The official caption with this shot is: Columbus, Georgia, Dodge dealers in their showroom with one of the last 1958 models, getting ready for the ’59s.
No wonder they look so glum. 1958 was a disaster for Dodge, with sales cratering by 52%, to a mere 138k units. That was an all-time low for Dodge. I didn’t know they gave awards for record-low sales.
Unfortunately 1959 would only see a minor uptick to 156k. Maybe we should drop the franchise and switch to Volkswagen?
Perhaps it is an award congratulating them for not buying that Edsel franchise. 🙂
Maybe they look this way because they have seen the new 1959 models. 🙁
I figured this would be a good thing to share here — this is a 1958 ad touting the benefits of being a Dodge dealers in anticipation of those terrific ’59s:
I was just wondering the same thing. Made me lol, however.
The big complaint about the 1958s was that they were not sufficiently changed from the 1957 models, so the dealers may have been relieved that the 1959 models sported obvious changes. During this era the annual model change was expected.
Mopar dealers were really up in arms over the 1961 models (too odd) and the 1962 Dodges and Plymouths (too small and too odd). At the dealer preview for the 1962 models, a few dealers supposedly turned in their franchises on the spot.
“Here’s your “That-poor-sonofabitch” Award for moving one of these off the lot.”
More likely they were trying to get a Rambler franchise, not VW. Dodge dealers got their bonus in ’60 when the attractive Dart grabbed sales from the horrible Plymouth, but a lot of them went bankrupt in ’62 when Exner fed both brands the same ugly pill.
Was that last sentence really necessary?
I usually skip articles of the glorified Superior makes: VW, Mercedes and Toyota. Too boring. Yes we now know all they were and are the best. And OK, it does not hurt to have a reminder sometimes but it gets long winded to see mention of it in almost all articles.
When I got interested in cars almost 50 years ago I vowed to never own a boring, reliable car. Of course these existed only for non-car people. Who cares if it never breaks down? Better to have something flashy, beautiful, unique, whatever. There is no fun going with the big masses.
So it hurts me a little to read here, a car forum for curbside classics, for car-minded people I would think, so much about boring cars and makes. I hope to learn and read more about the “losers” makes, the lost causes, the makes that were great once but not anymore.
Sorry, I let myself go a bit. Please, go on as this is a very informative site. I will try to keep my opinions to myself.
If you’re locked into the idea that all VWs, Mercedes and Toyotas are “boring”, than you’ve really painted yourself into a corner. Can you not appreciate that there are car enthusiasts for all brands?
the VW was only reliable because they made the same model for essentially decades
after that, VW – in America – has been a crapfest
Experiencing disappointing sales season, bets are the Dodge Division management was receiving a lot of static from their dealers to have a new low-priced Dodge to attract buyers back to the make. Dart was the answer, smiles all around…except at the Plymouth dealerships…
During this era, all Mopar dealers had a Plymouth franchise. Dodge dealers received the Dart in 1960 specifically because Chrysler Corporation took the Plymouth franchise away from them.
It looks as if the reorganization wasn’t a benefit to either make long term
The move essentially killed Plymouth, although it didn’t happen immediately. In retrospect, it would have been better if Walter P. had skipped the creation of Plymouth, and instead turned Dodge into the Chevrolet-Ford fighter. He could have then moved DeSoto downward into Dodge’s former slot.
“In retrospect, it would have been better if Walter P. had skipped the creation of Plymouth, and instead turned Dodge into the Chevrolet-Ford fighter.”
On the surface, that appears entirely logical. The problem is that Plymouth’s launch almost exactly coincided with Chrysler’s purchase of Dodge; both occurred in 1928.
It’s been a number of years since I’ve read Cincent Curcio’s “Chrysler: The Life and Times of an Automotive Genius,” but from memory I recall that Walter P. had invested quite a bit in the development of Plymouth, and had either just launched it – or was about to launch it – when he was presented with what he saw as a golden opportunity to buy Dodge from investment bank Dillion, Read, which in turn had purchased it from Horace and John’s widows a few years prior.
