Janet Elizabeth Lynn's Blog
October 1, 2017
Vintage 1950s Men's Fashion
Men's Shorts
Men’s shorts in the 1950s were not a new invention but they certainly gained mass market appeal starting in 1949. Shorts for beach and sports playing was the prime reason men wore shorts prior to the 1950s. The most popular style of short was the almost knee length walk (walking) shorts also known as Bermuda shorts. They fit like men’s slacks, without pleats at the waistband and hung straight down to an inch or two above the kneecap. They came in plain colors as well as plaid, seersucker and stripes in cotton, linen, madras and even flannel. Some had black belts and most were worn with a contrasting fabric belt.
Shorts were hardly ever worn without a pair of knee high socks usually in bold patterns such as the classic argyle. Plain colors were OK to. Paired with a slip-on pair of penny loafers or moccasins, a man was set for a round of golf, a walk to the park, a day at the shore or gardening in his own backyard. Some fashionable men wore flannel shorts to dinner paired with a sports coat, shirt, and tie, especially in seaside resort towns.
Shorts lengths changed little for most of the decade but some specifically designed for athletic wear were even shorter (short shorts). They hit about mid-thigh, worn without a belt and made of a sturdier cotton twill. They provided maximum freedom to move and breath while playing games of baseball, tennis, or soccer.
Visit: http://www.vintage19950s.blogspot.com
Men’s shorts in the 1950s were not a new invention but they certainly gained mass market appeal starting in 1949. Shorts for beach and sports playing was the prime reason men wore shorts prior to the 1950s. The most popular style of short was the almost knee length walk (walking) shorts also known as Bermuda shorts. They fit like men’s slacks, without pleats at the waistband and hung straight down to an inch or two above the kneecap. They came in plain colors as well as plaid, seersucker and stripes in cotton, linen, madras and even flannel. Some had black belts and most were worn with a contrasting fabric belt.
Shorts were hardly ever worn without a pair of knee high socks usually in bold patterns such as the classic argyle. Plain colors were OK to. Paired with a slip-on pair of penny loafers or moccasins, a man was set for a round of golf, a walk to the park, a day at the shore or gardening in his own backyard. Some fashionable men wore flannel shorts to dinner paired with a sports coat, shirt, and tie, especially in seaside resort towns.
Shorts lengths changed little for most of the decade but some specifically designed for athletic wear were even shorter (short shorts). They hit about mid-thigh, worn without a belt and made of a sturdier cotton twill. They provided maximum freedom to move and breath while playing games of baseball, tennis, or soccer.
Visit: http://www.vintage19950s.blogspot.com
September 17, 2017
Vintage 1950s cars
The Edsel was an automobile brand that was planned, developed, and manufactured by the Ford Motor Company from 1958–1960. Ford had expected to make significant inroads into the market share of both General Motors and Chrysler and close the gap between itself and GM in the domestic American automotive market. Ford invested heavily in a year long teaser campaign leading consumers to believe that the Edsel was the car of the future – an expectation it failed to meet. After it was unveiled to the public, it was considered to be unattractive, overpriced, and overhyped. The Edsel never gained popularity with contemporary American car buyers and sold poorly.
Ford announced the end of the Edsel program on November 19, 1959. Production continued into 1960.
There were several reasons for the failure:
The aim was right, but the target moved It was considered a marketing disaster.
The wrong car at the wrong time. One of the external forces working against the Edsel was the onset of an economic recession in late 1957.
Reliability Even though the Edsel shared its basic technology with other Ford products, a number of issues caused reliability problems, mostly with the 1958 models.
Design controversies The Edsel's most memorable design feature was its trademark "horsecollar" or "toilet seat" grille, which was quite distinct from other cars of the period.
Despite the Edsel's lack of sales success, several of the cars were nevertheless raced in NASCAR's Grand National series in the late 1950s.
Go to: http://wwwjauntsbyjanet.blogspot.com
Ford announced the end of the Edsel program on November 19, 1959. Production continued into 1960.
There were several reasons for the failure:
The aim was right, but the target moved It was considered a marketing disaster.
The wrong car at the wrong time. One of the external forces working against the Edsel was the onset of an economic recession in late 1957.
Reliability Even though the Edsel shared its basic technology with other Ford products, a number of issues caused reliability problems, mostly with the 1958 models.
Design controversies The Edsel's most memorable design feature was its trademark "horsecollar" or "toilet seat" grille, which was quite distinct from other cars of the period.
