Exploring a Ploy

William C. Durant stumbled onto the perfect formula. Shortly after taking control of the newly formed holding company, General Motors, Durant began buying up automobile companies such as Oldsmobile, Cadillac, Elmore, and Oakland to add to Buick which was already in the stable. He then slotted each company into a specific price point so that everyone's budget could afford a GM car.

Walter P. Chrysler liked that idea. His namesake line was skewed more toward the upscale buyer. In 1928, while still trying to buy the Dodge Brothers which current ownership was reluctant to sell, Chrysler announced two new car lines. Plymouth would be the entry level, least expensive cars while the DeSoto would be the mid range cars, competing directly against Dodge.

The first DeSotos appeared in 1929 and sold for between $845 and $955. Named after famed Spanish explorer Hernando De Soto, the cars originally came out with the designation Conqueror which was short lived. The line included four door sedans and two door runabouts like the one seen here. When it was introduced it set a first year sales record of 81,065, a mark that would not be beaten until the 1960 Ford Falcon came along.

Those initial De Sotos, called in-house the K Series, rode on a 109.8 inch wheel base and sported a 55 horse power 175 cubic inch straight six engine. Because of his pull in the industry and the initial good press that was coming from Detroit about the De Soto, Chrysler was able to lure a number of Dodge dealers away to begin selling his new car.

During this time the owners of Dodge were hoping for a merger with Packard that never came. They quickly saw the writing on the wall and negotiated a deal with Chrysler. By the time the De Sotos and Plymouths first rolled out, Dodge had been fully acquired by Chrysler.

This presented both an opportunity but also a challenge for Chrysler. For the most part Dodge had a pretty full line of cars that in 1929 ran from $875 to $1800. Chrysler wasn't going to let their top of the line marque be challenged by the new acquisition so those more expensive Dodges were eventually moved into the Chrysler line. Dodge was more expensive than Plymouth so the entry level offerings were fine. Then there was De Soto.

 Initially, despite the Great Depression and then World War II, both the De Soto and the Dodge lines were presented as mid level cars. Gradually the De Soto fell to the lower end of the mid range sales ladder. This strategy worked through the 1950s but it soon became apparent that the Chrysler line-up was too crowded. Despite good sales and a loyal customer base, Chrysler shut down De Soto following the 1961 model year.

There are some who believe that De Soto was only created as a ploy to get Dodge ownership to sell out. If so, the ploy worked. But the De Soto also worked by selling extremely well. Though it is now long gone it still maintains an ardent group of followers and owners.