1957 Desoto vs Mercury confidential dealer film, Beauty vs the Beast...

[@michaelbenardo5695]

Great film! As an amateur mechanic, I can vouch for the DeSoto's mechanical, suspension, and braking superiority. Unfortunately, Chrysler's build quality was not good that year, which left the 57 Merc the better quality car.

[@scrambler69-xk3kv]

I agree. Mopar's were strong running cars back then. That is what makes it such a shame that they fell so far. I think they were good up until the K Car, and it was down hill from there. When they went to front wheel drive and lost the slant six and their V8's they went to hell.

[@arnepianocanada]

Yes, Chrysler snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by NOT matching factory build standards with pioneering style elements.

[@arnepianocanada]

One could state with evidence that Chrysler never fully recovered from the 1957 fiasco - e.g. buyers who lost trust might never come back to Mopar.

[@BillHickman68]

it's great that such cinematic treasures are gradually appearing

[@autochronicles8667]

thanks, yeah i definitely think these are worth preserving... I do like how each one kind of has a different story line... They actually didnt phone them in like in the 70's and afterward.

[@friendofdorothy9376]

I absolutely love these films. So enjoyable. Thank you.

[@mikes2460]

yeah, I want to get these preserved... Yeah i think i will put the photos up on a web page also... I think i have another 200 films... a fair amount of work...

[@charlescarter1529]

My grandfather bought a new Fireflite Shopper. In less than two months, the upper windshield chrome flew off, the right torsion bar anchor cracked, the tailgate window motor seized up, the power steering pump went out, it leaked in several places when it rained, and the final straw was the upholstery ripped on the driver's seat. All at less than 2,000 miles. He probably would have been stuck with it, except for the fact that he worked for his state's AG office at the time. He sued Chrysler and they bought the car back. He bought a new '57 Mercury Commuter. It was eventually retired to his summer home until '73. I hated it that he didn't tell me he was selling it. Funny thing though, he was a loyal Chrysler customer until the end. Had several Imperials, Chryslers, Dodges, and even a '61 G!

[@autochronicles8667]

they rushed the 57's that's for sure... They were selling so fast also, they were essentially sold out so quality was hurt even more with the frantic rush to get them off the factory line. The leaking was probably the worst complaint and dealerships were giving lots of "fixes". The torsion bar anchor was bad of course... They could easily fix a torn seat though.. and trim coming off. The leaking took some real work though. Power steering... replace the pump, and all that was under warranty.

[@jamesfox2579]

I would proudly own AND drive either one of these Cars over ANY Cars built today!💕

[@rizzlerazzleuno4733]

Yeah, you can consume more leaded gas, pollute the atmosphere more, die in crash, watch the rust form and wear out tires faster. What fun! But you will look cool doing it. 😎

[@autochronicles8667]

No one drives that fast going to the car show :)

[@67marlins]

​@@rizzlerazzleuno4733I guess 12 year olds like you don't know much about real cars. Or anything for that matter.....

[@MisterMikeTexas]

​@@rizzlerazzleuno4733"🎵 I'm a grumpy old troll who is under the bridge! I'm a grumpy old troll who is under the bridge! 🎵"

[@merc-ni7hy]

what chrysler wont tell you about the drive shaft mounted parking brake is..if you are on a hill and jack up one side of the desoto ..the car will roll away even with the brake on..but on the merc..the parking brake locks both rear wheels at the wheel and wont roll if one side is jacked up on a hill...and at least in the merc you have 2 ways to secure your car while parked unlike 1 with the desoto

[@autochronicles8667]

Yeah Ford mentions it in other videos and Chrysler gave you a wheel chock which is a totally bad idea.. I would think you run the mopar to the bottom of the hill :) Who tries to change a tire on a hill though? And the factory provided jacks were all very dangerous. The drive shaft mounted parking brake was a bad idea... While it did provide and emergency brake... it posed a whole slew of issues.

[@scrambler69-xk3kv]

My dad had a 1953 Chrysler Saratoga, and the only good thing about the driveshaft mounted parking brake is it didn't freeze on in the winter like the parking brake that used you rear wheel brakes did.

