More About the 1942 DeSoto

I last featured the 1942 DeSoto here. In that post I stated:

"Automobiles are perceived to have faces, the headlights serving as eyes. DeSotos, therefore, had a curious, eyeless look because their headlights were hidden behind sliding doors when they were not turned on. Cord 810 and 812 models from 1936-37 also had hidden headlights, but these pivoted open when switched on. Door-based hidden headlights were planned for 1949 Lincolns, but instead they were left sunken and doorless. Starting around the mid-1960s, several American makes began hiding headlights, a fad that lingered here and there for decades."

Those DeSotos have always fascinated me.  Perhaps they fascinate you too.  Or maybe simply interest you.  For all '42 DeSoto fans, below are images of examples of that design.

One featured car and information about the 1942 DeSoto line can be found in this link to Hemmings. That car is owned by Nicola Bulgari: more on him and his love for American cars of a certain vintage is here.

Images below are of cars listed for sale unless otherwise noted.

Gallery

Old snapshot of a 1942 DeSoto, source not identified.

'42 DeSoto as seen in the movie "The Postman Always Rings Twice" via imcdb.

View of front end of DeSoto up for auction.

All open, including the headlight doors.  The 1942 Washington license plate's letter A stands for King County (Seattle), the most populous in the state then and now.  (That numbering system was phased out decades ago.)

Side view.  The green paint on the lower part of the car strikes me as being too bright.

Front quarter view of a highly distinctive frontal design.

Dashboard, instrumentation on the Bulgari 1942 DeSoto.  The grille over the central radio speaker echoes the vertical bar front grille.  The design theme here is rectangular from overall layout down to the gauges.

Rear quarter view of Bulgari's DeSoto.  The paint colors here match the originals.

Side view.  This car seems to be an early '42 model, because cars built towards the February 1942 end of production due to wartime had little chrome trim.

Low front quarter view.  This car's headlight doors blend smoothly with the fenders, unlike many of the cars shown above.