In the latest installment of Jay Leno's Garage, Jay himself walks us through the history and features of a landmark vehicle, his very own 1-of-3 1934 Chrysler Airflow. The story of the Airflow involves Orville Wright (yes, that one), a lawsuit over design theft, and perhaps the most basic engine to ever sit inside such an advanced automobile. A car with such an incredible history and features should've been a massive success but the truth is that the car never took off.

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Judging A Book By Its Cover

Via Pinterst

What hurt the success of the Chrysler Airflow more than anything else is the same thing that dominates automotive purchases today, design aesthetics. When the Airflow arrived, the general population felt like it was too dramatic, too far out there. The waterfall front grille was less than well-received. In fact, over the next few years, Chrysler reduced the slats on the grill with the intention of making it more conventional. So other than looking futuristic to the point that it was unloved, why was it so advanced?

AirFlow Wasn't Just Marketing

Via Chrysler

When they built the Airflow, Chrysler understood that aerodynamics was going to play a bigger part in automotive design moving forward so they hired Orville Wright to help them design a wind tunnel. That collaboration ended up playing a large role in the overall design of the Airflow that ended up being wider at the front and more slender at the back. It was a complete departure from every other company doing the exact opposite at the time. They advertised the car as achieving 20mpg, an incredibly rare feat at the time. In fact, Paul Jaray, the same guy that had a hand in last week's Tatra T87, sued Chrysler for what he felt was design theft.

The Airflow though was more than a copy of Jarays' work. It featured more air vents than any other car of the time including ones that would open each front windshield to allow airflow through the car itself. The fenders featured 3 vents each that could be opened or closed depending on the time of year. The powerplant was set far forward allowing for maximum passenger space. That engine was a tried and true straight 8 that delivered around 120 horsepower but some 250 ft-lbs of torque. That was good enough as Jay says to allow the car to cruise at 70 mph.

Hindsight

Via Flickr

Today, we can rightly look back on the Airflow as a car ahead of its time. Understanding the need for more comfort inside the car and better aero on the outside of the car is something that came into vogue decades after Chryslers' noble attempt. Nevertheless, it's a good reminder to be considerate of vehicles today that seem so far outside of the norm that they're unpalatable to some degree. While they may seem strange today, we may look back in a few decades and wonder why we all missed the boat so to speak.

Sources: Jay Leno

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