Awesome & Crazy Automotive Interiors: The 1961 Desoto

Learn more about the 1961 Desoto and its interior!

[@agostinodibella9939]

The 1961 Desoto instrument panel looks like it came out of a space ship while the front end styling looks like it came from a horror movie!

[@user-er3xl3bv6e]

One of the car mags if the day used the phrase the beast that ate Tokyo! I think it fits

[@nicksgarage2]

Unibody came in 1960, the torsion bars started in 1957. I have an ad from 1960 from a dealer that says "We've seen the new 1961 DeSotos so we ordered more 1960 models". I have one of these 1961 DeSotos in my yard right now to work on. Very quirky car.

[@JosephStJames2000]

What a beaut. My hillbilly brothers and I would always gawk at the interiors of these "fancy schmancy boats," green with envy. We'd get close to the window careful not to touch with our grubby hands and marvel at "push-button windows and push-button gear change and what the heck does that button do?!" I ended up buying a 1959 Plymouth Belvedere in 1986 and boy howdy did I love that car.

[@bozodog428]

When my sister got her license back in 66, Dad got her a used 1960 Plymouth Sport Suburban wagon thinking she would be pretty safe in it. Very similar dash as the DeSoto . The owner of our local lumber yard owned it and the Mercury dealer didn't want it on trade for his new Colony Park wagon. Fully loaded with power steering, brakes, windows, seat, front and rear A/C and the HIWAY HIFI. HI-FI was spelled out on the radio buttons. The player was a 45 rpm and the records loaded upside down with the needle and arm spring loaded. When a record was finished it would drop into the tray below and the next record would play. Always worked flawlessly. When I first saw the car I noticed it had dual exhaust and thought it had the big block 383 or at least the 361. But no, it was the 318 with a 4 bbl carb! Needless to say, power was just adequate.

[@jamesfox2579]

I would proudly own AND drive this '61 DeSoto over ANY Car built today!💕💕💕

[@rightlanehog3151]

Merry Christmas Adam and subscribers🎄🎄🎄

[@rick0e295]

It's Delightful! It's Delovely! It's DESOTO! And tell them Groucho sent you! 👀 !

[@craigbenz4835]

Now THAT is a juke box instrument panel. I love it.

[@thom-mark6443]

The shape of the pods not only replicated the steering wheel spokes they also reflected the angle of the rear fins. Always liked the late 50's early 60's period of over the top automotive design.

[@trolleychai]

The instrument panel was identical to the Dodge panel for 1961. It had one distinct problem that they shared: the speedometer was on a glass panel and it transmitted a significant amount of glare through the glass, to the driver's distraction. My father glued a piece of felt to the back of the speedometer on our '61 Dodge Phoenix convertible and voila - problem solved!

[@discerningmind]

Reading you comment I see what you mean. Ford did something similar in the mid-50s ('55-'56?) with their speedometer. It was supposed to utilize sunlight to enhance daytime viewing. I don't know if that had a glare issue too, but it seems likely to me. Smart move on your dad's part. But I don't know how anyone could put up with those dash mounted rear view mirrors. That would drive me nuts!

[@janath9118]

Very good thinking, your father did!

[@Richard4point6]

My dad had a '61 Dodge Matador. The dash and steering wheel were almost identical. I remember cheap looking vinyl materials, cardboard kick panels and a vibrating/rattling metal dash.

[@Trapper4265]

When I lived in the S.W., I attended Barrett-Jackson in Scottsdale, AZ five times, and the most memorable car I saw was a 1957 DeSoto Firedome in Tamarack Green Metallic paint with a matching boat. I'd like to think if I were around during that time, I would have been a DeSoto guy. They were unique, less popular, literally works of art and total sleepers. 😊

[@jeffrobodine8579]

Prime examples are going for triple figure$.

[@TeamTrumpUSA]

Merry Christmas and all best wishes for 2023. Still waiting on that 1969-1970 Mercury Marquis Brougham. Cheers From Coastal South Carolina

[@desertmodern7638]

The second grille above the main one almost looks like the company was trying to make the car salesproof, but the instrument cluster is to die for.

[@jeffrobodine8579]

The grill is so bad it makes it good, kind of like an Edsel.

[@volktales7005]

I agree. Dash is fantastic, but that front end is just awful! The 1960 looked good, though.

