The DeSoto Airflow is a full-sized 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.
34-481: A fastback is an automotive styling feature , defined by the rear of the car having a single slope from the roof to the tail. The kammback is not a fastback design with a roofline that tapers downward toward the car's rear before being cut off abruptly. Some models, such as the Ford Mustang , have been marketed explicitly as fastbacks, often to differentiate them from other body styles (e.g. coupé models) in
68-417: A Kamm tail or K-tail —is an automotive styling feature wherein the rear of the car slopes downwards before being abruptly cut off with a vertical or near-vertical surface. A Kammback reduces aerodynamic drag, thus improving efficiency and reducing fuel consumption, while maintaining a practical shape for a vehicle. The Kammback is named after German aerodynamicist Wunibald Kamm for his work developing
102-418: A bus, and Koenig-Fachsenfeld patented the idea. Koenig-Fachsenfeld worked with Wunibald Kamm at Stuttgart University, investigating vehicle shapes to "provide a good compromise between everyday utility (e.g. vehicle length and interior dimensions) and an attractive drag coefficient". In addition to aerodynamic efficiency, Kamm emphasized vehicle stability in his design, mathematically and empirically proving
136-447: A car, so automotive designers sought other solutions. In 1935, German aircraft designer Georg Hans Madelung showed alternatives to minimize drag without a long tail. In 1936, a similar theory was applied to cars after Baron Reinhard Koenig-Fachsenfeld developed a smooth roofline shape with an abrupt end at a vertical surface, effective in achieving low amounts of drag similar to a streamlined body. He worked on an aerodynamic design for
170-484: A less practical, elongated rear end design. In Australia, fastbacks (known as "slopers") were introduced in 1935, first designed by General Motors' Holden as one of the available bodies on Oldsmobile , Chevrolet , and Pontiac chassis. The sloper design was added by Richards Body Builders in Australia to Dodge and Plymouth models in 1937; it was subsequently adopted by Ford Australia in 1939 and 1940, as well as
204-461: A low drag coefficient . For example, although lacking a wind tunnel , Hudson designed its post-World War II cars to look aerodynamic, and "tests conducted by Nash later found that the Hudson had almost 20% less drag than contemporary notchback sedans". However, the aerodynamic teardrop shape meant lower headroom for rear seat passengers, limited visibility to the rear for the driver, and also meant
238-459: A more familiar-looking car in 1934, DeSoto only offered the Airflow. Despite DeSoto selling more Airflows than Chrysler, Chrysler sold more cars overall with the majority being the redesign of the 1933 "regular" Chrysler. For 1935 and 1936, Chrysler added the more traditional DeSoto Airstream , which it shared with Chrysler, and DeSoto regained a portion of its lost market share. While the Airflow
272-473: A partial solution to the problem of aerodynamic lift, which was becoming severe as sports car racing speeds increased during the 1950s. The design paradigm of sloping the tail to reduce drag was carried to an extreme on cars such as the Cunningham C-5R , resulting in an airfoil effect lifting the rear of the car at speed and so running the risk of instability or loss of control. The Kammback decreased
306-638: A resurgence in the early 2000s as a method to reduce fuel consumption in hybrid electric vehicles . Several cars have been marketed as Kammbacks despite their profiles not adhering to the aerodynamic philosophy of a true Kammback. These models include the 1971–1977 Chevrolet Vega Kammback wagon, the 1981–1982 AMC Eagle Kammback, the AMC AMX-GT , and the Pontiac Firebird –based "Type K" concept cars. Some models that are marketed as " coupes "—such as BMW and Mercedes-Benz SUVs like
340-626: A sloper style made on Nash chassis. According to automotive historian G.N. Georgano , "the Slopers were advanced cars for their day". In Europe, there was a sloping rear on streamlined cars as early as 1945, from which the shapes of the Volkswagen Beetle and Porsche 356 are derived. In Japan, the Toyota AA first adopted the fastback style in 1936. It was strongly influenced by the 1933 DeSoto Airflow . The 1965 Mitsubishi Colt 800
