Hi, If you like this video, please click on SUPER THANKS ❤ with the $ in the middle which is the SUPER THANKS button under the video. Thank you! Lou

This DeSoto looks fantastic inside & out! Mr. Dales definitely found the right car and the right people to aid in its restoration. What a treat to see. Thanks, Lou!

The dashboard is probably the most impressive part. What a work of art!

Just a Beautiful DeSoto in a great color ! What's not to love? Thanks for posting Lou !

A beautiful winged warrior and the last of a legendary car line. Thanks for bring it to us Lou.

Another Virgil Exner masterpiece..even if it is virtually a twin of a 1960 &'61 Chrysler. Beautiful car. Love that color! Thanks for posting! Be blessed always!

Always nice to see local AZ cars. This is truly a very nice car and such a rare survivor. Always had a soft spot for a DeSoto. Although they ended up being squeezed out of their spot in the Chrysler lineup there had to be a lot of DeSoto buyers in the day that were very excited to be able to purchase a car above Plymouth and Dodge. I loved the early 50's light up DeSoto hood ornament, one of my favorites. .

All ''3,034'' DeSoto cars for the 1961 model year were built before the end of 1960, as they closed down the Brand before new years 1961. John, you have a stunning 61 DeSoto, thank you for sharing it with Lou and us car lovers.

Very nice DeSoto- a real icon of the era. Beautifully presented. Thanks Lou!

Bubble top & fins give it that mid century modern look. Nice piece!

Hello again, Lou! You have come upon a very rare model! This 1961 De Soto is something you didn't see much of even when new. As the owner stated, only 911 of the car he owns were ever made, and the four-door hardtop (the only other choice) went home to 2,123 customers. A very rare model indeed. And it looks very much like a Chrysler, except for that "grille on a grille," and, if you notice, the taillights and back up lamps on the De Soto were just the opposite of where they appeared on the '61 Chrysler! The dashboard would later appear in the 1962 Dodge Custom 880, which was more or less the De Soto's replacement. Also, the '61 De Soto's had no model name, they were simply "De Sotos." The name would survive in later years on trucks in overseas markets, however. Thanks again, Lou, for another exciting video! As always, I'll keep looking for more. And whenever I have the time, I'll comment on your past videos! _(3/8/2023)_

The era of rocket cars was amazing. So sad it's over.

Jury's still out on the front end, but the rest of the car is beautiful. I think in time, like a lot of other things, the upper grill could grow on you. Thanks Lou.

It’s gorgeous! A shame to see Desoto go away, but it made sense at the time. Truly one of a kind! 😎👍

Any car in bronze is a winner! Those fins could poke your eye out. Can imagine seeing it in 1961 Palm Springs!

Beautiful restoration, and a very stylish automobile. Good morning, Lou!

A real head turner, I'm a big fan of this classic. Thanks guys 👍

Gorgeous! I'd forgotten how many different body contours this year had - the front, turn signals and sculpt around the front wheel and body side around the tail - epic styling.

That 'Astrodome lite' dash was sensational, never seen it before on any other Chrysler product and certainly not here in Australia. Thanks Lou for highlighting such a rare marque at the end of its time.

Thank you for bringing us another beauty.. Today's cars have come a long way when it comes to features and reliability, but the cars from this time period truly were works of rolling art.

Looks like a plane from the side when you stepped back half a mile to fit it in the frame.

What a beautiful car

I never realized that the last year for the DeSoto was 1961. I thought it was 1959 for the last year. This is a unique looking Mopar. Nicely styled, Healthy sounding engine, and a unique looking front clip,

What a beautiful big car. The golden age of automobiles.

The brightwork on this machine is stunning... inside and out. I love how Chrysler handled the glass design back then... subtle wraparound, dome effect. So cool.

Fantastic Desoto...love the style...especially the nCanted headlights! Thanks so much John and Lou.

Outstanding but scary too with so many irreplaceable parts. The practical side of me would say it belongs in a museum. So nice!

Very modern design for 61....maybe a touch too modern for then. I love it, especially the side view. Thanks Lou,

Fins lovers dream car 😍 Love it Lou. The opening scene it looks like a spaceship going down the street 😁

I love the whole car, the colors inside and out are perfect 👍👍

It's the FINS that compliment the Space Age look of this beauty and provide a magnetic draw, bringing folks at car shows to flock to it!! Though this was the 'tail end' of the awesome finned car era, Chrysler's/DeSoto's execution of it in its '61/'60 model years was nothing short of amazing. It was the Cold War and Rockets era, with us ('US') against the Russians and Mopar's automotive styling was marvelous. By 1961, when DeSoto's death knell was in the air, the iconic models Adventurer, Fireflite, Firedome, Firesweep were names of the past. DeSotos for 1961 were called just that, a 'DeSoto'. The same body shell '61/'60 DeSotos were built on Chrysler's 122" wheelbase - same as the Chrysler Windsor and Newport. The Chrysler '61 300-G and '60 300-F, along with the New Yorker, were all built on Chrysler's 126" wheelbase - the extra 4" length all forward of the firewall, seen in the front fenders. I first saw John's DeSoto about 15 years ago and have always loved its striking Formal Black over Bahama Bronze finish. Thanks for the great video, John and Lou!

