Fireflite V-8 Trivia Question of the Week:TM 1. What were the FIRST and LAST model years of DeSoto production? 2. A fourteen year old won the United States Chess Championship on January 8, 1958. What was his name? 3. Can you name the individual who became Premier of the Soviet Union on March 27, 1958? 4. DeSotos of 1958 were built in one of two assembly plant locations. Can you name the two cities which were home to DeSoto manufacturing? 5. The base, factory price of a DeSoto Fireflite Sportsman 4-door hardtop in 1958 was, A. $2,308.00; B. $2,985.00; C. $3,731.00; D. $4,021.00; or E. $4,864.00? 6. A Billboard Magazine pop hit for 1958, this song included the lyrics, “you can swing it you can groove it, You can really start to move it...” Two separate artists took this song to the charts, one version reaching number one and the other number twenty-one. Can you name the song; one or both of the original artists and what popular dances of the day were noted in the lyrics of this 1958 hit? 7. Born February 16, 1958 in Newark, New Jersey, Tracy Lauren Marrow is an actor/musician who, in 1987, recorded the title theme song for Dennis Hopper’s Colors, a movie about life in the Los Angeles inner-city. He also voiced Madd Dogg in the video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. What is his stage name? 8. On December 9, 1958, retired candy maker Robert Welch founded a right-wing American political organization in Indianapolis, Indiana to support individual rights and private property. Known for their anti-Communist views, the group was the subject of a musical parody, bearing the same name as that of the organization, which contained the lyrics, “If Mommy is a commie, then you’ve got to turn her in.” What is the name of this organization?

For answers to this week’s Fireflite V-8 Trivia Questions as well as more information and photos of the 1958 DeSoto, visit The FIN MAN’sTM web site at http://www.thefinman.com. You can e-mail The FIN MANTM by clicking here > mailto:the_fin_man@msn.com.

For answers to this week’s Fireflite Trivia Answers, visit the FIN MAN’s web site by clicking on this link: http://www.thefinman.com.

When it comes to fifties fins, they don’t get much better than these! You can talk about your Chevys, Cadillacs and Lincolns too; after all everybody had fins in the fifties... but few compared to the great fins of the late fifties Chrysler products sculpted by famed automobile designer Virgil Exner. Some of the aforementioned brands may have had taller, sharper or pointier versions, but Exner’s designs were unique. Graceful airfoils which started at the front doors and swept in one flowing line all the way to the tail end of the car, Exner’s fins exemplified the so called ‘jet age’ styling, a theme which captivated consumers of the day. Exner had a fondness for fins, that’s for sure... and they were the key element in all of his designs including the 1958 DeSoto Firesweep illustrated above, the entry level DeSoto of the day. His designs, which featured longer, lower bodies, lower rooflines and those flowing fins, would soon be dubbed the ‘Forward Look’, by Mopar brass. The theme, in the case of DeSoto, might also have been called ‘Fire and Fins’ for those were the predominant messages portrayed as evidenced by the titles applied to the cars themselves as well as the engines which powered them. In ascending order, there were Firesweeps, Firedomes and Fireflites in the model lineup, and in each case, the engines were emblazoned with the same monikers.

I can still recall as if it were yesterday, Christmas, 1957 when my aunt Annette Kompir presented me with a small gift-wrapped box. I needed no hints as to what might be contained inside the small, rectangular box for my aunt worked as a billing clerk for Ray Rixman Dodge at 7916 North Broadway in Baden, Missouri. Each and every October birthday and the following Christmas, during that time in my life, I knew I could count on my aunt to bring me a promotional, scale model Mopar of some sort. These were 1/25th scale plastic models manufactured by one of two preeminent scale model car makers of the period, AMT and Jo-Han. Both manufacturers produced model ‘kits’ which came in larger boxes and had to be painted and assembled using plastic glue– and pre-assembled and painted versions of the same cars often in both friction motor toy cars... the type sold in toy and department stores, and the ‘promotional’ models, used by automobile dealers and manufacturers for, well, promotional purposes. These replicas were often displayed in glass cases in dealer showrooms, in full view of pint size guests. They were used as bait, often being given to real car buyers who showed up at the dealership with curtain climbers in tow. Not only was the gift of the scale model a great diversion, keeping the kids entranced in a far corner of the showroom while a plaid sports coat attired salesman went for the close on mom and dad, but it was also hoped it would be the icing on the cake, endearing the salesman to mom and dad for being such a nice guy.

