By Robert Tate, Award-Winning Automotive Historian and Researcher
Images Courtesy of the Henry Ford Media Center Archives
Published 9.11.2024
A 1949 Ford Custom 4-door sedan
During the 1940s, Henry Ford II was summoned home from the Navy to work for the family company. The question on everyone’s mind at the time was if the company was going to be profitable again and how to resolve the challenges of designing and manufacturing a new automobile that would be very lucrative to sell to the American public.
Henry Ford II (right) with brothers Benson (left) and William Clay (center) with a model of a 1949 Ford (Henry Ford Media Center Archives)
The 1949 Ford models were memorable because of their great styling. The development for the new 1949 Fords started in the studios of industrial designer George Walker. After three months of hard work and long hours, a great looking slab-sided Ford model was developed by a group of talented designers including Dick Caleal, Bob Bourke, Holden Koto and Joe Oros.
The new 1949 Fords had to be approved by Henry Ford II, along with Ernest Breech. These new models would create a new styling trend in the automotive industry, however, I should mention that Studebaker, as well as Hudson and Kaiser-Frazier, had also made significant design changes before the 1949 Fords were introduced.
Henry Ford II standing in front of a 1949 Ford
The 1949 Ford models offered new styling different from any other automobile on the road. The front-end design was inspired by airplane styling features. After several weeks of styling changes, Henry Ford II approved the new design direction.
A 1949 Ford convertible coming off the line in Dallas (Ford Motor Company Archives)
The nation’s automotive press got their first sneak preview of the new 1949 Ford models on June 8, 1948 at New York’s Waldorf Astoria Hotel. The event was also attended by thousands of people who were impressed with the presentation. The redesign of the new 1949 models cost the company $37.4 million in tools, dies, manpower and fixtures to complete the project.
A 1949 Ford Custom photo (Henry Ford Media Center Archives)
Automotive historians have concluded that Ford Motor Company’s success in the 1950s was made possible by the success of their 1949 line of cars. Walker and his design staff saved the company financially, and the success of the 1949 models made Walker Ford’s top automotive designer during the ensuing decade.
1949 was a year of big change in the auto industry. For the first time in its history, Ford Motor Company had broken away from its traditional transverse leaf suspension.
A 1949 Ford Wagons ad (Henry Ford Media Center Archives)
One of the most popular 1949 Ford models was the Custom Tudor, which sold for $1,590, and the Standard Tudor priced at $1,500. The station wagons were only available as two-door models and offered wood side trim. The Custom Convertible sold for $1,950.
A 1949 Ford sedan ad (Henry Ford Media Center Archives)
Ford dealerships around the country sold the 1949 line at a fast clip rate and had difficulty keeping them in stock. It was a multi-million-dollar gamble that paid off. By the end of 1949, Ford passed the million mark for passenger car sales, including the Lincoln and Mercury brands, and posted huge profits.
“The thing that really counts is a well-designed product that millions of hands will stretch out to buy because it says something to them that they cannot resist,” Walker said of the 1949 Fords. “When the right lines and contours are applied to a product, they must evoke that particular emotion in that buyer.”
A 1949 Ford Custom Club coupe (Henry Ford Media Center Archives)
In conclusion, the 1949 models saved Ford Motor Company with its great styling features and will always be a part of our American automotive history.
Sorensen, Lorin. “Ford’s Golden Fifties: All the Best from Henry II.” Silverado Publishing, 1997.
Sorensen, Lorin. “The Ford Road: 75th Anniversary Ford Motor Company 1903-1978.” Silverado Publishing.
Dammann, George H. “Illustrated History of Ford.” Crestline Publishing, 1971.
