Chrysler Corporation Postwar Models: 1946-1948 (Plymouth, Dodge, DeSoto)
by Gerard Wilson
The Chrysler Corporation introduced its postwar models in late 1945 and built them largely unchanged until early 1949. These cars were enormously successful at the time and today each make has a website devoted entirely or partially to it, which means that there are owners willing to maintain their cars and support the websites.
Over 2.2 million of the 1946 - 1948 cars were built in the U.S., 400,000 more than Ford 's postwar models - which ended production almost one year before Chrysler.
Although the sales brochures praise their performance and beauty, these cars offered neither, aside from the stunning Town & Country, nor were performance and beauty necessarily what the postwar car buyers most wanted. Deprived of new cars since 1942, buyers wanted comfortable, durable family cars and found them at Chrysler showrooms.
Chrysler products differed from their competitors in several important respects. All Chrysler cars used valve-in-block engines, not the overhead valve (valve in head) engines which were coming onto the market. Chrysler's valve-in-head (also called flathead or L-head) engines were old by 1946, and were less efficient that the overhead valve designs which would supercede them. But the Chrysler engines produced peak power at low engine speed, which meant less stress and longer engine life.
In addition, all Chrysler lines except Plymouth offered a fluid-drive transmission, replacing the flywheel with a fluid coupling. The fluid drive transmission could be driven like an automatic, but it was simpler, less expensive, more efficient and more reliable than the full automatics available in the late 1940s.
All Chrysler bodies were built by Briggs Manufacturing, and developed by Chrysler and Briggs together. Chrysler bodies were not beautiful, but they were solidly constructed. On most models, the rear seat was forward of the rear axle, not on top of it, which allowed additional passenger room. In my opinion, the quality of body construction and materials used throughout was superior to that of competing GM and Ford models of the time and far superior to Chrysler models built after 1954. There are numerous small details even in the low priced models which suggest the engineers were paying attention and not looking for the cheapest way to build the car.
Many New York street photographs taken up to the mid-1950s will show a Desoto S11 or Dodge D24 taxi in the background, in service long after they ceased production. Considering that New York cabs, then and now, can run 24 hours a day in extreme heat and cold, over poorly maintained streets in stop and go traffic, and that cab owners have a keen interest in minimizing fuel consumption, maintenance cost and downtime, the fact that they kept these cars in service for up to ten years is testament to their quality. What was true of the Dodge and Desoto cabs was true of all Chrysler products built at that time.
Demand for all postwar automobiles exceeded supply, which was limited by intermittent strikes and shortages of important components. All manufacturers initially offered their prewar models with modest updates, gradually changing over to new models. Chrysler introduced its 1946 models, which were updates of its 1942 models, in late 1945 and built them without change through the beginning of 1949, changing the model year designations toward the end of 1946 and 1947 so that they could be sold with current registration.
The company continued to build its 1948 models during the first three months of 1949, concurrent with the entirely new 1949 models. These were called "first series 1949" and "second series 1949" respectively, but this article includes the "first series 1949" as a continuation of the 1948 models.
During the 1930s Chrysler had, after some initial confusion, come up with a market strategy with four makes of cars, each in its own price group. This strategy was invented and successfully used by GM, and copied by Chrysler and Ford, until cost and competitive pressures in the 1960s forced all makers to offer multiple copies of the same car with only a badge to distinguish them. But in the late 1940s, the four Chrysler makes were well differentiated in public perception, although they shared body shells and engines.
At the bottom was the Plymouth P15, the only Plymouth car built during this period. It was offered in Deluxe and Special Deluxe trim, with manual transmission and a 3.6 liter 6 cylinder engine as the only available powertrain. Like its competitors, it was a basic transportation car, with no pretension to glamour or high performance. Instead, it was sold as a value proposition, and it was that, structurally and mechanically. Plymouth prices were a bit higher than those of Ford, but Ford outsold Plymouth by only 136,135 units between 1946 - 1948, due partly to the greater investments Chrysler made in building the Plymouths. The car cost more but remained, to many, a better value.
