1961: The final DeSoto showed this face to the world

The DeSoto Division was created by Walter P. Chrysler for the 1928 model year, and spent the following 32 years selling cars that were a bit snazzier than Plymouths but not quite as upscale as Chryslers (Dodge and DeSoto swapped roles a couple of times as the "just above Plymouth" marque). Brand confusion, intra-division office politics, and the late-1950s recession doomed DeSoto, but not before the cars of the final model year (1961) were built with the jarringly strange snout treatment seen in the brochure photograph above.

From the side, the 1961 DeSoto looked quite similar to its Chrysler Windsor sibling. The termination of the DeSoto brand was announced in late 1960, so customers had enough reason to avoid the 1961 DeSotos, even without their odd-looking faces.

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