The timing was unfortunate, and Chrysler Corporation attempted to resolve the issue by narrowing Dodge’s model line and squeezing it between DeSoto and Chrysler (and later, between Plymouth and DeSoto). But the real damage occurred when Chrysler started marketing its cars against those in its other divisions, cannibalizing its own sales: the Newport competed with DeSoto and Dodge, and the original, full size Dart competed with Plymouth. Perhaps the most heinous example of this is in this ad for the 1960 Dart, which invites shoppers to compare to Car “C” (Chevrolet), Car “F” (Ford), and Car “P” (Plymouth)!
Now – now!
No need to switch this from bashing Dodge with a humorous photo interpretation, to calling non-US makes boring, yet reliable.
On the eve of 1959, Dodge was in a bad situation. On the eve of 1959, VW Beetles were on the eve of an incredible success. Both makes survived to this day, while many other beloved American brands have lost favor with their neighbors, for one reason, or another.
For someone espousing the value of fun over dullness, the photo was meant to be fun, not dragged down with dullness.
Curbside Classics reflects today’s world. Fact is, 1959 was over 60 years ago and these cars are all curbside classics. Cars from 1969, 1979, and 1989 are also curbside classics. We might remember something about a classic that isn’t favorable towards its brand, nationality, style, color, or a personal memory – but that’s OK.
Sometimes I get carried away, so I’m no example of balanced comments. Fortunately, we have excellent and fair editors who keep Curbside Classic a great place to make friends, be nostalgic over classic everyday cars, and learn about cars – even those we don’t personally care for.
“Fact is, 1959 was over 60 years ago ”
I could have gone all day without reading this. 🙂
Many good comments and laughs here. My cars over the years have been, as best as I can describe, BORING. They get me from Point A to Point B. My emphasis was on my comfort and, when I could afford the options, conveniences. The sad part of the Chrysler era is that, as we know, they had quality builds until they 1957’s. Then the Recession of 1958 hit which only compounded the reputation of this new vehicle. The early 1960’s were also ugly years for Chrysler products. If I were those men in the dealership, I would be just as happy as they are. One of my favorite cars was a 1980 Dodge Aspen model NL41 – YES, the low line! We bought it for our daughter in 1992 because she had turned sixteen. Slant six, automatic, A/C. I added tinted windshield, extra thick foam padding under new upholstery and she and our two sons “decorated” the vehicle in the style known as “Custom by Crunch.” It kept running. My wife and I used it, too, especially when we drove into New York City. We could park that car anywhere. No one would steal it! Yet, it handled decently with radial tires, and was comfortable.
This photo was taken after lunch. The gentlemen pictured had just found out that the meatballs that they ate were made from horse meat.
The 1957 Chryslers must have been shockingly bad. Many of the cars we think of as awful turkeys which eventually brought down GM as an American company didn’t reveal themselves as being defective designs until they’d been on the road for over a year. Oldsmobile Diesels had the happiest customers in the history of a US model surveyed by PM after a year on the market. They went on to kill diesels in the US and maybe even Oldsmobile, but they didn’t come apart in less than a year.
The 1957 Chryslers attracted customers and soured them simultaneously. I’ve seen plenty of 1958 Chryslers that have stood the test of time, but very few of the 1957s that sold in much greater numbers. The 1957s destroyed the brand in a year without Yelp or Google reviews, or people comparing notes on Facebook. VW hasn’t made a car as dependable as a 1948 Chrysler since about 1972, but they’re one of the biggest car companies in the world. So many lousy products are purchased year-in, year-out by indifferent or replaceable customers, but somehow the 1957 Chryslers forever changed the course of a great company for the worse.
I find it interesting that it took until this comment to reveal what I imagine was the REAL reason for ChryCo’s disappointing 1958 sales…the objectively BAD 1957s drove customers away in droves.
This site and other places such as Allpar spill the details about a beautiful new line of cars rushed to market half-baked.
The story of Del Shannon’s iconic “Runaway” notes that he, BFF/bandmate Max Crook and their wives made the trip from Battle Creek to NYC to record the song in the winter on 1961 – in a ’57 Plymouth that was reliable enough to make the trip, but already had a broken heater and peekaboo floors despite being only four years old.
https://www.delshannon.com/
Look for the link to “Runaway” at the very bottom of the home page. I can’t link it by itself.