[@christopherkraft1327]

Hey Adam, the dashboard & instrument cluster on this DeSoto is a work of art!!! Fashionable, functional & space age all at once!!! Merry Christmas to all!!! 🎄⛄🤶

[@paulparoma]

By definition, art is not functional. It was a very imaginative, unusual and attractive - and certainly functional - IP,, but let's not get carried away.

[@alxf66]

Hi, Adam. Keep in mind, DeSoto was created to compete with Dodge, as Chrysler hadn't yet acquired the company. Had the deal to purchase Dodge been completed more quickly, there would have been little need to create DeSoto.

[@tford1601]

I’m not sure this is a accurate historically… all of Chrysler was Maxwell Motors-not Plymouth. The dealer brand pairings may have been as described in some locations but not set in stone. Chrysler-Plymouth was always the division title.

[@HowardJrFord]

Chrysler Corporation was formed from the remnants of Maxwell by Walter Chrysler in 1925 . He brought out Plymouth in 1928 .

[@brianlaurance8570]

@@HowardJrFord You have it right, sir! Plymouth, like DeSoto, was a late-1920's creation by Chrysler Corporation and was not an existing brand that was purchased.

[@Sheisthedevilyouknowwho-ft9we]

I'm not even a mopar guy, but the more Desotos I see I love the difference in styling. So I'm glad they did build them for as long as they did.

[@eddstarr2185]

Thank you, Adam. Growing up, my neighbors across the street had a 1957 DeSoto Fireflite hardtop sedan which, they kept until 1965. Looking back at that '57 DeSoto it was unthinkable that the division would be gone in such a short time.

[@chuckvan1961]

My dad gave me our 60 Dodge Matador in 67 instead of taking to the junkyard. I loved that dashboard

[@gyost8147]

I grew up in a Chrysler family and always liked 1955-1961 DeSotos. I thought the Highway Hi-Fi record player and successor Victrola models were pretty cool since I was obsessed with records as a child. The earlier system had special records while the later system could play regular records (fourteen 45 rpm records in the player at one time with the needle playing under the record like a juke box).

[@jonrmang]

Wow! Interesting, that's good info!

[@rileysteve]

If you had a convertible with the turntable you were always welcome at a beach party! Just don't get stuck in the sand!

[@discerningmind]

Adam, thank you. It seems to me DeSoto suffered for the same reason that Edsel had. Basically, too many similar makes in the corporate line-up. I think that Desoto would have been able to remain had it been marketed for being the fashion icon of Chrysler Corp. In other words, if the point of Desoto was completely about the styling. For the most part they were already there, since DeSoto certainly had some very beautiful stand-out cars over the years.

[@califdad4]

My mother told me that DeSoto got lost in the mix , was it a Chrysler or DeSoto since they were so similar , so probably more of a marketing problem. Buick and Oldsmobile were similar also, but it worked out in those days

[@rogersmith7396]

They already had Imperial.

[@discerningmind]

@@califdad4 I think your mother is right. My thinking has been that, just below DeSoto was Dodge and there were some very beautiful and well-made Dodge cars. And just above DeSoto was Chrysler. DeSoto was generally a sexier and more nicely finished car than the base Chrysler, being the Royal model. And DeSoto was pretty much on a par with the Chrysler Windsor, as far as their looks. The engines and underpinnings of them were similar too if they weren't exactly the same. Again, my thought is, that's three cars that are basically the same and competing with each other. And that's the same similarity as I mentioned with Edsel and caused Edsel to be discontinued. I think all of them must have led to confusion for the shopper as to which one to buy. I'm sure after long contemplation with worn out sales brochures, it probably resulted in buying the one they liked the best. Or drove them to the showroom of makes with simpler model line ups.

[@califdad4]

@@discerningmind you reminded me this was like 60 years ago. Yes she said it was in-between the Chrysler and Dodge,. Yes more like a Chrysler Windsor.

[@TeslaTales59]

Great looking dashboard!

[@robertvincent562]

I agree about the instrument panel... Mostly Dodge with a few small changes. And the exterior is mostly 1961 Chrysler with some mods. My late Uncle George had a '61 Newport 4dr sedan. Robin's egg blue. V-8 and a factory floor mounted 3 Spd stick. But I do like the engine turned metal on the Desoto dash. My Father had a black 1950 Desoto with a red interior. It's what I was driven home from the Hospital in. My 1st car ride!

[@dave1956]

My parents best friends had a 1960 DeSoto. It was a 4 door hardtop in powder blue and white two tone. I remember it being quite reliable. They drove it until 1968 when they bought a new Fury III.

