Hood ornament from a pink Chrysler1950 DeSoto DeLuxe on the streets of Havana, Cuba.
When the Americans were forced out of Cuba as a result of the 'Revolution", their possessions had to be left behind. The cars were snatched up and the owners have been lovingly caring for them ever since. Because most of the owners had no access to authentic parts for needed repairs on their "trophies", Cuban ingenuity was called upon to find parts of various other machinery to do the trick. Parts often came from tractors and other brands of vehicles . The De Soto make was founded by Walter Chrysler on August 4, 1928, and introduced for the 1929 model year. It was named after the Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto. Chrysler wanted to enter the brand in competition with its arch-rivals General Motors, Studebaker, and Willys-Knight, in the mid-price class. Until 1952, De Soto used the Deluxe and Custom model designations. In 1952 De Soto added the Firedome with its 276-cid hemi engine. However, in 1953, De Soto dropped the Deluxe and Custom names and designated its six-cylinder cars the 'Powermaster' and its V8 car remained the 'Firedome'. The 1958 economic downturn hurt sales of mid-priced makes across the board, and De Soto sales were 60 percent lower than those of 1957 in what would be De Soto's worst year since 1938. The sales slide continued for 1959 and 1960 (down 40 percent from the already low 1959 figures), and rumors began to circulate DeSoto was going to be discontinued.
Size: 2758px × 3259px
Location: Havana, Cuba
Photo credit: © Buzzshotz / Alamy / Afripics
License: Royalty Free
Model Released: No
Keywords: automobile, car, enduring, reinstate, rejuvenate, renew, restoration, restore, restored, solid, strength, symbol
