Javillac
To talk about De Soto, one must begin with the chrysler corporation, the company that created this brand. This company was born in 1925 after Walter P. Chrysler converted the former Maxwell Motor Company into the firm that would bear his last name.
Thanks to its good construction and modern design, Chrysler cars enjoyed great popularity since their launch, which allowed the company to grow rapidly and in the late 1920s it introduced new brands.
In 1928, Chrysler creates Plymouth. as an access brand to compete in sales with cars manufactured by Chevrolet and Ford. That same year, Chrysler incorporated the company of the Dodge brothers into its group, which after years of success was beginning to lose popularity among American consumers.
THE SOTO BRAND IS BORN
At the end of 1928, the Chrysler group is completed with the creation of De Soto with an eye toward the 1929 season, which would position itself as a mid-range brand to compete with Willys, Hudson, Studebaker, and Pontiac.
De Soto's debut couldn't have been better, with more than 81.000 units sold in 1929, making it the brand with the highest sales volume record in its first year. The De Soto Six held the record for best-selling model in its first year until 1960, when Ford introduced the Falcon.
This success allowed Chrysler consolidate itself as one of the three big automobile groups in the United States along with General Motors and Ford Motor Company. In 1928, construction began on the Chrysler Building in New York, which was the tallest skyscraper in the world and the company's headquarters in 1930, which came to house a brand dealership on the lower floors.
HERNANDO DE SOTO, THE CONQUEROR WHO GAVE THE BRAND NAME
Son of noblemen and born in Jerez de los Caballeros, Badajoz, in the year 1500, Hernando Soto He was one of the many young people from Extremadura and Portugal who they embarked on the adventure of discovering the new world which Columbus arrived in 1492 and which was yet to be discovered.
After the conquests of Nicaragua, Peru and the Inca empire, Hernando De Soto led in 1539 the first expedition of a European entering the current United States territory. He was the first explorer to cross the Mississippi River and he died in 1542 without finishing his expedition.
The name and image of Hernando De Soto was used by the American brand for its emblems, with some cars sporting a hood emblem with the face of the conquistador and would use the De Soto coat of arms as its logo. Also as a tribute, in the 50s, models with names like Adventurer or Explorer would be presented.
However It wouldn't be the first time the De Soto name appeared in automotive history., because in 1912 a De Soto Motor Company appeared in Indiana, as a subsidiary of another brand, Zimmerman. Other historical figures such as the founder of the city of Detroit, the French explorer Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, gave its name to the luxury brand of General Motors.
To emphasize the Spanish character of the 1929 De Soto cars, the six different bodies available were marketed with names in Spanish as "spanish roadster","sedan car" or "luxury coupe". 
EVOLUTION OF THE BRAND
De Soto's first year in the market coincided with the economic crash of 1929 and the start of the Great Depression. The situation affected all manufacturers, but De Soto's position in the market was relatively good, with 25.000 cars sold in 1932, a figure similar to that of Dodge, a brand at that time with a higher price than De Soto.
For these reasons, Chrysler management decided to reverse the price range between these two brands in 1933, with De Soto positioning itself in prices only below Chrysler. In 1934 De Soto received the modern Chrysler Airflow aerodynamic bodies, but on a shortened chassis.
Unlike Chrysler itself, which had more models, De Soto only offered the Airflow during 1934., which were not popular with consumers, and in 1935 another model appeared in the range, the Airstream.
From 1937 De Soto would begin to offer trucks for export identical to those manufactured by Dodge, with some of these being sold in Spain. Chrysler would stop manufacturing trucks in 1970, but production of De Soto-named trucks continued in Turkey under Askam until 1978.
Before automobile production ceased in 1942, with the entry of the United States into World War II, De Soto presented for that season an innovative car with retractable headlights, the second in mass production, only after the pioneer, the Cord 810/812. 
DE SOTO AFTER THE WAR
The production of automobiles for civil use would resume in 1946, although the headlights would now be conventional. During this time De Soto cars enjoyed great popularity in the United States in the taxi sector.
In 1952, De Soto introduced the Firedome as a model for 1953, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the brand, his first car equipped with a V8 engine, the 276 horsepower 4,5 cubic inch or 160 liter Hemi. This mechanism was also used by some models of the luxurious French firm Facel Vega.
Although they had a car with a modern V8 in their brand, there were much more interesting cars at the design level on the national scene. Chrysler cars until the mid-50s were becoming aesthetically outdated, with designs stuck in the past and one of the requirements from the directive was that inside one of these cars there was enough space to comfortably wear a hat.
It is worth mentioning that at this time De Soto presented some modern and beautiful prototypes such as the Adventurer and Adventurer II, designed by Ghia and bought by the King of Morocco Mohamed V.
A NEEDED CHANGE OF COURSE
Chrysler then signed Virgil exner as chief designer, who helped revamp the cars with an aesthetic inspired by the most modern aircraft of the moment. The new cars arrived in 1955, under the name of “The New 100 Million dollar look”, and would also present a new luxury brand, Imperial, which would compete directly with Cadillac and Lincoln. In 1956, this new design philosophy was called "forward look".
The Exner-designed cars were extremely modern, much lower and longer than their predecessors, and featured prominent tailfins. These cars aroused public interest and De Soto was especially benefited by the presentation of new models such as the Fireflite, Firesweep, or the Adventurer., introduced in 1956 as a high-performance coupé comparable to Chrysler's 300.
During that time Chrysler group cars were some of the most modern and best equipped, being offered with automatic transmission operated with buttons, rotating seats that facilitated the exit and entrance to the vehicle, turntable to listen to records of 45 revolutions per minute in the car, and even the De Soto Adventurer of 1958 were offered with electronic injection, but this option it was very expensive and few cars equipped it. 
1958: THE BEGINNING OF THE END FOR DE SOTO
Until now, De Soto cars were very popular, especially with modern 1957 models. But In 1958 came the first economic recession after World War II., and the automotive sector was hit hard, with buyers now focusing on compact cars and with mid-range brands such as De Soto, Mercury, or the newborn Edsel being the most affected.
The difference in sales was dramatic for De Soto, with a 60% decline between 1957 and 1958, something that would only worsen in the following years, causing rumors to circulate about the imminent demise of the brand, with a reduction in the range for the 1960 season.
At the end of 1960 the new De Soto models for 1961 were presented, and a few weeks later Chrysler announced the end of this brand. For that same season, a new car was introduced, the Chrysler Newport, as a mid-range model that was very well received by the public, with more than 45.000 cars sold in its first year, compared to just 3.000 De Soto that were sold in its last year.
With a market saturated with brands, Chrysler executives focused on fostering the luxury brand Imperial, a business strategy that made Chryslers more affordable, Dodges more luxurious, and left the brand with the conquering name without a place to occupy in that changing market. 
Chrysler photos y Progressive Architecture (1929).
