The Most Significant Cars of the 1940s
History’s greatest conflict left an indelible stamp on the automotive industry.
As part of MotorTrend’s 75th anniversary, we're looking back at some of history’s most significant cars. A complete list would fill a book, so for each decade we've selected five notable cars that helped shape automotive history.
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Introduction to the 1940s
By the late 1930s, automakers around the world were on the verge of significant technical innovations. But then war came, stalling new car design and production while propelling technology forward like it was fueled by ethyl. Peacetime brought huge improvements just waiting to be incorporated into postwar cars: short-stroke overhead-valve engines, high-octane fuel, automated transmissions, sophisticated suspensions, and aerodynamic one-piece bodies. No wonder prosperous Americans were eager to get their hands on postwar cars.
1941 Jeep
In 1940, the U.S. Army requested a four-wheel-drive prototype to be developed in an absurdly short time, and Pennsylvania-based American Bantam responded with a 45-day wonder called the Bantam Reconnaissance Car. An example of the wartime cooperation that built the Arsenal of Democracy, the plans went to Willys-Overland and Ford for further development, with the War Department favoring Willys’ changes, and Willys and Ford set about manufacturing some 640,000 copies. In 1945, Willys introduced a civilian version, the CJ-2A, and sold nearly 215,000 copies before the decade was out. Willys tried to trademark the Jeep name in 1943, but the vehicles’ complex lineage tied up the effort in both court and committee, and the trademark wasn’t granted until 1950. Clouded as its own parentage was, the military Jeep began a lineage leading directly to today’s Wrangler, and Jeep remains one of the most desirable brands on the market.
1946 Chrysler Town & Country
Chrysler first introduced the Windsor Town & Country in 1941. While its wood-body construction (ash wood framing around steel panels covered with a mahogany veneer) was not unusual, the rear window’s sedanlike profile was, making the T&C the prewar analog to today’s coupe-style SUVs. After the war, Chrysler expanded Town & Country offerings to include a sedan, convertible, and coupe. Despite distinctly prewar styling, the Town & Country became a favorite of stars and celebs, including Bob Hope, Barbara Stanwyck, General Dwight Eisenhower, and cosmetics mogul Max Factor. Clark Gable owned two—presumably one for town and one for country. The mahogany paneling gave way to “Di-Noc” vinyl stickers in 1948, and Chrysler switched to all-steel construction in 1951. Still, the T&C’s legacy lived on: Automakers used wood-grained stickers to dress up wagons, minivans, and even SUVs well into the 1990s.
1948–1949 Cadillac
Motor Trend's first-ever Car of the Year, the 1949 Cadillac, won our then-new award largely on the merits of its engine, an all-new, short-stroke, overhead-valve V-8. The 331-cubic-inch (5.4-liter) engine produced 160 hp, 10 hp more than the L-head V-8 it replaced, yet it was physically smaller and 220 pounds lighter. The Cadillac OHV engine was designed for higher-octane fuels developed during the war and would eventually grow to 390ci (6.4L) and reach as high as 345 hp in the 1955 Tri-Power Eldorado. This innovative engine wasn’t the only appealing aspect to the Caddy, though. Redesigned in 1948, the Cadillac featured small tail fins modeled after the twin-tail Lockheed P-38 Lightning fighter plane, kicking off a trend that would become a Detroit styling obsession right through the next decade. As America entered its era of postwar prosperity, the Cadillac car became an icon of luxury and a symbol of success.
1949 Ford
Studebaker may have been “First By Far With a Post-War Car,” but it was the 1949 Ford that set the true postwar styling theme—and, as the first car with young Henry Ford II at the company helm, signaled a clean break from his grandfather, who repeatedly dragged the company into financial distress with his unwillingness to embrace change. The ’49 Ford’s envelope styling featured integral fenders, slab sides, and an aircraft-inspired spinner accent in the nose, establishing a theme for all cars that would endure through the 1950s. While the L-head straight-six and flat-head V-8 engines were prewar carryovers, the 1949 Ford featured technical innovations like a drop-center ladder frame, coil-sprung independent front suspension, and a Hotchkiss driveshaft. Ford sold 1,118,762 cars for 1949, saving the company from a protracted postwar financial struggle, and the ’49 Ford even won an award from the Fashion Academy.
1949 Volkswagen
It feels strange to place the Volkswagen on our 1940s timeline because its monumental effect on the industry wouldn’t be felt until years later, but 1949 was when the first two VWs arrived in the U.S. for public sale. Ugly, underpowered, designed at the behest of an evil dictator, and built by our wartime enemy, the Volkswagen was initially ignored by a prosperous postwar America. Even when it started to gain traction in the 1950s, Detroit dismissed it as a novelty for nonconformists. Soon, though, the humble Volkswagen would upend the entire American automotive industry, challenging the chrome-laden pursuit of prestige that fueled American car sales. The Beetle became a symbol of cultural revolution, forcing the industry that once laughed it off to rethink its entire strategy. The Volkswagen itself changed little over its three-decade run in America, but in terms of the automotive industry, it changed everything.
MotorTrend thanks Matt Anderson, automotive historian and curator of transportation at The Henry Ford Musem of American Innovation, for his assistance with our Most Significant Cars of the Decades series.
After a two-decade career as a freelance writer, Aaron Gold joined MotorTrend’s sister publication Automobile in 2018 before moving to the MT staff in 2021. Aaron is a native New Yorker who now lives in Los Angeles with his spouse, too many pets, and a cantankerous 1983 GMC Suburban.
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