'PT Cruisers' of days gone by come to Valley

A lot of people own Chrysler PT Cruisers these days, but how many know the distinct look of a Cruiser existed on cars more than 70 years ago?

Chuck Hill of the Gardnerville Ranchos knows, and he has the vehicle in his driveway to prove it, a Chrysler Airflow with the license plate number 37PTCRZ.

The rest of Carson Valley will find out about the Chrysler Airflows that were manufactured from 1934-37, when the 43rd Airflow Club of America National Meet is held in Minden for the first time, June 21-24.

"They are a completely different car," said Hill. "Take a Volkswagen Bug, expand it about three times on all sides, and you'll have an Airflow."

The annual meeting of Airflow Club members will feature 25-30 of the cars. Hill, the only member he knows of in Northern Nevada, was responsible for bringing the meet to Carson Valley.

"It's such a car culture in this Valley," said Hill. "I thought, well, we'll give it a chance."

Members come from all over the world - Kansas, Sweden, New Zealand - with some of them bringing their vehicles. Last year's meet was in Eureka Springs, Ark., and the year before it was in Charleston, S.C. Once, the meet was in Las Vegas, according to Hill, who has traveled to New Zealand and Sweden for annual meetings himself.

Both DeSoto and Chrysler manufactured Airflow coupes and sedans, but the DeSotos had less power, six cylinders as compared to Chrysler's eight-cylinder vehicles.

"But, they had the same body design," said Hill.

DeSotos came in one size, with two models - two- and four-door. Chrysler had four sizes, both two-door and four-door.

Of his Airflow, purchased three years ago in Sonora, Calif., Hill said, "This is the last of them. This is the last year. This is the smallest of the two for that year."

What sets an Airflow apart from other vehicles, besides its looks, is its speed and fuel efficiency for the time, and its premier design. Airflows set 104 new speed records for closed cars at Daytona Beach in 1934, they came with stock over-drive, power brakes and front seats that were six-way adjustable. A third of the engine was in front of the axle, which gave more room in the front seat, and the rear seat was in front of the rear axle.

"So, the passengers were between the axles," said Hill. "It was the ride. It felt completely different. The redistribution of the weight - it was a tremendous change.

"(Cars) are all patterned that way now. Everyone of them."

Airflows got 18 miles per gallon in the 1930s, something unheard of until then. A 1935 Saturday Evening Post on Hill's kitchen table boasted, "Amazing economy in oil and gas."

"It wasn't until the 1950s that they got back to that," said Hill. "They also no longer had a square design like their counterparts. It's like pushing a sail into the wind, rather than a prow."

Airflows are not easy to find, according to Hill, who has been in the Airflow Club of America for 12-13 years, showing other cars until he sold them and bought his 1937.

"They're very hard to find," said Hill. "There's maybe 500 of them left in the world. Many of them are in disrepair."

From 1935-40 Dodge made an Airflow truck, used by gasoline companies like Texaco, Mobile and Standard Oil.

"The fuel truck went to little gas stations, farms, that sort of thing - mostly in the Midwest," said Hill. "I know of four in existence, two in major museums."

Originally selling for between $1,245-$5,000 in 1935, now the price of Airflow cars depend on the condition, but Hill said they cost "quite a bit more." He has seen them sold for from $500-$1,000 for Airflows in extremely poor condition, to $48,000 at an auction.

"They are big, big, big," he said, enthusiastically.

The five days of the event will begin Wednesday with registration at the Carson Valley Inn and the club having dinner at the JT Basque Bar & Dining Room. On Thursday, registration will take place again at CVI in the morning and the group will take a bus tour to the National Auto Museum, Harrah Collection in Reno.

On Friday, the public is invited to attend a car show and judging of Airflow automobiles from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Heritage Park in Gardnerville. Small and large "toys" and memorabilia will be judged at Carson Valley Inn. At 2 p.m., the cars will caravan from Heritage Park to Genoa, and members will take a walking tour of some of the old buildings, museum and the Genoa Bar.

On Saturday at 9 a.m. the group will caravan from Carson Valley Inn to the Lake Tahoe Tallac Historic Site, returning at approximately 1 p.m. A banquet and awards ceremony will take place 6-11 p.m. in the Shannon Room at CVI.

For more information, call Chuck Hill at 265-0548.