I was super excited to find this in a box of emblems we purchased at auction the other day:
It is a hood emblem that would have originally been found on the great-looking front end of a 1941 Desoto.
In 1941, Desoto described the newly restyled body as being longer, lower and wider, low hung with “rocket styling.” The company touted the “alligator type hood,” which just means that it hinged in the back with its release in the driving compartment like cars of today, but that long hood does truly resemble an alligator’s snout.
Fender tops were flattened for ’41 and were one-piece with the hood sides, and the vertical pattern grille was heavy die-cast chrome.
The ’41 was truly beautiful, but then look what Desoto did for the following year:
The wide waterfall grille cascaded down from the hood line, and the bumper was wider and heavier as well. The overall effect was aggressive and impressive. Incredible concealed headlamps came standard in ’42. Desoto called them “airfoil” headlights, and they were recessed into the fenders and closed behind sliding steel panels which blended smoothly into the contours of the fender. The panels were controlled by small levers just below the instrument panel inside the car.
These were incredible years for the often underappreciated Desoto!