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"1949." From the same batch of slides as 1951's Family Vacation comes this Kodachrome of a similar trailer. Click here for a side view. View full size.
One of my uncles owned late 1950s DeSoto that I would drive occasionally. The one thing I seem to remember is that the automatic shifting system was controlled by a block of pushbuttons on the dashboard. If you wanted to go from Drive to Reverse you had to stop and press the "R."
Yep, a 1946-48 DeSoto. All DeSotos had inline/flathead 6-cylinder engines from 1932 through 1951, though they'd also had a straight 8 briefly in the early '30s, and then the powerful Firedome OHV V-8 from 1952 on. I drove a handed-down-from-my-grandfather 1950 DeSoto DeLuxe Club Coupe for a time in the '60s. It had that same reliable straight-6 engine, though its body style was more like its newer Mopar sibling, the 1951 Plymouth shown in the "Family Vacation: 1951" photo.
I like the way the dog holds his position in both views of the '46-'48 DeSoto. He'd evidently been taught about photography in his obedience training.
The very handsome DeSoto is postwar, 46, 47 or 48, based on prewar models. Many manufacturers were in no hurry to retool for the “new and improved” sheet metal that finally appeared in 1949 (Kaiser and Studebaker 1947, Tucker, Hudson, Cadillac and Olds 1948, being the exceptions), as dealers were selling anything with wheels, at inflated prices, trying to keep up with pent up postwar consumer demand. The 48 DeSoto inline flathead six produced 109 horsepower, compared to 97 for the 51 Plymouth six, and most likely featured “fluid drive.”
Notice the spiffy rotary outside clothes dryer.
This guy would need some curb feelers.
I wonder if they traded that car in on the Plymouth? Not sure what that is but I'm betting it has a straight eight from the length of the hood, a much classier looking car than the Plymouth.
It looks like it's been repaired though, the right front fender doesn't quite match the rest of the car!
[The car is a DeSoto. Note that this trailer has wheel skirts. - Dave]
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