The streamlined Airflow remains the best known (and most infamous) of all prewar Chryslers, a bold and ambitious engineering achievement that became a notorious commercial flop. This week, we look at the origins and fate of the Chrysler and DeSoto Airflows.

The 1934-1937 Chrysler Airflow and 1934-1936 DeSoto Airflow

(Photo © 2007 George Camp; used with permission)

In mid-1949, GM's senior divisions introduced a trio of glamorous new models -- the Cadillac Coupe de Ville, the Oldsmobile Futuramic 98 Deluxe Holiday coupe, and the Buick Roadmaster Riviera -- that are popularly, if incorrectly, considered the first pillarless hardtops. This week, we consider the origins of this quintessentially (though not uniquely) American body style, and examine the development of the '49 Roadmaster Riviera.

The 1949 Buick Roadmaster Riviera and the origins of the hardtop coupe