1956 DeSoto Firedome Seville
Engine: V-8
Displacement: 330 Cubic Inches
Horsepower: 230 BHP
Cost New: $2,734
         1956 was a year for several engineering advances at DeSoto. The update to a twelve-volt electrical system was easily the most important of those changes. There was an explosion of new electrical accessories offered on all cars in the late 1950s, and the upgrade to the more powerful twelve-volt systems were a necessity. To show off their new system, DeSoto offered a power radio antenna, a Highway Hi-Fi record player and a power front seat with added adjustments.
         The entire DeSoto line-up got powerful V-8 engines, ranging from the 230 BHP Firedome to the 320 BHP Adventurer. You could get a standard three-speed transmission, or the push-button automatic. With the controls mounted on a pod to the left of the instrument panel, all you had to do was push a button and go. This was the first push-button transmission offered in the U.S., and Chrysler used it from 1956 to 1964.
         This Firedome has undergone an extensive restoration. It is painted in factory correct Pink and Iridescent Plum, and the interior was redone with NOS (New Original Stock) material. This is one of the best examples of a 1956 Firedome anywhere.