Westside Story – Is it a Chrysler Airflow?

By Joe Boyle

Do you remember my article posted on May 23, 2012 titled, 1935 Chrysler Airflow?

Shortly after the article and photos were presented in The Suburban Times, one of my Starbucks pals, Scott Chandler, approached me and with a slight smile on his face bellowed out, “I have a fight to pick with you.”

He told me in no uncertain terms, my article and photos possessed a defect.

On the positive side, my article appeared to trigger a flashback to the days of his youth when he was hanging out with his dad. The two of them were always looking for a car for Scott. During that process, they came across Airflows. With a tone that exuded total confidence, Scott told me, “The car in your photo is not an Airflow or if it is an Airflow, someone has messed with it by blanking off the 3rd window that is normally found behind the back passenger door.”

The challenge was on. I called a friend of mine, who has been in the classic / collector car business for half a century. I learned the following.

In 1935, Chrysler Corporation produced several lines of vehicles including Chrysler Imperial, Chrysler, Desoto, Dodge, and Plymouth. Chrysler manufactured all of these cars, but each one had its own branding.

Airflows were available in the Chrysler Imperial, Chrysler, Desoto and Dodge. The emphasis on Airflow for Dodge appears to have been trucks, such as oil trucks. The Airflow was not available from Plymouth.

Here is where I want Scott to pay close attention. Each brand offered four body styles, coup, 2-door sedan, 4-door sedan and the town sedan. The missing window Scott pointed out is an authentic design after all. What we are looking at with the missing window is the Town Sedan. That is the standard design for the Town Sedan. It is a very rare car. Apparently, Scott and his father never came across a Town Sedan Airflow.

The white car in my photos is a 1935 Desoto Airflow built by the Chrysler Corporation. So Scott is right; it is not a “Chrysler Airflow”. It is a Desoto Town Sedan Airflow, Town Sedan.

Do not worry. Although Scott and I had some lively conversation regarding the “missing 3rd window”, we are still friends and we both learned more about this grand historic automobile. We both agree on one thing. It was great to see an Airflow on the road again.

I have included a photo of the 1935 Desoto Airflow (red car), which is labeled as such along with my original photo of the 1935 Desoto (white car).

Now that Scott is fired up, I can hardly wait until he acquires his own Airflow, so I can snag a ride. Call me when it is time, Scott.