How many DeSoto Firesweeps are left in New Zealand?
Unicorn 1 in 4,674,872 on the road Built 1959 American
Updated from the NZTA Motor Vehicle Register, counted as at 31 August 2026. Recounted every month.
The cheapest DeSoto of the late 1950s, sold from 1957 to 1959. To get the price down it used the shorter Dodge chassis and Dodge front wings under DeSoto trim and the familiar triple tail lamps. It sold well at first, but it also blurred the line between DeSoto and Dodge.
Still on the road, by model year
1 from 1959.
What Unicorn means
Spotto grades every car by how many are still registered in New Zealand. With 1 still registered, the DeSoto Firesweep is Unicorn: the grade for cars with fewer than 5 left.
By how many are left it ranks equal 10th of the 11 DeSoto models and equal 2,668th of all 2,903 cars in Spotto's catalogue.
The six grades: Common, 8,000 or more · Uncommon, 1,200 to 7,999 · Scarce, 175 to 1,199 · Rare, 25 to 174 · Super rare, 5 to 24 · Unicorn, fewer than 5.
Seen one?
Spotto grades every car on New Zealand roads by how many are still registered, down to the generation and the badge. Log the ones you spot, build a collection, and see who else has found one.