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Future Shock
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1936 De Soto Airflow. Photo: J. Michael Hemsley
Roadcar Profiles

Future Shock

 J. Michael Hemsley

1936 De Soto Airflow

Photo: J. Michael Hemsley
Photo: J. Michael Hemsley

The story of De Soto begins with a record for first year sales that stood for just over 30 years. It ends when Chrysler Corporation undercut its sales with a lower-priced Chrysler Newport and killed the brand. In between, it’s an amazing tale of ups and downs, good decisions and bad, innovative design and poor design choices. At its most innovative, De Soto had a car that included design features that are common on all of today’s cars. Sadly, this innovative and, in my opinion, beautiful design was too different for the American public.

De Soto

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Brand (Chrysler)Brand (Dodge)Brand (General Motors)Brand (Hudson)Brand (Mercury)Brand (Oldsmobile)Brand (Plymouth)Brand (Studebaker)Decade (1930s)Featured (Roadcar Feature)Group (FIVA (Fédération Internationale des Véhicules Anciens))People (Carl Breer)People (Walter P. Chrysler)Profiles (Roadcar Profile)Profiles (The Cars)

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J. Michael Hemsley
Steve Natale has been playing with cars ever since he was old enough to first hold a matchbox car in his hand. A lifelong enthusiast of anything old with an engine in it or wheels on it, Steve has been active in the hobby for over 35 years. Currently he owns a successful marketing company with his wife Mary, is an automotive photographer, blogger and writer for several automotive magazines and regular contributor to various automotive websites. Steve has attended vintage car events and visited car museums and collections around the world.
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