[@born_again_torinos]

The speedometer is similar to my 61 Dodge phoenix with the frosted glass that let light through it in the daytime and glowed at night. It also had the two tone steering wheel with the clear section having glitter inside it.

[@cadciel]

Thank you! Those were gorgeous interiors.

[@tombrown1898]

Actually, the Highway Hi-Fi records turned at 16 2/3 rpm. Dwight Eisenhower had a 1956 Imperial personal car that was so equipped. He reportedly liked to listen to Gene Autry. As for the styling of the 1961 Mopar lineup, I don't see how Virgil Exner kept his job as long as he did.

[@tonylindsey8912]

There were two generations of Highway Hi-Fi... 1956 to 1959 = 16-2/3 RPM, playing rare, Chrysler-sold records. 1960-1961 = 45 RPM, playing standard musical singles.

[@tombrown1898]

@@tonylindsey8912 Tony, I never knew that. Thank you! I would think the 45s would be totally impractical, though. Never was a good idea to start with.

[@nb7466]

Thank you. My grandpa and I would go and get ice cream in his 1948 DeSoto. Good times

[@knitterscheidt]

my uncle had an early 60s Dodge which I loved as a kid. The dash was very similar and it had spinner hubs. Don't forget that awesome frosted glass speedo...so cool!

[@davidcarniglia1739]

Very well-detailed post on DeSoto history in general, and the last DeSoto of 1961 in particular. A couple of quibbles: the timing of the marque's in 1928 was overshadowed by Dodge's acquisition by Chrysler. Suddenly, Chrysler had two makes that were essentially competing for the same niche, a problem that Chrysler bever really sorted out. At the other end of DeSoto's history, the Eisenhower-era recession is mentioned, along with a photo of a '59 model. Thr recession was actually in late '57-'58. By the 1959 model year, sales were up across the industry. While the recession definitely crippled DeSoto, quality control issues, and Dodge's and Chrysler's encroaching on both ends of DeSoto's market, prevented the make from coming back in better shape from the recession. Thanks for featuring this mostly forgotten part of automotive history

[@joeseeking3572]

DeSoto and Dodge actually flipped market positions in 33 with DeSoto now positioned above and not below Dodge. Prior to that, and particularly in the late 20's to early 30's the entire line up was confused and sometimes overlapping even to the point that some Dodges were more expensive than Chryslers. GM had (at the time) pretty much sorted that whole thing out with Sloan's ladder. The 61 dash is essentially the same as a 61 Dodge - Chrysler body, Dodge dash.

[@OnkelPHMagee]

Well stated. I had read the same thing in standard Chrysler histories.

[@ernestfinch1578]

Awesome styling !! And Just like Hemi Challengers ETC, Very RARE!

[@markbehr88]

Thanks Adam. Regarding the last DeSoto. Exterior I would give a 4 out of 10. The dash a 10.

[@tonylindsey8912]

Unibody construction for Mopars arrived in 1960, NOT 1957!!! The engineers built scale-model prototypes out of clear plastic, and flexed them under polarized light to see how the designs held up under stress. Excellent episode otherwise, though. I bought a low-mileage 1961 DeSoto in the early 1980's for $400 cash, and drove it every day, just for the stylin' pleasure of it. The outrageous interior was a big part of the pleasure! The 1960 and 1961 Highway RCA Hi-Fi's were also identical in every detail to the "ARC" automobile record players sold to the general public. All Mopar radios had the plug socket on the back, in case a record-player was ordered. If you DID order a Highway Hi-Fi, different, "tuned" springs were used inside, based upon the car. For instance, a 1961 Imperial rode quite differently from a 1961 DeSoto, and used different springs. They did not interchange well for restorers who didn't know this. These second-generation Highway Hi-Fi's played a stack of standard 45-rpm musical singles on a thick spindle, but upside-down. The joke was, the springs designed to keep the needle in the groove were so strong, your Highway Hi-Fi played both sides of the record at once! The FIRST generation Highway Hi-Fi used 16-2/3-RPM records that were ONLY sold by Chrysler Corporation, and there were very few ever offered. In my opinion, with available titles like "Walt Disney's Davy Crockett, King Of The Wild Frontier", the Highway-Hi was the very first "audiobook in your car" experience. I also owned a 1960 Plymouth station wagon with the mirror mounted on the dash. BAD DESIGN! The tailgate was very tall in back, so all that you could see in the mirror was trees and telephone poles.

