By 1942, Chevrolet was the dominant force in the low-priced field, confidently boasting of its sales supremacy with the slogan, “It pays to buy the leader.”
Special De Luxe Sport Sedan
As we’ve noted before here at Mac’s Motor City Garage, Ford’s powerful V8 introduced in 1932 gave the Dearborn automaker a sales advantage through much of the 1930s. But toward the end of the decade, Chevrolet came fighting back and in 1938 the General Motors division retook the top spot. By 1941 it was barely a contest, as Chevrolet produced more than one million cars while Ford managed only two-thirds that volume. In 1942, Chevrolet was touting its dominance of the low-priced field with slogans that included “Buy the leader and get the leading buy.”
If we can be frank about it, the Chevrolet chassis was clearly more advanced than Ford’s with short/long arm, coil-independent suspension at the front and parallel leaf springs at the rear. Meanwhile, Ford continued to cling to the transverse buggy-spring system that was introduced in the Model T—rugged and serviceable, but no one would call it advanced.
And while Ford could boast an eight-cylinder engine, the Chevy six offered overhead valves and a reputation for utter reliability. Redesigned in 1937, the six now displaced 216.5 cubic inches, with an output rating of 90 hp at 3,300 rpm and 174 lb-ft of torque at 1,200-2,000 rpm. And it didn’t boil like a teakettle, either, a trait of the Ford V8 that was nearly as famous as its performance.
Fleetline Sportmaster Sedan
Styling at Chevrolet for ’42 shared more than a little with the Buick and Cadillac premium brands at GM, and that couldn’t have hurt sales one bit. Two updates for ’42 were a lower, wider, more modern-looking grille and front fenders that flowed halfway through the doors. Ford chief stylist Bob Gregorie had wanted to incorporate the forward-looking feature in his designs, but according to Gregorie, Edsel Ford didn’t think it looked right.
The premium brand connection at Chevy was evident throughout the model line, but especially in the division’s flagships, the two-door Fleetline Aerosedan (lead photo) and the four-door Fleetline Sportmaster Sedan. Some say that if you squint a little, the Sportmaster resembles a baby Cadillac Sixty Special. Both Fleetlines featured upgraded interiors, too, at a very modest price increase of 25 bucks. To everyone’s surprise, probably, the Aerosedan was the division’s top-selling model in 1942.
Special De Luxe Sport Sedan in blackout trim
However, the 1942 production season was a short one, due to the declaration of war on December 8, 1941. Virtually overnight, the auto industry was was converted to military production, and to spare strategic materials, the last few ’42 Chevrolets were finished with painted rather than plated trim (above) before production was halted completely on January 30, 1942. It’s a good thing the ’42 Chevrolets were solid and well-received cars, as when production resumed after the war, the 1946 Chevy was essentially the 1942 Chevy, and much the same car would remain in production through 1948.
What I recall is nicer fit, finish and appointments than Ford or Plymouth. It offered a bit of refinement.
Although plagued by it’s inadequate “splash system” of bottom end lubrication that would cause the engine to self-destruct if pushed too hard, the rest of the car was built to a higher standard of quality control and refinement than the Ford was.
Will have to disagree, with prejudice, as to the higher quality of the Chevrolet compared to Fords of the same era. The test of time seems to validate my contention. The Fords appear to have survived in greater quantities.
It’s remarkable that any 1942 car of any brand lasted during WW II. Advertising for the 1946 models made it clear that almost all makes learned from wartime experience. Plymouth claimed it was “four years better than before.” Pontiac touted improvements gained from four years of experience in the field. Even so, many of those ’42s were seen more as potential hot rods or parts cars at the end of the war…