DeSoto Airflow 1934
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- Опубликовано: 23 авг 2024
- DeSoto Airflow 1934 @ 10,000 Lakes Concours d'Elegance
The DeSoto Airflow was an automobile built by DeSoto during model years 1934, 1935 and 1936. DeSoto received the then-revolutionary Airflow model due to its price structure relationship to larger and more expensive Chrysler brand cars. The 1934 Airflow models are noted for their unique styling. They generate interest for their engineering innovations. It has a 115.5 in (2,934 mm) wheelbase.
The Desoto Airflow was a result of Chrysler Corporation policy of badge engineering, being mostly similar to the Chrysler Airflow.
This aerodynamic, radically designed car debuted to much fanfare alongside its more luxurious stablemate, the Chrysler Airflow. From the front bumper back, the Airflow's design represented the first major attempt to smooth away the wind catching objects and channels found on cars of the era. Headlights were moved from their traditional pods forward of the radiator, and housed in flush mountings on either side of the broad waterfall-styled grille, which lacked the traditional upright radiator throat and decorative cap ornament. In place of the flat windshield that most cars had (and which caught the brunt of on coming winds as cars moved through the atmosphere), the Airflow split the windshield into two panes of glass, each angled to better redirect the air around them. Front and rear fenders received smoother, more form fitting curves. In the rear, Airflows encased the rear wheels through the use of fender skirts.
In addition to the benefits of its smoother exterior design, which translated into a quieter passenger compartment than on previous DeSoto models, the car featured wider front seats and deeper back seats with more leg room. Passengers sat on seats which were a good distance from either axle. They reminded one of a Victorian era davenport (sofa).
Because of the car's unibody construction, passengers rode within the frame of the car, not on top of the frame as they did with most other American makes. It also boasted a stiffer body and better weight distribution through the engine placement over the front wheels, in contrast to the common practice of placing the center of the engine's gravity just behind the front wheels. The automotive press gave the cars positive reviews for their handling and acceleration.
DeSoto (and Chrysler) touted all of its Airflow bodies as "futuristic" in an age of streamlining, the public found the cars to be too different in a time of economic uncertainty. While Chrysler's cars looked better, with the Airflow bodies stretched over their longer wheelbases, the shorter 115 DeSoto wheelbase made the cars seem bulky. Walter P. Chrysler, who had been a strong proponent of the Airflow project, was stunned by the lack of interest in the car, which he believed pointed the way for the future of American cars.
Interest in the Airflow was strong when it was introduced. Unfilled orders for it totaled 15,580 on April 30, 1934. This was 48.3% of comparable Chrysler and DeSoto shipments in 1933.
In May 1936 the DeSoto Airflow began to be promoted in some 435 newspapers in the United States. The highly streamlined car was advertised together with more traditional Airstream cars in general magazines and by itself in class magazines. The DeSoto advertising account was managed by J. Sterling Getchell.
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Special thanks to Fred and Renee for sharing their beautiful and rare car with us
Special thanks to 10,000 Lakes Concours d'Elegance for inviting us to cover their spectacular event!
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DeSoto Airflow 1934 @ 10,000 Lakes Concours d'Elegance
Comments about this very cool and rare DeSoto Airflow? Let us hear from you...tell us what you think or if you've seen such a cool car in person!
I was getting an adjustment at my chiropractor's one day and a later model DeSoto Airflow pulled into the parking lot. The owner said they also had a '28 and a '61, being the first and last year of DeSoto.
Seed_drill This is a spectacular example of attempts at early aerodynamics in Auto design. Fred and Renee are a great couple and you can see their genuine love for this beautiful car!
I own a 36. It's a little ruff but runs and drives. I was contemplating rodding it because the parts are so rare and it's not and never will be a numbers matching car but Its been spared for the time being as I have other classics to "destroy" like my supercharged fox body and Ford V8 swapped BMW E30. Basically the Desoto sits in the garage and will most likely remain un harmed.
@@dngendron Good God, I hope you didn't "rod" it. What a tragedy that would be.
Agreed!
When I saw this car while walking home 5 miles from Jr. High in about 1943, (you walked in those days)I think it changed my life. From my dull existence in a 3rd rate school---doing so so and not brilliant like my older brothers--- I realised that there was another and better world out there for me. It was parked on Ridgefield Street and to me at 13 looked like it had landed from Mars. I am now an old Architect but it influenceed my entire life. Chrysler Co. had such quality of design and construction. In Simsbury is one-family-owned 1934 Chrysler whose body work and design equals any Rolls Royce. It is deep Maroon. Believe this: Design can alter the world for good. It is hard to achieve but worth it. I tried in all the 350 projects I did.
