![]() For its first five years the division was slotted just above Plymouth and roughly level with Dodge, albeit a bit spicier. Seven years later, out of that tunnel emerged one of the most significant cars in history: The Airflow.Īt the same time Airflow was given the go ahead, the decision was also made to shift DeSoto’s position in the Chrysler Corporation’s brand hierarchy. At the behest of Breer and under the supervision of Earnshaw and Wright, Chrysler built the automobile industry’s first wind tunnel. Earnshaw was acquainted with aviation pioneer, Orville Wright. Upon his return to the office Monday morning, Breer sought out one of his engineers named Bill Earnshaw to discuss some of his conclusions. Driving home, with his arm out the car window, he experimented with different angles and shapes and the way they responded to the wind. Breer got to thinking about how the plane’s shape helped them slip through the air with such grace and ease. As the flock drew closer it turned out not to be geese, but a squadron of Army Air Corps planes flying in formation. Carl Breer, while touring with his family near Port Huron, Michigan, saw in the distance what at first he thought was a flock of geese flying low in the sky. The story begins one summer weekend in 1927 when one of Chrysler’s chief engineers was out for a drive. And then there was the 1934 Airflow, the car that brought automotive aerodynamics into mainstream consciousness…and nearly destroyed the DeSoto brand, and the Chrysler Corporation along with it. The Insight barely achieved 4-didgit annual sales, while just a few years later Toyota’s Prius would become the suburban eco-warrior’s front line weapon against climate change. Honda’s 60mpg Insight in 1999 introduced us to gas-electric hybrid technology. ![]() After selling a total of 9 copies, it was the last one for 45 years before the Plymouth Voyager took suburbia by storm. The versitile Scout Scarab of 1936 was the first minivan. The Jetfire flamed out after 2 years, but a decade later Turbo Saabs and Buick T-Types made inter-cooling cool. The 1962 Oldsmobile Jetfire was the first car to use turbocharging, delivering big block power from a smaller more efficient engine. Trailblazers paid the price for being first. ![]() Their technological or stylistic achievements were greeted in the marketplace with hesitation and suspicion. The vehicle on display is one of the few CV Coupes known to survive.The History of the Automobile is littered with tales of cars so advanced that they flopped. In 1934 Chrysler manufactured just 212 of the Airflow Imperial CV Coupes, which were six inches longer and had more amenities than the standard models. The spirit of the Airflow is a silent but important part of every car we drive today. After the initial spurt, sales were slow, and Chrysler ceased production of the landmark model in 1937.ĭespite the Airflow’s market failure, other manufacturers soon adopted the lighter weight steel body construction and better aerodynamics it pioneered. It eventually required expensive new tooling, which caused major assembly delays. Orders for the revolutionary car poured in, and the Airflow’s complex construction was rushed. Introduced at the 1934 New York Auto Show, the eight-cylinder Airflow caused a sensation. The Airflow was a technological marvel with automatic overdrive and raked “safety glass” windshield. By moving the engine over the front axle, the Airflow gained additional interior space, while seating passengers between the front and rear wheels improved ride quality. The result was the Airflow’s ground-breaking streamlined design, which was sleeker, longer, and sat lower to the ground compared to other American cars. With fellow Chrysler engineers Fred Zeder and Owen Skelton, he went to aviator Orville Wright, who understood more than a little about aerodynamics, to test models in a wind tunnel. The revolutionary concept was born when Chrysler engineer Carl Breer noticed the similarity between the shape of airplanes and birds, and he mused how archaic auto design was in comparison. Not only did the Chrysler Airflow lead the way in terms of aerodynamics - “streamlining” as it was then called - it was also among the first cars to incorporate a lightweight construction that presaged today’s unibody vehicles. Though its Airflow was a commercial failure, Chrysler’s brave attempt at innovation may well have been the most important mass-produced vehicle of the 1930’s. About the 1934 Chrysler Airflow Imperial CV-8 Coupe
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |