The Pontiacs were all new for 1949, but it didn’t change the brand’s image very much: a little more style and comfort than Chevrolet for a little more money.

In 1949, Pontiac received its first real redesign of the post-World War II era, with  exterior styling by Pontiac stylists Joe Schemansky and Bob Lauer, working under the direction of General Motors design chief Harley Earl. While the overall theme owed more than a little to corporate cousin Chevrolet, the Pontiac studio added distinctive front and rear end treatments with a more elaborate grille and round tail lamps.

The Silver Streak, Pontiac’s signature styling feature since 1935, was continued, of course. Here it took the form of five bands of bright metal that ran down the center of the hood and trunk, providing a little more differentiation from Chevrolet. Pontiac also reached back to 1935 for the slogan in ’49: “the most beautiful thing on wheels.”

The chassis was new as well, with all Pontiacs now consolidated on the same 120-inch wheelbase. The product line was simplified in one more way: the Torpedo was gone and now there were two basic models, Streamliner and Chieftain, both available in standard or De Luxe trim (the De Luxe added bright metal belt moldings and rear splashguards). GM’s fastback B-body shell was represented in the Streamliner group in both two-door and four-door versions. While the fastbacks are popularly known as sedanettes (after the Buick Sedanet) at Pontiac in ’49 they were simply called Sedan Coupes.

Along with the fastbacks, there was a plentitude of Pontiac body styles in ’49, including a short-roof, long-deck club coupe, two-door and four-door sedans, A Chieftain convertible, and station wagons of both wood and all-steel construction (the latter with simulated wood trim). Owing to the shared Chevrolet provenance, no doubt, there was even a Sedan Delivery. It sold in small numbers, most likely because it was priced at nearly $300 more than the similar Chevy. Not quite 2,500 were produced in 1949, and the volume dwindled from there until it was discontinued in 1954 (though it continued in Canada through 1958).

There was one more complication in the 1949 product catalog: Models were also distinguished as Pontiac Six and Pontiac Eight, generating a total of 32 entries. Both engines were conservative inline L-heads of similar displacement, 239.2 CID for the six and 248.9 CID for the straight eight, which dated back to 1933 and still featured cast-iron pistons. The primary attractions of the eight were smoothness and frankly, prestige. Pontiac proudly boasted the lowest-priced straight eight on the market. In 1948, Hydra-Matic became available, and it too was a popular choice. More than two-thirds of Pontiac buyers in 1949 chose the automatic transmission in ’49, and the eight-cylinder engine, too.

All told, Pontiac produced nearly 305,000 cars in the 1949 model year, a 30 percent improvement for the new product over 1948. However, Pontiac’s image didn’t change very much. The brand continued to offer a little more style and comfort than Chevrolet for a little more money, its honored place on the GM price ladder. The division’s direction didn’t really change until the 1955 V8 and the arrival in 1957 of Bunkie Knudsen.