I never recovered from the first encounter with Airstream..
It's a striking car and the design was well ahead of its time but it was glorious! Thanks for sharing
Fred and Renee put effort into their attire and look great.
We agree, they looked fantastic and their awesome attire matched their awesome personalities! Thanks for watching!
Beautiful car! The couple is looking sharp as well!
And what a great couple too. They were so much fun and the car was awesome too. Thanks for watching
I want one! IDC if it's Chrysler or Desoto, I want one! I am a Packard fan, but the Airflow is on of the coolest deigns ever
Its even more beautiful in person! Thanks for watching!
What an awesome car !
It was even more beautiful in person than our cameras were able to capture. I loved all the Art Deco touches. This car was certainly ahead of its time. Thanks for watching!
I really loved the walk around and all the features that it has on it. The airflow is very uneek car for the time.
Agreed and it’s an even more beautiful car in person. Thanks for watching
What a truly beautiful and interesting car. This Desoto Airflow coupe IS my favorite American car of all time. I have loved them since I was a little kid.
Enjoyed this video immensely. Thanks.
Glad you enjoyed the video. It was even more spectacular in person. This is truly a beautiful car. Thanks for watching
When I was a child my grandfather owned a DeSoto Airflow coupe… He kept that car until the day he died! I remember sitting in the passenger seat with the windshield open. It was a great car.
Great car great memories. Thanks for sharing and thanks for watching
@@TwoGuysandaRide that was 75 years ago!
@@saldemaio7280 well we certainly appreciate you sharing the memory!
HEY DeSoto WAS HIGH POINT IN AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN THE BEST CARS THAT CHRYSLER EVER!! MADE
This car was certainly a beauty! Thanks for watching
This was very informative for me. I knew about the Chrysler Airflow, but did not know they made one for the Desoto.
This is a beautiful example of the airflow design and both Chrysler and DeSoto were well ahead of their time. Fred and Renee have a spectacular car. Thanks for watching
What a great car, nothing like it, thanks
Agreed! It’s even more spectacular in person. Thanks for watching
One of my favorite cars. Fred looks like a DeSoto man.
Most definitely. Thanks for watching
When 18 years old I had a 1934 Plymouth coupe that had the same kind of door windows. But the DeSoto is much more advanced than the Plymouth, the Plymouth still had the individual head lights set on the front fenders. I wish I still had that car. But that was in 1956.
Sounds like that's there "one that got away". They're great cars, just too far ahead of their time. Thanks for watching
After a year or two the Airflow front seats were redone without the stainless bars and the spare tire went into the trunk horizontally with a trunk lid instead of interior access to the trunk including on four door models.
Thanks for watching!
I think this utterly gorgeous. Magnificently engineered with features that were years ahead of the competition. This was the car of the future from the past. Oh and the owners were dressed very well too I might add.
Fred and Renee are a great couple and just this summer their Airflow won best in class at the Des Moines Concors d’Elegance. It’s a magnificent car. Thanks for watching
I bought one in '95 from a man in Pasadena , complete but in need of restore . I paid 2500 . At the time I had several projects , and eventualy let it go , for double what I paid . Regretfully .
We always regret the ones that got away! Thanks for sharing
My father had a '34 Airflow DeSoto before I was born. He had a girlfriend that named it "The Flying Wombat." I have no idea if the name had any significance. I remember him saying that it had a feature called "free wheeling" which I think had something to do with eliminating engine braking. A salesman told him that women didn't like the car, but men did. The guy said he would have the car sold and the buyer would say he wanted his wife to look at it and that was the end of the sale. It looks like the Germans copied the lines and scaled it down and called it the Volkswagen.
The design was very advanced for its time. Not sure if the Wombat name was given just because of its looks from the front end. We look back now and see lots of Art Deco beauty on the car but it wasn't a sales success at the time because of the advanced design. Thanks for watching!
Seeing the closeup views I can see that this car is even more sophisticated and beautiful than I had previously realized. I think this must be my favorite car of all time. Although the engineering was superb, word is that they were not constructed very well, they didn't have good quality control, and owners were confronted with lots of defects. And we know that it didn't sell very well.
