DeSoto Diplomat

The DeSoto Diplomat was a car that DeSoto produced from 1946 to 1962 for sale in export markets outside North America. The export DeSoto, based on the Plymouth, was first introduced in 1937 and built in Detroit, and Chrysler Corporation of Canada began building export DeSotos late in the 1939 model year. In 1946 the export DeSoto became the Diplomat. In the late 1950s some European taxicab drivers preferred a Perkins P4C diesel engine, installed on a Belgian assembly line. DeSoto ended in 1960 in Canada and 1961 elsewhere, but Chrysler South Africa built 1962 Diplomats based on the Dodge Dart 440, and Chrysler Australia built its own locally produced SP24 series from 1953.