Black on copper pretty cool combo. It’s not the best looking of my beloved DeSoto line but I like it a lot. Nice restoration too

Thanks John, your car is beautiful. Thanks, Lou. I've always loved the '61 DeSoto for its beauty and captivating my interest. It's always saddened me that the beautiful '61 was the last year. I wouldn't have felt as badly had it been an ugly car. It would have been great seeing where DeSoto styling would have gone for '62, '63, '64, '65...

That dash is Jetsons like. Beautiful car! 😍😍😍😍😍 Thanks Lou!

Love DeSoto! Thanks for posting Lou. 👍

Such a beautiful vehicle, and that 361 is an excellent engine .

Beautiful car and it's so cool to see that Ford wasn't the only one to make a speedometer back lit by sunlight.

¡Pues, si éste fue el último año de DeSoto, al menos, lo concluyeron creando una auténtica obra de arte! Las líneas del vehículo circulan de una manera muy armoniosa, terminando con ésas aletas posteriores inclinadas, y un maletero que curvea suavemente entre éstas. Un interior de lujo, desde los tapizados de las puertas y asientos, hasta el llamativo panel de instrumentos, como el velocímetro iluminado por luz solar, el reloj cilíndrico y muchos otros detalles en cromado. El sonido de su bocina estuvo simpático y me hizo recordar, al menos un poco, a un ganso, jaja. ¡Fantástico el recorrido del final con ése brillo solar; ya que hizo resaltar aún más las tomas! ¡Excelente video, Lou, y saludos cordiales!

Wow, Lou! You have really a fine treasure here! Great looker and thank you for sharing. Love the color!

That one brings back memories of my '60 Fireflite coupe... Mint green with a white roof.

What a beautiful car. The color scheme would look good on a new car today.

I had a 59 fire flight sportsman DeSoto, what an amazing car…!

It's funny how a person's taste changes. The first time I saw one of these '61 DeSotos I thought it was ugly. How could they have made such a car? Now I own one and I love it and I think they are beautiful! Perhaps it's also the era that these cars represent.

I missed out on the chance to buy a 1961 Desoto from my grandfather's next door neighbor years ago. It is my dream car.

What a gorgeous stunner,Lou.There must be only a handful left.

Reminds me of an Eldorado in the rear. A blast from the past. Desoto. 1st one I've ever seen!

Looks cool its got a smiley face now im in love with desotos

what a more than wonderful car, the dashboard is supreme, realy great!

Wonderful DeSoto John, thanks for sharing with the rest off Forward Look nuts! :)

Not only do i luv that 61 Dodge DeSoto, but man I would luv to add it to my collection. What a great piece of Americana. Lou you don’t see that type of art work like that any more. You have class, personality, profile and style. You can fit five or six people in that car Lou what a time it must’ve been to do a barn find and body off frame restoration work to have done on to a Ride like That. Lou what better way to see the U S A. Sincerely Yours Truly Ivan I J😎😎😎😎

Thanks for this video, i almost passed on it because Desoto is before my recognition but this car is awesome!!

Great fins on this car and the front end is interesting. Thanks Lou for another amazing car.

Hey Lou. Beautiful looking car. I've never seen a DeSoto like this. I love the condition of this car. It looks brand new, like it came from the showroom. 🙂

My Dad was a DeSoto man. He owned 3 of them.

All I can say is SWEET!!!!

Love all your videos Lou. Sharp classic Mopar, the grill and headlights look like something out of a 58 to 60 Lincoln playbook!

Hi, Lou! In this last year for the DeSoto, there were just a two-door hardtop and a four-door hardtop with no series names. There were 911 of the former, as John related, and 2,123 of the latter, for a total of 3,034. That face with the cocked headlamps and the dual grilles is pretty unusual, but yeah, I rather like it, too! The dash is also quite interesting with the sunlit speedometer (which Fords had in 1954 and 1955), the pushbuttons for the transmission and fan, and especially that rotary clock! I never knew such a thing ever existed! The rear ends of the 1961 Chrysler and the 1961 DeSoto both had the fins with wraparound lenses below, but the lenses on the Chrysler are the taillights (except the wagons still carried the boomerang lenses in the fins), while those on the DeSoto are the reverse lights, while the fins on the Chrysler hold round reverse lights, but those on the DeSoto hold the taillights. BTW, that coyote sighting would have really been something if John had been driving a Road Runner! LOL! Thanks to both of you for showing us this rare last-of-its-kind Mopar!

This being a "lower" trim level than the Chrysler badge cars, by today's standards it is plenty ornate and oozes style. I like that it has the 361 V8, as those are not often preserved like the Hemi models often seen now. Great car, great story!

