Virgil Exner’s raft of 1957 models have rightfully earned their place in the pantheon of automotive design history, and everyone knows the story about how Exner one-upped GM and stole the mantle of design leadership only to have it wrested from his hands by poor quality control and questionable follow-ups. I’ll argue, however, that by today’s standards, his 1955 efforts are cleaner and more elegant than those highly prized 1957s, and that the 1955 Fireflite Sportsman is the best DeSoto ever.
The decade of the 1950s was tough for Chrysler; their prewar success, to the detriment of Ford, was not carried over into the early postwar era. The styling department was overshadowed by engineering, and sales reflected the cars’ staid image (although I still think Chryslers from that era are cool). Hiring Virgil Exner and giving him the power to completely restyle the 1955 models gave Chrysler the visual excitement it needed, and for a glorious two model years the entire line was as beautiful as it was well-built. I think that the pre-tailfinned 1955 models were Exner’s peak. All Chryslers were clean, elegant, and well-detailed without the exciting but quickly-dated tailfins.
Nevertheless, one thing that has always baffled me about Chrysler is their decision to build three different Hemi engines in the 1950s. I’ve never personally worked on one, but it’s apparent that few parts interchange among Dodge, DeSoto, and Chrysler Hemis, so the engineering budget must have been staggering. One must wonder if consolidating engine families would have saved enough money to improve the abysmal quality control of the 1957 models (I doubt it); at any rate, it’s an interesting “what if?”. Regardless, DeSoto lost its Hemi by 1958 when the new Chrysler B/RB engines were introduced, thus eliminating one more reason to keep DeSoto on as a unique product. Clearly, Chrysler’s (and Ford’s) attempt to imitate General Motors’ sales paradigm didn’t work without their volume, and that became clear as the 1950s elapsed. Fascinating stuff.
The 1955 DeSoto had a 291-cubic-inch version of the DeSoto Hemi, an engine that would see its peak displacement with the 1957 Adventurer’s 345 cubic-inch V8. The bore spacing of the DeSoto block was 4.3125″, less than a concurrent Chevy small-block’s, and that may be another reason why the engine was discontinued (aside from its manufacturing costs): There wasn’t any room to grow into a seven-liter future. At any rate, the 291 still produced 200 horsepower when topped with the Fireflite’s Carter WCFB, which was competitive with the middle-priced cars of its era.
The three-speed Torqueflite was not introduced until 1957 in the DeSoto line, so buyers had one option if they wanted an automatic behind their hemi, the two-speed Powerflite.
The 1955 model year was the last before “push-button drive” became a catchphrase at Chrysler. This Fireflite has the dashboard mounted range selector, which must have given Ralph Nader an eye twitch. Sticking straight out of the dash for maximum lethality, it’s a good thing that cooler heads prevailed for 1956. Aside from that questionable piece of design, the interior is downright clean for a 1950s car. Sportsman models wore genuine leather seat covers, and the clear gauges and stylish two-tone themes make this one of the most attractive interiors of its day.
All of that pales when compared to the exceptionally successful styling of the DeSoto and Chrysler models in 1955. Reminiscent of Exner’s Ghia concept cars of the early 1950s, these cars were the first to carry the “Forward Look” moniker.
This is one of those early Exner Chrysler concepts, the aptly named “Chrysler Special” that was once on display at the now defunct Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills, MI. It’s easy to see its influence on the Fireflite’s quarter panels, for example.
Perhaps a sign that all was not well at DeSoto, however, was how similar the 1955 Chrysler looked. This one is a New Yorker St. Regis, and it was for sale a couple years ago no more than a half-mile from my house for $15,000 on Facebook Marketplace. It wouldn’t fit in the garage, so we’ll call it a near miss along with a missed opportunity. But I digress.
DeSoto’s demise might have been inevitable given hindsight, but that seems hard to imagine when looking at the beautiful 1955 Fireflite Sportsman, especially in its gorgeous green and white two-tone color scheme. With a surprisingly light shipping weight of 3490 pounds, over 10,000 Sportsman hardtops were sold in 1955. That was, unfortunately for DeSoto, fewer than the 11,076 St. Regis hardtops that Chrysler sold, even though the St. Regis cost over 700 dollars more. Uh-oh.
Picture courtesy of “Mad Ads” on eBay
Still, even with the color scheme of our feature car reversed (as in the advertisement above), it’s clear that DeSoto’s claim that it was the “smartest of the smart cars” was not your typical Madison Avenue-based “expedient exaggeration.” Few remember DeSoto today, but for around $3000, one could buy a really nice, handsome car of quality construction that’s been somewhat overshadowed for years. It might be the best DeSoto ever.
