| Imperial History | Chapter Three |
Extensive wind-tunnel analysis performed by Chrysler engineers revealed that cars of the day were literally designed backwards. Tall grilles, long hoods, and dramatically long fenders fought the wind - wasting gas and reducing top-speeds.
This fact was dramatically demonstrated in real-world situations with a 1933 DeSoto sedan, which had been rigged to drive backwards. Aimed with back to the wind, the curious DeSoto delivered better gas mileage and higher cruising speeds.
Continued research showed that a teardrop shape was the most aerodynamic form, and it was applied, with modification, to the bodies of 1934 DeSoto, Chrysler and Chrysler Imperial Airflow automobiles. The resulting appearance cheated the wind but ran counter to contemporary aesthetic assumptions.
So radical was the new look that most customers dismissed the new Airflows on sight, never to experience the wealth of pioneering features beneath the slippery skin such as new weight distribution for reduced pitching, new passenger cabin location ahead of the rear wheels for increased interior comfort, and super strong unibody chassis construction.
In Imperial guise, the Airflow concept was truly awesome. Models ranged from well disguised muscle cars with one Imperial CV coupe setting 72 stock car speed records, to gargantuan limousines of supernatural proportions. Chrysler's Custom Imperial Airflow CW eight passenger Town Limousine weighed a minimum of 5,935 pounds, had a wheelbase span over twelve feet long, and measured nearly twenty feet from bumper to bumper. Naturally, the car was fitted with a thirty gallon gas tank.
The formal Custom Imperial Airflows were undoubtedly the world's most luxurious motor cars. Aside from the increased interior space and superior ride provided by the Airflow's design, the Custom Imperials came with a long list of standard equipment befitting their $5,000 and up prices. Some of the items were fold away auxiliary seats, robe rail, multiple reading lights, cigarette lighters, and an impressive, curved, one piece windshield made of safety glass. The latter an industry first.
Of course, these cars, which were assembled by LeBaron using chassis and panels supplied by Chrysler, were often finished to suit their owners' needs and wants. Mayor LaGuardia's Custom Imperial Airflow was fitted with a built in desk, police radio, and flashing lights. In 1937, Major Bowes of the Amateur Hour radio show took delivery of a Custom Imperial Airflow CW. The interior was trimmed in silver, a material called Dirigold, and jade. On board were a bar, writing desk, swiveling auxiliary seats, down filled cushions, and finger tip radio controls built into the right-hand armrest of the back seat. Incidentals included a compass, barometer, clock and electric shaver.
For all the Airflow Imperial's virtues, it appealed only to a small group of motorists. A total of just 2,450 Imperials were built for 1934, a decline of 1,539 units from 1933. Chronically depressed sales would dictate that the Imperial Airflow be dropped in 1937.
Though unpopular, the Airflow Imperial established streamlining as the way of the future, and the look, if not the function, was eventually adopted throughout the fine car field.
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