Airflow & Airstream, but not the kind you’re thinking
As promised, here are a couple more photos from Hershey. As vendors leave the swap meet and the show cars dissipate off the grass, I always feel a little emptiness….
As promised, here are a couple more photos from Hershey. As vendors leave the swap meet and the show cars dissipate off the grass, I always feel a little emptiness. So when I spotted this De Soto Airflow pulling an Airstream (and no, not a De Soto Airstream) in the emptying swap meet, I knew I had to get one more photo in.
De Soto, of course, only offered Airflows during the inaugural year for the model in 1934, but lackluster sales caused Chrysler Corp. to offer a more conventionally designed De Soto as a companion to the Airflow from 1935 on. That conventional-looking De Soto was dubbed the Airstream. Of course, in this photo, the Airstream isn't a De Soto, but an aluminum trailer!
By all appearances, the Airflow coupe is a 1934 De Soto model with a few custom touches (note the split front bumper that shows off the "falling grille") and the lowered suspension. I didn't hear the car run, so I can't tell you if it's a Hemi, a small-block 360-cid V-8 or an original L-head six under the hood. Regardless, the airy pair made for a great photo.
Angelo Van Bogart is the editor of Old Cars magazine and wrote the column "Hot Wheels Hunting" for Toy Cars & Models magazine for several years. He has authored several books including "Hot Wheels 40 Years," "Hot Wheels Classics: The Redline Era" and "Cadillac: 100 Years of Innovation." His 2023 book "Inside the Duesenberg SSJ" is his latest. He can be reached at avanbogart@aimmedia.com
