Walter P. Chrysler Museum hosts first-ever collection of Chrysler classic, custom and concept vehicles

The origins of Inspired Chrysler Design: The Art of Driving date back 80 years. Walter Chrysler's original idea was revolutionary—to produce a quality light car for modest cost with unprecedented performance. After a decade of success, including production of some Chrysler vehicles now considered classics, the Airflow appeared in 1934. That car helped transform the idea of the automobile worldwide.

In the '40s, the handsome Town & Country models transformed the station wagon's status from functional to fashionable, and glamorized the suburban lifestyle. In the 1950s Chrysler re-emphasized design, and the new head of product design, Virgil Exner, was responsible for a string of significant Chrysler vehicles. Exner's design savvy helped ensure the success of the 1955 Chrysler 300—a car that was a true sport coupe. It combined the Hemi engine and power steering introduced by Chrysler in 1951 with 1953's Torqueflite transmission. Exner's designs also gave the newly separate Imperial Division the first distinctive models since the 1930s—formal limousines, some built by Ghia, and big convertibles.

In the 1970s, Chrysler cars symbolized the American auto industry's struggle to produce downsized, fuel-efficient vehicles. Despite several attempts to give Chrysler back its premium identity during the 1980s, with designs such as the 1987 LeBaron convertible, it wasn't until the 1990s that the market and technology led designers to explore Chrysler's bloodlines.

The 1990s saw a string of concepts and cab-forward architecture that made Chrysler an industry pacesetter. As a result, Chrysler's 2005 models—the 300C and the Crossfire—are the latest in a long line of design and engineering innovations.

==>Next, the exhibition vehicles