There’s no way that car started off at 3490 lb. According to my Consumer Guide auto encyclopedia, the Fireflite hardtop coupe was 3890. The 4 door sedan was 3940 though, so maybe there’s a transposition error in there, somewhere?
As for the similarity to Chrysler, I don’t think that was a problem for DeSoto, at least not yet, as the DeSoto/Chrysler had a strong similarity since the 1934 Airflow. Chrysler had also traditionally outsold DeSoto, but by 1955-56, the gap had closed considerably. Part of that was because Imperial became a separate marque in 1955, and its sales were counted separately. There was some metric, calendar year registrations or something like that, where DeSoto actually DID beat Chrysler, for 1956. But being calendar year, that would include some 1957 production, I’m guessing.
What ultimately killed DeSoto, in my opinion, was the decision to move Chrysler-branded vehicles downmarket, in an attempt to let Imperial stand more on its own. DeSoto got squeezed between Chrysler and Dodge, and while that would have worked in better times, the recession, and newfound demand for smaller, cheaper cars, pretty much torpedoed the middle-priced market. General Motors was able to get away with having Olds and Buick pretty much parallelling each other starting in 1959, because GM had much deeper pockets, and could devote more to individual styling and marketing budgets than Mopar could.
I think another thing that hurt DeSoto, but perhaps also Mopar in general, was that “one size fits all” body shell of 1957. Quality issues aside, it just made all four lines a bit too similar. And, if a roomy car was what you wanted, it gave you less incentive to move up the ranks, as a New Yorker was no roomier inside than a Plaza or Savoy. Any extra length of the senior cars was just tacked on in the rear (Dodge/DeSoto Firesweep) or at both ends (DeSoto/Chrysler). You still got bigger engines, nicer interiors, and I believe the 126″ wb cars did have beefier frames, so there was some incentive to move up, but it wasn’t the same as in 1955-1956.
I think to me the “perfect” DeSoto would actually be the 1956 Fireflite, and I say this, as someone who has a ’57 Firedome. I do like the ’55, how it looks modern, yet at the same time the styling has some tie-in to the ’51-54 DeSotos. It has nice proportions, and while not as well-built as the ’54 and earlier cars, was still a quality automobile. As for why I like the ’56, I think it looks great with tailfins and the triple-stacked taillights, and I like the forward thrust of the Fireflite’s headlight bezels.
As for performance, Consumer Reports tested a ’55 Fireflite, and 0-60 was around 13 seconds. They also tested an Olds Ninety-Eight in that same comparison, and it was quicker, at around 11.8, but had the advantage of a larger engine. I’d imagine the Hydramatic’s 4 forward gears gave it some advantage over the 2-speed Powerflite, as well. MT or R&T, or one of those magazines also tested a ’55 Fireflite, and got a slightly quicker 12.8 seconds. They also tested a Mercury, forget which model, but it was a musclecar in comparison, clocking in around 9.8. So the ’55 Fireflite wasn’t exactly a drag racer, but decent enough for the time.
As for dumping the DeSoto Hemi, I don’t think they had any 7-liter aspirations back when it was first designed. Or even 1958, when it was dropped. It’s just that the Hemi was expensive to build. Dodge went to a cheaper poly-head for most applications pretty quickly, and by ’55 even Chrysler limited the Hemi to the New Yorker, C-300, and Imperial. The more mass-market Windsor used a poly-head. Meanwhile, DeSoto V-8s were all-Hemi, all the way. So it was probably just cost considerations, with the move the corporate Wedge-head, and they figured they’d start with DeSoto. Also, in 1957, the DeSoto Firesweep used the Dodge 325 poly head, while the other DeSotos used the 341.1 (or 345 in the Adventurer). So I wonder if, using the same engine family for all DeSotos in ’58 also helped streamline things? They still used different displacements…350 for the Firesweep and 361 for the other cars, but they weren’t totally different engines. Another bonus with that is that, for ’58 it gave you some real incentive to pick a Firesweep over Dodge for the most part. While the Custom Royal also got the 350-4bbl, the mass-market Coronet and mid-range Royal still made do with the older 325 poly-head.
I believe you on the weight; I used my Standard Catalog of Chrysler for that fact, and it certainly could have been a typo. I didn’t question it too much because I’ve found that published weight and actual weight are sometimes far apart.
