We’d recognize that smile anywhere. Here’s the story on the new DeSoto lineup for 1951.

Nineteen Fifty-One will forever be remembered as the year DeSoto grew some teeth—especially among the rod and custom crowd. The distinctive new grille for ’51 was a hit in the DeSoto-Plymouth showrooms, it’s fair to say, but it was even more popular among the early customizers, who adapted the big stand-up grille teeth to their ’49-’51 Mercury lead sleds. It’s said that Wally Welch’s 1950 coupe, constructed by the Ayala brothers of East Los Angeles, was the first kustom Merc to use ’51 DeSoto grille teeth, but soon they were everywhere in the hot rod world.

Of course, there was more to Desoto for ’51 than the toothy chrome grin. There were two models in the lineup, the base DeLuxe and the high-end Custom, with the Custom featuring full wheel covers, better interior appointments, and the semi-automatic M6 Tip-Toe transmission (a refinement of Chrysler’s Fluid Drive system). Generous 12-inch drum brakes and a long 125.5-inch wheelbase offered dignified road manners, and the Powermaster 250.6 CID L-head six provided 116 drama-free horsepower. Check out the confident sales pitch in the video below.