DeSoto diplomat
The DeSoto Diplomat was a Chrysler product made only for export. The DeSoto Diplomat was essentially created through badge engineering of Chrysler and Plymouth vehicles. They were manufactured in both Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, factories .
The export DeSoto based on a Plymouth was first introduced in 1937 and manufactured exclusively in Detroit. Chrysler began building these cars in Canada at the end of the 1939 model year.
Since 1946 the export DeSoto was called DeSoto Diplomat. It was shipped to Europe , South Africa , South America , Hawaii and Australia . In the 1955 model year, Chrysler Canada made no export vehicles, so all 1955 Diplomats were from Detroit. In the late 1950s, some European taxi drivers preferred a diesel engine from Perkins (Type P 4 C) for her diplomat; these diesel engines were installed in the cars on an assembly line in Belgium .
From 1938 to 1956, Plymouth bodies were used for the export DeSoto, fitted with a grille similar to those of the other DeSoto's but fitted into the recess of the Plymouth. From 1957 to 1959, the DeSoto Diplomat had the front of the DeSoto Firesweep , which was attached to the Plymouth body.
In the 1960 and 1961 model years, the Diplomat was based on the large Dodge Dart . Although the production of DeSoto in Canada was discontinued in 1960 and in the USA in 1961, some DeSoto Diplomats were still made in South Africa in 1962, based on the sedan of the Dodge Dart 440.