Thursday, February 12, 2009

Chrysler Exhibit, New York World's Fair

The Chrysler pavilion doesn't get a fraction of the love that GM received with "Futurama" (admittedly an incredible attraction!). But I would have loved to have seen Chrysler's offerings, without a doubt.

Here's an exterior shot of the Airborne Ride: "Seated in car bodies, visitors travel through the air along a simulated assembly line. Mechanical men wielding huge instruments "check" each auto for imperfections."


This will give you an idea of what it was like to be inside one of the autos on the assembly line!


At one point it looked like SUVs would require engines just about the size of this giant "walk-in" model: "Dominating the display is a giant "one-million horsepower" engine through which visitors walk. Its crankshaft is a fearsome dragon with snapping jaws. The real world is represented by a turbine engine and a montage of power plants of the future." Cool!


When it came to the space race, everybody wanted to get in on the act. I can only assume that Chrysler had some connection with the U.S. space program, and they presented this rather fanciful scale model to remind everyone that they were just about cars.


It's hard to believe that there might not even be a Chrysler in the near future!!

6 comments:

  1. These are the best shots of the "assembly line" attraction that I've ever seen. Thanks for sharing these! I wonder what's being built in the background of your last photo?

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  2. I can never get enough pics from the fair. Beautiful pictures.

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  3. The "Workers" on the assembly line made me smile. Those were the days when the only "People Colored" crayon in the box was labeled "Flesh".

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  4. Wow, those assembly line car bodies look like Fiats or some other European import, I wonder why they didn't used Chrysler's Uni-bodies???

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  5. I dig the bucket seats in the first image.

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  6. Anonymous8:53 AM

    Great photos Major - thanks for posting them!

    Regarding TokyoMagic's question - the construction in the background is the Hall of Science building which opened late in the '64 Season of the Fair. This building is still standing today...

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