1938 DeSoto Convertible Sedan; Refinement beyond its class.(Escape Roads)(Brief Article)

Byline: JOHN F. KATZ Walter Chrysler didn't necessarily want to build the DeSoto. What he wanted was to buy Dodge. In 1926, still-independent Dodge was a stumbling giant, clinging to an enviable manufacturing complex and a vast dealer network. According to Chrysler designer and historian Jeff Godshall, Chrysler first tried to pry Dodge away from the bankers who owned it.

When that failed, he conceived a lower-medium-priced car of his own, hoping to lure Dodge dealers into the Chrysler camp. He was already developing the low-priced, four-cylinder Plymouth, so he simply added a ...

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