In 1934, the Chrysler Corporation struck out in a new direction with its Airflow, the first aerodynamically designed car. Produced under the Chrysler name and by its DeSoto subdivision, it featured a body crafted to reduce wind resistance. The headlights were mounted flush with the fender. The window and radiator were slanted back for lowered resistance. And the body and chassis were all one piece, instead of a metal passenger compartment on a wooden frame. This, and the reduced wind resistance, made the Airflow a much quieter ride. Walter P. Chrysler had great hopes for the car and thought it took a direction that all other carmakers would have to follow.
Priced at about $1,000 ($22,000 in today’s money), the Airflow sold so poorly that the car was discontinued in 1936. But aerodynamic design, in varying forms, was adopted by other automobile manufacturers, who all abandoned the box-like bodies that had been the standard since the Model T days.
This article appears in the January/February 2023 issue of The Saturday Evening Post. Subscribe to the magazine for more art, inspiring stories, fiction, humor, and features from our archives.
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