Oh, and thank you Andre for the detailed reply. All very good points for discussion.
I have owned a 1955 Chrysler Newport Windsor Deluxe for 30 years. Saved it from a salvage yard that I worked at, on there scales it weighed in at 43hundred pounds. Had a 301 Poly engine that was junk, put in a 354 56 Imperil engine. This old car is reliable and a sweet ride. I run her from early April right up to Christmas before I put her to bed..
What’s interesting about the 1957 Mopars is that the big sales gains were racked up by Plymouth and Dodge. DeSoto was up a little – largely thanks to the Dodge-based Firesweep, which was cheaper than previous DeSotos. Chrysler was basically flat.
That suggests buyers realized that, with the increased sharing of major body components, the Plymouth and Dodge were better deals than their higher-priced stablemates.
DeSoto had come out with a stripper version of the Firedome hardtop coupe in 1955 called the “Special,” and then for ’56, had stripper versions of the 2- and 4-door hardtop called “Seville.” The Consumer Guide auto encyclopedia doesn’t break out production of the Special vs Sportsman for 1955, but for ’56, they do break out the Seville vs the Sportsman, and the Seville was the winner, by a pretty wide margin.
So I wonder if this was part of the rationale for their push to come up with the Firesweep for ’57? The Firesweep was more full-range, as it also offered a 4-door sedan, and wagons, and did sell tolerably, but some of that no doubt came at the expense of the Firedome, as well as some of the pricier Dodges. I think Fireflite sales actually dropped slightly, compared to ’56.
Similarly, Chrysler went from just the Windsor/New Yorker lineup, to Windsor/Saratoga/New Yorker. And it makes me wonder…did they REALLY need the Saratoga?
But, perhaps it made sense to them at the time, as Olds had two 88s, as well as the Ninety-Eight. And Buick had the Special/Century/Super/Roadmaster. So perhaps Chrysler felt that if they filled every possible little niche in pricing, they could compete better?
And to crowd the market even further, I believe Mercury started expanding their lineup for ’56, and then moved upscale for ’57, to help make room for the Edsel, which ended up making a crowded market even moreso. While the cheaper Edsels mostly competed with Pontiacs and Dodges, I think the bigger ones came in a bit more than a Firedome, but less than a Fireflite.
I think if DeSoto really wanted to expand, for ’57, perhaps they could have just never bothered with the Firesweep, but stuck it out with “special” versions of the Firedome, and perhaps just expand that to include a 4-door sedan? Maybe if they really wanted to cheap out, throw the Dodge 325 poly-head under the hood, and save a few more bucks? That might have made for a bit of a dog, though. I vaguely recall a Consumer Reports road test of a ’57 Dodge Royal, with the 325 and 2-speed Powerflite, and its 0-60 time was around 13 seconds, so it would have been worse, in something Firedome-sized. I can’t recall what CR tested that Dodge against, but I’d imagine a Pontiac and a Mercury. Maybe even a Buick Special, as they were pretty low-priced, actually uncercutting Olds. I just remember that the other cars were definitely quicker than that Dodge Royal.
I agree with the 56 Fireflite being the best looking, probably because that was my first car. An uncle gave it to me in 1969. Loved the power and comfort. That was my senior year in high school. Most kids were in tri five chevys or in Mustangs. Several laughed at me until they rode in my Desoto. Regret getting rid of it but about 3 years I traded a 70 Barracuda for a 56 Firedome, almost as good as my Fireflite. Old Mopars are my weak spot.
Beautiful car – better looking in its details than the comparable Chrysler, which is a large part of the problem because it is only details in the grill, tail-lights, and two-tone paint schemes that separate them visually. Packard had the same problem is trying to create a mid-tier Clipper brand, which looked almost identical to the senior Packards. Nobody could match GM’s ability to share the same basic body shells across divisions (brands) and yet hide the shared elements with very visually differentiating outer body styling and interior details, which is a major reason why GM had 50-60% market share during the 50s and into the 60s.
It’s like the chicken and the egg – they had the most money, so they could spend it on tooling, but that also led to their having the most money!
Couldn’t agree more, Aaron.
We owned a ’55 Plymouth Plaza.At 16 I enjoyed the lever on the dash for the tranny.I understood that the shaft had a “weak” section built in the shaft that was to break on crash! impact.I enjoyed both this lever and pushbuttons which I had on several Mo Pars.