Moving up to Dodge cars, an important difference between U.S. market Dodges and those built in Canada or for export needs to be made. U.S. market Dodges were D24 models in Deluxe and Custom trim; Custom club coupe, sedan and 7 passenger sedans were also built in Canada. In addition, Dodge built a D25 series in both countries.
The D25 was a Plymouth P15 with a Dodge front end and nameplate. The D25 was necessary in Canada, where there were two dealer networks, Chrysler-Plymouth and Dodge-Desoto. Canadian Dodge dealers needed a basic transportation high/volume model to stay in business, and that was the badge-engineered D25 and its successors through 1959. Far more of these small Dodges were built in Canada than were the D24 models. These cars were exported from both countries across the world as completed vehicles or kits for foreign assembly.
Although in later years Dodge and Plymouth would become indistinguishable, a 1946 Dodge D24 would never have been mistaken for a contemporary Plymouth. The Dodge and Plymouth shared the same conservative design philosophy and many components. But the Dodge body shell was a larger unit, shared with Desoto and Chrysler. The Dodge wheelbase was 140 mm longer than the Plymouth for additional interior room. The front end was flat, rather than pointed, and front fenders flowed into the doors rather than ending before the front doors. The Dodge engine was a 3.8 liter flathead 6, with a manual transmission or optional fluid drive. The slightly higher power output of the Chrysler makes as one moves up the price ladder did not mean higher performance; it just offset the extra weight.
Chrysler, Packard, and Cadillac were the only manufacturers still offering long wheelbase 7 or 8 passenger sedans in the postwar period. Dodge built D24 Custom 7 passenger sedans for 1946 - 1948, most of which were purchased for commercial use and ended their lives as taxi conversions. Chrysler also built this model in Canada in spite of its low volume.
Desoto Diplomat models were built in the U.S. and Canada for export. As with the Dodge D25, these cars were P15 Plymouths with a facsimile Desoto grill and Desoto badges, which perhaps allowed Chrysler to sell them at a higher price. Desoto and Dodge D25 cars built in the U.S. used a Plymouth engine, but Canadian units used the Canadian Plymouth engine, which was the same size as the U.S. Plymouth engine, but of a different design. Diplomat units were counted with Plymouth and used Plymouth serial numbers. U.S. production was far higher than Canadian, but unfortunately breakouts of Diplomat production in the U.S. have not been located.
The standard Desoto was the S11, sold in Deluxe or Custom trim lines. The Desoto bodies were slightly larger than Dodge, but had the same passenger compartment. There were two Desoto bodies: a standard wheelbase version (3.086 mm) and an extended wheelbase version (3.543 mm). Desoto prices were about $100 more than Dodge, for which the buyer got a slightly more powerful L-head 6, better interior fabrics, better insulation, and a nameplate that was slightly more prestigious. The semiautomatic Gyrol-Drive transmission was optional on the Deluxe, standard on the Custom. Desoto had cultivated relationships through their dealers in metropolitan areas with taxi fleets, and sold many cars as taxis. Custom club coupes and sedans were built in Canada.
Desoto 7/8 passenger long wheelbase models were taxis in Deluxe trim, sedan, limousine or Suburban in Custom trim. The Suburban was a sedan with a fold-forward rear seat and thus a large carrying capacity for luggage. It was the most expensive Desoto.
The Chrysler make covered a large price range with four models. The C38 Royal, Windsor and Town & Country 6 cylinder sedan used the same body as the Desoto S11, and the C38 Royal and Windsor 8 passenger sedan and limousine used the same body as the Desoto S11 8 passenger sedan, limousine and Suburban. The C39 Saratoga and New Yorker models, as well as the Town & Country 8 cylinder sedan and convertible used a longer 3.238 mm wheelbase body. At the top, the C40 Crown Imperial was a limited production model built on a 3.696 mm wheelbase body. In Canada, only the C38 club coupe and sedan were built.
