have a mod to relocate the booster. Jay Leno speaks highly of them.
Torsion bars gave too stiff/rough of a ride and didn't last as long as coil springs because they weren't as long... they were overstressed... OK for sports racing cars temporary use, not for luxury cars... the car would be sitting and the torsion bar would just break, letting the car drop down...
The 61 Desoto would be one of my favorites, the weird 2 tier grill with the cantered headlights. The long sweeping fins also cantered in the back and one with the long Rams the pinnacle of motors.
the drum brakes did self adjust, and if you watch the chrysler master tech videos, (antique filmstrips) available here on youtube, you could find out how to set these brakes properly to where they operated correctly rain or shine, i love these cars, i am the proud owner of a '62 imperial crown southhampton 2 door, she is a survivor car but not as pretty as this DeSoto, ( new mexico sun) i greatly enjoyed this video, but you forgot to show us the operation of the driveshaft mounted parking brake, very nice segment on the road tests, thank you so very much, those who never saw these cars and will never get to drive one,,,, sadly will never get to know what they missed out on
Mopar tried to make a big deal out of it but the behavior of torsion bar suspension wasn't really different in any significant way from coil spring suspension. The spring itself was packaged differently but that was all. The A-arms; shocks and steering components were no different than the coil spring suspensions of other cars. Mopar did choose to use stiffer spring rates which gave better handling characteristics but that was just a choice of handling over ride comfort and could have been just as easily used on the coil spring cars to the same effect. Packard on the other hand used torsion bar suspension that was very revolutionary.