[@johneckert1365]

Right on 👍 57 is when torsion bar front suspension started

[@tonylindsey8912]

@@johneckert1365 Yes, and it was a brilliant change, causing Mopars that HANDLED better than anyone else. I drove along the West Coast from San Diego to San Francisco with five other men in a 1964 Imperial. That twisty, turn-filled drive blew my mind, and caused me to switch preferences from Cadillac to Imperial!

[@johneckert1365]

@@tonylindsey8912 awesome 👍

[@tonylindsey8912]

Forgot to mention... I had an opportunity (around 1980) to buy a fully-restored Cadillac Eldorado Biarritz convertible, white with red leather interior, for $3,000. I really wanted it. So... Why didn't I pounce? Because I gave it a test-drive. All went well until some car came roaring around the corner toward me on only two wheels, and I had to YANK the Caddy's steering wheel to the right. Maybe it was the air suspension at fault, but it was like trying to perform an emergency maneuver on a stack of mattresses, poised on top of shopping-cart wheels. Scared the heck out of me! From an investment angle, I wish that I had bought that Caddy and stored it on jack stands in a plastic bag filled with nitrogen, as I heard that Japanese investors were doing at the time. It would have been quite the investment!

[@johneckert1365]

@@tonylindsey8912 GM never got the torsion bars to perform as well as Chrysler did for some reason.

[@johnsherman6718]

This was just great Adam! I agree on every point you made here! Styling has suffered so very much in todays vehicles. It's sadly disappointing. I love your channel! Thanks greatly Adam!

[@josephgaviota]

As a boy, I used to go in my dad's auto garage (auto service business) and turn the headlights on "park," just so I could enjoy the dashboards-and yes, Chrysler had I think the BEST.

[@blockcl]

61 DeSoto was one of great automotive oddballs.

[@gustavbergstrom7006]

I have a RCA RP-1. Works great on most roads. Plats up to 14 45 revirets

[@mikekokomomike]

That is wild. Never saw a record player in a car. When I was about 2 years old we had a DeSoto, I don't remember it. First car I remember was our new 1963 Ford Falcon wagon. Happy new year!

[@loumontcalm3500]

No, the recession slump was '58, not '59

[@pcno2832]

Stories I've read from that era describe the USA as being in sort of a "slump" all through the late 1950s and not really picking up until 1962, when Kennedy (who had campaigned to "get America moving again" in 1960 ) cut taxes. I think the combination of a 91% top rate and Europe, which was roaring back from WWII, driving up raw material prices, produced a mild sort of stagflation for the USA during those years.

[@loumontcalm3500]

But car sales were sharply down for '58, especially the upper middle. They subsequently rebounded

[@rustynailmendlesohn8710]

Oh wow, that interior is AWESOME. Never seen one. Adam, TY for such great content this past year. I wish you and your family the best Holiday and a very happy and successful 2023.👍👍 Rusty Chicago

[@dave1956]

I’m 66 years old and I have only seen 2.

[@rustynailmendlesohn8710]

@@dave1956 I was born in 58. That Desoto Adam showed was one great car. Happy Holiday

[@dave1956]

@@rustynailmendlesohn8710 Same to you. I was born in ‘56.

[@MarinCipollina]

I was born in 1957, bridging the difference between you and @Dave Cook. I don't recall ever having seen a 1961 DeSoto in the wild. The fact that only 3000 were built may account for that fact. DeSotos of the earlier 1950s and late 1940s, stylistically reminded me a bit of Buick with the toothy grille.(Cars of the 1940s were still quite common into the 1970s).

[@automatedelectronics6062]

The trouble was, Chrysler treated Desoto as a red-haired step-child. Like Ford did with it's Edsel line, the Desoto had a little strange styling and wasn't always given the latest technology. The 1961 model year , the last year for the 2-speed Powerflite automatic, Desoto was mainly used to use up remaining inventory. Desotos with Torqueflites were a rare sight indeed.

[@dave1956]

I never knew that about the two speed powerflite.

[@dave1956]

Read the book Disaster In Dearborn. Robert MacNamara who was head of Ford in those days pulled the rug out from under the Edsel at the press introduction. He announced that the car was being discontinued when Ford was introducing it. That’s got to be the kiss of death.

[@pcno2832]

@@dave1956 I wish MacNamara had done the same thing to his most famous "project".