All C38 models used a 4.1 liter L-head 6. The Royal was the base car, the Windsor was more luxuriously equipped. The C38 Town & Country sedan had internal and external wood trim, and sold for a huge premium over a standard Windsor sedan. Today the Town & Country from this period is a valuable collectable.
C38 Royal and Windsor 8 passenger sedan and limousine were built as executive transportation and for commercial use.
The C39 Saratoga, New Yorker and Town & Country models came equipped with a 5.3 liter valve-in-head 8 cylinder engine, generating 135 hp, 40 hp more than the Plymouth , a 40% increase in power for a 25% weight gain. These cars were 152 mm longer than the C38 standard models in order to accommodate larger engine, but passenger accommodation was the same as the C38. The C39 Town & Country was available as a sedan or convertible. The C38 and C39 Town & Country were expensive to purchase and maintain at the time, and remain so today. Nonetheless, there are many fine examples on display at the events held today and their market values have held through the decades.
The C40 Crown Imperial was a limited-production, built to order vehicle. It was available as an 8 passenger sedan or limousine. A few wealthy individuals may have bought these very sober cars for personal use, but most would have been purchased by companies as transportation for the top executive.
These cars were very successful, not only because demand for all new cars exceeded supply, but also because of their intrinsic value. Chrysler continued to build these cars into early 1949, and dealers continued to sell them to willing buyers, until the new 1949 models became available. Their success reinforced the conservative design philosophy of K.T. Keller, Chrysler's CEO since 1935, and the next cycle of cars, 1949 - 1952, were designed accordingly. Unfortunately, buyer preferences were changing, and Chrysler products, as good as they were, did not appeal to those preferences as well or as quickly as GM and Ford products.
The author welcomes any criticism, comments or corrections to this article or the table at the end of the page.
- Gerald Wilson, October 2009
Some notes from the brochures
All-Fluid Drive: Dodge All-Fluid Drive provides the entirely fluid transfer of engine power to the drive line of your car. It thus affords a life preserving cushion for all vital mechanical parts of engine and power line, protecting them from shock and strain. For the driver, All-Fluid Drive continues to mean new extremes of comfort, safety, and control. Clutching and shifting have been greatly reduced and, when shifting is required, for special occasions, it is done silently with the move of a finger.
Floating Power: ... three-point suspension of the engine in mountings of live rubber bonded to metal, two on the frame at each side and at the back of the engine, and the third high on the front of the engine. The triangular plane formed by these points bisects the engine at its center of gravity. The weight below fully counterbalances the weight above, minimizing all engine vibration.
Full-Floating Ride: ... establishes front seat comfort and stability for rear seat passengers. It was first attained by scientific weight distribution with back seats placed ahead of the rear axle, cradling all passengers between the front and rear axles. (This isn't just marketing hyperbole, Breer talks about the engineering issues and benefits in his book.)
Brakes: New-design equal-pressure hydraulic brakes provide greater stopping power, with 25% to 30% less foot pressure on the brake pedal. Foot brakes now have two hydraulic cylinders - one for each brake shoe. The front bore of the hydraulic cylinder of the rear wheel brakes has been enlarged to increase the pressure on the forward brake shoe and balance the greater braking power of the new front wheel brakes.
Other features:
New instrument panel has brighter, safer non-glare edge lighting, with sharpened contrast that makes dials easier to read... steering wheel has new horn-blowing ring and center ornament... improved safety signal speedometer is wick lubricated for quiet operation and long life. ... Directional turn indicator (special equipment) is at left of steering column, opposite gear shift....(Plymouth) New starter button on the instrument panel is a big convenience feature which will be appreciated, especially by the ladies. ... New twin tail lamps (Plymouth) have improved optics for better light dispersal...
These two pages of specifications may be interesting to readers... following the specifications, you will find detailed production figures based on a great deal of investigation.
