The Chrysler Corporation made automotive history when it premiered the Airflow at the New York International Auto Show in January 1934.

In addition to its streamlined, Art Deco looks, the car was bursting with technical ingenuity: a novel beam-and-truss design combining light weight and superb strength, a precursor to the unibody; an enormous interior with chair-height, 50-inch-wide seats; a rear seat situated forward of the rear axle, offering unprecedented room, a first an automobile; and an engine placed over the front axle, 20 inches further forward than in other Chryslers, making for a very spacious front seat.

All passengers sat within the wheelbase, resulting in a remarkably smooth ride.

Although the press was generally positive in its reaction and enamored with the car’s technology, the public was not.

The blunt shape did not arouse enthusiasm, and many of the design cues that are now cherished by enthusiasts were shunned in their day.

Airflows disappeared after 1937 but a...