Could be that there were three different Hemis because each division was more autonomous. Each was trying to reach a different segment of the marketplace and they were not only in competition with the other two companies, but also with each other. You can only refine a product only so far, and then the three versions look alike to most consumers. Outside of any exterior labels extolling Hemi or Firedome, most folks won’t know the difference. Thus the cancellation of the Hemi.
I currently own a 4 cyl car with CVT. Scrolling through the owner’s manual, I find out that the car has a noise cancellation feature in the sound system. I can’t tell if it makes any difference. Point is that engineers (and marketers) pursue refinement to the nth degree of technical specs at great cost, only to have the consumer not notice any difference.
One other point. Although the gear shift looks like an impale point in an accident, the steering column was non-collapsible. The driver most likely would be seriously injured by the steering column in an accident.
Up until the collapsing steering column in 1967, I’d say you’re absolutely correct. With no seat belts in 1955, however, a more minor collision could still render the shifter an immovable object…but there’s nothing really safe about these old cars.
Agreed. The ’55s are Exner’s best, and the DeSoto is the best of the best. Harmonious from all angles, inside and out. The ’57s were nice from the side but awful from the front, and everything after that was world-class horrible.
I blame the managers, not Exner. He had proved that he COULD do beauty. The managers accepted ugliness instead of steering Exner back toward beauty.
It is hard to rectify the Ghia idea cars with the ’60 Valiant or ’62 Dodge, isn’t it? They’re cool in their own way, but the Ghia cars were mostly beautiful by anyone’s standards.
Count me as another fan. Up until I was about 8 years old, I would spend hours and hours playing in and around my grandma’s 55 Firedome sedan. I remember thinking at the time about how those taillights were so perfectly shaped, and the dual-nacelle dash with all the gauges was lovely.
I agree that the DeSoto was the most attractive of the entire 55 Mopar lineup – they just got all the details exactly right.
I have read that the Powerflite was an extremely tough transmission. And those acceleration figures make sense to me – the hemi design made its power higher up the rev range, so it probably lacked a little of the off-the-line oomph found in competitors. I would suspect that a 0-100 test might have been a better test for the DeSoto to strut its stuff.
The test that Andre quoted above also brings up a good point – the lower-priced cars were just about as fast if not faster than the middle-priced cars. I would imagine a Power Pack ’55 Chevy was quicker, and I think most people would say that it looks at least as good as the DeSoto (and the Oldsmobile/Buick).
The ’55 Chevy did 0-60 in under 10 seconds. It was the quickest stock sedan period, as per the magazines.
I’ve often heard the year of 1955 as called “Power to the People,” as it was the year that the low-priced cars finally got decently powerful V8 engines. While Ford was an early adopter of the V8, it wasn’t all that powerful in stock form, although I imagine the 1954, with 130 hp, more than held its own, by 1954 standards.
The older Chrysler tranies were just about indestructable, the two speed and the 727 three speed were rock solid. My 55 has the two speed and no park gear, the emergency brake is all that holds it. The two speed does not shift into high until . you hit 70 mph. It is heavy and does not jump off the line but at about 45 mph it comes to life and there is nothing better than to hear that ol 4 barrel kick in and it sounds like it is going to suck the hood right in.
Certainly a beautiful car. This one looked very nice……until you opened the hood!
Ha ha, a scruffy engine bay has never bothered me, but I’ve never been a detailer.
I thought the compartment looked pretty darn good given the cars age. Generally engine compartments lag behind the body when it comes to looking their age. This engine compartment is not lagging behind that much and I would leave it as is myself.
Several years ago, the national DeSoto club had it’s annual meet at the Gilmore.
Agree on the mid 50s being peak Exner, but I lean toward the 56, with the mesh in the grill, rather than the teeth.
The fins weren’t all that finny in 56. Besides, as fast as cars deteriorated then, many owners would have replaced a 56 before the fins became too archaic looking.
I love the rear windows on this DeSoto hardtop, Steve. I took this picture at the Orphan Car Show, so it’s probably the same car as you pictured above.
I took this picture at the Orphan Car Show, so it’s probably the same car as you pictured above.
Yes, it’s the same guy. He is a regular at the Gilmore’s Mopar show too. He always shows the car with the windows in that position, and usually has a Groucho Marx doll in the back seat. At last summer’s Mopar show, I noticed Groucho now has his own kid-sized seat, sitting on the back seat.