1946 Plymouth specifications
1946 Dodge car specifications
More images from the brochures are at the end of this page, after the production figures.
Production figures
There should be no difficulty in determining the numbers of cars built because Chrysler released a set of detailed production tables by make, car line and body style. This set of tables, which I will refer to as official production, has been widely reprinted in the Standard Catalog of Chrysler (with errors), Encyclopedia and Crestline series, and other reference works. However, the official data does not give totals by year, but for the entire run from late 1945 to early 1949, and it aggregates U.S. and Canadian production. Fortunately there are two other sources of information: the U.S. serial number sequences, also released by Chrysler, and the monthly tabulations by make published in Ward's automotive yearbook.
The serial number sequences by plant for each model began in late 1945 or early 1946 and ran to the end of production in early 1949. Somewhere around January 1, in both 1947 and 1948, the plants began their new 1947 and 1948 serial numbers without making any changes in the cars or breaking the sequence. So if car xxx39 was a 1946 model, car xxx40 became the first 1947 model rather than restarting the sequence at xxx01 again. Chrysler did not market their cars by model year during this period, as GM and Ford did, but they had to offer buyers current models and titles.
The Chrysler serial numbers through 1954 were published in Antique Automobile of May - June 1970 and are currently available at www.imperialclub.com and in the Standard Catalog of Chrysler (with errors). The serial number totals for models built in the U.S. are much lower than those given in the official totals.
Ward's Automotive Yearbook also published production by make for calendar year 1945, and thereafter by make and month from January 1946 to the end of 1954 production in August of that year. Chrysler built only a handful of cars during September 1954. So there are two sets of data documenting U.S. Chrysler production from 1945 to August 1954: serial numbers and monthly production. They should be the same, because the
company would have been the source of the numbers published by Ward's as well as the serial numbers, but they are not. The monthly production numbers consistently exceed the serial numbers, not only for the 1946 - 1948 models but for all the production from late 1945 to August 1954. (This is not true for Dodge, for reasons explained in the Dodge table.)
I have determined, without any solid evidence, that it is more likely that the serial numbers are incomplete than that the monthly production numbers are inflated. So I have added proportionate factors to each series, to bring the serial numbers up to the monthly production of the 1946 - 1948 models and 1946 - 1954 models.
Monthly production and official model year production totals for GM and Ford for the same period converge, which means that these companies did not, unlike Chrysler, aggregate U.S. and Canadian production.
The exact changeover dates are not known, but the changeover dates suggested by the formula fall about where they should. The notations in the tables, "1/47 partial,"
means that the changeover from 1946 to 1947 models would have taken place in
January 1947 and the production for that month divided between 1946 and 1947 models.
The changeover from 1948 to the 1949 models is very interesting. Ford had begun building its 1949 models in April 1948. GM changed over during November and December 1948. According to articles in the automotive press, Chrysler began building its true 1949 models around January 1, 1949, but because of supplier strikes did not have enough components to build them in volume. They had plenty of components for the old models which were still in strong demand, so for the first quarter of 1949 both 1948 models, "first series 1949" as they were called, and true 1949 models were in concurrent production at different plants.
The information in the tables below is an effort to make available to all who may be interested the most accurate information possible on production of the 1946 - 1948 Chrysler lines in the U.S. and Canada. I welcome comments, suggestions and supplemental information from anyone who may have it to contribute.
U.S. Plymouth P15 estimated model year production
* Respectively, late 1945 to partial-December 1946;
partial-December 1946 to partial-December 1947; and partial-December 1947 to partial-February 1949.
First column entries (counting after the year) are U.S. serial numbers. Second column is a proportionate factor used to raise serial numbers to monthly production of Plymouth cars in the U.S., from late 1945 to August 1954. Third column entry is estimated model year production
and the approximate period. The fourth column is monthly production of P15 cars in the U.S. from late 1945 to February 1949 (partial).
Ending date of the P15 at U.S. plants is not known. Production of the 1949 P17 and P18 began around January 1, 1949, but the P15 models continued to be built, probably into early March.
