Chrysler’s Fifties Hits and Misses
1956 DeSoto Fireflite Sportsman A few are famous, many are overlooked and most are affordable Forward Look, Adventurer, Fire Sweep, Firepower, Golden Lion, Letter Car and Hemi: As I wrote those names, a series of images flashed past, each one a pure evocation of a moment in the Fifties. But even with these icons, not to mention NASCAR Grand National titles, world speed records and a Car of the Year award, Fifties Chryslers were at best a distant third place in sales. And how many 1957 Chevrolets do you see for each ’57 Windsor spotted? While Ford and Chevrolet could sell a quarter-million of not just one model, but a single bodystyle, Chrysler or Dodge divisions would have been thrilled with those numbers for the whole lineup, especially considering how many unsold cars they sometimes had at the end of the calendar year. Aside from a few bright spots such as 1957, the Fifties were a decade of decline for Chrysler. They barely sold half the cars in 1959 that they d...