[@Nunofurdambiznez]

I'd love to have either one for my daily driver right this minute - love 'em both!

[@radioguy1620]

subbed, always liked Both of these cars and would happily have either ,

[@tracy4good]

My first car was a '57 Mercury Montclair sedan and I thought my car was all pretty, especially those "exclamation point" taillights.

[@leonchirod2093]

Best car ever, smooth suspension, great design

[@kipbrown1549]

@@leonchirod2093 Wrong, not even close //////////////////

[@67marlins]

​@@kipbrown1549Found the 8 year old.

[@michaelwhite2823]

Change record

[@bluegtturbo]

9 out of 10 mobsters went for the Desoto and it's superior body storage capacity.

[@radioguy1620]

58 Super Marauder v Desoto would have been a interesting match up

[@Greatdome99]

We used to have tail fins. Now we have rear deck spoilers. Neither is useful below 100 mph. Phooey.

[@autochronicles8667]

It sounded good though... i mean cmon it was wind tunnel tested :) I mean if you were doing 100 the big fins maybe did help a little.

[@wiiambarnarx8485]

They never have anything about the 58 Mercury which was updated in 58 so it looked alot better, better looking front end. Pretty car. I also love the De Soto. IRS an awesome looking car.

[@autochronicles8667]

that single headlight with that gap over the headlight is kinda strange looking in 57... i know JC whitney sold a dual headlight fix kit

[@tomservo56954]

Mercury still sold more than twice what Desoto did....although sales were double-digit off from their record '55 and '56 output.

[@autochronicles8667]

You can't really compare Mercury sales totals to just Desoto, Mercury was Ford's second line and Chrysler second line was "Dodge and Desoto and the Chrysler cheaper models"... Desoto failed and so did Edsel.. But yes Ford corp obviously had larger market share than Chrysler, GM still retained its market share lead over Ford and Chrysler. Chrysler was a higher end brand than Mercury... Ford tried to fire up Edsel to compete with Chrysler. There is a video on the Edsel introduction where the Ford execs were complaining about the gap they felt they had in the market with only three brands.

[@67marlins]

​​@@autochronicles8667yes, you can absolutely compare DeSoto and Mercury. That's the point. For some unknown reason, you compared Chrysler to Mercury.....which makes no sense.

[@williamg2552]

DeSOTO’S got a HEMI !! (End of Story!)

[@djplonghead5403]

The fins helping for performance according to the wind tunnel test...

[@autochronicles8667]

Yeah they actully pushed that :) It was probably true if you were doing 100 and got a cross wind... :)

[@hdrangers]

DeSoto was gone in the US after the '61 models. Mercury soldiered on for another 50 years.

[@autochronicles8667]

yeah but Edsel was supposed to compete with Desoto... it died same time...

[@hdrangers]

@@autochronicles8667 The dealer film compared DeSoto to Mercury, not Edsel. BTW, what happened to Chrysler? Oh yeah, the Europeans.

[@andreg4460]

Edsel and Mercury both had some considerable overlap. The cheaper Edsels, which is where the bulk of sales were, competed mostly with Dodges, and were definitely below the Firesweep in price. The upper series were fairly limited. The Corsair only had a hardtop coupe/hardtop sedan, and was priced about $200 more than equivalent Firedomes. The Citation had a hardtop coupe/hardtop sedan and convertible, and was about $100 or so less than a Fireflite. In '58, most of Mercury's volume was the Monterey, which was also priced below the Firesweep, and close to the Edsel Ranger. Mercury's next step up, the Montclair, was priced a bit under the Edsel Corsair, but still more than the Firedome. And it was more full-range, offering a pillared 4-door, convertible, and also the Turnpike Cruiser. The top line Park Lane was hardtop coupe/hardtop sedan and convertible, and a couple hundred $ more than a Fireflite. It should also be noted that Edsel contracted considerably for 1959, becoming more of a Pontiac/Dodge competitor. And while DeSoto died in the '61 model year, the "big" Mercurys on their own unique wheelbase/body also went away after 1960. What was fielded for '61 was a two-tier lineup of Meteor and Monterey. The Monterey hardtop coupes and hardtop sedans were priced about $220 below the '61 DeSotos, so they were definitely back down into Dodge/Pontiac territory. So yeah, while DeSoto died, so did the DeSoto-equivalent Mercurys, and Edsels. Also, while I'm comparing '58's here to bring Edsel into the conversation, the '57 Mercury did definitely compete with DeSoto. Pricing didn't line up directly. For instance, the cheapest '57 DeSoto, a Firesweep 4-door, started at $2777 while the equivalent Monterey was $2645. Plus, the Monterey offered a 2-door sedan, at $2576. DeSoto got out of the pillared 2-door market after 1954. The Montclair was mabye $150-200 more than a Firedome, while the Turnpike Cruiser was around $150-200 more than a Fireflite. Adjusting for inflation, multiply those by roughly 10X for current day dollars.

