1958 DeSoto Introduced by Groucho Marx

See the new '58 DeSoto introduced by Groucho Marx - original advertisement
Check out more old ads - www.carsandstri...

[@TheDejael]

I owned a 1958 DeSoto Firedome Sportsman 2-door hardtop, fire engine red with black & grey interior, in 1968. It went well with my 1958 Plymouth Fury, Exner excellence! Dream car design from Detroit!

[@tristenthompson3445]

Most beautiful car ever.

[@miamidolphinsfan]

DeSoto's were pretty awesome

[@friendofdorothy9376]

Absolutely. Always packs a wallop with me...always.

[@KD-nb3mp]

I gotta agree. The 57' but especially the 58' is beautiful from tail fin to front. The back end with the three tail lights in each fin always leaves me speachless. Sadly theyre extremely rare and you basically never see any in real life.

[@jvarela965]

Chrysler sold DeSotos like crazy during The Depression. Even FDR bought one. DeSoto was probably the most cleverly marketed car in history. They were a great value for the money.

[@johnscanlan9335]

What was so outstanding about their marketing?

[@rileycpo]

Love it! DeSoto for 58.

[@rick0e295]

Just discovered this gem 💎! Learned to drive on a55 Firedome and loved DeSotos from 55 through final 61s! THERE IS A COMMERCIAL FOR 1959 DeSoto featuring Rock Hudson out here. Tell them Groucho sent you! 😉

[@MillerMeteor74]

This ad makes me want to go out and buy one ASAP.

[@bicpapermate]

It's delightful. It's delightful. It's delovely. It's delovely. It's defunct!

[@WAL_DC-6B]

And so's Plymouth now!

[@michaelfleming40]

My late Great Uncle Harold owned three DeSotos. A 1949, a 1951, and a 1953. ❤

[@johnmaki3046]

I grew up with a GREAT (used-bought 11/3/1959) '50 DeSoto Custom! This car NEVER FAILED OUR FAMILY IN 15 YEARS! It rusted, BUT RAN ALWAYS!

[@michaelscanlano4582]

What a great ad I'll buy one

[@Anthony-qj7qe]

Me too....Umm were do we get one of these? 😏

[@popcultureaddict733]

@@Anthony-qj7qe Simple! Just break through the time-space continuum via a time machine stationed in Area 51and visit your friendly local DeSoto-Plymouth dealer. Be sure to correctly set the machine to 1958 and tell the salesman that Groucho sent you! 😼

[@Anthony-qj7qe]

@@popcultureaddict733 Ok I'll try that!! 😉

[@johnmaki3046]

More people SHOULD have!

[@williamg2552]

DE SOTO was an AWESOME CAR !!! Sleek styling , HEMI and WEDGE V-8 power ...More expensive than Plymouth and Dodge, less expensive than Chrysler and Imperial, in the MOPAR (Chrysler Corporation) lineup. But it's sibling companies cut into it's sales market, (Dodge moving upward, and Chrysler moving downward) until eventually , it HAD NO MARKET. By 1961, DeSoto was GONE.... ...after 33 years of sales success.

[@barryobrien7935]

The initial marketing for the ‘61 called De Soto “The car with the built-in future”. In a few months it was dead. There wasn’t much effort to differentiate the ‘61 from the Chrysler upon which it was based.

[@leecrt967]

1958 was a tough year for DeSoto, and the rest of Chrysler Corp. Quality control issues and rusting, leaking bodies brought them down in 57 and the public didn't forget. They sold a ton of the Forward look cars in 57 and most left a bad taste in the public's mouths. The 58s were better, but the public was soured on them. Ask me how I know. I own a 58 Fury. They were beautifully designed and engineered cars, but flawed on execution.