It’s even more spectacular in person. The lines and details are so intricate. I love too! Thanks for watching
@@TwoGuysandaRide The ease, and speed, with which a properly designed and properly lubricated window mechanism can enable a window to roll up and down makes modern electric windows seem ridiculous. I love the way the hood opens. It is so simple and elegant. Is that original? Is the cross-brace behind the radiator original? I would love to drive this car around but I heard that the brakes on these things, although hydraulic, were not up to modern standards of stopping distance. Has something been done to this paricular vehicle to improve the brakes? I suppose that just by using an improved lining material you can get a somewhat shorter stopping distance. I've seen the overdrive in action, in a video. I looks fantastic. Yes it is a 3 speed transmission, _plus_ an overdrive gear ratio. And it goes into overdrive _automatically_ when the (mechanical) computer decides it's needed. It also will _freewheel_ automatically, when automatic overdrive is selected!. Or you can shut if off if you don't want it going into overdrive when you are careening down a hill at the breakneck speed of 45 mph in 1934. Where on earth does one get another oval sealed beam headlamps when the filament burns out in the original headlamp? I''m guessing these are dual filament headlamps. In 1934 I believe cars had high beams and low beams. Also, I wonder if the VW Beetle, designed in the 1930's, has a similar body construction? It clearly took design cues from the Airflow. The Beetle is not all welded together, like a traditional unibody, but it doesn't have a full-strength frame either. On bottom is a "pan" with a center tunnel, and the body is bolted, not welded, to the pan. But the body relies on the pan for structural rigidity. And the flat pan may add aerodynamics to the car. So the Beetle was "unibody-like" if not actually unibody. It is not "body on frame." I'd like to see the bottom of this Airflow. Are there aerodynamic features to the bottom? I can't believe they added more "nose" to later models. I think they ruined the appearance by doing that. Possibly this also reduced visibility ahead for the driver.
The first few might have been, but for the most part, this was a very well built car.
Fantastic
We agree! Thanks for watching!
This and is Chrysler sister may be my favorite car of all time. That waterfall grill is wonderful. I love the dash. I love the seat design.
In previous cars, the passenger seat was sitting atop the rear axle. In this car, and in modern cars, the rear axle is behind the rear seat passengers. By sitting atop the rear axle, the problem for the rear seat passengers was not teeter-tottering. The problem for the rear seat passengers was bouncing up and down whenever the rear axle hit a bump, or a pot hole. The passengers would go up, or down, about same distance as the axle went up or down. In this car, because the passengers were in front to the rear axle, the passengers bounced up and down much less than the rear axle bounced up and down. So they had a much more comfortable ride than in earlier cars. Simple but effective.
This car has 3 forward speeds AND over drive in addition. Some of them also had automatic freewheeling. Going downhill you had a choice, you could select freewheeling, and save on engine wear and tear, or you could select engine engagement, you could engage the engine to the drive train, and have engine braking.
The jump seats fold up much like in a Honda Fit (or Jazz).
Great information and I agree….it’s one of my all time favorite designed cars as well. Imagine how forward thinking those designers and engineers were. No car car company today would ever allow such flights of fancy much less actually build it! Thanks for watching
Unique.
Indeed. Thanks for watching
@@TwoGuysandaRide Anytime!
I have seen a few of these, and they had armrests. This one does not. What happened to them?
If I had to guess Id say that way have been an option and this one either didnt include it from the factory or it was lost along the way. Thanks for watching
I think the DIVCO nose looked better on the MOPAR work vehicle. Signed-Richard.
Ok
Kind of weird hearing about an airflow car before the interstate highway system - also you have to think that probably most of the roads were dirt roads, not to mention how high was the legal speed limit? Equals why would you need an airflow to drive 20 miles an hour on a dirt road?
Chrysler/Desoto were well ahead of their time in design with these
why i never
Beautiful, isn’t it! Thanks for watching!
Two guys just talking, not riding. I wanted to hear the sound of that engine.
We’ll this was a Concours D’Elegance car show and vehicles were not allowed to be started. Maybe check out Fast and Furious if you want engine sound, or rewatch our video just to appreciate the history and beauty of this awesome car.
Well not a "flat six" exactly. It's not a Subaru. It's a flathead six.
Thanks for watching
Major fail. A video of a car and you never get to look at it correctly. Siged Richard
Ok