chrysler airflow

By Pete Vack

There is no doubt that all of us have some connection to the distant automotive past through friends, relatives or experiences. But consider 91-year-old Frank Shaffer, whose great uncle Doctor Carlos Booth had a car constructed to his design at the dawn of the automobile in the 19th century; 125 years later, Frank drives a Smart Car and is witnessing the demise of what we have traditionally known as the automobile. What’s more, in a remarkable set of coincidences, we found that Frank’s great uncle Booth and his remarkable machine was documented by car collector and VeloceToday contributor Paul Wilson.

This incredible story began when I met Frank at a local auto parts store in 2006. He was younger then, zooming around Williamsburg, Virginia, in his three-wheeled motorcycle, having recently and regretfully sold his pontoon Mercedes 190 sedan. [Read more…] about From Horses to Smart Cars

Inspiring stylists around the world - the Chrysler Airflow.

Learning from the Americans:Planned Obsolescence and Airflow influence

By Gijsbert-Paul Berk

In 1920, Alfred Sloan was appointed to save the ailing General Motors. As we have seen in part 3, Sloan had learned from contacts with dealers and client surveys that styling sold better than advanced engineering. This was one of the reasons why he engaged Harley Earl to set up an Art and Color department at GM, the first professional in-house styling studio in the world.

Alfred P. Sloan, 1875-1966.

To increase the output of GM’s factories, Sloan and Earl introduced annual model changes. The idea was to seduce the public to buy a new model, long before it was economically or technically necessary to trade in their present car. This strategy became known as ‘Planned Obsolescence’.

(If you would like to know more about its effect on car design and marketing, read “My Years with General Motors” by Alfred P. Sloan. It was first published in 1963 but second-hand copies are still available from Amazon and AbeBooks.)

The great depression that followed in the wake of the Wall Street Crash of 1929 had grave consequences for the societies in many countries, and thus for the car manufacturers in the USA and – with some delay – of those in Europe. A great number of smaller companies did not survive the economic downturn while many workers became jobless. In Germany and Italy poverty and social insecurity would lead to the rise to power of National socialist and Fascist governments. [Read more…] about Concept Cars and Aerodynamics Part 4: Airflow