Despite the Edsel's lack of sales success, several of the cars were nevertheless raced in NASCAR's Grand National series in the late 1950s.
Go to: http://wwwjauntsbyjanet.blogspot.com
September 10, 2017
1950s Vintage BBQ
After WWII, many returning GI's married and settled in the suburbs. A house with a backyard was one of the status symbols of American middle-class. How best to show off one's backyard? Men proudly did the grilling. Wives did the planning and prep-work based on suggestions offered by contemporary magazines and cookbooks. James Beard's Complete Book of Barbecue & Rotisserie Cooking (1954) was one of the "bibles" for American home barbecues.
The Good Housekeeping Cook Book recommended meats include: big steaks, little steaks, king steak, salt-grilled sirloin steak, barbecued spareribs, heavenly hamburgers, hot franks, grilled ham, barbecued bologna roll, and beef alfresco, kabobs, charcoal-grilled chicken, charcoal-grilled duckling, fish fries and barbecues, and shellfish alfresco. Fresh grilled vegetable recipes feature corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and mushrooms. Grilled French & Italian breads, grill-baked breads, rolls and muffins, garlic-buttered slices and a variety of hot grilled sandwiches were also recommended. Dessert could be prepared on the grill. Popular items were caramel roast apples, walnut roast, fried marshmallows, baked bananas, and "Marshmallow Treats," (similar to S'Mores). Go to: http://vintage1950s.blogspot.com
The Good Housekeeping Cook Book recommended meats include: big steaks, little steaks, king steak, salt-grilled sirloin steak, barbecued spareribs, heavenly hamburgers, hot franks, grilled ham, barbecued bologna roll, and beef alfresco, kabobs, charcoal-grilled chicken, charcoal-grilled duckling, fish fries and barbecues, and shellfish alfresco. Fresh grilled vegetable recipes feature corn, potatoes, sweet potatoes, and mushrooms. Grilled French & Italian breads, grill-baked breads, rolls and muffins, garlic-buttered slices and a variety of hot grilled sandwiches were also recommended. Dessert could be prepared on the grill. Popular items were caramel roast apples, walnut roast, fried marshmallows, baked bananas, and "Marshmallow Treats," (similar to S'Mores). Go to: http://vintage1950s.blogspot.com
September 2, 2017
1950s Vintage Homes
Split Level Style Homes
The Split Level style, with half-story wings and sunken garages, began in the 1950s was a popular home design. This style rose to popularity as a multi-story modification of the dominant Ranch house. Although it retained the horizontal lines, low-pitch roof, and overhanging eaves of the Ranch, an added two-story unit was planned at mid-height with a one-story wing to make three floor levels of interior space.
Three types of interior spaces were planned: quiet living areas, noisy living and service areas, and sleeping areas. The new split form made it possible to locate each area on separate levels. The lower level usually housed the garage and, noisy family room with its television, the mid-level wing housed the quieter, living and dining areas, and den, and the upper level was the quiet area for the bedrooms.
Split levels remained quite popular until the late 1970s. Go to: http://vintage1950s.blogspot.com
The Split Level style, with half-story wings and sunken garages, began in the 1950s was a popular home design. This style rose to popularity as a multi-story modification of the dominant Ranch house. Although it retained the horizontal lines, low-pitch roof, and overhanging eaves of the Ranch, an added two-story unit was planned at mid-height with a one-story wing to make three floor levels of interior space.
Three types of interior spaces were planned: quiet living areas, noisy living and service areas, and sleeping areas. The new split form made it possible to locate each area on separate levels. The lower level usually housed the garage and, noisy family room with its television, the mid-level wing housed the quieter, living and dining areas, and den, and the upper level was the quiet area for the bedrooms.
Split levels remained quite popular until the late 1970s. Go to: http://vintage1950s.blogspot.com
August 12, 2017
Vintage 1950s Hawaiian Shirts
Men’s 1950s Hawaiian Shirts
Hawaiian shirts were another form of button down shirt was not worn tucked it. It’s collar also did not button all the way up but was left open so the large point collar could lay flat. It came by many names- Camp shirt, pool shirt, Cabana shirt and Hawaiian shirt. They were the ultimate in casual, pool or beach-side wear. Since pool parties or “Tiki” parties were extremely popular house party themes it was the ideal shirt to wear in the summer. They came in solid colors as well as vivid prints depicting Americana life, tropical inspired motifs, sporting scenes and cars.
