|
No other car of the immediate post war touched the
hearts of so many people as the 1946 Chrysler Town &
Country. “It has,” said a Chrysler manual, “the
grace and elegance of a yacht.” The steel front end
looked “town” and the wood portion looked “country”
so it was appropriately named the “Town & Country.”
Very little planning went into the development of
the immediate post war 1946 Town & Country.
Automobile production had ceased during World War II
resulting in a dearth of new products for post war
consumers. Most 1946 automobiles were continuums of
their pre-war predecessors. The Town & Country was
no exception. Chrysler had produced Town & Country
station wagons between 1939 and 1942. Therefore,
Chrysler seeking to freshen their post war product
line simply took their New Yorker frame and chassis
and built the Town & Country door, rear quarter and
trunk panels from wood. The frame is made of oak and
the veneer is made of mahogany plywood. The
workmanship and time that when into the assembly of
these automobiles truly defined reason. They were
also more expensive to repair and equally perplexing
to maintain. The notion of calling them land yachts
was less of a compliment than it was a forewarning
about the care these cars would demand from their
owners. By 1950 it was apparent that wood was not
the novelty it had been in 1945 and the line was
discontinued.
The 1946 Town & Country convertible was built on a
127 inch wheel basis chassis. It sports a 135
horsepower 323 cu. In. Spitfire strait-eight
cylinder, dual downdraft carburetor, Fluid Drive
transmission, front independent coil springs with
rear rigid axle and semi elliptical springs, four
drum brakes.
Production of the 1946 convertible coupe was 1,935
units. According to The Town & Country Owner’s
Registry only 33 remain today. Manufacturer’s
Suggested Retail Price was $2,743.00, big bucks for
a car at that time.
|