As far as my Christmas 1958 present was concerned, I really didn’t care what kind car it was or what color it was, as long as aunt Annette gave me a plastic model to add to my collection. By 1958, I was already into my third year of collecting scale model ‘promos’ and their marketing cousins the friction motor toys at department stores and toy stores around the country for two bucks each or roughly fifteen dollars in today’s market. This particular Christmas, the model my aunt gave me was a 1958 DeSoto Sportsman Fireflite four door hardtop decked out in a reasonably accurate representation of Mopar paint code ‘DBD’. The first letter designated the color of the roof, which in the case of my miniature plastic DeSoto was ‘Midnight Blue’ a hue fittingly defined by its name. The second letter of the paint code indicated the color of the bottom portion of the body from the ‘beltline’ down, in this case it was ‘Wedgewood Blue’. (The beltline is the term car designer use to represent the uppermost horizontal line in the body form before reaching the ‘greenhouse’ portion of the car [is that as clear as mud???].) The final letter of the trio indicated the color of the sweepspear insert, which on my Jo-Han DeSoto was Midnight Blue, just like the roof. A total of eighty-six two-tone color combinations were possible based on 14 available solid colors. (For more on automobile body design terminology, visit my web site at http://www.thefinman.com.)

Modern, aerodynamic (by period standards) and available with a host of creature comforts and amenities not found in common cars of the day, the 1958 DeSoto was a mid-priced car, one to which my Aunt Dorothy could relate and appreciate for its practical values.

The track-proven drivetrain was dependable and relatively trouble free in the hands of the average consumer. Although they would return in later years, the famed Chrysler hemi had been phased out for 1958 in favor of a new, ‘wedge’ head engine that was easier to tune and less expensive to produce. The entry level Firesweep models were powered by a 350 cubic inch version producing 280 horsepower at 4,600 RPM. The Firedome was powered by a 361 cubic inch ‘mill’ and managed an additional 15 ponies. Fireflite models managed to squeeze another 10 horses (305 total) by using a four barrel carburetor. The rare, top-of-the line Adventurer (a Fireflite sub-model) achieved 345 horsepower by using two large Carter four-barrels. (Imagine what a trip to the country in one of those would cost you today!) An optional EFI fuel injection set up was available on Adventurer engines for a whopping additional tab of $637.20, but it was plagued with problems and eventually recalled by the factory to be refitted with the dual four barrel set up. All DeSoto engines ran a 10:0:1 compression ratio (the Adventurer engine was 10:25:1) requiring Ethyl (premium) fuel. This was a factor which often came into play when making the buying decision because, after all, premium fuel was going for nearly sixty-cents per gallon at that time!

Chrysler’s Torqueflite automatic transmissions had established a reputation as being near bullet proof and all Chrysler products, including Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto and Chryslers, had the familiar dash mounted push-button control for forward and reverse drive selection. Although the automatic transmission was considered ‘standard’ equipment on the DeSoto... that held true only for Fireflite and Fireflite Adventurer models. Those choosing the entry level Firesweep could opt for a two-speed ‘PowerFlite’ transmission at $180.00 or the aforementioned three-speed ‘TorqueFlite’ at $220.00. Firedome buyers who wanted the convenience of hassle free automatic shifting had but one choice... the TorqueFlite with the same tab as on the Firedome models. Although few DeSoto buyers chose it, a three-speed manual gearbox with column-mounted shifter (or as we called it, ‘three on the tree’) was offered as a ‘deduct option’.

