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I did a post about a month back about the 1957 Doge that exemplified the radical move Chrysler made that year by skipping a few years of design and testing.
See Previous Post
This piece on the 1957 DeSoto just adds fuel to the fire of the people, who in hindsight, say Chrytler should never have skipped the testing and quality control of the ’57 line of cars.
1957 was a good time for DeSoto. It was also a tragedy. Corporation-wide quality problems resulted in some horribly built cars. It’s said that DeSoto four door hardtops built at Los Angeles leaked so badly in the rain that occupants were wise to exit the car to avoid drowning. One 1957 DeSoto Adventurer was incapacitated for four of the total 18 months it was owned by its first owner. The car went through four transmissions, three power steering units, two new double point distributors, new valve guides and a new radiator. Reportedly, it took considerable effort and the attention of Chrysler’s Chairman of the Board to have the car corrected.
© Fred Winograd copyright 2010