374-416: A stout metal chassis and partial wooden sub-framing over which steel skins were applied for their car bodies). In one widely distributed advertising film shown in movie theatres, an empty Airflow was pushed off a Pennsylvania cliff, falling over 110 feet (34 m); once righted, the car was driven off, battered, but recognizable. Still, the myth persisted that Airflows were unsafe. While Chrysler still built
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#1732794412551408-489: 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
442-421: Is a "teardrop," a smooth airfoil -like shape, but it is not practical for road vehicles because of size constraints. However, researchers, including Kamm, found that abruptly cutting off the tail resulted in a minimal increase in drag. The reason for this is that a turbulent wake region forms behind the vertical surface at the rear of the car. This wake region mimics the effect of the tapered tail in that air in
476-464: The Road & Track Illustrated Automotive Dictionary defines the fastback as A closed body style, usually a coupe but sometimes a sedan, with a roof sloped gradually in an unbroken line from the windshield to the rear edge of the car. A fastback naturally lends itself to a hatchback configuration and many have it, but not all hatchbacks are fastbacks and vice versa. In the case of the Ford Mustang ,
510-506: 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
544-589: The X6 and GLC Coupé —"use a sort-of Kammback shape, though their tail ends have a few more lumps and bumps than a proper Kammback ought to have." Cars that have had a Kammback include: + 1958-1963 Lotus Elite DeSoto Airflow The Desoto Airflow was a result of Chrysler Corporation policy of badge engineering , being mechanically substantially similar to the longer wheelbase, longer bodied Chrysler Airflow . This aerodynamic , radically designed car debuted to much fanfare alongside its more luxurious stablemate,
578-522: 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. Rumors persisted that the Airflow's body was unsafe. Tests showed its all-steel uni-body construction safer than those of other cars made at the time (most automotive manufacturers still used body on frame construction, with
612-484: The area of the lifting surface while creating a low-pressure zone underneath the tail. Some studies showed that the addition of a rear spoiler to a Kammback design was not beneficial because the overall drag increased with the angles that were studied. In 1959, the Kammback came into use on full-body racing cars as an anti-lift measure, and within a few years would be used on virtually all such vehicles. The design had
646-399: 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
680-782: The car's rear, a configuration similar to what would become known as the "fastback" 25 years later. Merriam-Webster first recognized the term "fastback" in 1954, many years before the popularization of the term "hatchback", which entered the dictionary in 1970. Opinions vary as to whether the terms are mutually exclusive. Early examples of fastback cars include the 1929 Auburn Cabin Speedster, 1933 Cadillac V-16 Aerodynamic Coupe, 1935 Stout Scarab , 1933 Packard 1106 Twelve Aero Sport Coupe, Bugatti Type 57 Atlantic, Tatra 87 , Porsche 356 , Saab 92/96 , Standard Vanguard , GAZ-M20 Pobeda , and Bentley Continental R-Type . Fastbacks provide an advantage in developing aerodynamic vehicles with
714-505: 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, but 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" wheelbase of the DeSoto made the cars seem bulky. Walter P. Chrysler , who had been
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#1732794412551748-402: The design in the 1930s. Some vehicles incorporate the kammback design based on aerodynamic principles, while some use a cut-off tail as a design or marketing feature. As the speed of cars increased during the 1920s and 1930s, designers observed and began to apply the principles of automotive aerodynamics . As aerodynamic drag increases, more energy, and thus more fuel, is required to propel
782-431: The early 1940s until 1950, nearly every domestic manufacturer offered at least one fastback body style within their model lineups. Although the styling was good, the cars had less trunk capacity compared to the notchback designs. In the mid-1960s, the style was revived on many GM and Ford products until the mid-1970s. Marketing terminology changed in 2004, with the launch of the first generation Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class . It
