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De Soto Fireflite Convertible - From the realm of retorts

Name: De Soto Fireflite Convertible 1955
Brand: De Soto

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Created on May 4, 2023

Text:

Paul Krüger

Photos:

Bonhams

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Bonhams

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - slimmer, lower and longer than before

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - an unrestored Survivor in "Surf White" and "Carnival Red"

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - The side window line is similar to the hardtops. Only the rear panorama window is missing, of course

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - the Exner line is also successful with a closed top

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - five years earlier, this rear window would have been generous even on a limousine

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - The rear is simple. Model lettering is missing

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - This was the last year with the typical chrome teeth in the grille

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - elegant and playful lettering on the mudguard

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - wire-spoke hubcaps were available as an option

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - Two-tone two-class society: the cheaper Firedome lacked the stepped hips

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - Although there was no longer any need for differentiation, the fender still proudly emphasized the V8

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - comparatively simple rear lights with tiny reflector. One year later, there were three individual lights on each side

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - the fender ornament merges with the headlight surround. The De Sotos were considered the Chrysler models with the most "bling"

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - As so often, the company emblem was a figment of the imagination. The large "V" refers to the standard eight-cylinder engine

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - A touch of 300 SL: recessed door handles that pop out at the touch of a button

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - almost superfluous note: 95 percent of all De Soto cars were equipped with automatic transmission in 1955

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - model step on the speaker cover

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - Shiny: there is also a chrome-plated fitting on the underside of the upholstered dashboard edge

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - Although slightly narrower than in the previous year, the interior comfortably accommodated six people

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - The dashboard is still comparatively simple. The strong curvature of the "New Horizon" windshield is clearly visible here

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - Symmetry is as chic as it is practical: the glove box is 70 percent larger than in the previous year

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - Unexpectedly sporty: five round instruments inform the driver. The clock on the dashboard anticipates Porsche's sports chrono package by decades

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - A star without a name: the year before, the steering wheel hub had been adorned with the likeness of Hernando de Soto

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - attention to detail: the lower edge of the dashboard continues onto the door panel

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - wide, lavishly upholstered rear seat for cozy evenings at the drive-in cinema

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - Inconsistent: while the brochure mentions "De Soto", the name on the car only appears without a space

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - 4.8-liter V8 with 200 hp

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1955) - Playing with fire: the V8 with hemispherical combustion chambers was a hot item in the mid-fifties

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De Soto Fireflite Sportsman (1955) - Hardtop Coupé with 200 hp

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De Soto Firedome Station Wagon (1955) - Station wagon for six people

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De Soto Firedome 4-Door Sedan (1955) - recognizable by the missing fender ornaments above the headlights

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De Soto Firedome 4-Door Sedan (1955) - with Powerflite automatic transmission

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De Soto Firedome (1955) - Interesting view of the dashboard without steering wheel and the unusually placed automatic gear selector lever

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De Soto Firedome 4-Door Sedan (1955) - and a Fireflite Sportsman as a contemporary advertising illustration

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De Soto Fireflite 2-Door Sportsman (1956) - at the 1955 Paris Motor Show

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De Soto Fireflite 2-Door Sportsman (1956) - Cockpit with new push-button automatic transmission at the Paris Motor Show

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1956) - now also with panoramic windshield in the soft top

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De Soto Fireflite 2-Door Sportsman (1956) - Hardtop Coupé with 255 hp V8

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De Soto Fireflite 4-Door Sedan (1956) - and 2-Door Sportsman in the new "Forward Look"

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De Soto Fireflite 4-Door Sedan (1956) - with grille instead of the chrome-plated shark's teeth

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De Soto Firflite Convertible (1955) - from the sales brochure

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De Soto Firflite Convertible (1955) - the 200 hp V8 engine

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De Soto Fireflite (1956) - with new radiator grille and new rear lights

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De Soto Firedome (1956) - Detail of the new rear light ensemble at the 1956 Geneva Motor Show

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De Soto Powermaster Club Coupe (1954) - stylistically conservative model of the K-T Keller era in the Chrysler Group

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De Soto Diplomat Custom 4-Door Sedan (1955) - Plymouth-based export model for Canada and Europe

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De Soto Firedome 4-Door Sedan (1957) - the new model with larger windshield and optional twin headlights

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De Soto Fireflite 4-Door Sedan (1957) - at the Paris Salon 1956

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De Soto Firedome 4-Door Sedan (1957) - only 1.40 meters high

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De Soto Fireflite Convertible (1957) - the new tail fins look particularly dramatic on the convertible

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De Soto Fireflite 4-Door Sportsman (1957) - Hardtop sedan without B-pillar

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De Soto Firedome 2-Door Sportsman (1957) - Hardtop Coupé with 270 hp

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Summary

A De Soto was something like the Buick of the Chrysler Group: a large and prestigious car with a slightly sporty touch for all those for whom the company's luxury brand was too snobbish or too expensive. But what began in 1928 with a grandiose sales record ended 32 years later in an unworthy recycling of leftovers. This article tells the story of the retort brand with the adventurer name and shows a 1955 Fireflite Convertible in current photos as well as its closer relatives on historical material.

This article contains the following chapters

Into the fifties
100 million dollars
First forwards, then far back

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

The man collected car brands like other stamps. In 1928, Walter Percy Chrysler was the last of the Detroit carmakers later known as the "Big Three" to give his brand an entire group. On July 7, he founded the Plymouth brand so as not to leave the market for affordable mid-range cars to Ford and Chevrolet without a fight. His head of sales, Joseph W. Frazer, had chosen the name because it sounded particularly American and Plymouth ropes enjoyed a good reputation among the target group of farmers. That same month, on July 31, 1928, he bought the bankrupt Dodge brothers' car brand from the Dillon and Read Company, since not everyone who had outgrown their Plymouth financially could afford a Chrysler right away. After less than a week, Mr. Chrysler felt that even these leaps in class were still too great, which is why he launched a link called De Soto on August 4. The namesake was the Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto, who was the first European to cross the Mississippi in 1541. However, this patriotic pioneering deed did not earn him immortalization on numerous hoods in the USA. According to Joseph Frazer, Mr. Chrysler had taken the name at random from a history book because it sounded like "adventure, travel and pioneering spirit", as the advertising later emphasized.

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