Authentic “Hawaiian” shirts are made in Hawaii, often with coconut or wood buttons. They were expensive to buy in the ’50s but there were plenty of knock offs that gave men the same tropical look.
Go to: http://vintage1950s.blogspot.com
Hawaiian shirts are the most widely worn style of 1950s men’s shirt today.
Hawaiian shirts were another form of button down shirt was not worn tucked it. It’s collar also did not button all the way up but was left open so the large point collar could lay flat. It came by many names- Camp shirt, pool shirt, Cabana shirt and Hawaiian shirt. They were the ultimate in casual, pool or beach-side wear. Since pool parties or “Tiki” parties were extremely popular house party themes it was the ideal shirt to wear in the summer. They came in solid colors as well as vivid prints depicting Americana life, tropical inspired motifs, sporting scenes and cars.
Authentic “Hawaiian” shirts are made in Hawaii, often with coconut or wood buttons. They were expensive to buy in the ’50s but there were plenty of knock offs that gave men the same tropical look.
Go to: http://vintage1950s.blogspot.com
Hawaiian shirts are the most widely worn style of 1950s men’s shirt today.
August 6, 2017
1950s Unsolved Mysteries
Jean Elizabeth Spangler a dancer, model and bit-part actress in Hollywood films and in early television, disappeared under mysterious circumstances in 1949.
On October 7, 1949, Spangler left her home in Los Angeles around 5:00 p.m. She left her daughter with her sister-in-law Sophie. She said that she was meeting her former husband to discuss a late child support payment and after that, she was going to work on a night shoot for a film. The last person to see her was a clerk in a store near her home who said that she appeared to be waiting for someone. She was never seen again. Sophie, went to the police and filed a missing person report the next day.
Though Spangler had told her sister-in-law that she was going to work on a movie set after she met with her ex-husband, this lead went nowhere. She had worked as an extra for several different Hollywood studios, but none of those studios had any work in progress or were even open on the evening of October 7.
Police questioned Spangler's ex-husband, Dexter Benner. He said that he had not seen her for several weeks. His new wife Lynn Lasky Benner told police that he was with her at the time of the disappearance.
Two days later Spangler's purse was found in Griffith Park in Los Angeles, with both of the straps on one side torn loose as if it had been ripped from her arm. Police officers and over one hundred volunteers searched the park, but no other clues were found. The police ruled out robbery. There was an unfinished note in the purse addressed to a "Kirk," which read:
"Can't wait any longer, Going to see Dr. Scott. It will work best this way while mother is away,"
The note ended with a comma as if it had not been finished. Neither "Kirk" nor "Dr. Scott" could be located, and neither Spangler's family nor her friends knew anyone by those names. When Spangler's mother, Florence told police that someone named "Kirk" had picked up Jean at her house twice but stayed in his car and did not come in. Police questioned every doctor with the last name Scott in Los Angeles, but none of them had a patient with the last name Spangler or Benner. Spangler had been involved with an abusive man she called "Scotty," but her lawyer said she had not seen him since 1945.
Spangler had recently completed filming a bit part in the film Young Man with a Horn starring Kirk Douglas. Douglas was vacationing in Palm Springs when he heard about the disappearance; he called the police. When interviewed by the head of the investigating team, Douglas stated that he had heard of her name, and knew that Spangler had been an extra in his new film, but that he did not know her personally.
Spangler's girlfriends told police that she was three months pregnant when she disappeared and that she had talked about having an illegal abortion. Witnesses, who frequented the same nightclubs and bars that Spangler did, told police they had heard of a former medical student known as "Doc," who performed abortions for money, but police could not locate him, nor prove that he existed.
Spangler had been seen with Davy Ogul, an associate of infamous mobster Mickey Cohen. Ogul disappeared two days after Spangler did. This led police to investigate the possibility that Spangler and Ogul, who was under indictment for conspiracy, had fled to avoid prosecution. In 1950. A customs agent in El Paso, Texas reported seeing Ogul and a woman who looked like Spangler in a hotel in El Paso. The hotel clerk identified Spangler from a photograph, but neither Davy Ogul nor Jean Spangler's name appeared on the hotel register.
The Los Angeles Police Department continued the search without successful. Despite a nationwide search and a $1,000. reward, no further clues have surfaced. She is still listed as a missing person, and the LAPD has not closed the case.
