Early Post WW2 Standards

A look at carry over passenger cars that came out of World War 2 into the later 1940s.
FYI: The Buick did 60 in under Sixteen seconds, not six as I optimistically suggest in the video.

[@Primus54]

Excellent video… Your channel deserves to grow! BTW… in an era when 0-60 times could be measured with a sundial, I was shocked to learn that the Buick Roadmaster was capable of 6 seconds! 😉 (Don’t you just love we viewers who point out tiny errors! 😂) Also, I’m amazed at the pristine examples you find of the cars in your content. Thank you, Sir! 👍👍👍

[@thehopelesscarguy]

oh, 16 seconds. Did not catch that in editing. Well at least I can be certain people are paying attention.

[@Primus54]

@@thehopelesscarguy Still darn quick for the times, though! Cheers. 👍👍👍

[@thehopelesscarguy]

@@Primus54 Yeah. I was originally going to use quarter mile times, but many of these cars still hadn't reached 60 in the quarter mile.

[@Primus54]

@@thehopelesscarguy I wonder if any of the European cars with the tiny engines you featured ran on chain drives?

[@thehopelesscarguy]

@@Primus54 Maybe. None I can think of off the top of my head. The 2-stroke DKWs were FWD. The post war chain drive Fiats I've seen have been rear engine.

[@DavidHall-ge6nn]

Great video! It's wonderful to see such a wide variety of cars, from inexpensive to extravagant, foreign and domestic. Thanks for your efforts. This was so enjoyable, start to finish!

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@bobtepedino5661]

Great video! (I never knew a '46 Roadmaster could post a sub-six second 0-60! 😁)

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Me neither

[@bobtepedino5661]

@@thehopelesscarguy 😁

[@brunobandiera2062]

This is a great series, very well researched and good pictures. Our first family car which I can remember from early childhood was a black1947 Chevrolet Fleetmaster [?] which my dad kept until he traded for a 1953 Meteor. We were transferred out to a company town in Northern BC in late 1957, one of my school chums was from an aristocratic German family who had fled the Communist takeover, the whole family exceptionally tall, both parents over 6', one older brother was around 6'5", my friend was 6'1" in Grade 9. The family had a 1947 Chevrolet which they maintained scrupulously as those postwar high-top Chevies had the headroom they very much needed. When on vacation or road trips, they would stop at auto wreckers along the way to look for salvageable parts.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

A scrap yarding road trip sounds like a vacation to me.

[@jameszemboy7237]

This vintage of American cars is my favorite because I was born in 1943 and the sight of cars of this styling was part of my first awareness of cars in general. Neighbors and relatives all owned these--a next-door neighbor had a '46 Buick Roadmaster which would not fit into his brand-new garage! Other neighbors had Ford club sedans, an uncle had a '47 Chevy four-door. One clear memory: about half of the cars in the street were black! This vintage of cars doesn't seem to interest many other people, though. Example: mid-to-late 1950s cars, like the '57 Chevy get called "classics," but a '46 Nash is just "an old car." (We had a '46 Nash Ambassador four-door--during the early 50s!) Anyway, it's nice to see all of these and hear them described.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Garage sizes did seem to need an upgrade in the post war era. And soon those black cars would be replaced by pastel two tones.

[@dicksanders8206]

Good show. Thanks!

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Thank you.

[@meljrnone8608]

The movie "Devil in a Blue Dress" was set in Los Angeles in 1948. What car was Denzel Washington driving in that movie? They had some sweet looking rides throughout that movie. Great video, by the way...

[@meljrnone8608]

Also, Tom Sizemore's character (Albright) was driving a light green convertible. What car was that? Thanks...😊

[@thehopelesscarguy]

I haven't seen the movie, but a quick search of images shows Denzel getting into a 47 Pontiac Streamliner.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Didn't run across an image that showed what he was driving, but it did appear that there was both a 40 and a 47 Cadillac used.

[@meljrnone8608]

@@thehopelesscarguy - Thanks for the quick response. You should check out the movie...it's very good.

[@mikelipinski868]

It's really funny. At one time or another I owned some of those cars mentioned in this video. Unfortunately, they all ended up in the scrap yard. I owned the Nash Metropolitan, the Mercedes (the same one, can't recall the model name). The Borgward was another one I owned. I also drove the Fiat (the small one, again). Not to mention some of the American cars I drove but didn't own, like the benighted Edsel, which I loved - this was in 1960, or so. It was red, and I went nuts over the push-buttons in the center of the steering wheel. I don't know if anyone's interested but I also drove (but not owned) a Packard from the same era, etc. Thanks for the video. Oh yes, my dad owned a Morris Minor in 1957. It was the first time Morris had a non-split windshield - that was in England.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

That is quite a diverse list.

