Predecessors The De Soto Motor Car Company was formed in
Auburn, Indiana, in November 1912, by L.M. Field, Hayes Fry and
Glenn Fry of
Iowa City, Iowa, and V.H. Van Sickle and H.J. Clark of
Des Moines, Iowa. It was a subsidiary of the Zimmerman Manufacturing Company of Auburn, which had been founded in 1886 as a manufacturer of horse buggies. It entered automobile production in 1908 with a line of
high wheel automobiles and from 1912 to 1916 with light high wheel trucks, but switched to conventional cars and trucks around the time it was bought by the
Auburn Automobile Company. Advertisements listed the 1910 Zimmerman Z-35 at $650 to $1,500 ($ to $ in dollars). The De Soto Company was started with $20,000 ($ in dollars) and produced two models. The De Soto Six was a rebadged version of the Zimmerman and was listed at $2,185 ($ in dollars ) which was more expensive than the Zimmerman on which it was based. It offered electric lights and a compressed air engine starter, which a customer could decline for a credit of $100 ($ in dollars). In 1914, the De Soto Six was joined by a two-cylinder, two-passenger, inline-seating
cyclecar, which listed at $385 ($ in dollars). There were plans to move manufacturing to Fort Wayne in 1915 and rename the company as Motorette, but when there were deaths in the Zimmerman family the company was bought by Auburn Automobile Company.
1929–1942 Series K, introduced for the 1929 model year The DeSoto marque was founded by
Walter Chrysler on August 4, 1928, to compete with
Pontiac,
Studebaker,
Hudson and
Willys in the mid-price class. Introduced for the 1929 model year, DeSoto served as a lower-priced version of Chrysler products, with
Dodge positioned above DeSoto, while
Plymouth was added as the entry-level product of the Chrysler hierarchy in 1928. The marque was named after the Spanish explorer
Hernando de Soto, who led the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States (Florida, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi) and was the first documented European to have crossed the
Mississippi River. The DeSoto logo featured a stylized image of the explorer. In 1929 a total of 81,065 single-model
DeSoto Sixes were produced, a first-year production record in the U.S. that stood for 31 years until eclipsed by the 1960
Ford Falcon. However, shortly after the DeSoto was introduced, Chrysler completed its purchase of
Dodge Brothers, giving the company two mid-priced makes. Initially, the two-make strategy was relatively successful, as Chrysler was hoping to benefit from the market reputation Dodge had when it was run by
Horace Elgin Dodge and
John Francis Dodge, with DeSoto priced below Dodge models. Despite the economic times, DeSoto sales were relatively healthy, equaling Dodge at around 25,000 units in 1932. In 1933, Chrysler reversed the market positions of the two marques in hopes of boosting Dodge sales, ranking DeSoto above Dodge. As a result, the DeSoto received Chrysler's streamlined 1934
Airflow bodies, but on a shorter wheelbase; the design proved unpopular with consumers. Unlike Chrysler, which still had more traditional models on which to fall back, DeSoto was hobbled by the Airflow design until its 1935
Airstream arrived. Aside from its Airflow models, DeSoto's 1942 model is probably its second-most memorable model from its early years, when the cars were fitted with powered
pop-up headlights, a first for a
North American mass-production vehicle. (The
Cord 810 introduced dashboard hand-cranked hidden headlamps in the 1936 model year.) DeSoto marketed the feature as "Air-Foil" lights ("Out of Sight Except at Night").