In 2001 an episode of Mysteries and Scandals featured the case
For pictures go to http://vintage1950s.blogspot.com
On October 7, 1949, Spangler left her home in Los Angeles around 5:00 p.m. She left her daughter with her sister-in-law Sophie. She said that she was meeting her former husband to discuss a late child support payment and after that, she was going to work on a night shoot for a film. The last person to see her was a clerk in a store near her home who said that she appeared to be waiting for someone. She was never seen again. Sophie, went to the police and filed a missing person report the next day.
Though Spangler had told her sister-in-law that she was going to work on a movie set after she met with her ex-husband, this lead went nowhere. She had worked as an extra for several different Hollywood studios, but none of those studios had any work in progress or were even open on the evening of October 7.
Police questioned Spangler's ex-husband, Dexter Benner. He said that he had not seen her for several weeks. His new wife Lynn Lasky Benner told police that he was with her at the time of the disappearance.
Two days later Spangler's purse was found in Griffith Park in Los Angeles, with both of the straps on one side torn loose as if it had been ripped from her arm. Police officers and over one hundred volunteers searched the park, but no other clues were found. The police ruled out robbery. There was an unfinished note in the purse addressed to a "Kirk," which read:
"Can't wait any longer, Going to see Dr. Scott. It will work best this way while mother is away,"
The note ended with a comma as if it had not been finished. Neither "Kirk" nor "Dr. Scott" could be located, and neither Spangler's family nor her friends knew anyone by those names. When Spangler's mother, Florence told police that someone named "Kirk" had picked up Jean at her house twice but stayed in his car and did not come in. Police questioned every doctor with the last name Scott in Los Angeles, but none of them had a patient with the last name Spangler or Benner. Spangler had been involved with an abusive man she called "Scotty," but her lawyer said she had not seen him since 1945.
Spangler had recently completed filming a bit part in the film Young Man with a Horn starring Kirk Douglas. Douglas was vacationing in Palm Springs when he heard about the disappearance; he called the police. When interviewed by the head of the investigating team, Douglas stated that he had heard of her name, and knew that Spangler had been an extra in his new film, but that he did not know her personally.
Spangler's girlfriends told police that she was three months pregnant when she disappeared and that she had talked about having an illegal abortion. Witnesses, who frequented the same nightclubs and bars that Spangler did, told police they had heard of a former medical student known as "Doc," who performed abortions for money, but police could not locate him, nor prove that he existed.
Spangler had been seen with Davy Ogul, an associate of infamous mobster Mickey Cohen. Ogul disappeared two days after Spangler did. This led police to investigate the possibility that Spangler and Ogul, who was under indictment for conspiracy, had fled to avoid prosecution. In 1950. A customs agent in El Paso, Texas reported seeing Ogul and a woman who looked like Spangler in a hotel in El Paso. The hotel clerk identified Spangler from a photograph, but neither Davy Ogul nor Jean Spangler's name appeared on the hotel register.
The Los Angeles Police Department continued the search without successful. Despite a nationwide search and a $1,000. reward, no further clues have surfaced. She is still listed as a missing person, and the LAPD has not closed the case.
In 2001 an episode of Mysteries and Scandals featured the case
For pictures go to http://vintage1950s.blogspot.com
July 29, 2017
Vintage 1950s TV
The Mickey Mouse Club was a variety television show for children that aired from 1955 to 1959 and broadcast by ABC on weeknights. It was created by Walt Disney and produced by Walt Disney Productions.
The show was hosted by Jimmie Dodd, a songwriter and the Head Mouseketeer, who provided leadership both on and off screen. In addition to his other contributions, he often provided short segments encouraging young viewers to make the right moral choices. These little homilies became known as "Doddisms". Roy Williams, a staff artist at Disney, also appeared in the show as the Big Mouseketeer. Roy suggested that the Mickey and Minnie Mouse ears be worn by the cast members which he, along with Chuck Keehne, Hal Adelquist, and Bill Walsh helped create.
This was Walt Disney's second venture into producing a television series, the first being the Walt Disney anthology television series. Disney used both shows to help finance and promote the building of the Disneyland theme park. Being busy with these projects and others, Disney turned The Mickey Mouse Club over to Bill Walsh to create and develop.