[@hdrangers]

@@autochronicles8667 Again, please read the video description. It compares DeSoto to MERCURY. That's the subject matter. BTW, Edsel's last model year was 1960. DeSoto's? 1961.

[@autochronicles8667]

@@andreg4460 no there was definitely overlap, but Edsel was created to fill some of those gaps.

[@mattfarahsmillionmilelexus]

Wonder why they didn't test the Merc with the 368 engine?

[@autochronicles8667]

Yeah they didn't mention the Adventurer.... the 368 had 290 hp but the Adventurer had 345 so that wasnt even close.. They didn't do the top models, they were normally aimed at direct model to models...

[@mattfarahsmillionmilelexus]

@@autochronicles8667 The top dog Merc was the Turnpike Cruiser, with three more optional engines, the 383 with 330 HP, the 430 4V with 360 HP, and the 430 with three 2V carbs with 400 HP - the first production 400 HP engine in the US. These were fast, and were intended to compete with the Chrysler 300 C.

[@kipbrown1549]

@@mattfarahsmillionmilelexus Yea and they lost ////////////////

[@67marlins]

​@@mattfarahsmillionmilelexusFinally someone who knows what they're talking about...

[@peterruddick1952]

Maybe they should have tested a Merc with the 368 ci V8.

[@autochronicles8667]

They went for the lowest model Desoto.. It only had one motor... next jump was the 341 with 295 and the 345 with 335 hp... the 368 had 335 hp but was probably a bit heavier than the DeSoto's. Then you get into the Super Marauder 460 in 58 vs the 300C\D\E.... they were both around 375... I think

[@peterruddick1952]

​@@autochronicles8667Desotos weighed over 4K lbs, Mercs weighed under 4K lbs

[@darkko1969]

I guess the interior gauges and dashboard doesn't matter?

[@autochronicles8667]

They never really pushed the gauges on any video really, just when they offered better visibility...

[@scrambler69-xk3kv]

It does to me. Chrysler had wonderful dashes in those years. And I for one really liked the pushbutton transmission. In times of no seatbelts being used, I thought they were safer. In other words in a accident what if you were thrown over to the drivers side and the column shifter pierced your eye? Just a thought.

[@fabieneldridge3414]

Cool 😎 !

[@ThisOldJalopy]

"the solid axle, with the tough leaf springs, form an extremely ridged unit that acts just as a heavy stabalizer bar" lmao, ok

[@autochronicles8667]

outboard springs were better... and the Desoto handled much better than the Mercury

[@kipbrown1549]

Jalopy Do your homework, the Desoto handled a lot better ///////////////////

[@67marlins]

​@@kipbrown1549more comments from the child...

[@leonchirod2093]

And why desoto broker down? And Mercury still continued many years

[@autochronicles8667]

it competed too much with Dodge/Chrysler... it was one too many brands... just like what happened with Mercury eventually. Also back in the 50's these brands were completely different plants... redundancy hurts.

[@kipbrown1549]

Rod, learn english ////////////////////////////////////////////////////

[@paulsheehan5010]

Do both require premium fuel?

[@autochronicles8667]

I think they did

[@Ctrl-XYZ]

Love these but the colorization looks like crap. Just sayin.

[@autochronicles8667]

Its tolerable I've found, there is slightly better but it's expensive and take a long time to process.

