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Topic starter
12/10/2024 6:37 am
'55 DeSoto or Mercury?
Be sure to make your selection.
Of course, please “Reply” to share your comments.
If selection is greater than 2 rank them.
Click on the picture to enlarge the image.
John Bono
North Jersey
12/10/2024 7:59 am
I like the Merc Montclair - only wish it was sans Conny Kit.
John Kuvakas and John Bono reacted
12/10/2024 8:44 am
Merc wins here against the competitive DeSoto! 👍👍
Frank Reed
Chesapeake, VA
12/10/2024 8:49 am
DeSoto for me.
Retired in Dunedin, Florida.
12/10/2024 8:55 am
This is a tough one today! My heart says DeSoto, but my eyes say Mercury...I'm gonna apply my "ties go to the Mopar" rule in this case and vote DeSoto. Great choice of subjects today, John!
Barry Levittan
Long Island, NY
Topic starter
12/10/2024 9:09 am
Tony, back in '55 only the coolest dudes drove cars with continental kits, just so you know.I like the Merc Montclair - only wish it was sans Conny Kit.
John Bono
North Jersey
12/10/2024 9:20 am
@sizedoesmatter Thank-you John for this clarification. Whilst I'm the last person anyone would accuse of 'being cool' 😝 , I can think of few things more breezy than a mid-fifties convertible with continental kit.
12/10/2024 9:22 am
Tony, back in '55 only the coolest dudes drove cars with continental kits, just so you know.I like the Merc Montclair - only wish it was sans Conny Kit.
I know John! I never drove one, I was never cool enough. 
When I started driving in 1961 (legally) cars with Conny Kits were way out of my league. 
12/10/2024 9:44 am
Both of these cars are very attractive and once again John has provided us with an excellent comparison. I love both cars but give a slight edge to the Mercury; with the condition that the continental kit be removed (lol....never liked them). This year DeSoto is my favorite of the marque; the Mercury is my second favorite of that marque, after the '53.
12/10/2024 9:50 am
@perrone1 Even as a youngster (early car freak) when continental kits were all the rage I never liked the look of them; mainly because they changed and to a degree hid the look of the car's rear end design and they were often at odds with the attractive overall styling. They were considered to be cool to that generation of young drivers but being born in 1952 I was never part of it.
12/10/2024 10:17 am
@perrone1 Even as a youngster (early car freak) when continental kits were all the rage I never liked the look of them; mainly because they changed and to a degree hid the look of the car's rear end design and they were often at odds with the attractive overall styling. They were considered to be cool to that generation of young drivers but being born in 1952 I was never part of it.
Yeah, I get it Jack. Growing up in our era (5 years older than you) the cars we most saw were of a different vintage than the guys before us. I disliked the Conny kit because of the same reasons you did and that ghastly bumper extension needed to attach it to the car.
Having said that, I loved the spare tire, at the rear of some cars, where it was integral to the body:
I also liked the use of it when it did NOT distastefully extend the rear bumper:
And really grew fond of the exaggerated trunk lid signifying it's enclosure within:
But the Kits I disliked most were the 'Ubangi Bumper' aircraft carrier extensions like this guy:
12/10/2024 10:27 am
My vote goes to the DeSoto as it shares the same body as my 55 Imperial.
12/10/2024 11:07 am
When I was a kid, I saw Conti kits everywhere. I loved them. They were so exotic, so custom! Most of the cars I saw them on came with skirts, curb feelers, spinner hubcaps, different-colored taillights, glass packs, and fuzzy dice hanging in the window. Some had mild custom grilles and chrome shades over their headlights. They were rolling statements, wheeled personalities, octane-fed testosterone. Yet, when I began to buy my own cars in the mid-sixties, I wanted none of that. I had my own idea of what I wanted to say through my car. I guess that's still true today.
John Kuvakas
Warrenton, VA
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