Given that 1958 was a recession year, Dodge dealers weren’t alone in their misery. All marques except for Rambler were down, and the medium-price marques were WAY down. Ford dealers could console themselves with greatly increased sales of the four-seat Thunderbird, although Chevrolet decisively knocked Ford back to second place in 1958.
Buick dealers had even more reason to be glum, as Buick sales since 1955 (a record-breaking year for Buick) were down by an even greater percentage than Dodge sales over the same period. Dodge had at least recorded an uptick in sales for 1957, while Buick sales had steadily declined since 1955.
Also remember that all Mopar dealers had a Plymouth franchise during this era. Those Dodge dealers had Plymouth to carry them through 1958 and 1959.
If the cars didn’t sell, it wasn’t Dodge’s fault. Look at that sleek beauty back there! Great style, great handling, great power–worth big $$$ on the collector market today–for a reason! If they didn’t sell as well, it was largely because of the ’58 recession–and the fickle public deciding that small cars were the next “new thing”. B4 you say Chrysler’s poor ’57 reputation–ALL cars of that time rusted out, were unreliable, etc. It was just a matter of degree. Many people were satisfied with their ’57s and came back for more. Ramblers had their own bugs. How many Renault Dauphines do you see today? Even the venerable VW had its own shortcomings and were not suitable for the needs and desires of many Americans.
The greatest luxury cars of the pre-war era were 1930-33s. Depth of the Depression. Packard, Pierce-Arrow, Cord, Auburn, Duesenberg, etc. They didn’t sell. Many makes perished. Was that the cars’ fault? No. Ask the guys at Barrett-Jackson.
And who knows? Maybe these salesmen had a decent year after all, despite the industry-wide slump. Any dealership that consistently serves the customer well (and develops a loyal customer base) can do well when others are hurting. (True of any business).
Taking an out-of-context photo and assigning commentary to it may not reflect actual reality. But we’re having fun, so that’s OK:)
“Oh oh, she looks p****d!”
These guys in Columbus are still fuming over losing a big taxi order to the local Ford dealer, a few years earlier, who won the deal by convincing the taxi company to buy two door V8’s, on the grounds they had better resale value.
“By gum those better not be ’59 Dodges, why is that carrier pulling in HERE?!?”
My family came back to America in fall of 1958 after being abroad for a year. Dad, a hardcore Buick guy, got a really good deal on a leftover 58 Plymouth Custom Suburban. It was, in today’s terms, a piece of crap. It constantly broke down. The engine had to be rebuilt at 10,000 miles. Even at five years old I remember it rattling and bits and pieces falling off. Dad went back to Buicks when he got Grandma’s 55 Special as a hand me down, leaving the Plymouth to Mom. I distinctly remember she hated it and drove Dads car when didn’t have us kids to tote around. For the next 50 years dad never bought another Chrysler product.
He only got second prize. Hasn’t yet heard that first prize is a ’58 Dodge
50s Chrysler products sold here were locally assembled, had the tough old flat head six and lasted as well as anything else you could buy and better than some, Perhaps Todd motors put more effort into putting them together right who knows?
Men back then aged faster than they do now — cigarettes, martinis, and no exercise will do that. They look glum because the two on the left are in their 20s while the two on the right are in their 30s!
Is it just me, or does each pair of men look like father and son? I see (left to right): dark suit son, dark suit dad, light suit dad, light suit son.
“One day, Junior, all this will be yours!”
If Dodge was doing that badly in 1958, what about DeSoto? I never saw much difference between Plymouth, Dodge and DeSoto. They all had the same basic body with more stuff tacked onto it as you moved through the brands.
DeSoto never really came back from 1957. I believe 1961 was their last model year, and only a few were made then. Dodges had slightly longer wheelbases than Plymouths in general, except in Canada where they put Dodge front clips on Plymouth bodies. DeSotos shared most of their bodies with Chryslers making them larger still, When Chrysler started selling Windsors and then Newports as their entry level models, DeSoto had probably lost their race against extinction.