[@Ctrl-XYZ]

@@autochronicles8667 It would look so much better with NO COLORIZATION.

[@dallasmars2]

Did mercury have the quality problems that Chrysler products had in 1957

[@mikes2460]

@@dallasmars2 everyone had quality issues... yes Ford was new cars also.. so yes bad quality... gm had the best because they just slapped some fins on the 56 and called it a 57

[@MarinCipollina]

@@dallasmars2 General Motors had the top quality for US automakers during the late 1950s era.

[@BIGLOVE4TRUTH]

In high school in 1971 I owned a 57 DeSoto Fireflite. Cool car. Same color as the one shown. Mine had the quad headlights.

[@MarinCipollina]

Sure yours wasn't a 1958? That was the year quad headlights became a thing, only exception was Cadillac Eldorado Seville Brougham of 1957, a car that was $14,000 at a time when everything else was $5000 or less.

[@kipbrown1549]

@@MarinCipollina In some states you could have quad lights in 57 and Desoto made quade lights for those states. ///////// Look it up.

[@gcfifthgear]

The sad part was that Chrysler's build quality was such that people who were won over to the new DeSoto were sadly disappointed within a few months--and the 1958 recession was harder on the DeSoto than most other makes...

[@autochronicles8667]

Desoto was a middle squeeze brand... While Ford was firing up the Edsel to die a quick death, as Chrysler was killing Desoto off... You can only Blame the Ford family for that huge failure(2.5 billion lost in 2021 money)... Desoto wasn't really a failure as much as too many brands for one corporation. And Chrysler was utterly swamped with 57 sales and they rushed to market... bad combination... The 58 had fixed half the bugs... the 59s were not bad... but too late... Fins are gone...

[@merc-ni7hy]

also ..chrysler wont tell you that the 312 in the merc is the base engine...and no mention of the optional 368 for the merc that has more power and torque then the desoto..

[@TheGbeecher]

The Desoto has a cleaner and more stylish exterior...I agree that the Mercury front windshield intrudes on ease of entry/exit for the driver - a bit suprising...

[@autochronicles8667]

Yeah those headlights... blech... Funny JC Whitney had a dual headlight swap kit for that Mercury... it helped a little

[@LearnAboutFlow]

Unlike a lot of these films from various manufacturers, this one highlights differences that make a true difference versus saying, "it's clear the De Soto wins on looks" only.

[@DMBall]

Chrysler's Edsel. When Ford junked the Ed, it gave Chrysler the courage to drop this lemon, too.

[@autochronicles8667]

Well they had too many "similar" cars... these were the same as Chryslers, with just a different trim and fenders/front end... same thing as GM ran into... cars were too similar and too close in the market.

[@DMBall]

@@autochronicles8667 Charles Mott, one of Durant's original hires at GM, said as far back as the 1920's that he had trouble telling the firm's various models apart.

[@kentmagruder390]

The Desoto had the more power, and Mercury had the better looking car.

[@autochronicles8667]

Eh the single headlights with the vents on top look better? JC Whitney made a dual headlight kit for the Mercury to "fix" the looks a bit :) Most people say the Desoto looks better :)

[@kentmagruder390]

@@autochronicles8667 In 1957 Mercury sold 286,000 cars, Desoto sold 126,000. It would appear that most people thought the Mercury looked better. If there was a way to attach a screen shot of the U.S. car sales by year, I would share it with you.👍

[@loumontcalm3500]

By that logic, Toyota has the best looking cars today. And we all can agree they're not! I like many cars, I'm partial to Ford's of the era, but I judge design on its merits, not on the make. I think the '57 Mercury "Dream Car Design" is an overly busy unmitigated mess. The DeSoto is a clean, handsome car by comparison.

[@hunkydorian]

That Come-On picture isn't a 1957 DeSoto. Quad headlights weren't approved across the nation until 1958. And oh by the way, the 1957 DeSoto was way prettier.

[@autochronicles8667]

In some states dual headlights were legal... some states had not finished legalizing them but later in the year Desoto's, Chryslers and Imperials were coming out with dual head lights.

[@fomfom9779]

1957 Mercury Turnpike Cruisers had quad headlights.