The show had regular features: a newsreel, a cartoon, and a serial, as well as music, talent and comedy segments. One unique feature of the show was the Mouseketeer Roll Call, in which many of that day's line-up of regular performers introduced themselves by name to the television audience. Mickey Mouse himself appeared somewhere in every show.
The opening theme, "The Mickey Mouse March," was written by Jimmie Dodd. It was also reprised at the end of each episode, with the slower it's-time-to-say-goodbye verse. Dodd also wrote many other songs used in individual segments over the course of the series.
Although the show remained popular, in September, 1959 ABC decided to cancelled it after its fourth season. It was revived in 1977 by Walt Disney Productions.
For a waltz down memory lane, listen to the theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJg1h...
For pictures go to: http://wwwvintage1950.blogspot.com
The show was hosted by Jimmie Dodd, a songwriter and the Head Mouseketeer, who provided leadership both on and off screen. In addition to his other contributions, he often provided short segments encouraging young viewers to make the right moral choices. These little homilies became known as "Doddisms". Roy Williams, a staff artist at Disney, also appeared in the show as the Big Mouseketeer. Roy suggested that the Mickey and Minnie Mouse ears be worn by the cast members which he, along with Chuck Keehne, Hal Adelquist, and Bill Walsh helped create.
This was Walt Disney's second venture into producing a television series, the first being the Walt Disney anthology television series. Disney used both shows to help finance and promote the building of the Disneyland theme park. Being busy with these projects and others, Disney turned The Mickey Mouse Club over to Bill Walsh to create and develop.
The show had regular features: a newsreel, a cartoon, and a serial, as well as music, talent and comedy segments. One unique feature of the show was the Mouseketeer Roll Call, in which many of that day's line-up of regular performers introduced themselves by name to the television audience. Mickey Mouse himself appeared somewhere in every show.
The opening theme, "The Mickey Mouse March," was written by Jimmie Dodd. It was also reprised at the end of each episode, with the slower it's-time-to-say-goodbye verse. Dodd also wrote many other songs used in individual segments over the course of the series.
Although the show remained popular, in September, 1959 ABC decided to cancelled it after its fourth season. It was revived in 1977 by Walt Disney Productions.
For a waltz down memory lane, listen to the theme: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJg1h...
For pictures go to: http://wwwvintage1950.blogspot.com
July 22, 2017
Vintage Ladies Sweaters
1950s Winter Sweaters
1950s sweaters followed the New Look shape of the hour glass with protruding bust, tiny wasp waist and full hips. The look was snug tight to balance out the full circle skirt bottoms or match the confining pencil skirt. In reality they were no more snug than most sweaters on the 1940s but the lingerie made them look more fitted.
To keep women modest and refined was still the moral game of the 1950s. A new invention, the sweater set, allowed a woman to wear a tight short sleeve sweater top but was covered up with a matching (usually, not always) cardigan. The cardigan was usually worn with the top button buttoned only- otherwise it would defeat the peek-a-book seduction. Button size was also small and dainty. Sleeves were slender with a long narrow cuff that could be folded over.
The look was also rich with finer knit yarns of lambs wool, angora, nylon Dracon and acrylic synthetic Orlon. Milk beads were an expensive embellishment sewn into the sweater around the collar and lapels or all over if you were rich enough to afford one. Designs were floral and maybe snowflakes in winter or other novelty themes.
In the early years it was a fad for teens to wear their cardigans backwards but by the end of the decade it just meant they were too poor to own a real pullover. Nearly all girls owned and wore a cardigan or pullover sweater twin set with their school clothes. It was so polished and pretty to do so!
For pictures go to: http://vintage1950s.bogspot.com
1950s sweaters followed the New Look shape of the hour glass with protruding bust, tiny wasp waist and full hips. The look was snug tight to balance out the full circle skirt bottoms or match the confining pencil skirt. In reality they were no more snug than most sweaters on the 1940s but the lingerie made them look more fitted.
To keep women modest and refined was still the moral game of the 1950s. A new invention, the sweater set, allowed a woman to wear a tight short sleeve sweater top but was covered up with a matching (usually, not always) cardigan. The cardigan was usually worn with the top button buttoned only- otherwise it would defeat the peek-a-book seduction. Button size was also small and dainty. Sleeves were slender with a long narrow cuff that could be folded over.
The look was also rich with finer knit yarns of lambs wool, angora, nylon Dracon and acrylic synthetic Orlon. Milk beads were an expensive embellishment sewn into the sweater around the collar and lapels or all over if you were rich enough to afford one. Designs were floral and maybe snowflakes in winter or other novelty themes.