[@automatedelectronics6062]

@@dave1956 Yep, as I said, red-haired stepchild.

[@automatedelectronics6062]

@@dave1956 The Powerflite was around from 1953 1/2 to 1961. I'd never seen used in any other Mopar after 1956. Never saw a Valiant with it either, just Desotos. Edsels used the 2-speed Ford-O-Matic from 1959 untill the end of Edsel production.

[@adamsneidelmann8976]

That’s so cool!

[@gordonborsboom7460]

The low passenger seat back was to allow the parent seated there to smack misbehaving kids in the rear seat without having to turn around. Wonderful feature. Must have had a mother on the interior design team

[@incompetentdiplomat3716]

I always wanted one of these odd looking desotos

[@davidkastin4240]

T.Y. Adam for another great and informative video 👍

[@DanEBoyd]

That white two door at 2:09 would be perfect with the dual radio antennas on the tops of the quarters!

[@tommunyon2874]

My across-the-street neighbor always bought DeSotos. He was deeply disappointed when they went out of production. He was rear-ended, and it took a lot of searching to find a replacement bumper. When the body shop located a replacement, he also had them order a spare, which he kept in his storeroom. He shifted to Pontiacs.

[@asteverino8569]

Those crosses etched into the knobs reminds me of mid to late 60's Plumouths.

[@alexandrec9372]

Muito bom! Obrigado por compartilhar! Feliz Natal!

[@user-kj2iy1]

Great job on this video. Like the styling of this car!

[@greganderson4547]

One small nit...3:50 - unibody construction started in 1960 for all domestic Chrysler cars except for Imperial, the 57-59 MY cars were body on frame.

[@THROTTLEPOWER]

Beautiful Desoto!

[@Batman-wv5ng]

The best looking steering wheel ever made.

[@timferguson1593]

I absolutely love that blue dashboard! Very Very Cool look!

[@dlbrittain1976]

Mom bought a used 55 Desoto fireflight...coral pink and white..in 1965...tons of room..it had seatcovers...underneath was a beautiful cloth material with a metallic thread..yes power steering had ZERO feel..very touchy brakes to

[@DSP1968]

A great overview of DeSoto history, and I do love that dashboard!

[@Primus54]

I had an uncle who was a big DeSoto lover who never bought another Chrysler Corp. product after the marque was sunset. He switched to Mercurys until they became indecipherable from their Ford cousins. He managed to live to be 100… his final car was a Buick Lesabre that he drove well into his 90s.

[@HoosierDaddy_]

A face that only a mother could love, lol. Great dash and interior though!

[@rick0e295]

Learned to drive on a black 55 Firedome just out of service from a local funeral home. Loved 55 and up final 61s. To me the 61 was the best of all! Parents had chance to buy last black 61 DeSoto in our town. Unfortunately they passed. 61 DeSoto and 61 Imperial LEBARON are my ultimate favorite expression of Exners OTT excessive finned fantasies! 🏆

[@timothyholecek2173]

Thank you. Well done!

[@virtualdent]

Cars were so awesome

[@hughjass1044]

"The styling was an acquired taste....." Indeed it was. And I acquired it years ago. Loved them; gorgeous cars.

[@williammaceri8244]

Thanks Adam. Beginning in the late 50s and continuing through the 64 model years Chrysler Corporation had the most beautiful and interesting dashboards of any car that have never been topped by any manufacturer. My favorite being the 61 and 62 full-size Chryslers. Chrysler called them the Astrodome poisoned right in front of the driver. But to top it off was what Chrysler called Panelesent lighting. It's just beautiful, it actually appeared to be glowing in a fantastic shade of bluish green color. I was 7 years old in 1962 and was mesmerized with that beautiful glow of the instrument cluster. That color goes right through me to this day. The soft glow of the back lighting with the perfect shade of red of the needles was like something in a dream has never been matched by any other car. That dash was reason enough to own one of those cars, but there was so much more about the car. The canted headlights and the somewhat strange styling and of course the sound of the Chrysler starters back then, known as the Highland Park Hummingbird, definitely gives Chryslers a place in automotive history. I'm so glad I lived through the American Golden Age of cars to witness them first hand.

[@perrymitchell7591]

Me too the kids now days have know ida what it was like. To see so many different cars and colors and stile.and watering for opening day in the show rooms . To see the new cars unvaild✝️☮️ nothing like that anymore

[@chrisgoebel9187]

In my opinion the 1963 Imperial dash topped them all with its beautiful electroluminescent backlighting.

