The Class of 1947

I don’t write about my mom that much on here. She’s not really that into cars, and this is obviously a car-themed website. She certainly lived through some great times in the history of the automobile, though. Mom was born in 1947, and she was there for the futuristic ‘50s, the muscle cars of the ‘60s, the broughaminess of the ‘70s, and the technology of the ‘80s. The difference between the cars that are built now and those that were out there when she was born are immense. So, in honor of my mom, I’ve decided to take a quick look back at the cars of 1947.

Walter P. Chrysler Museum to close at the end of 2012

In a sad bit of news, it has been announced that the Walter P. Chrysler Museum in Auburn Hills, Mich., will be closing at the end of the year. The Chrysler Foundation, which is the not-for-profit group that owns the content of the museum, was unable to raise enough money each year to maintain their status.

The content will be purchased by Chrysler Group LLC, and the museum will become a private display, used only for special events and Chrysler employee functions. That means the days of walking in off the street and appreciating this significant display of Chrysler vehicles, will come to an end.

Alternative fuel vehicles are nothing new. Check out the 1963 Chrysler Turbine Car

These days, there’s a lot of talk about alternative fuel vehicles. From hydrogen to electric, from flex fuel to bio-fuel, automakers are always in pursuit of the next big revolution.

This phenomenon isn’t new, however. Since the beginning of the automobile, engineers have tinkered with different types of propulsion. Production and concept cars have run on everything from alcohol to nuclear. And 50-years ago, Chrysler’s answer was the Turbine Car.

Know your Airflow. How one of the best cars of its day was also one of the biggest failures

If you want to talk about cars that were ahead of their time, the Art-Deco lines of Chrysler’s Airflow need to be at the top of your list.

To fully appreciate the story of the Airflow, you need to put it into context. Airflows were built between 1934 and 1937. As you look at the Airflow pictures on this page, think about what a ’34 Chevy or Ford looked like. Heck, look at the first two cars on the left on my granddad’s car lot in the header and you’ll see a ’39 Pontiac and a ’37 Plymouth. That’s pretty much how all cars looked back then. So the swoopy Airflow was a tremendous departure from what people were used to.