[@boldone3517]

Sir, very good video, one thing thou, on the Buick Roadmster, you stated 0-60 time of 6.6 second. They should have called it Rocketmaster not Roadmaster. Much Success!!

[@thehopelesscarguy]

So shaved 10 seconds or so off. I guess if that is the only faux pas on a video of this extent I should feel lucky. Thanks.

[@nlpnt]

I'm sure a Roadmaster could do that. Well, a 1996 model. A '46, not so much.

[@arthurarinbjarnarson6318]

Great videos I have a ford V8 1946 and a ford V8 1947 love the cars thanks Arthur from DANMARK.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Cool, thanks.

[@aaronwilliams6989]

Fascinating.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Thanks.

[@peloi111]

can you please do a video on the evolution of Buick? I think 1949 - 1957 and 58 were the best years... also show us your model collection

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Actually I did a brief history of Buick.

[@peloi111]

@@thehopelesscarguy I just saw it, I loved it. I like Buick even more now. Keep up the awesome work and thank you!

[@thehopelesscarguy]

@@peloi111 Thank you.

[@nlpnt]

European manufacturers mostly put their last prewar models back into production unchanged. In America, Chrysler, Ford and the independents gave their '46s a facelift but that was it for annual model changes until the all-new postwar models were ready. Only GM had the resources in the sellers' market to make *pro forma* styling tweaks to their holdover '47s and '48s.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

I suspect few cared about those post war face lifts.

[@SAM-dm5qg]

Beautiful Cars. ❤ American Made. 🇺🇸 I Wish I Had Some Of Them Old Cars. 😁 😎 🤑

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Don't we all.

[@rameshbhattacharjee4374]

The Days When American Cars Were Built Tough And American Quality Was Unbeatable, When American Industrial Products Were The Best In The World In Quantity And Quality

[@YTChiefCritic]

You really have to be careful to not give wrong info like what you did with the Buick Roadmaster.

[@jamesdaniels3699]

I have a picture of my Dad when he was a teenager sitting on his dad's car,it was a 1947 ford.It a jalopy though.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Still cool.

[@TheRealDrJoey]

This is staggering.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

In a good way I hope.

[@TheRealDrJoey]

@@thehopelesscarguy In a "I cannot BELIEVE how many different cars there were here!" way. I have a bit of an interest in watches, and it's the same thing--there are SO many different brands and styles, particularly when you look across the years as you've done here. Just a crazy plethora---People do keep themselves busy, don't they? I've been a car nut since I can remember--I grew up in Detroit---and I had never heard of so many of these it was---here it comes----it was staggering. I have a sick desire to possess one of every car ever made. But I'd settle for that silver Jag roadster @14:49.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

@@TheRealDrJoey I understand.

[@keith536]

Buicks were nice ;looking cars.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

I think so.

[@henrylin8533]

Do episode on skoda

[@thehopelesscarguy]

It is on the list.

[@rameshbhattacharjee4374]

They Were Built Like Tanks

[@tellyboy17]

Like reading the tide tables.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Exciting

[@tellyboy17]

@@thehopelesscarguy Well, after 2 minutes of numbers I decided it wasn't for me but fair enough, to each their own.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

@@tellyboy17 Agreed, to each their own.

[@dicksanders8206]

@@thehopelesscarguy The details are what make your videos so good. Don't listen to a few complainers!

[@thehopelesscarguy]

@@dicksanders8206 Thanks.

[@josephfbuck]

Roughly 90% of the cars are going to show you you can actually buy today far as in a kit car whether it be fiberglass carbon fiber and there's even specialty shops that make him out of wood or aluminum you can still get them cars today in England their big thing is taking the classic cars and turning them all electric I'm sorry

[@thehopelesscarguy]

You think 90% ?

[@peloi111]

Continental was a hideous car

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Not the prettiest car of the period.

[@buffdelcampo]

It's Jag-yu-ar, never Jag-wire

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Says you.

[@buffdelcampo]

@@thehopelesscarguy It's constructive criticism given to me about 40 years ago. I listened to the owners and mechanics in the US as well as the British on KZbin. There's no wire in Jaguar. I'm just passing it along. Pronounce it however you desire.

[@WhittyPics]

Most of those cars are grossly underpowered

[@thehopelesscarguy]

Perhaps, but most roads still looked like a rally course.

[@MrRlb183]

There were no freeways back then.

[@thehopelesscarguy]

@@MrRlb183 Not as we know them today.

[@danieljohnson9351]

Maybe by today's standards but for the road conditions of the time they were adequate. Maybe people weren't in as big hurry back then.