The immediate years following World War II brought forth a seller’s market for automobile manufacturers. Mildly restyled versions of the 1942 models were all that were needed to satisfy the tremendous demand for new cars and trucks when vehicles went back on sale for the 1946 model year. New automobiles had not been produced since February 1942, when civilian automobile production had ceased in order to direct vitally important materials to the production of weapons and equipment for war. However, building what were essentially the 1942 models would not suffice in the postwar market for long; truly new automobiles would be needed soon. Despite the lack of new vehicles for four years, the motoring public still had an appetite for ever-changing automobiles and they would soon be expecting something better.
Chevrolet was prepared to fulfill the wants of many new car buyers for 1949. The first truly new postwar Chevrolets offered a much-altered car with advanced features such as fully integrated front fenders, flush-fitting but still separate rear fenders and a much lower overall height. Inside was a new instrument panel consisting of clustered, circular pods over the steering column. The chassis and suspension were equally new as well. However, the 1949 Chevrolet was still powered by essentially the same inline six-cylinder designed in the late 1920s. This was not a problem at that time, but in just a few years, Chevrolet would offer a V-8, beginning in 1955.
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