Toyota’s first car, the AA, was a close copy of the DeSoto Airflow with essentially a 1933 Chevrolet engine. Photo: Toyota Motor Sales, U.S. Archives
The decade of the ’30s was a time of incredible creativity among automobile designers and coachbuilders, especially in Europe. But it was also a decade of growing fear, ultimately ending with the second great war of the Twentieth Century. The war ended what was probably the most prolific period of innovation and design up until that time.
During the years leading up to World War II, not all the industrial effort of the three countries that became known as the “Axis” was spent on their military buildup. All three countries saw shifts in the design of their automobiles, although the move toward streamlined design ranged from minor in the case of Japan, to significant in Germany, and spectacular in Italy.
