[gOOber]

 

[solvegas]

That car appeared about 3-4 years before the Volkswagen, a car designed by Ferdinand Porshe for Adolph Hitler's People's Car, aka Volkswagen. I wonder if Porshe was inspired by this Desoto. 

[gOOber]

That car appeared about 3-4 years before the Volkswagen, a car designed by Ferdinand Porshe for Adolph Hitler's People's Car, aka Volkswagen. I wonder if Porshe was inspired by this Desoto. 

Interesting point.

[Shadowmuse Blown]

That car appeared about 3-4 years before the Volkswagen, a car designed by Ferdinand Porshe for Adolph Hitler's People's Car, aka Volkswagen. I wonder if Porshe was inspired by this Desoto. 

Interesting point.

I did a little Googling because I seem to remember German prototypes that had that “beetle” look earlier in the 30s. 

Turns out Porsche created this prototype in 1933



He then created this Volkswagen prototype in 1935 after beginning work on it in ‘34 (sorry for the bad photo in the copy).  So, I think the Germans were well on their way to the eventual Beetle shape without any influence from the American Chrysler/DeSoto Airflow, but who knows?

[solvegas]

In 1917, Henry Leland, who had founded Cadillac, founded the Lincoln Car company after he had a spat with General Motors, and he decided to go alone again. But then the USA entered World War 1 and his company manufactured Liberty aircraft engines for the war effort. After the war, he started to manufacture luxury cars but there was a recession, and the sales were awful. In 1922, he was bought out by Henry Ford for 8 million Dollars, and it became the luxury brand for the Ford Motor company. So, the Ford Motor company is now 121 years old, and Lincoln has been a Ford brand for 102 years, but Lincoln is actually 107 years old now. This is a 1922 Lincoln model L.

[MaxBigfoot]

So, the two primary luxury domestic car brands, that compete with each other, were both created by the same guy?  That's funny.   

[Shadowmuse Blown]

So, the two primary luxury domestic car brands, that compete with each other, were both created by the same guy?  That's funny.   

Yeah, very interesting.  Definitely lost any similarities within a decade or two I’d wager.

[Shadowmuse Blown]

1941 Packard 110 Deluxe Sedan (at bottom)

Interesting.  The fender strakes, belt trim and even wheels remind me of my mildly customized PT Cruiser. 

[solvegas]

So, the two primary luxury domestic car brands, that compete with each other, were both created by the same guy?  That's funny.   

Henry Leland was also a great engineer. In 1912, along with engineer Charles Kettering, Cadillac was the first company/car worldwide that introduced the electric starter motor which made it much safer and easier to start a car engine rather than use the dangerous hand crank that was common in those days. It also allowed women to be able to drive a car easier since they wouldn't need a man to hand crank the engine.

[MaxBigfoot]

1941 Packard 110 Deluxe Sedan (at bottom)

Interesting.  The fender strakes, belt trim and even wheels remind me of my mildly customized PT Cruiser. 

Yeah, I see that too.  Both of them are nice looking vehicles.  I thought of buying a PT Cruiser back in the day, but went for a smaller vehicle.

[Shadowmuse Blown]

1941 Packard 110 Deluxe Sedan (at bottom)
Interesting.  The fender strakes, belt trim and even wheels remind me of my mildly customized PT Cruiser. 

Yeah, I see that too.  Both of them are nice looking vehicles.  I thought of buying a PT Cruiser back in the day, but went for a smaller vehicle.

Really?  It’s pretty small, though I was struck by its versatility.  I liked that the front passenger seat could fold forward so that you could carry a fairly long object from the front dashboard all the way to the hatch (once the rear seats were folded, as well).

The luggage rack came in handy.  Can’t remember if it was a dealer option or from a third party.  Slipped into the trailer hitch.

[MaxBigfoot]

I bought a '97 Sunfire, 2 door.  Yup, a little smaller.

[Shadowmuse Blown]

I bought a '97 Sunfire, 2 door.  Yup, a little smaller.

Really?  I thought that they’d be comparable.  The Cruiser is a small car.

[solvegas]

I bought a '97 Sunfire, 2 door.  Yup, a little smaller.

Really?  I thought that they’d be comparable.  The Cruiser is a small car.

It is a small car. Built from 2001 to 2010 by Chrysler, I liked its styling because it looked like some of the Chrysler products of the 1930's like the Desoto above. It was made in Toluca, Mexico and one million units were sold in the USA.

[gOOber]