DeSoto Airflow
The DeSoto Airflow was a car built by Chrysler under the DeSoto brand in the 1934-1936 model years. DeSoto received the then revolutionary Airflow model because of its price ratio to the larger and more expensive Chrysler cars.
Streamline of the airflow
The streamlined and newly shaped car was presented together with the slightly larger Chrysler Airflow . The airflow design was an early attempt to level the objects and lines on the cars of the time that were facing the wind. The main headlights moved from their place (next to the radiator grille ) to the front and were housed in the continuous front panel on both sides of the waterfall-like radiator grille , which no longer had a traditional filler neck with a hood ornament. Instead of the one-piece, almost vertical windshield of the cars of that time (which got off the force of the oncoming wind when the car moved through the air), the Airflow had a split windshield, the two halves of which were turned sideways to better divert the wind to the outside . The front and rear fenders were given softer shapes that were more adapted to the body shape. The rear wheels were covered.
In addition to the benefits of the softer exterior shape, which resulted in less wind noise inside the cars than previous DeSoto models, the cars were wider inside and the seats moved further forward. The passengers sat between the axles and because of the monocoque construction inside the frame and not on the frame as in cars from other American manufacturers. The vehicle was stiffer and the weight distribution was better because the engine was placed with its center of gravity above the front axle and not behind it, as was common at the time. The car was praised in the trade press for its good handling and high acceleration.
Failure in the market
Although DeSoto (and Chrysler) presented their Airflow bodies as futuristic in the age of the streamline, customers found the cars too unfamiliar at a time of great economic uncertainty . Chrysler's Airflow looked better on the long chassis than the chubby DeSoto with the short wheelbase of just 2,921 mm. Walter P. Chrysler , a big proponent of the Airflow project, was disappointed with the lack of interest in the car, which he believed was groundbreaking for future US automobile production.
There were also rumors that the bodies were unsafe. Tests showed that the all-steel monocoque construction was safer than other cars of the time (many manufacturers still had wooden support frames with sheets drawn over them). In a widespread commercial that was shown in cinemas, an empty airflow was seen that fell off a rock in Pennsylvania and was then repositioned and driven away after falling more than 30 m. It was dented but still recognizable as airflow. Even so, the rumor persisted that airflows were unsafe.
While Chrysler also built a more standard-looking car in 1934, DeSoto only offered the Airflow. Although DeSoto sold more Airflow models than Chrysler, Chrysler sold more cars overall, with the majority being reworked models of the "standard" 1933 Chrysler.
In 1935 and 1936 DeSoto added the more traditional Airstream , a model they shared with Chrysler, and DeSoto regained some of the lost market share. The Airflow was still on sale, but most of the cars sold were Airstream, so the Airflow was passed to the bottom of the DeSoto catalog.
Buyers who opted for an Airflow found that their car had a more noticeable tapered grille. Otherwise there were only cosmetic changes (air inlets etc.).
While Chrysler had the Airflow body until 1937, DeSoto discontinued the model in late 1936 to focus on more traditional models that sold better.
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- Beverly R. Kimes (Ed.), Henry A. Clark: The Standard Catalog of American Cars 1805-1942. Krause Publications, 1996, ISBN 0-87341-428-4 .