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Automotive News & Views Mystery car pix....
23627 messages, Last post on Nov 10, 2009 at 3:30 PM
You are in the Automotive News & Views Forum. Your Hosts are steve_ & claires
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these cars were often known as "Plodges"...basically it WAS a Plymouth, with a Dodge front-end clip. This model was called a Mayfair. Chrysler also had an export model called the DeSoto Diplomat, which was a Plymouth with a DeSoto grille and some different trim put on. Main reason they did these rebadges is because big cars won't cut it in overseas markets, and back then a Plymouth body was smaller than a Dodge, and way smaller than a DeSoto. Here's a pic of a '56 DeSoto Diplomat...  In looking at these pics, the Dodge and Plymouth must've been identical in '55-56 from the cowl forward, with the Dodge's extra length somewhere further back. Reason I'm thinking this is because for the Dodge version, they were actually able to fit a whole Dodge clip up there, fenders and all. On this DeSoto Diplomat, they just fitted a grille that resembled a '56 DeSoto's onto a Plymouth, using Plymouth fenders and everything, and just called it a day. And in that timeframe, a DeSoto/Chrysler was definitely longer than a Dodge or Plymouth, ahead of the cowl, so the whole front DeSoto clip never would've fit. I've always liked the '55-56 Plymouth, but now, looking at the pic, I think the Diplomat front end actually looks a little better! Still, it was on a 115" wheelbase, and probably around 200" long, if not more, so I doubt most foreign buyers considered these things "small" cars!  It really struck me as odd when we saw it at Carlisle. We were walking up the hill, and I probably said something like "oh cool, a '56 Plymouth". But then I got distracted by something else when we got up there, and then looked back, at the front of the car, and was like, "cool, a '56 Dodge...hey, WAIT a minute!" It took me a few seconds to realize I wasn't seeing things! |
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Overseas Dodge trucks were sold as DeSotos. Check out the Aussie DeSoto UTS. http://www.roadkillontheweb.com/truck.html Bob |
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I had never seen a DeSoto Ute before! BTW, did anybody ever come up with a "correct" term for that type of body style? I see that DeSoto was calling it a "coupe-utility", and I've heard Aussies just refer to that style as a "Ute". And here in the US, they usually just got called by their brand name...El Camino or Ranchero. I've heard them called "car/trucks" or "car-based pickups", but never did hear a technical term for them.
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Replying to: andre1969 (May 13, 2005 10:22 am) I think those early coupe utilities were based on our "business coupes," which were 2-door coupes with no rear seat, a small cab. but with a huge trunk. They were used by travelling salesmen back in the 1950s. Bob |
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In Australia with thousands of square miles of rugged Outback, they like car-based utes but here in the USA we use 4wd pickups to go to the mall on paved super highways....in Florida! Dodge trucks were sold as DeSotos in Europe as well. I came across a '54 DeSoto panel truck in Switzerland recently.
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Replying to: andys120 (May 13, 2005 2:38 pm) panel truck in Switzerland recently. Africa too. Bob |
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Looks like a SWB Mini Moke
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Replying to: fintail (May 13, 2005 3:25 pm) 
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