12 cars that made Chrysler

With Chrysler at another major turning point, the Walter P. Chrysler Museum looks at the most important cars in the company's history.

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1934 DeSoto Airflow

The DeSoto brand was introduced by Chrysler in 1928 to fill the gap between between high-priced Chryslers and low-priced Plymouths. That same year, Chrysler bought Dodge and the two brands co-existed until DeSoto was shut down in 1960.

Although remembered as the first American mass-produced car designed with the aid of wind tunnel testing - and for the sales that disappointed its champion Walter Chrysler - the Airflow (there was also a Chrysler version) was also the car that changed the way cars were made.

By moving the engine and passengers forward, enclosing the trunk and improving ride, handling, and weight distribution, the Airflow influenced auto design worldwide. The body of the first Toyota was based on the DeSoto Airflow

Source: Walter P. Chrysler Museum; "Standard Catalog of Chrysler," edited by James T. Lenzke (Krause Publications)

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