Forgotten 1955 Dodge La Femme tried to sell cars to women with pink paint and accessories

Nowadays, cars are marketed towards all genders, but it wasn’t always that way – as the Dodge La Femme demonstrated.

In the 1950s, this car was introduced as an attempt to sell cars to women.

As more women were driving on the roads of the US, Dodge came up with a plan to target its female audience.

And the Dodge La Femme is the end result of that effort, with pink paint and accessories included.

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The 1955 Dodge La Femme – a car made for women

This car, based on the Custom Royal Lancer, was introduced in 1955 with exclusively utilized V8 engines.

The La Femme, as the name suggests, was geared entirely towards women.

That’s because more and more American women had been getting behind the wheel in the years since World War II ended.

During the war, many more of them had learned to drive, due to a lot of men being stationed overseas.

By the early 1950s, 49 percent of all licensed US drivers were women – a massive increase from 25 percent in 1935.

And what better way to capitalize on this growth than by making a car geared towards women?

Now, this is the 1950s, let’s remember.

So the ideas of what women would want out of a car are quite dated by our modern standards.

As such, it should come as no surprise that this car came in pink-on-white, before expanding to an orchid color for the 1956 model year.

And that’s not forgetting the interior too, which would be pink or red, with rosebud seat patterns for the 1955 model and lavender patterns for the 1956 model.

As if all of that wasn’t enough, each car would be sold with a matching purse, raincoat, and a selection of accessories, including lipstick, make-up, a cigarette case, and a lighter.

It might sound a little twee for us in 2025, but surely it must have had some appeal for some people, right?

But then that begs the question – why did this car only last for two model years?

Why this pink car was short-lived

The car was discontinued after the 1956 model year.

The reasons for its failure aren’t entirely clear, but there’s a ton of speculation.

It may just be down to the fact that women didn’t appreciate being pigeonholed with one specific car.

Or maybe slapping pink onto a car isn’t enough to win a female customer over, even with the enticing factor of additional freebies.

Approximately 2,500 La Femmes were reportedly built.

It certainly wasn’t one of Dodge’s more successful outings.

That being said, it’s still a noteworthy edition in the company’s lineup, which still holds up to this day.

Even when left to collect dust for 15 or 20 years, the cars from this manufacturer are classic Americana.

Couldn’t you imagine heading to a drive-in movie in this 1969 Dodge Dart GTS?

Or how about pulling up to a diner in this 1960 Dodge Dart Phoenix?

Maybe if things had gone a different way, we’d see Dodge La Femmes driving across America’s highways in 2025.

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