100 Years of Legendary Chrysler Innovation

AutoMotions

Fueled by a century of engineering breakthroughs and visionary concepts, Chrysler’s legacy of innovation continues to drive the future of mobility. Take a cruise through Chrysler’s history and experience the pioneering spirit powering the next century.

Transcript

00:00So Mr. Kreutcher laid the groundwork for generations to come with his emphasis on

00:06advancement, technology, design, just really being a leader in all aspects of the industry.

00:12So while concept cars, most people think they just look cool,

00:29and they're neat to see at the auto show, there's really a purpose behind them.

00:32It's to allow our designers and engineers to team up, work together, and bring out advancements,

00:38whether it's components for the concept cars that are new to the industry, or the look of the vehicle that's new.

00:44It allows them to do fun stuff, whether it's the headlights, or the tail lights, or even a door handle.

00:50All of those may make it to production cars.

00:53It all started with the 1934 Airflow, the first production car to be designed using a wind tunnel.

01:02I actually worked with Wilbur Wright to build the wind tunnel and scale models.

01:06That vehicle was innovative in the fact that it had a tubular steel frame.

01:11They distributed the weight differently than other automobiles.

01:14They moved the front axle forward and the rear axle back to give it a better ride.

01:17They called it scientific engineering at the time.

01:20So, you know, the Airflow was considered the first modern vehicle, that's how they advertised it.

01:24And it was different than anything else anybody was building.

01:30We get into the 1940s, and in 1941 they brought out two limited production vehicles, the Newport and the Thunderbolt.

01:37Thunderbolt was interesting because it was the first vehicle to have hidden headlights.

01:41You pushed a button and the headlight doors opened.

01:44You pushed a button and the vehicle started.

01:46That was totally new.

01:47Nobody had done that.

01:48Everybody does it now, but Chrysler's did it in 1941.

01:51It had a one-piece retractable hardtop.

01:53Nobody had ever done that before.

01:55Now, these things didn't necessarily make it to production.

01:57The hidden headlights did in the 1942 DeSoto.

01:59But it was a chance to give our engineers and designers an ability to step out, to think, to make advancements.

02:06In the 1950s, we hired Virgil Exner as a designer.

02:12So, Virgil Exner came in and started designing a whole series of concept vehicles.

02:18It was important because a lot of these design cues actually made it into the production vehicles.

02:22And they still resonate today.

02:24It started with the Chrysler K310, then they did the Chrysler Special, which is an interesting story

02:29because Ghia of Italy built the bodies for these vehicles.

02:32They were designed here in the United States.

02:34So, they built 43 Chrysler Specials.

02:37And they were only sold in Paris, except for one that came to the United States,

02:40which we're fortunate enough to have in our collection.

02:42What's funny is, Mr. Exner was doing these smaller concept cars,

02:45but he is also responsible for all the later 1950s designs.

02:49Basically, the fins.

02:51The forward look era and the birth of the fins on cars really came from Mr. Exner.

02:56It started very small in 1955 on the Chrysler 300s and New Yorkers.

03:01It got a little bit bigger in 1956.

03:03And then in 1957, put the large fins on the vehicles.

03:10In 1951, we brought out power steering.

03:13In 1952, power brakes.

03:15There was cruise control.

03:16What we know is cruise control.

03:17They called autopilot back in the day.

03:19That was first seen on a Chrysler in 1959.

03:22We even were crazy enough, we put a record player in a car.

03:25And it was mounted underneath the dashboard.

03:28But it was really the industry's first personalized entertainment system.

03:31No longer did you have to rely on the radio.

03:33You could pick the music you were listening to.

03:37One important thing we did was the Chrysler turbine program.

03:40We started installing turbine engines in cars in 1954.

03:43These are all test vehicles.

03:45The program ran up until 1981.

03:47And the whole purpose of the program was see if there's a different way than what we know

03:52as an internal combustion engine, if there's something else.

03:55And so the turbine engine had 80% less parts.

03:58It ran at higher temperatures and higher RPMs.

04:01It would run on almost any kind of fuel, anything that would burn.

04:04Kerosene, jet fuel, diesel.

04:07It was just neat.

04:08And it just shows how in 1950s we were looking at technology that we're still looking at today

04:15on what different fuels can we power our vehicles on.

04:21Throughout the 1970s and early 1980s the industry was changing quite a bit.

04:25We were going from large vehicles to much smaller ones.

04:28We brought up front wheel drive vehicles.

04:30And we really weren't testing the waters with concept cars for many years.

04:34But in 1989 that all changed with the Portofino.

04:37We were associated with Lamborghini at the time.

04:40Our engineers, Lamborghini's engineers, and our international design team got together,

04:45put together this rear engine vehicle powered by a Lamborghini.

04:48But its design kind of blew everybody away.

04:51People weren't expecting it on a Chrysler at the time.

04:54It was really our first step in what became 30 plus years now

04:58of being at the forefront of design of the automobile.

05:04So in the mid-1990s our design team was one of the chiefs and leaders was Tom Gale,

05:09a legend in the design community.

05:11He and Bob Lutz working together came up with the idea of the Atlantic,

05:15a concept car that you won't forget after you see it.

05:18It looks like and took a lot of its design cues from the Bugattis of the 1930s, classic vehicles.

05:24When we brought that out, I think it debuted at the Detroit Auto Show.

05:28The world was stunned.

05:29It was just an incredible vehicle.

05:31And they actually looked at going production with it.

05:33But it just would be too expensive for the tooling.

05:36It was too specific of a vehicle.

05:39When it was introduced, the Kronos was something special.

05:45The designers looked back to those designs of Virgil Exner's show cars in the early 1950s.

05:51And they actually took right from it the grill that's on the vehicle,

05:55would fit on any one of those other concepts he did back then.

05:58So what they did was they created a long wheelbase, elegant vehicle that's elegant inside and out.

06:04And it's really an instant classic.

06:10So the Flatter Power, it was introduced in 2005 at the North America International Auto Show.

06:14It's a two-seat sport coupe.

06:17It's one of my favorites.

06:18It's built on a Viper chassis with a 6.1-liter Hemi engine powering it.

06:22It's long hood to fit that large engine.

06:25The rear is real tight and performance-oriented.

06:28It looks like a sports car.

06:30And it really exudes the Chrysler brand's elegance and performance of the time.

06:34It's just a gorgeous car.

06:40So the EME 412 is just a really, really cool car.

06:43It looks like a supercar.

06:45It is a supercar that was very close to becoming production.

06:48It had a mid-engine where that's where the EME comes from.

06:51They actually built and tested a second vehicle.

06:54And this vehicle at our Chelsea Proving Grounds was doing laps at over 200 miles an hour.

06:58So they expected it to probably hit about 240 miles an hour in performance.

07:03I really wish we had built it.

07:04It's just a beautiful, beautiful car.

07:11The Chrysler brand has been a leader in many things,

07:15whether it's design, engineering, or safety, or technology.

07:19The brand's been at the forefront all these years.

07:22And it's really become an iconic American brand that has led from the front.

07:26The Chrysler brand is reallyHey!

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