1949 Ford

1949 Ford V-8 Club Coupe

Automobile

Ford's 1949 model was the company's first all-new car after World War II. The car's "envelope" body, with integral fenders and smooth slab sides, was a fresh break from previous designs. The "spinner" in the center of the grille suggested an airplane propeller, and it was an early example of the aviation themes that characterized postwar American cars.

1949 Ford Tudor Sedan

Automobile

The 1949 Ford was revolutionary when it was introduced. After the Second World War, Ford Motor Company had been producing only remodeled designs of their 1942 automobile. Sleek and slab-sided with the trademark circle in the front grille, the 1949 Ford broke from previous ideas of design and engineering.

1949 Ford Convertible Design Model

Scale model

Ford Motor Company beat General Motors and Chrysler to market with an all-new car following World War II. The 1949 Ford was distinguished by its smooth-sided "envelope" body and the airplane-inspired "spinner" in the center of its grille. Postwar demand for new cars was insatiable, and Ford produced more than a million units in the 1949 model year.

1949 Ford Ad, "Woman's Place is in the Ford!"

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Many women joined the work force during the Second World War. After the war women returned, some eagerly and some reluctantly, to homemaking as a fulltime career. Ford fashioned this 1949 ad toward women and their reliance on the automobile which was used "so many times every single day" in their new jobs caring for their families.

1949 Ford Advertisement, "Ford Brakes are Part of the New Ford 'Feel'"

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Al Esper joined Ford Motor Company in 1917. He worked in automotive and aircraft engineering, and he helped develop the company's first wind tunnels. By the late 1940s, he was Ford's top test driver. Esper appeared in a series of comic-strip-like advertisements that encouraged safe driving habits and promoted Ford's safety-related engineering efforts.

1949 Ford Advertising Proof, "The '49 Ford's Out Front"

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This ad proof sheet compares the new features of an affordable 1949 Ford to other cars. The ad also depicts the Ford's new postwar look. The car's "envelope body"-- smooth sides with no separate fenders -- was sleek and modern. Ford was the first of Detroit's Big Three to be, as the ad says, "out front."

1949 Ford Sales Brochure, "Ford News Graphic: The New Ford in Your Future"

Trade catalog

Ford Motor Company beat General Motors and Chrysler to market with an all-new car following World War II. The 1949 Ford was distinguished by its smooth-sided "envelope" body and the airplane-inspired "spinner" in the center of its grille. Postwar demand for new cars was insatiable, and Ford produced more than a million units in the 1949 model year.

1949 Ford Sales Brochure, "It's Here... the '49 Ford. The Car of the Year"

Trade catalog

Ford Motor Company beat General Motors and Chrysler to market with an all-new car following World War II. The 1949 Ford was distinguished by its smooth-sided "envelope" body and the airplane-inspired "spinner" in the center of its grille. Postwar demand for new cars was insatiable, and Ford produced more than a million units in the 1949 model year.

1949 Ford Sedan Advertising

Photographic print

The redesigned "envelope body" of the 1949 Ford allowed more interior room. Ford pointed out those qualities in this advertisement. According to the ad, Ford claimed, "It's a living room on wheels!"

1949 Ford Sedan with Travel Trailer at New Hudson, Michigan

Photographic print

The 1949 Ford and a Vagabond trailer are featured in this Ford Motor Company publicity photograph. Though the 1949 Ford came with a new sleek look, it still relied on the pre-war V-8 engine design for power -- enough to tow a vacation trailer.

1949 Ford Tudor Sedan, Interior View

Photographic print

The 1949 Ford's efficient design provided more interior space than previous Fords. This sedan was roomier than it looked from the outside. This photograph shows the interior of the 1949 Ford Tudor Sedan in the collections of The Henry Ford.

Henry Ford II Driving the First 1949 Ford off Assembly Line at Rouge Plant, 1948

Photographic print

Ford beat General Motors and Chrysler to the market with the first all-new postwar car from the Big Three. The 1949 Ford was a personal triumph for company president Henry Ford II. It represented his successful efforts to rebuild the automaker after the deaths of his father, Edsel Ford, and grandfather, Henry Ford.

Drawing, "Run - Door Glass Division Bar," Ford Automobile, February 2, 1949

Technical drawing

The Ford Motor Company created over a million parts drawings from 1903 to 1957. Many of these drawings specify engineering requirements for the components of Ford-made vehicles--including automobiles, trucks, tractors, military vehicles and Tri-motor airplanes. Others document assembly components, stages of casting and forging, or experimental designs. Beginning in the 1940s, Ford transferred the drawings to microfilm.

"Evolution of the Ford Car," 1949

Photographic print