Outside a restaurant in Acton, MA, we spotted this shiny Ford coupe. It actually may not really be a 1946, but if not, it’s a ’47 or ’48. Subject to correction by someone who knows more, here’s the theory.
- Ford introduced basically this model in 1937; the main visible difference is that the grill was in 3 separate parts then, and the nose was a bit sharper. A bit later that became two parts.
- On January 1, 1942, the War Production Board put an end to all civilian car production; the last ones of the model were sold as 1942 models. Production ended February 10.
- In July 1945, civilian production resumed, building the same models that stopped in early 1942.
- The slightly-changed car marketed as a 1946 model had the one-piece grill shown above, and continued to be made through the next two years until Ford introduced new post-war models for 1948.
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Incidentally, while looking up this information, I found pictures of the pre-war model labeled as 1943 Fords and 1944 Fords. Turns out that the remaining already-built stock of civilian cars were reserved for sale to designated buyers, mostly doctors and clergymen. A number of states used the sale date rather than the model date to designate the year.
There was also limited production of passenger sedans for the military.
