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Topic starter
15/03/2018 10:53 am
Can anyone enlighten me about the design for the 49 Ford?
My loose understanding of this is that the 49 Ford body was originally slated to be that of the 49 Mercury. I think that for some reason Ford changed their direction and quickly came up with the new Ford body design that we know, which was a hit. If this is true, what was the reason for this last minute change? Was it the new sleeker styles upcoming from GM? It certainly couldn't have been Chrysler!
15/03/2018 11:22 am
That was Edsels baby.........Ford needed a post war modern design
15/03/2018 11:35 am
Hey, Paul, glad to see you posting again.
15/03/2018 11:45 am
Same here Paul
15/03/2018 1:26 pm
Edsel Ford died in May of '43, Paul, so I don't think he had much to do with the '49 models. In '47, Ford decided not to try to update the forthcoming '48 models for 1949 but to begin a crash program to design an all-new Ford. Eugene Gregorie, Ford's in-house designer, and George Walker, an outside consultant, were tasked with coming up with a new design. When Walker's design was selected, Gregorie left the company. The '49 Ford was considered "the car that saved FoMoCo" after much turmoil in the company in the late '40s.
Many books have a lot of info on this period of Ford history---I relied on Leon Mandel's "American Cars" for this information.
Topic starter
15/03/2018 1:41 pm
Yeah, I think Edsel's baby was the Lincoln Continental wasn't it?
15/03/2018 2:06 pm
Yep, and he had a lot to do with forcing Ford to abandon the Model T for the more modern Model A, as well. His father treated him like crap, though, no doubt hastening his early death.
Topic starter
15/03/2018 7:09 pm
My understanding is that Henry wasn't big on change at all.
I think Edsel and others may have actually saved Ford several times.
15/03/2018 11:53 pm
According to Sorensen's book The Classy Ford V8 the Mercury..
was designed by Edsel's son Benson. There is no mention of who designed the Ford but it seems Henry Ford II invested 7million dollars in these postwar Fords, Mercurys and Lincolns.
16/03/2018 12:14 am
Jack, the 1949 Ford was a product of Ford's "Wiz Kids." (Google it). The '49 saved FoMoCo.!
16/03/2018 2:24 am
49 Ford-Mercury
My understanding is that the Mercury was to be the 49 Ford and management wanted a lighter less expensive car for the Ford.
16/03/2018 3:33 am
George,you're correct. Jack has it backwards. The '49 Mercury was first designed as the Ford.
16/03/2018 4:26 am
The "Whiz Kids" were a team of efficiency experts, administrators, and accountants led by Robert McNamara, but they weren't designers or stylists. They did save the company by backing new product and controls (under Henry Ford, the company didn't really have any controls!), but they did not design cars, so far as I can determine.
That was left to in-house stylists and outside consultants, as with other car companies.
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