D500 Fear the Flags

By 1959, Chrysler's quality control problems had caught up to them and had dramatically affected sales in all divisions. (Oh, by the way, the preceding advertisement page is a joke) Hardest hit was the politically incorrect and internally disliked DeSoto, which seemingly had been a perennial thorn in the side of the other divisions. Top management was caught in a quandary.....up until 1958, overall corporate sales had been on the increase, with DeSoto bringing in a disproportionate amount of revenue. Chryco executives were only accountable to the stockholders, however, and really didn't care about internal squabbles between division managers. Now, with sales in the toilet, they had to care. DeSoto alone had dropped 70 percent overall. Something had to be done.

Division managers wanted DeSoto gone, period. With the sister division out of the picture, the other divisions could theoretically whack up DeSoto's sales pie among themselves, in addition to whatever bonus checks might still be lingering in the background. At the very least, they'd be able to keep their jobs. Top management saw the handwriting on the wall, and pulled DeSoto out of its Wyoming Ave. assembly plant for the 1959 model year and assigned it to Jefferson Avenue to be built alongside senior Chrysler models. They also planned the utter and total demise of the line, to be effective within two more model years. In November of 1960, Chryco announced that after the 1961 model run there would be no more DeSotos built.

The 1959 DeSoto models sold 45,724 units, and DeSoto was one of only two manufacturers to score lower sales in 1959 than in 1958. Among the cars built were 590 Adventurer coupes at $4427, and 97 Adventurer convertibles at $4749. The Adventurer, built on the big Chrysler 126" wheelbase, complete with gold sweep spears and chrome streaks on the trunk lid, provided swivel front seats to make entry and exit easier. Colors were still limited to combinations of black, white, and gold with the same color interior as in previous years. Under the hood was the new 383 cubic inch wedge engine with 2 x 4 barrel carburetors, developing 350 hp @ 5000 rpm in front of the 3 speed cast iron Torqueflite transmission. It ran well, and performed as well as could be expected for a car its size.

I think the Adventurer's appeal was waning by 1959, partially due to the overall quality problems Chrysler had, and the fact that no major redesign had been effected for three model years. Also, the car's legendary performance was a bit lacking with the 383. The 413 would have been a better choice, but Chrysler had first dibs for the 300E, which nobody wanted either.

Had I been running Chrysler Corporation, I would have continued the 392 hemi for one more year exclusively for the 300E and used the in line dual quad 413 in the Adventurer rated at perhaps 375 hp. I would have had the 392 built to 1957 300C 390 hp specs, too. Betcha that would have sold some 300Es! I would have brought back the Adventurer wheel covers from 1957, and I would have expanded the color theme somewhat and made leather optional. However, they never called for my opinion, and look what happened!