1942 DeSoto DeLuxe (S-10) Sedan 🇺🇸

The lineup for the 1942 DeSoto brand consisted of two models, the DeLuxe and the Custom, which differed for the chrome frames around the windows, dual windshield wipers and interior furnishings. The four-door sedan was the most popular model in the DeLuxe range. Mechanically both cars were identical and sported a straight-six engine that developed 115 horsepower, ten more than the previous year’s models. 

The Nicola Bulgari Car Collection purchased this DeLuxe four-door sedan from Robert Van Honten in 2015, and commissioned Precision Motor Cars to perform a complete frame-off restoration on the car starting in January 2016 and ending in October 2017. Parts for 1942 DeSotos are very hard to come by, so many had to be remade, when NOS parts couldn’t be located. Interior furnishings were made to replicate the original pattern that was on the car when it left the manufacturer in 1942. Now this precious specimen of pre-war production is back.

Company
Chrysler Corporation

Wheelbase
121.5in

Interior trim
Beige cloth

Brakes
front and rear drums

Make
DeSoto

Length
207in

Engine
inline 6 - 236.1cid

Tires
6.25x16

Model
DeLuxe (S-10) Sedan

Width
75in

Carburetor
1 Carter EE1

Original Price
$1,103

Body style
4-door Sedan

Weight
3,315lbs

Horsepower
115hp @ 3800rpm

Production
6,463

Model year
1942

Exterior paint
Navajo Brown/Palomino Beige

Transmission
Fluid-Drive 4-speed semi-automatic

The history of DeSoto began in 1926, when Walter P. Chrysler, motivated to expand his Chrysler Corporation into a full-line auto company, made a bid to buy the Dodge Brothers organization. This would not only give him a lower-medium priced car with a very good reputation, but it would also increase production, given the Dodge foundry and manufacturing capabilities. Another benefit would be the Dodge large dealer organization that had earned a very good reputation. The Dodge bankers that were handling the deal didn’t feel good about giving a timely answer to Chrysler’s offers, so the Corporation executives decided to introduce the DeSoto brand, a new low-medium priced car placed between the cheap Plymouth and the medium-priced Chrysler 65. The new DeSoto was conceived as an upscale Plymouth, with more luxurious interior furnishings and fitted with a more powerful 55 horsepower six-cylinder engine in place of a 45 horsepower four-cylinder. The very attractive body lines inspired by the big Chrysler 75 models and the competitive pricing generated very good sales in the first year of production. Ironically, just four days before the DeSoto was introduced, Chrysler’s offer to purchase the Dodge Brothers operation was accepted, so DeSoto and Dodge were rivals on the marketplace, even if they were part of the Chrysler Corporation. Success of the new DeSoto brand was phenomenal, with over 64,000 cars produced in 1929. Sales figures continued to remain very good during the next few years, thanks to great styling, high performance and good value for the money. When the DeSoto Airflow was introduced in 1934, sales took a beating. The new car was extremely advanced, had very good performance and road handling, and the styling was revolutionary, but the buying public was not ready for it. While Chrysler had another more conventional line of cars, DeSoto was stuck with it, and sales plummeted. The following year, a more traditional car was introduced, the Streamliner, and sales picked up again, remaining very good for the rest of the decade. 1941 was DeSoto’s best year, with almost 96,000 cars sold in the model year. Sales success was in part due to the outbreak of war in Europe, prompting many customers to buy cars in 1941, fearing that there might be no more new cars should the Nation be involved in the hostilities. But the 1941 DeSotos were without a doubt the best ever produced, with beautiful styling, powerful engines and a new innovation called “Fluid Drive”, a new semi-automatic transmission that eased the chores of driving. 

1942 cars were heavily face-lifted from the previous year with wider rear fenders, new bumpers, concealed running boards, lower hood, and a toothy new grille, complementing the real novelty of the year, the “Airfoil” concealed headlamps. The headlights were hidden by little doors that opened when the headlight switch was turned on, a gimmick inspired by the luxurious 1936 Cord. The new 1942 models appeared in the showrooms in September 1941, Pearl Harbour was attacked in December, and by February all civilian car production was halted, and all manufacturing plants were converted to war production, after some 27,000 cars had been assembled.