I always thought the ’56 4-door hardtops were pretty cool, as well. They were actually an example of cost-cutting, as Chrysler simply took the 4-door sedan and removed the B-pillar and window frames. Still, I like the fact that they went through the effort to make the little quarter window roll down, as well to give a clean, uninterrupted look. On some Ford and GM models, they would leave the quarter window, or fill it in, and attempt to blend it in with the C-pillar trim.
Another advantage of just taking the 4-door sedan and turning it into a hardtop, is that these cars were very roomy inside. Often, a 4-door hardtop will have a bit less legroom in the back seat, or less headroom overall, than its pillared counterpart.
You can see the top of Groucho’s head in the back seat.
Make my 1955 Mopar the Plymouth. The only problem is what was under skin. The 1955 Plymouth has a 6v electrical system and level-controlled 2-speed Powerflite, as well as no Hemi engine.
It wasn’t a Hemi, but the 1956 Fury got a better engine, as well as a pushbutton automatic and 12v system. Aside from appearance, it’s an overall better engineered car (just not as good looking as the 1955).
I too prefer the ’55 Plymouth by a little bit. I think the weirdest part about the ’56 (the Belvedere in particular) is its two-tone scheme. It’s neat, but a little strange.
My aunt had a 56 Plymouth. Not surprisingly, I prefer the 56.
My ideal DeSoto would combine the 1955’s fascia with the 1958’s taillights and fins. They remind me of the Christmas tree at a drag strip.
I loved the ’55 Fireflite I owned in the early ’70s. It has a special place in my heart due to a memorable college spring break trip from Wisconsin to Key West.
Being rust belt car, we had to take precautions such as ensuring all bags in the trunk were tightly sealed in garbage bags to avoid the water thrown up through the rust perforated rocker panels.
I bought the DeSoto because it ran good and was cheap (<$100). Other than that, I really didn't know much about DeSotos. They were already pretty scarce by the time I started driving.
The DeSoto was pink over white – a decidedly non-masculine color combination that generated plenty of comments. Most of the rust was on the underside. The car looked a lot more solid than it really was. A Blue Coral wax job in the fall had brought the paint back to life – albeit temporarily.
As we motored south, the car garnered a lot of attention. Older guys would approach us at stops and comment on what great cars DeSotos were. If DeSotos had really been as good as people seemed to remember, I wondered why they ever stopped making them.
The DeSoto was a good highway car and I kept it about a year – a bit longer than normal for this price range. I always tried to ensure that I was at least the 2nd from last owner of any car. I'd sell them when it looked like the car was going to need repairs in excess of 50% of what I thought I could sell a car for.
In my price range, that was a pretty low bar. The DeSoto crossed it when the front u-joint started going bad. Due to the drive shaft parking brake, I learned the u-joint was a fairly expensive special order part. I repacked the old u-joint with some thick wheel bearing grease and sent it down the road. Knowing the purchaser – a fellow student, I did tell him the u-joint would probably eventually need replacement.
Never became a problem though. The purchaser wrecked the car driving drunk less than a month after he bought it. He walked away without a scratch and no one else was involved. I told him he was lucky to have wrecked in such a heavy car.
He was one of those lucky guys who wrecked multiple cars without injury or losing his license, I regarded him as a good prospect for future car sales. About a year later, I sold him my '62 Buick Electra.
I love unrestored survivors like this .
Yes, it looks great from any angle and that glorious two tone paint job makes it better yet .
I remember these fondly from memories of an old hippie Customer who had one in the 1970’s, it ran well, didn’t handle too badly, was easy and fun to drive and dead nuts reliable .
-Nate
Yep, this DeSoto is exactly the kind of old car I like buying (although mine are invariably a little worse). 🙂
I can dig it Aaron ;
The circles I travel in have more than a few who call beat up survivors “Natemobiles” because that’s what I do : save or resurrect them then drive the wheels off them .
-Nate
My wife and I call them “Aaron Specials.” 🙂
Your Specials are very nice Sir .
I’m far from home this morning haven taken a pre dawn drive in my old VW Bug, the 6 volt LED headlights are very good indeed .
Nothing quite like driving oldies .
If you don’t hook up that under seat heater it’s going to eventually get a leak .
Silicone heater hoses are a one & done thing, well worth the initial outlay of $ and if yu buy the roll it’s not overly $pendy .
-Nate
Great find! In the early 1980s, someone in my hometown was selling a light metallic purple and white 1955 Firedome four-door sedan. It was in very good condition – the main issue was pitting chrome. Unfortunately, I didn’t have enough money to buy it.