In the early years it was a fad for teens to wear their cardigans backwards but by the end of the decade it just meant they were too poor to own a real pullover. Nearly all girls owned and wore a cardigan or pullover sweater twin set with their school clothes. It was so polished and pretty to do so!
For pictures go to: http://vintage1950s.bogspot.com
July 15, 2017
1950s Vintage Homes
1950s Bathrooms
The decade of the 1950’s in the United States was a time of monumental change in homes. Soldiers coming back from WWII were ready to settle down, buy houses, and start families. Money generated from the war gave people the income to not only buy houses, but to buy the latest technologically advanced home appliances and cars. Optimism soared in the huge demand for housing. The first prefabricated homes and quickly built homes were popular.
The space race between the United States and Russia inspired architects, artists, and car manufacturers. The cold, dreary war had ended and people were ready for color. Home interiors were painted with bright, cheery colors such as green, pink, orange, turquoise, and yellow. Bathrooms and kitchens were commonly painted pink, even pink appliances were sold.
People craved color, style, and technology in their homes including the bathrooms.
Go to: http://vintage1950s.blogspot.com
The decade of the 1950’s in the United States was a time of monumental change in homes. Soldiers coming back from WWII were ready to settle down, buy houses, and start families. Money generated from the war gave people the income to not only buy houses, but to buy the latest technologically advanced home appliances and cars. Optimism soared in the huge demand for housing. The first prefabricated homes and quickly built homes were popular.
The space race between the United States and Russia inspired architects, artists, and car manufacturers. The cold, dreary war had ended and people were ready for color. Home interiors were painted with bright, cheery colors such as green, pink, orange, turquoise, and yellow. Bathrooms and kitchens were commonly painted pink, even pink appliances were sold.
People craved color, style, and technology in their homes including the bathrooms.
Go to: http://vintage1950s.blogspot.com
July 8, 2017
Vintage 1950s Cars
The DeSoto Fireflite is an automobile produced by DeSoto in the United States from 1955 to 1960.
The Fireflite was introduced in 1955 as De Soto's flagship model. It was wider and longer than previous DeSoto models and it came equipped with a V8 engine producing 200 hp when equipped with the 4 barrel carburetor and PowerFlite automatic transmission. The transmission was operated by a Flite-Control lever located on the dashboard.
The 1956 model car was best known for its long, tapering tail fins, often accentuated by a two-tone exterior finish. The interior had bench seats that could accommodate six passengers. The Fireflite had a 0 to 60 mph acceleration time of 11 seconds and a top speed of 110 mph.
The Fireflite’s bold design increased sales for DeSoto. In 1955, DeSotos sold well with over 114,765 examples produced, making 1955 the best year for the company since 1946. By 1956, DeSoto placed eleventh in U.S. production with an annual production of 110,418 cars. The success was short-lived, however when Chrysler Corporation discontinued the DeSoto brand in November 1960.
In 1956 a gold and white Fireflite convertible was the Official Pace Car for the 1956 Indianapolis 500. The Fireflite convertibles are rare, only 186 were produced. The most popular color was red and cream.
It was assembled in Los Angeles (Maywood) Assembly
The Fireflite was introduced in 1955 as De Soto's flagship model. It was wider and longer than previous DeSoto models and it came equipped with a V8 engine producing 200 hp when equipped with the 4 barrel carburetor and PowerFlite automatic transmission. The transmission was operated by a Flite-Control lever located on the dashboard.
The 1956 model car was best known for its long, tapering tail fins, often accentuated by a two-tone exterior finish. The interior had bench seats that could accommodate six passengers. The Fireflite had a 0 to 60 mph acceleration time of 11 seconds and a top speed of 110 mph.
The Fireflite’s bold design increased sales for DeSoto. In 1955, DeSotos sold well with over 114,765 examples produced, making 1955 the best year for the company since 1946. By 1956, DeSoto placed eleventh in U.S. production with an annual production of 110,418 cars. The success was short-lived, however when Chrysler Corporation discontinued the DeSoto brand in November 1960.
In 1956 a gold and white Fireflite convertible was the Official Pace Car for the 1956 Indianapolis 500. The Fireflite convertibles are rare, only 186 were produced. The most popular color was red and cream.
It was assembled in Los Angeles (Maywood) Assembly
