DeSoto

The DeSoto Airflow was an automobile built by the Chrysler Corporation for sale through its DeSoto division during model years 1934, 1935 and 1936. DeSoto received the then-revolutionary Airflow model due to its price structure relationship to larger and more expensive Chrysler brand cars. The 1934... Airflow models are recalled for their unique styling. They generate interest for their engineering innovations. It has a 115.5 in wheelbase. The aerodynamic, radically designed car debuted to much fanfare alongside its larger stablemate, the Chrysler Airflow. From the front bumper back, the Airflow's design represented the first major attempt to smooth away the wind catching objects and channels found on cars of the era. Headlights were moved from their traditional pods forward of the radiator, and housed in flush mountings on either side of the broad waterfall-styled grille, which lacked the traditional upright radiator throat and decorative cap ornament.
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The Desoto Airstream is an automobile built by the Chrysler Corporation and sold through its DeSoto division during model years 1935 and 1936. During both years, the car was sold along with the streamlined DeSoto Airflow. The DeSoto Airstream 4-door sedan sold for $220 less than a 4-door DeSoto... Airflow. Chrysler fielded its own Chrysler Airstream model concurrently; visual cues separated the two automobiles. The Airstream was created to capture market share lost during the 1934 season when DeSoto only offered the Airflow. 20,784 Airstream cars sold in 1935, as compared to 6,797 Airflow models. Airstream sales nearly doubled the units of Airflows, 13,940, sold in 1934. While streamlined and aerodynamic, the Airflow was not embraced by the public, and the more mainstream Airstream was introduced as a stopgap measure until a fully redesigned DeSoto could be introduced in 1937. In reviewing the Airstream, conventionality was its best attribute. Solidly built, and more conservatively styled, the 241.5CID 6-cylinder Airstream did away with the Airflow's integrated headlights, broad grille work and monocoque construction.
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The DeSoto Custom is an automobile produced by the Chrysler Corporation and sold under its DeSoto automotive brand from 1939 until the 1952 model year. While in production, the Custom was DeSoto’s top-trim level car, and was offered in a wide array of body styles, including a 7-passenger... sedan and the extended-wheelbase Suburban sedans. The Custom shared its engine design with the Deluxe, and were powered by Chrysler's L-head 236.7 six-cylinder engine, delivering 109 bhp at 3,600 rpm. Custom models, along with Deluxe models, produced during the 1946, 1947, 1948 and first half of the 1949 model years used DeSoto's prewar bodies. A fully redesigned Custom was launched in the second half of 1949, along with a redesigned Deluxe, and these cars are referred to as “1949 Second Series” models. In 1950, the Custom range gained DeSoto's first consumer-designed station wagon. The Custom also received DeSoto's first hardtop coupe, which featured pillarless door design and which was trimmed to convertible standards. Standard equipment included two-speed electric windsheild wipers, a trunk light and full carpeting.
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The DeSoto Deluxe is an automobile produced by the Chrysler Corporation and sold under its DeSoto brand from 1939 through to the 1952 model year. While in production, the Deluxe was DeSoto's entry-level car, and was offered primarily as two-door and four-door sedans. The Deluxe range also included... the extended-wheelbase Suburban sedan. The body was claimed to be rust proof. The Deluxe differed from the more upmarket Custom line by virtue of the traits found in base models, namely less trim, fewer standard features, and plainer interiors in fewer color combinations. A six-tube and an eight-tube radio were optional. The Deluxe shared its engine with the Custom, and was powered by Chrysler's L-head 237 cu in six-cylinder engine, delivering 109 bhp at 3600 rpm.The DeSoto had full instrumentation. Deluxes produced during the 1946, 1947, 1948 and first half of the 1949 model years used DeSoto's prewar bodies, slightly updated following the end of World War II. In 1948, low-pressure tires became standard equipment.
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