It's Delightful! It's Delovely! It's... DeSoto Automobiles (De Soto) [Paperback]

Dennis David (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 2006

In between DeSoto's introduction in 1928 and its demise in 1961 would come 32 years of wonderful styling, bright colors, and power to spare.

DeSotos were billed as "a lot of car for the money" and sales proved it. DeSoto was purely an American effort. One look at the graceful flying lady mascot on the hood of a DeSoto S-11 is all it takes to see that it was a different era - a time in American automotive history that is forever gone.

Revisit this era in a concise history of this magnificent marque - illustrated with colorful pictures, period advertising, artist renderings and contemporary black and white factory photos that show the fine details of these beautiful cars.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dennis is not new to automotive writing - besides authoring Fifties Fins, How to Restore Classic Toys, and History of the Tonka Toy Company, his work has appeared in Car Collector, Cars & Parts, Special Interest Autos, and Automobile Quarterly. He's been involved in the Society of Automotive Historians, American Truck Historical Society, Classic Car Club of America, Antique Automobile Club of America, amongst being involved with esteemed events like judging for the Greenwich Concours de Elegance and the Councours de Elegance of the Eastern United States. To further prove his candidacy  for this subject, Dennis was the winner of the 1998 Hernando DeSoto Award and was also the Technical Editor of the National DeSoto club.

 

 

Product Details

• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Iconografix (November 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1583881727
• ISBN-13: 978-1583881729
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 8.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #807,027 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The comprehesive guide to Desoto., September 1, 2007

By 

Chris Sellick (South Australia,Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It's Delightful! It's Delovely! It's... DeSoto Automobiles (De Soto) (Paperback)

Its about time! Finally a comprehensive book on Desoto,Just Desoto.

This is a beautiful book on the history of Desoto even from where the name Desoto came from.Page after page of beautiful photographs through and detailed text make this book one of a kind.If you love Desoto this is the book you have been waiting for.This is THE must have book on Desoto.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars indeed....Delovely!!!, January 11, 2007

By 

Mr. D. Hallam - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: It's Delightful! It's Delovely! It's... DeSoto Automobiles (De Soto) (Paperback)

This is an excellent book. Well worth the money. Fantastic pics, well presented, good quality all around, nice print, well bound....a terrific publication!

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars De Soto: What if it had not been discontinued?, June 26, 2008

By 

GRH "Ex WHA Jet" (British Columbia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: It's Delightful! It's Delovely! It's... DeSoto Automobiles (De Soto) (Paperback)

This book is very thorough in detailing the all too short history of the De Soto brand. The text very concisely chronicles the origins and the reason for the ultimate demise of this forgotten marque.
The De Soto proves that sometimes the marketplace is not ready for a product that is 10 to 20 years ahead of it's time; case in point, the Airflow.
The De Soto also proves that sometimes "badge engineering" can diminish a cars identity; witness the fact the the finned De Sotos of the late 1950s looked almost the same as it's corporate cousins Chrysler, Dodge, and Plymouth, resulting in the marque becoming redundant.
Still, what if Chrysler hadn't discontinued the brand? Imagine De Soto K-cars in the 1980s !! Or a De Soto version of the Plymouth Volare in the 1970s !! That said, maybe it is a good thing the De Soto was euthanized in 1961 !!

NB On a side note, page 117 makes reference to the 1959 Cella 1, a proposed 3/8th scale mock up of a car that would have used fuel cell technology. All the press today about fuel cells being radical new technology are misleading; the concept and technology is decades old.