Handy Chevrolet Auto Repair Service

What Happened to the Chrysler Airflow?

Introduced in 1934, the Chrysler Airflow was the wonder of its age and one of the most aerodynamic and advanced cars ever built. Of course, all of us at Handy Chevrolet Auto Repair Service  were not around to see this vehicle firsthand, but some people in St. Albans, VT surely owned them back in the day.

The car received a ton of media attention when it came out, but many of the country's leading carmakers of that period thought it posed a serious threat to the automotive status quo. Its drastically streamlined design made it stand out from anything else on out on the road. As a result, General Motors became jealous over the smaller Chrysler that was garnering great reviews and impressing consumers with its wow factor.

In response, GM retaliated by placing large advertisements in the Saturday Evening Post announcing that this new, cutting-edge Chrysler was plagiarized from a top-secret GM design they were currently working on, although those plans never materialized. In addition, Gm implied that the Airflow was a danger on the roads, although they never proved that either.

Chrysler reacted by releasing a remarkable newsreel demonstrating the Airflow’s advanced suspension (by shooting out a tire at excessive speeds); its utilization of safety glass (by having a baseball pitcher throw a fastball at the windows without them shattering); flipping the vehicle (and driving away from it), and finally, driving the car right off a 110-foot cliff and then driving away from the scene with only one shattered window. The newsreel impressed safety consultants, car experts and the automotive media in a big way, but it did not save the Chrysler Airflow.

The Airflow’s complete uni-body construction was cutting-edge at the time, but now it is a method that is still used today in cars made worldwide. The Airflow was made completely out of steel during a time when most vehicles still used wood in their construction. By using steel almost exclusively in its chassis, it featured modern safety during a period when even low-speed accidents were potentially fatal. 

Even after its impressive public relations campaign and consumer report, GM’s sneaky strategy to take the Chrysler Airflow was very successful. The company was never sued and there were surely no repercussions for its actions. Because of its unscrupulous actions, GM killed the Airflow and the ground-breaking vehicle was discontinued in 1937. As a result, there are an estimated Airflows still in existence and I recently found one online that was up for sale at a whopping $55,000!

Sources: Associated Press, LA Times and USA Today