Convenience and appearance options were plentiful on the 1958 DeSoto order form and included such niceties as power windows ($106.00; power steering ($106.00); power brakes ($39.00); six-way power seat ($101.00). An ‘Electro-Tune’ AM radio with single antenna was offered at $120.00. If you wanted the symmetry of dual, rear fender mounted antennas, it would cost you an extra sixteen bucks, but believe me it was worth it because that pair of slanted antennas at the back, was the finishing touch for those lofty fins and the resulting look was fantastic! It’s too bad this week’s feature photo car doesn’t include this feature, but after all, it is an entry level Firesweep. And by the way, gen Xers may not believe this, but the Firesweep models came with a rubber floor covering. No, I don’t mean floor ‘mats’... the entire floor was covered in rubber just like a cheap pickup truck. If you wanted to impress your friends with carpeting front and rear, you had to choose the carpet option and be ready to ante up another fourteen bucks! Not only that, but a heater was optional on ALL DeSotos, even the top-of-the-line Fireflites. A basic hot air heater was a $89.00 option and the ‘Instant Air’ heater was available for $157.00. I’m not personally familiar with the latter, but I would guess, as the name implies, it offered heat as soon as the car was started, probably through the use of an electrical heating element. At just a smidgen over $1,200.00 in ‘08 bucks, it seems a tad on the pricey side to say the least. But, if you could afford it and you were really cold blooded, I guess it was worth the price to keep your tush warm on those cold, winter days. Chrysler ‘Air Temp’ a/c was a $493.00 option... but, the good news was that price included a heater! Once again, using the trusty Consumer Price Index inflation calculator, that equates to a whopping thirty-eight hundred buh-h-h (as Mike Evans would say)! As you might imagine, the vast majority of DeSotos never saw a/c.

A rear seat center armrest was offered for an additional $27.00, but it was only available on four-door and sport models like this week’s feature illustrated car. An interesting feature was a steering wheel mounted, self winding clock which could be had for $30.00.

Dress up items, in addition to the dual rear antennas, included full wheel covers ($16.00); white sidewall tires ($42.00-$45.00 depending on tire size [high end models and station wagons wore larger rubber]); two tone paint ($19.00); ‘special finish’ solid and two-tone paint ($71.00).

Despite their great looks and reputation for mechanical reliability, Chrysler products of the fifties were plagued with premature rust and a number of other nagging idiosyncracies. After logging their third best sales year in history for 1957, sales plummeted in ‘58 to nearly half the previous year’s number. The fact that the U.S. economy was fully engaged in a recession didn’t help matters either and DeSoto would soon become an ‘orphan’ automobile marque like Packard, Studebaker and a host of others before.

A quick search of the internet turned up a Jo-Han promo just like the one I have, in the same color scheme on Ebay. The auction ends on July 3, 2008 at 11:50:38 Pacific daylight time. The item has a starting bid of $25.00 and had received no bids at this writing.

If this story has inspired you to run out and pick up a 58 DeSoto for summer cruising, although production was about half of the 1957 figure and very few examples have survived through the past fifty years, a search turned up a handful of deals on various web sites including You-Tube, Ebay, Cars-On-Line, Hemmings, Automedia.com and a few others. One You-Tube (not for sale) entry even shows the pint-sized DeSoto ‘Firemite’ a 3/8th scale, motorized promotional version (roughly the size of a go-cart) made of vacuum formed polystyrene. Although experts disagree on the exact number, it is believed that there are only a half dozen or so of these rare vehicles in existence today.

Do you know the difference between antique, collectible and Classic Cars? The FIN MAN can explain this and much more about the interesting cars of the late twentieth century. Bruce Kunz is available for your group’s meeting, conference or special event, including benefits, and is currently booking engagements through July, 2009. During a typical seminar, he presents an overview of the collector car hobby plus a detailed look at fifties, sixties and seventies American automobiles. His program includes a PowerPoint presentation with images of collectible automobiles and various associated nostalgia and Americana, particularly from the fifties, sixties and seventies. Guests also have the opportunity to play “FINS for FUNTM,” the video car trivia game he produced in 1987 which inspired his nickname “The FIN MAN.” The game involves identifying the year, make and model of fifties and sixties cars by viewing just a small section of the rear quarter. Contestants compete for auto-related prizes donated by supporting Fin Man sponsors such as Fast Lane Classic Cars, Chuck-A-Burger, Gateway Classic Cars, Meguiars auto care products and Advance Auto Parts. For more information, click on this link: http://groups.msn.com/the-fin-man/seminaragenda.msnw.

Bruce Kunz is a member of the Society of Automotive Historians, the Gateway Chapter of the Buick Club of America and the Monte Carlo Owners Association of America. He welcomes your kudos, comments, complaints and suggestions. To e-mail him, click here > mailto:the_fin_man@msn.com.

Copyright 1987-2007, Bruce Kunz, The FIN MAN, PH Enterprises.