Were any 1956 DeSotos actually equipped with Torqueflight? It’s my understanding that the new transmission debuted very late during the 1956 model year, and it was only offered in the Imperial and Chrysler 300B until the 1957 models debuted.
You’re absolutely right, Geeber! Thanks for pointing it out – I went to the brochures and some other materials, and it seems that DeSoto didn’t get the Torqueflite until 1957.
I’ve amended the text and learned something new today. Thanks again!
Nothing much to add beyond that I think this is a lovely car. I’m not sure which I prefer…the one in your photos or the reversed version in your final image.
Well, I’d take either one.
Me too!
My ‘55 DeSoto Fireflyte Special coupe is unrestored. Manual transmission and no power brakes or steering. Lovely car to drive.
Certainly Exner’s high water mark in designing for Chrysler Corp.! These were, IMO, even then, simply 2 beautiful BIG American cars….a HUGE leap forward from the frumpy, dumpy ’52 DeSoto 4 dr. sedan my dad owned….with NO back seat heat in Wisconsin winters.
A friend, who was 3 years older than I was, had access to his dad’s ’55 Chrysler, like the one (including colors), in the above photo. He had not had his license long when we went for a weekday afternoon ride in it one day in 1959; trouble was-literally-the RH front power would NOT fully close. Being early Spring in Wisconsin that made for a very cool ride home! Still: leather interior, hemi power, advanced styling….what wasn’t to like!?? 🙂 DFO
I don’t have it hooked up because I don’t drive the car in extreme cold, but my ’53 Buick has a large underseat heater that always seemed like a good idea to me. Both front and rear passengers get some heat, and it was most likely pretty warm. I almost want to hook it up just to see, but there is already a mile of heater hoses to the defroster core and Dynaflow cooler.
I always thought Mopar made a bad mistake when it decided to go avantgard in 1957, rather than refine what was already a balanced design. As has been discussed here many times, the 57s were not ready for production and – IMHO an even bigger issue – dated very quickly. An incremental approach would have by-passed both issues. Who knows where Mopar would have been but for the Flight Sweep episode – certainly in a better place than it was in the early 60s.
Oh and don’t get me wrong, I would gladly have a manual 1957 Chrysler 300C if I could, but I also recognise it for the folly it was…
I was given the family desoto 1954 my mom n dad went on there 1st date in it my grandfather bought it then my dad had it for 30 years now its mine some day I will be doing a frame off resto
Until then she still drives and is all original with only 54thou miles on her
The shipping weight according to NADA is 3885 plus 25for power steering and 20:for powerflyte.. I owned and sold these cars and the Chrysler st Regis and they are nearly identical in the way the rode and drove with the Chrysler being more powerful.
Thanks, John. It’s definitely a typo in my source.
I think they should kept the 55 grille in the 56. I had both. Drove the 55 and 56 in high school in the 70s. I liked the flap over the windows in the 56.(2 door). Great cars,, rode like a dream.
I put duel thrush mufflers on the 56 and it sounded great. Got close to 18 mpg. Not bad for a monstercar. It was peptal bismal pink and black
Yeah, if you drive reasonably, these old cars can give you decent mileage on the highway. Anecdotally, I’ve been driving my ’65 Mustang since I was in high school in 1994. Back then, it would almost always get 18 miles per gallon, but I noticed over the years that it got worse. Granted, time stands still for no machine, but I can only think that gasoline formulation had something to do with it; it certainly started harder hot as the years went by, which it never used to do. I can’t do an apples-to-apples comparison anymore because I’ve rebuilt the engine with some very mild performance parts.
Learned to drive on a55 Black DeSoto Firedome. That dashboard is one of the most beautiful of all time. Parents friends had 55 Fireflite. Have loved DeSoto from these 55s through final 61s. Before 55, K T Keller (head of Chrysler) insisted that all Chrysler Corp cars have ample head room for him to wear his hat, resulting in high look of their cars! Sad ending for DeSoto.
Learned to drive on a55 Black DeSoto Firedome. Have loved 55 and up. The 55 instrument panel is one of the best. Ultimate dream cars are final 61S AND 61 Imperial LEBARON. Grand finale for Exners fabulous finned fantasies for Chrysler. Fortunately both were spared the 62 Restyle of Plymouth and Dodge. Strange that Dodge quickly brought the Custom 880 to give buyers a car that filled the void left by DeSoto. 🎵It’s Delightful 🎶 It’s Delovely 🎵 It’s DESOTO 🎶 . And tell them Groucho sent you! 😉