[@hebneh]

Possibly even more troublesome was that there was a recession in 1958 that cut way back on all car sales in general; this was partly the reason that the Edsel was doomed at its introduction. And for the first time, a growing segment of the American public was getting annoyed by the oversized, gaudy cars that Detroit was producing. This meant that people were turning to compact cars instead, and most of them were foreign. The US companies responded by rushing their own compacts onto the market in late 1959 as 1960 models, but this initial entry into the American market would eventually mean that imported cars would permanently be a part of the United States car population.

[@OldsVistaCruiser]

@@hebneh - Rambler was already selling compacts by 1958.

[@aarongranda7825]

Okay. Show me.

[@dansmusic5749]

@@OldsVistaCruiser Yes, a lot of them.

[@KD-nb3mp]

Still the prettiest cars ever designed in my opinion. They are completely beautiful from front to back. The mighty mopars man!

[@bobpourri9647]

"I'll take it! When can I get delivery?"

[@johnmaki3046]

Has anyone read "The Groucho Letters"? In this book, Groucho Marx expressed his disappointment wither latter '50s DeSoto's! They were VERY GOOD cars, but the '48-'54 DeSoto's were MUCH BETTER ASSEMBLED!

[@frdjr2527]

Didn't know that! DeSotos through 1954 were powered by a legendary 6 cylinder engine. DeSotos received the Hemi V8 starting in 1952. By 1955, all DeSotos were V8 powered. That moved them closer to the more expensive Chryslers and Imperials.

[@tonypanzarella9387]

Doesn't Fenneman get to drive one, too?

[@eliberace3714]

Oooo! It’s so long ！

[@miamidolphinsfan]

that;s what she said :)

[@fairfaxcat1312]

Lamentably, commentators “eliberace3714” and “miamidolphinsfan” let loose with unnecessary oblique scatological references. Isn’t that something?

[@pl5624]

The beginning of the end...

[@edgardarcelopez8179]

The real genuine steel from.detroit

[@aarongranda7825]

You could shovel this malarky it's so deep. On the other hand, this is Madison avenue at it's best. Aside from Mopar rust these desotos are the best looking 58 chryslers.

[@johnmaki3046]

MoPar rust, G.M. rust, Ford rust! This was NORMAL "in the day"! It WOULD be "normal" today; people dump vehicles BEFORE they rot! On the "bottom" (my) "level" of vehicles, RUST IS MOST OF THE BODY "STYLE"!

[@onemoremisfit]

@@johnmaki3046 If only they made a car that won't rust away before your eyes. But it would cost way too much and then it would take longer for them to sell you another one.

[@WAL_DC-6B]

@@johnmaki3046 Unlike '57 Chevy's and 55/56 Fords, you rarely see any MoPar cars from this same period at any vintage car shows or cruise nights.

[@johnmaki3046]

@@WAL_DC-6B Gotta base this on SALES! MoPars were TONS BETTER than the "glorious offerings" from G.M. and Ford! I owned ALL of these! G.M. and Ford HAD THE CA$H to buy "SMOKE AND MIRRORS" TO SELL INFERIOR CARS!

[@chrisjeffries2322]

Sleek car.

[@Railhog2102]

Christine was probably here

[@luisreyes1963]

Shame the De Soto died off in the 50's, but even worse threats to Detroit will be arriving soon from both Germany & Japan.

[@richardrice40]

Actually it was 1961....

[@johnmaki3046]

Sadly, Japanese CRAP is now "quality"!

[@frdjr2527]

VW and Mercedes-Benz were already in the US in the 50s. Toyota entered in 1957.

[@aarongranda7825]

Groucho Marx, the most cynical man on the planet, shilling for a big company. Hilarious.

[@johnmaki3046]

DeSoto was a QUALITY RIDE, though.

[@fairfaxcat1312]

Was Marx some kind of a pervert with his tapping cigars and shooting eyebrows?

[@Hisan-SaNexus96]

No?

[@johnmaki3046]

Nope! Julius "Groucho" Marx WAS A GREAT COMEDIC TALENT!