[@michaelpfaff6009]

Great video! May you have a merry Christmas and bright new year!

[@davidprosser7278]

The 57-61 DeSotos were fine looking cars.

[@kayeninetwo3585]

Thanks for a wonderful video on the amazing '61 Desoto and its spectacular interior. If I could find one of these cars with the 45 rpm record player option, I'd be in my own earthly heaven!

[@joellamoureux7914]

Wow that is cool. Never seen that before. I'd have to agree that I can't think of any cooler dash than that

[@MrSebfrench76]

How great it could be if you could detail iconic cars of my country such as , the 2 CV, the Citroen DS, the SM, and so..

[@gene978]

The Command Seat on high end Chrysler models. This Makes me miss my 1961 Dodge Dart Lovely Light Green and Wide Whites and that Dash with push buttons for trans and parking brake was Park.

[@jamescalvin902]

I've never owned a Chrysler product, but if I had my pick of any, I'd pick one of these pre-70s old ones. Beautiful and interesting.

[@rogersmith7396]

See the clear, rectangular starburst steering wheels of Plymouth. Some had swivel front seats. My friends Chrysler had the record player in the glove box, for when you were stopped only.

[@stevemehan7276]

Cool old car!

[@mononeo]

My grandfather who died a couple years ago always told me how he bought a DeSoto in New Jersey and drove it back to Oregon, but at the time in the mid-40s you couldn't buy a car in NJ if you weren't from NJ, so they listed his address as being in the middle of a bridge. Anyhow, I feel like Chrysler DeSoto would be a good name for a second EV after the Airflow.

[@ROROSMACHINE]

Ahhhh yes, the old middle of the bridge address trick... Seldom used but often effective.....

[@UberLummox]

Thanks for this. Would LOVE to get a '61 DeSoto one day.

[@scrambler69-xk3kv]

Same thing happened to my dads 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air. tops of the fenders above the headlights rusted out. He debated about buying available patch panels called caps to repair the rust, but decided to trade it in on a 1962 Ford Galaxie, the one and only Ford he ever bought.

[@joyceleadbetter2600]

My cousin Chuck had a 61 DeSoto back in 66. Blew the motor up racing. Served 2 tours in Nam. Died in 06 from heart attack at 58.

[@forthleft]

Really impressed. Thank you.

[@curbozerboomer1773]

Chrysler products were so swoopy and different during that brief time period!...one feature I really liked, was the intense backlighting that some cars had--the entire dash would be lit up in a bluish hue, and made the dash look like a fantasy space ship!...and Chrysler had done a better job with the trendy "big fin" style...as a kid, I was so crestfallen when the 62 onward cars had been toned down!

[@chrisgoebel9187]

the beautiful blue "backlighting" of the instrument panel was electroluminescent lighting. At night the Imperial dash backlighting was stunning with the orange instrument pointers. The EL lighting had an inverter to create the high voltage (about 250VDC) to drive the capacitive load.

[@cudaus1]

Growing up in Dearborn Michigan, I lived not far from the Desoto plant on Ford Road and Wyoming.

[@sim61642]

3:23 Shoot, it even came with a free Dishwasher ! 😛

[@danr1920]

Plymouth, Dodge, Desoto, Chrysler and Imperial. Just too many divisions if you don't have GM's volume, or even if you do. Modern cars, even expensive ones are boring and cheap.

[@dave1956]

At one time it was justified, but I agree by 1960 they had too many similar cars. By 1961 sales had tanked big time. I knew a guy who was a new car manager at a Dodge dealer in 1961-1963. In 1963 they still had 3 leftover 1961’s. Not exactly flying off the lot!

[@jetsons101]

Adam, at 0:22 you showed a great looking Desoto. Question: What make and what year was the last car to use rims with Wooden Spokes? Have a great Christmas and New Year. Your channel is like a gift that keeps on giving all year long.....

[@MarkWG]

I know so many people think that the last,1961 DeSoto was absolutely hideous. I totally disagree. It was unique and has "fermented" with time. Now, it looks "retro-cool". That front end is just far out and so funky. As it was my birth year, 1961, I would love to find one in great shape. The only drawbacks to these last DeSotos were the underpowered, single, sole, 361cid V8. Next would be the low-line, lackluster interior seating with no thought or design. I would slip in a 413cid from Chrysler with dual exhausts, then seating straight out of a Chrysler 300.

