For those of you who don’t know, DeSoto was a division of Chrysler up until 1960 or so. Like Plymouth, they got shut down when the company was having financial problems. I found a website by one of the designers for DeSoto and here’s his design for a 1960 model sportscar for DeSoto, which I think is just stunningly beautiful. The main page of his site can be found here. The guy designed a number of cars for both Ford and Chrysler, including the '55 Thunderbird, and the 1963 turbine car.
IMO one of the bad aspects of modern life is how that industrial economies of scale have homogenized everything so much and often deprived us of choice. This was really driven home for me when I visited the Auburn/Cord/Dusenberg museum. I was amazed at the number of manufacturers located in Indiana at the early part of the century and the incredible variety of cars. The depression killed a lot of them and WWII seemed only helped the big manufactuers at the expense of the small ones.
It is quite a stunning car and very distinctly American. I can see Felix driving one of these in Goldfinger.
OK, sorry, but that thing is ugly. Looks like the bastard child of an AMC Matador and an Oldsmobile Toronado.
Have to admit, the car looks pretty ugly to me too…reminds me of a stretch Dodge Charger. All that is missing is the guy with the slicked back hair, cigarette pack rolled up in his t-shirt sleeve, and a six pack of Milwaukee’s Finest on the floor behind him.
I did enjoy the other site though…miss them cars with the 15 foot fins sticking out the back. They sure were cool.
Yeah, but it was just another blue-sky design. It sure didn’t make its way to the 1960 Chrysler , Plymouth or Dodge.
Sort of like an angular Crossfire.
I just had to say that this quote from your original link cracked me up.
Seeing “classic design” and “Edsel Ford” in the same sentence was just too much for me.
Yes, I do know who Edsel Ford is.