Love the fins. Beautiful car.

Love it !

😍Beautiful DeSoto!!!!👍

I'm not an Exner fan, particularly his later years, but this car's styling and body colors really work! And generally speaking, I don't care for brown either, but on this beauty it looks right. My grandfather had a 1958 DeSoto, and this brought back some good memories. Thank you.

Mighty fine last year DeSoto, and in the right color combo. . . :>/

First off, it's a beautifully restored car. I personally think it's a real beauty in and out. The way I feel about the grill is that it's one of those designs that looks so interesting up close, but at a passing glance, looks rather awkward. It's a beautiful machine though. I would suspect that the division folded like so many branch divisions, in that they no longer filled a certain price-gap. This also happened with the Edsel. People pin it on the design, but it was all a financial issue.

Last of the last!! I've seen maybe one or two '61s in person over all the years I have been attending car shows. And I have been to plenty. I read somewhere that once DeSoto production was ended at some point early in 1961, any remaining DeSoto orders were simply filled out with Chrysler Windsors.

A car like that should be original not custom or modified it's one of the last of the Desoto line glad he kept it 💯 original and like the nose of the car

Would've been cool to have those rear bumper bumperettes as exhaust tip outlets instead. Very cool and underrated cars.

Just saw that this was done in Arizona. Thanks Lou.

I love it.

I like it!!! It's one year younger than me!!!🤓🤣❤️

It’s artwork!❤

Beautiful!

extraordinary machine

Good day Lou, Yeah only a face a mother will love, no issue with me I actually find it beautiful. The whole DeSoto is beautiful from front to rear. Cheers Louis Kats your number 1 Fan in Australia. 👍 🇦🇺 😀 🇺🇸

The DeSoto is very much like the '61 Chrysler and yet so very different. I enjoyed this video. I own a beautiful Newport and saw the same body and engine but such a different dash and front end. Thank you for the in depth look.

Гарне авто! Дякую!

The old design rule "form follows function" as applied the cars means that with the best styling there should be a functional reason for every panel, every bulge, every crease in the bodywork. This insane beauty is a prime example of how Virgil Exner was not too familiar with that rule.

The 1961 DeSoto is a fantastic car, in spite of Chrysler pulling out of promoting it in 1960. This car is the equivalent of a 1961 Chrysler Newport. I love it! Exner's last DeSoto.

Love thus Style in Dodge and Desoto and Chrysler. Same exact interior as my ‘61 Dodge. Different back panel then the engine turn on the dash but same wheel, and dash.

I love it ! We must be all MOTHERS ! LOL

Great video on a classic De Soto. Reminds people of the beautiful cars we used to make rather than the plastic crap that we now produce.

Man, why did Chrysler have to kill DeSoto? I mean, I know why, but image how DeSoto would look like today. This is a very beautiful car, it's even is the best car color for the sun to shine on. And that steering wheel resembles a very thin, silver version of an 80s concept car steering wheel. I love the DeSoto.

Love it!!!😊👍

Looks like Virgil Exner had his hand in the design of this beauty. Love the translucent speedo...way cooler than the digital screens we have today. Nice ride!

Like beautiful butterfly

5 stars ... Sweet 😄😄

Thanks!

Beautiful Desoto, the last year sadly, i had a 55 Fireflite here in England UK a few yrs ago and a few American Cars ago, now ive a 56 2 door Packard.

The windshield washer switch under the dash looks like it’s either an optional feature, or an “afterthought.” Strange indeed!

My Dad knows an ex-Chrysler executive who even got a gold ring at retirement (he is 86 now!) he said it was the UNDER-PRICING of the Chrysler NEWPORT entry model is what killed DeSoto there was about a $200 difference at dealerships, and it was at the wrong time- there was a recession at the tail-end of the 50's to early 60's so there was no room for that close of a competition WITHIN one company.

Wicked, Lou!

My dad had one of these old Chrycos, and when I pressed the D tranny push-button a pack of Marlboros popped outta the glove box! L0L

chingon car mr lou

Thanks for posting, Lou👍. I noticed an unusual styling feature. There's a chrome fin at either end of the dash, which matches both the headlights and the rear fins. Maybe one last flourish from Virgil Exner before Chrysler axed the De Soto brand?

Cool how theyre going back to the push transmissions.

I never really noticed that until you pointed that out Lou, there are two grills on that DeSoto front end. Very unique classic - love it, thanks Lou!🤟

Great car, and great presentation as always Lou. I agree with your preference for cars kept in stock condition, and for the same reason: They take us right back to the time they were built. A candy apple metallic red Model T doesn't do that!

Very nice. I actually like it's facade

I believe I have seen this in person Lou. Did you find this somewhere near Chicago? When I saw it, I thought it was one of the most stunning vehicles I had ever seen. Thank you for sharing it.

The last DeSoto! It's time to start reminding you to review a few 4-door models. Any cars from 1980 on down!