[@tomkitchen9457]

Design team loved chrome 👌.

[@trudygreer2491]

EVERYbody loved chrome back then!!

[@danielulz1640]

Oops! 57 through 59 Mopars were still body on frame construction. Unibody was introduced for the 1960 model year.

[@RareClassicCars]

You’re right. I misspoke.

[@danielulz1640]

@@RareClassicCars tis the season, all is forgiven. Happy Holidays!

[@kc0lif]

desoto looks nice.

[@stevenrich8468]

Correction on the late '50's recession: started in late 1957 and carried through 1958 (not 1959). Severely impacted all makes in 1958, particularly middle-priced cars. De Soto sales collapsed in 1958 vs.1957 sales, and never recovered going forward.

[@michaelmullard4292]

Such an interesting work of automotive design. Just love to hear about the history of the marque. Would be interested to see Chrysler resurrect the name somehow in a car of advanced styling.

[@chrisgermo1956]

This seems sorta like a "2nd channel" presentation compared to those vids covering the looks, drives, and impressions of the cars you own. I like all of your vids, and while not always agreeing with your assessments, I respect your opinions and insights. Please keep them coming.

[@michaelmarks5012]

I'd love some more Virgil Exner masterpieces shone. Fantastic channel!

[@lasuvidaboy]

Fantastic. What a dramatic contrast to the uninspired Mopar dash designs 10-years later.

[@skswig1]

there used to be books found in medical libraries for orthopedic surgeons on how best to take those keys out of your right knee after a wreck.

[@trudygreer2491]

If I may add a nit to those already picked, Chrysler didn't quite retire DeSoto "after the 1961 sales year", as the sun had already set on the marque and DeSoto didn't actually live to even see 1961! Otherwise, another lively and enjoyable episode, and Holiday wishes to you and all!

[@brianlaurance8570]

Exactly right. And it's worth pointing this out as part of the explanation for the very low 1961 sales volume. The cars were sold only briefly during late 1960. Another factor in the low 1961 sales was, of course, the very limited product offering in '61.

[@billdescoteaux]

And also, what didn't help DeSoto in its sunset year was the fact that one could "move up to Chrysler" for less money. I believe the base price for a '61 DeSoto was just over $3,000, whereas for the '61 Chrysler Newport it was $2,964. And as cool as the DeSoto dashboard was, that "Astrodome" dash in the Chryslers was really something else! The Newport even had the same engine, the 265-hp 361, which allowed both it and the DeSoto to be ran on regular gas at the time.

[@anthonywalsh2164]

0:48 a rare Australian Airflow! With a rare-ish French-Australian Chrysler creation of the 70s in the background - the Chrysler Centura - my first car in 1985. Merry Christmas Adam.

[@stephenholland5930]

Yes, I noticed that RHD Airflow. Never knew they were exported to Australia. I wonder if the UK got any.

[@althunder4269]

My aunt had a Chrysler Saratoga sedan that looked a lot like the DeSoto at 2.40 it had the pushbutton tranny and the dash mounted rear view mirror with the astrodome instrument pod. It was a real space age car.

[@stickshiftdriver1832]

I think that the record player was ideally to be played at parks, drive ins, or anywhere motorists can enjoy listening to records while in their cars when parked

[@charlesb7019]

My parents owned a 61 Dodge Dart Pioneer with that special driver’s seat. Dad said it was the only car he ever owned that gave him a back ache!!

[@markchandler90]

I think the instrument pane was used on the 1962 Dodge 880

[@flyguy5941]

Back in the day, cars had class. You could tell the difference between brands, not like today

[@paulotoole989]

1961 DeSoto was discontinued on December 8, 1960, not after the 1961 model year. That is why the production figures were so low.

[@ThePrissy11]

I love the Desoto wagon featured on Leave it to Beaver in one episode.

[@trudygreer2491]

Oh, wasn't that the one with the lonely rich kid whose parents were away, and he had invited all "the guys" to his family cabin (but everyone backed out)?! I watch old tv shows for the cars as much as the quaint and corny plots and scripts!

[@ThePrissy11]

@@trudygreer2491 Yep it was!😊😊👍

[@Thereal50inchDLP]

Can you do a video on 1961 Buick Electra? I had one and the instrument cluster is one of a kind amazing. This DeSoto is also art.