1957 was the big change over year for Chrysler, with the "Forward Look" styling and all. It was also the first year for their controversial Torsion Bar suspension.
I never really did hear what the actual problem was, (I'm assuming it was because the 1st. batch of bars must have been too hard or brittle) but there were all kinds of horror stories about them breaking. Most of the time though it happened while the car was sitting in the garage, and usually to a Plymouth. (which I couldn't figure out since they all used the same bar I think.
I know 4 people personally who purchased a new 1957 Plymouth, and never bought another Chrysler product the rest of their lives, simply because of the many problems they had with that 1st. year model. I always thought the creator of the movie "Christine" screwed up by using a 1958 Plymouth in the movie instead of the (much maligned) 57. It would have made the Movie sooo much more believable.
At the start of the 57 model year my Dad was selling Desotos, and the dealer he worked for made them purchase their "demos" at a greatly reduced rate. I don't remember him having any problems with it. But in the spring he sold it and started working at a Dodge dealer where they gave the salesmen a car to drive.
I would have loved to had the chance to sit down and talk with your Father and hear all the stories about how things were at Chrysler way back when.