816-479: The effectiveness of the design. In 1938, Kamm produced a prototype using a Kammback shape, based on a BMW 328 . The Kammback, along with other aerodynamic modifications, gave the prototype a drag coefficient of 0.25. The earliest mass-produced cars using Kammback principles were the 1949–1951 Nash Airflyte in the United States and the 1952–1955 Borgward Hansa 2400 in Europe. The ideal shape to minimize drag
850-411: 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, while the upscale Imperial offered a one piece curved glass windshield on the limousine starting 1934. Front and rear fenders received smoother, more form fitting curves. In
884-464: The free stream does not enter this region (avoiding boundary layer separation ); therefore, smooth airflow is maintained, minimizing drag. Kamm's design is based on the tail being truncated at the point where the cross section area is 50% of the car's maximum cross-section, which Kamm found represented a good compromise, as by that point the turbulence typical of flat-back vehicles had been mostly eliminated at typical speeds. The Kammback presented
918-476: The late 1960s to the 1970s, American coke bottle styling became popular in Japan, as seen on Toyota 's 1973 Celica "Liftback" . In North America, the numerous marketing terms for the fastback body style included "aerosedan", "club coupe", "sedanette" and "torpedo back". Cars included Cadillac 's Series 61 and 62 Club Coupes, as well as various other models from General Motors , Ford , and Chrysler . From
952-445: 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
986-461: The same model range . A fastback is often defined as having a single slope from the roof to the rear of the vehicle. Traditionally a fastback will have a trunk opening that is separate from the rear window which remains in a fixed position. The term "fastback" is not interchangeable with " liftback "; the former describes the car's shape, and the latter refers to a roof-hinged tailgate that lifts upwards for storage area access. More specifically,
1020-420: The term "fastback" is used to differentiate against the coupé notchback body style, which has a steeper rear window followed by a horizontal trunk lid. Automobile designers in the 1930s began using elements of aircraft aerodynamics to streamline the boxy-looking vehicles of their day. Such designs, which were ahead of their time when exhibited during the early 1930s, included a droplet -like streamlining of
1054-459: The vehicle. In 1922, Paul Jaray patented a car based on a teardrop profile (i.e. with a rounded nose and long, tapered tail) to minimize the aerodynamic drag that is created at higher speeds. The streamliner vehicles of the mid 1930s—such as the Tatra 77 , Chrysler Airflow and Lincoln-Zephyr —were designed according to these discoveries. However, the long tail was not a practical shape for
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1088-779: Was described as a 4-door coupé , a purely marketing term describing its fastback sedan arrangement, with fastback coupé-profiled bodywork and two doors on each side. The design reinterpreted the concept used in the 1992-1997 Infiniti J30/Nissan Leopard J Férié , which is not a true fastback. This marketing term was followed by other competing models, such as the Audi A7 and the BMW 6 Series Gran Coupé, Audi A5 Sportback, BMW 4 Series Gran Coupé, Volkswagen CC , Volkswagen Arteon , Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class , Aston Martin Rapide , and Porsche Panamera . Kammback A Kammback —also known as
1122-404: Was still offered, the bulk of DeSoto's sales were Airstreams and the Airflow was relegated to the back of the DeSoto catalog. Those buyers who did choose the Airflow found that their models carried a more prominent peaked grille design. Other than cosmetic changes (hood louvers, etc.) the cars remained unchanged. While Chrysler continued to use the Airflow body through 1937, Chrysler discontinued
1156-441: Was the first post-war Japanese fastback, and the 1958 Subaru 360 was the first kei fastback. The Prince Skyline 1900 Sprint was developed by Prince Motor Company in 1963, but was never marketed. Afterwards, all Japanese automakers adopted the fastback style, with the 1967 Honda N360 , 1968 Nissan Sunny Coupe, 1968 Mazda Familia Rotary Coupe, 1970 Suzuki Fronte "Sting Ray Look" , and 1971 Daihatsu Fellow Max . From
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