1929–1942 gallery File:De Soto 4-Door Sedan 1932.jpg|1932 DeSoto Six Series SC 4-Door Sedan File:35 DeSoto Airflow SG Business Coupe (9346431804).jpg|1935 DeSoto Airflow Series SG Business Coupe File:De Soto 4-Door Sedan 1938.jpg|1937 DeSoto Six Series S-3 4-Door Sedan File:De Soto Custom Coupe 1941.jpg|1941 DeSoto Six Series S-8 Custom Coupé File:42 DeSoto Custom Club Coupe (9341583814).jpg|1942 DeSoto Custom Club Coupe
1946–1960 After wartime restrictions on automotive production were ended, DeSoto returned to civilian car production when it reissued its 1942 models as 1946 models, but without the hidden-headlight feature, and with fender contours extending into the doors, like other Chrysler products of the immediate postwar period. Until 1952, DeSoto used the
Deluxe and
Custom model designations. In 1952, DeSoto added the
Firedome with its 276-cid V-8
Hemi engine. However, in 1953, DeSoto dropped the Deluxe and Custom names and designated its six-cylinder cars the
Powermaster and its V-8 car remained the Firedome. Initially, the DeSoto
"Fire Dome" Hemi engine was installed in the French luxury performance
Facel Vega. At its height, DeSoto's more popular models included the
Firesweep,
Firedome and
Fireflite. The
DeSoto Adventurer, introduced for 1956 as a high-performance hard-top coupe (similar to Chrysler's 300), became a full-range model in 1960. In 1955, along with all Chrysler models, DeSotos were redesigned with
Virgil Exner's "Forward Look." DeSotos sold well through the 1956 model year. That year, for the first and only time in the marque's history, it served as pace car at the
Indianapolis 500. For the 1956 update, Exner gave the DeSoto soaring tailfins fitted with triple taillights, and consumers responded by buying in record numbers. The 1957 had a well-integrated design, with two variations: the smaller Firesweep body placed on the concurrent Dodge 122-inch wheelbase chassis with Dodge front fenders and the Firedome and Fireflite (and its halo model Adventurer sub-series), based on the larger 126-inch wheelbase chassis shared with Chrysler. As was conventional in the era, subsequent years within the typical three-year model block were distinguished by trim, bumper and other low-cost modifications, typically by adding bulk to bumpers and grilles, taillight changes, color choices, instrumentation and interior design changes and often additional external trim. The 1958 economic downturn hurt sales of mid-priced makes across the board, and DeSoto sales were 60% lower than those of 1957 in what would be DeSoto's worst year since 1938. Also,
Ford Motor Company had introduced new mid-price competitors for the 1958 model year with the
Edsel brand. The sales slide continued for 1959 and 1960 (down 40% from the already-low 1959 figures), and rumors began to circulate that DeSoto was soon to be discontinued. 1960 was the last year of DeSoto sales in Canada.
1946–1960 gallery De Soto Club Coupe de 1948, Helsinki, Finlandia, 2012-08-14, DD 01.JPG|1948 DeSoto Club Coupe De Soto Custom 4-Door Sedan 1949.jpg|1949 DeSoto Custom 4-door sedan 1954 DeSoto Adventurer II, front right side (Greenwich 2023).jpg|The 1954 DeSoto Adventurer II show car, bodied by
Ghia 1956 De Soto Firedome 2-door hardtop front.JPG|1956 DeSoto Firedome 2-door
hardtop 1957 De Soto Firedome 4-door sedan, front right (2022 Back to the 50's Weekend).jpg|1957 DeSoto Firedome 4 Door Sedan De Soto Coupe 1959.jpg|1959 DeSoto Firedome 2-Door Sportsman 1960 Desoto Adventurer, Belgian licence registration OBF-886 p13.JPG|1960 DeSoto Adventurer
1961 , this vehicle was assembled in 1960. By the time the 1961 DeSoto was introduced in the fall of 1960, rumors were widespread that Chrysler was moving toward terminating the brand, fueled by a reduction in model offerings for the 1960 model year. The introduction of the lower-priced
Newport to the upscale Chrysler brand no doubt hastened the decision to end production of the DeSoto, which was very similar in size, styling, price and standard features. For 1961, DeSoto lost its series designations entirely, in a move reminiscent of
Packard's final lineup. And, as with the final Packards, the final DeSoto was of questionable design merit. Again based on the shorter
Chrysler Windsor wheelbase, the DeSoto featured a two-tiered grille (each tier with a different texture) and revised taillights. Only a two-door hardtop and a four-door hardtop were offered. The cars were trimmed similarly to the 1960
Fireflite. The final decision to discontinue DeSoto was announced on November 18, 1960, just 47 days after the 1961 models were introduced. At the time, Chrysler warehouses contained several million dollars in 1961 DeSoto parts, so the company ramped up production in order to use up the stock. The last DeSoto rolled off the line on November 30. Chrysler and
Plymouth dealers, which had been forced to take possession of DeSotos under the terms of their franchise agreements, received no compensation from Chrysler for their unsold DeSotos at the time of the formal announcement. Making matters worse, Chrysler continued to ship the cars through December, many of which were sold at a loss by dealers eager to be rid of them. After the parts stock was exhausted, a few outstanding customer orders were filled with Chrysler Windsors. ==Termination factors==