Mike and Sharon,
The DeSoto Diplomat was an export model built by Chrysler between 1938
and 1961. The pre-war models were not called Diplomat, but just DeSoto
Six. After the war the Diplomat name was introduced, the same time as
the export Dodges began to be called Kingsway.
>From 1938 to 1956, the Diplomat used the Plymouth body with a grille
designed to look like the current DeSoto. The grilles are not
interchangeable.
For 1957 to 1959, the Diplomat used the Plymouth body with the Firesweep
front end clip. The final two years, 1960 and 1961, the car was a Dodge
Dart with side trim similar to the trim used on 1957-1958 DeSotos.
The Diplomat was built at the Plymouth plant on Lynch Road up to and
including 1959. The 1960 and 1961 models were built at the Dodge Main
plant in Hamtramck. They were also built in Canada, usually with
right-hand drive, 1939-1941, 1946-1955, and 1957-1961.
Chrysler Historical, it seems, can come up with some strange stuff. I wrote
asking for information on photos of the 1962 Dodge Lancer. They sent
back some photocopies on the Lancer 770 and GT models, plus what
they claimed was a Lancer GT dash. Looking closely at it, it is a 1961
Dodge Dart Phoenix dash with an add-on tach on the left above where
the transmission buttons would be as it has a 3-on-the-floor shifter.
Bill W
Vancouver, BC
> In the papers given to me from the Chrysler Historical Society I received
> some advertising for a "Diplomat"; a Plymouth with a De Soto Grille, or
> maybe a De Soto with a Plymouth Body. I remember the Canadien Model as
> being a Dodge Front end and a Plymouth Body, but not the "Diplomat"
> Any historical buffs to fill me in?
>
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