You will often hear people lament about how “they don’t make them like they used to.” In the case of DeSoto, that means that they don’t make them at all. The company produced its final car in 1961, but this 1959 Sportsman is from the final year of Firesweep production. It is a 2-Door Hardtop that presents superbly and needs nothing beyond a new owner who will continue to treat it with respect. If you fancy finding yourself behind the wheel of a piece of classic Mopar history, you will find the Firesweep located in Phoenix, Arizona, and listed for sale here on eBay. Spirited bidding has pushed the price to $20,100, although this remains shy of the reserve.
While technically considered a Firesweep, you won’t find any badges indicating that fact on this DeSoto. The company removed that identification for the 1959 model year, although it does wear its original Sportsman badges on its rear quarter panels. It only takes a single glance to see Virgil Exner’s “forward look” philosophy in this DeSoto’s styling. Low and sleek with enormous fins, it’s all there for Exner fans. This Sportsman wears Pearl White paint with a Castillian Red top. The seller has listed this classic on behalf of a friend and describes its overall appearance as show quality. It is hard to argue against his assessment because the paint looks close to perfect. There is no evidence of significant flaws or problems and no sign of dings or dents in the panels. It is a sad reality that DeSotos from this era were renowned for poor quality control, but the panel gaps on this car are some of the best I’ve seen on a later offering from the company. The poor quality control extended to areas like waterproofing, allowing moisture to find its way into some inaccessible areas within the Firesweep’s body. The result was a situation where many DeSotos developed significant rust problems with less than a year under their belt. That fate hasn’t befallen our feature car because the seller states that it is rust-free. The exterior trim appears to be excellent, while the same is true of the glass. Total Firesweep production for 1959 reached 20,834, but a mere 5,481 were the 2-Door Sportsman derivative. Thanks to the company’s poor quality control, many succumbed to terminal rust. It isn’t clear how many survive today, but this could be a relatively rare beast.
The only engine photo in the seller’s listing is there by mistake because it is for his Buick rather than this DeSoto. Whoops! The engine bay houses a 361ci V8 that pumps out a healthy 290hp. A three-speed TorqueFlite transmission feeds those horses to the rear wheels, while power steering and power brakes should provide an effortless driving experience. While the company focused on delivering affordable transport that could seat six people in relative comfort, that beautiful V8 should allow the 3,890lb Sportsman to romp through the ¼ mile in an impressive 15.7 seconds. It seems that potential buyers won’t need to raid their bank account once they’ve handed the current owner their money. The Firesweep rolls on Coker wide whitewall tires that are nearly new. The vehicle is in excellent mechanical health and is said to run and drive beautifully. This DeSoto looks like a strong contender for anyone searching for a relatively rare turnkey Mopar classic.
If the Firesweep’s exterior delivers on the presentation front, its interior doesn’t disappoint. The owner treated it to a full retrim in its original combination of Red vinyl and Nassau Plaid upholstery. Known as “Seville,” the company only offered this trim combination in 1959 and restricted it to their Hardtop models in the Firesweep and Firedome range. The interior remains unmolested and has no aftermarket additions. You have to look pretty hard to locate any flaws or faults, and the only one that I can spot is a significant crack in the wheel. Otherwise, the upholstery shows no evidence of wear or stains, the bright trim look excellent, and the painted surface exhibit minimal wear. The new owner isn’t going to drown under the weight of luxury appointments, but the factory clock and pushbutton AM radio remain intact.
There were many factors at play that contrived to bring DeSoto to an inglorious end. The same financial recession that impacted Edsel’s sales did the brand no favors. Poor product planning decisions saw Chrysler release the Newport, which cannibalized DeSoto sales volumes. The writing was on the wall for the brand, and Chrysler announced their decision to retire the marque mere days after the launch of the 1961 model offerings. It was a tragic end to a brand that had been setting sales records only a few years earlier, but it was the way of the world during the 1950s and 1960s. This 1959 Sportsman will allow a new owner to experience the joy of owning a car from a manufacturer that has long passed into the pages of automotive history. I hope that its new owner continues to treat it with respect because after the way Chrysler treated the DeSoto brand, it deserves nothing less.
Aw, this takes me back, just shut up and listen, it’s what BF’s is all about,,,,sorry, this is the 1st car I remember riding in, only a 4 door. To a 5 year old kid, it seemed enormous. Not sure why the old man had a DeSoto, due to his general dislike of Chryslers, we figured even the old man was swayed by Groucho Marx, DeSotos pitch man for years. Grouchos show was huge, and if Groucho said DeSoto was a good car, then by golly, DeSoto was a good car. We had that faith in our TV personalities, wonder whatever happened to that.
Things I remember as a kid, the “ribbon” speedometer, that changed from green around 30, 30-50( or 60) was yellow, and over 60, it turned red. We always wondered what was after red, purple? The old man was a cautious driver, and we rarely saw “red”. Also that dash mounted rear view mirror. Practically useless, except for, um, how should I say, checking out back seat passengers? We used to lay on the back window package tray, which seemed like a bed to us, the old man would hit the brakes, we’d go flying into the back of the front seat. Even though the old man yelled at us, we though it was fun,,HORRORS today. One thing for sure, THIS was a road car. It sucked up the miles,,and the gas, with ease. My dads business partner and my dad, usually bought the same cars, only he always got a fancier car. His had bucket seats that swiveled, and a bunch of other stuff, dads was pretty plain, but a fantastic car, none the less. Build quality was poor on these, and I remember dad saying, “stay away from the doors”, as on big bumps they’d pop open. Okay, that’s that, thanks for listening,,,
Life marches on, Howard. Instead of TV personalities, the masses gravitate towards ‘social influencers’ like the Karsmashians / Kartrashians. As a Non-Follower I don’t know if they or others prop for any new make / model but I hear that in Brooklyn (center of da universe), people have their UseTube faves.
The only cars the Kardashians push are the high-end loaners they con from the exotic car dealers along Ventura Boulevard in LA. Freebies are their LIFE!
Kartrashians 😆😂 I love that one.
They need to go away.
LOL! ‘just shut up and listen’ Made my morning Howard!
You go, Howard. You always make my day with your comments!
I was born in ’59, and I remember these cars well! Good post BTW!
IMHO, Chrysler would have been hard-pressed to improve on the design of the ’57/’58 DeSoto.
This design just doesn’t cut it for me, but I’m sure I’m in the minority.
The Firesweeps were lower-priced DeSotos based on the Dodge shell. ’59 was basically a last hurrah for the brand, though there was a scaled-down ’60 lineup and (very briefly) two 1961 models. Too bad, as the DeSotos were attractive cars.
15.7 in the quarter? Nah. Even a ’59 Chrysler 300E wasn’t that quick.
I love the opening two lines of the article. Thanks for the good chuckle!
I love the first two lines of the article. Thanks for the good laugh!
Chryco could’ve gotten another decade or so out of the DeSoto name if they’d kept it around as a luxury compact/midsize only brand to complement the Chrysler nameplate “no jr editions” policy.
Until a few yrs ago the U. of Iowa Hospitals were still using DeSoto ambulances (obviously reblt). Whenever I saw one on the road it brought a smile to my face because in my neighborhood, as a kid, there was only 1 DeSoto ever. Losing DeSoto, Studebaker/Packard, Kaiser/Fraser, etc was tough because as a boy, like my friends, we bragged about how many different car brands we could ID at a distance. DeSoto’s were suddenly no longer on the list.
All the cars that are not produced any more, like Gerald Edgar said, are called orphan cars now, this is a perfect car for an orphan car show. taillights look like radio towers!
This DeSoto would be a top contender for all-time best tail fins and best tail lights when they were in vogue late 50’s/early 60’s. I’d forgotten how distinctive the rear of a late model DeSoto was. As for poor quality, Detroit got so sloppy it opened the door for Asian imports who ironically embraced American Q/A theories from Edw. Demings, etc. Detroit only embraced styling.
It certainly has better styling than my ’51.
Born in ‘58…I’m old. Huge fan of ‘48-‘59 ers….
We were focused on Space travel, the space age etc…Exner, Stevens even the crew at Rambler were all over that thinking ne. Cross Country Sedan. Love this ride. Sign me up!!
I love the way the chrome goes up the quarters, pretty cool. Nice styling on these cars.
my first car in 1964 was a 1957 DeSoto Firesweep two door hardtop light blue / white drove it all over had it for a year never gave me any problems to speak of.
Was just watching an old “Leave It To Beaver” episode on “MeTV” (was my favoriteTV show as a kid) I just realized, the closing sequence of each episode with credits, etc show Wally & Beaver walking home from school AND what appears to be a De Soto coming down the street past them. Am I right De Soto experts?
Yes you are.
The picture on eBay of the motor looks like a Buick nailhead to me. The valve lifter covers look too vertical. Also, I looked at Desoto motors online and all had the distributor in the front.