U.S. serial numbers and monthly production include Plymouth, Desoto Diplomat and
Dodge Kingsway cars, partially assembled cars and chassis, all built on the P15 platform. I have been unable to find any tabulation of P15 Desoto Diplomat and Dodge Kingsway units built in the U.S. but I would be interested in obtaining it, if such tabulations exist.
Official data includes U.S. production mentioned in the preceeding paragraph plus
Plymouth and Desoto Diplomat production in Canada. Candian Dodge Kingsway are not included. They had a separate chassis designation, D25, which was identical to the P15 except for the front end and nameplates. It can be noted that the difference between the official production total and the estimated model year total for the three
years is 42.473 units. Canadian P15 production was approximately 45.000 units.
U.S. Dodge D24, estimated model year production
* Respectively, late 1945 to partial-December 1946;
partial-December 1946 to partial-December 1947; and partial-December 1947 to partial-February 1949.
1947: D24 (230,478) + D24 7-passenger (1,749) = 232,227
1948: D24 (251,808) + D24 7-passenger (1,911) = 253,719
1946-1948 D24 production totals compared
by Gerard Wilson
Over 2.2 million of the 1946 - 1948 cars were built in the U.S., 400,000 more than Ford 's postwar models - which ended production almost one year before Chrysler.
Although the sales brochures praise their performance and beauty, these cars offered neither, aside from the stunning Town & Country, nor were performance and beauty necessarily what the postwar car buyers most wanted. Deprived of new cars since 1942, buyers wanted comfortable, durable family cars and found them at Chrysler showrooms.
Chrysler products differed from their competitors in several important respects. All Chrysler cars used valve-in-block engines, not the overhead valve (valve in head) engines which were coming onto the market. Chrysler's valve-in-head (also called flathead or L-head) engines were old by 1946, and were less efficient that the overhead valve designs which would supercede them. But the Chrysler engines produced peak power at low engine speed, which meant less stress and longer engine life.
In addition, all Chrysler lines except Plymouth offered a fluid-drive transmission, replacing the flywheel with a fluid coupling. The fluid drive transmission could be driven like an automatic, but it was simpler, less expensive, more efficient and more reliable than the full automatics available in the late 1940s.
All Chrysler bodies were built by Briggs Manufacturing, and developed by Chrysler and Briggs together. Chrysler bodies were not beautiful, but they were solidly constructed. On most models, the rear seat was forward of the rear axle, not on top of it, which allowed additional passenger room. In my opinion, the quality of body construction and materials used throughout was superior to that of competing GM and Ford models of the time and far superior to Chrysler models built after 1954. There are numerous small details even in the low priced models which suggest the engineers were paying attention and not looking for the cheapest way to build the car.
Many New York street photographs taken up to the mid-1950s will show a Desoto S11 or Dodge D24 taxi in the background, in service long after they ceased production. Considering that New York cabs, then and now, can run 24 hours a day in extreme heat and cold, over poorly maintained streets in stop and go traffic, and that cab owners have a keen interest in minimizing fuel consumption, maintenance cost and downtime, the fact that they kept these cars in service for up to ten years is testament to their quality. What was true of the Dodge and Desoto cabs was true of all Chrysler products built at that time.
Demand for all postwar automobiles exceeded supply, which was limited by intermittent strikes and shortages of important components. All manufacturers initially offered their prewar models with modest updates, gradually changing over to new models. Chrysler introduced its 1946 models, which were updates of its 1942 models, in late 1945 and built them without change through the beginning of 1949, changing the model year designations toward the end of 1946 and 1947 so that they could be sold with current registration.
The company continued to build its 1948 models during the first three months of 1949, concurrent with the entirely new 1949 models. These were called "first series 1949" and "second series 1949" respectively, but this article includes the "first series 1949" as a continuation of the 1948 models.
During the 1930s Chrysler had, after some initial confusion, come up with a market strategy with four makes of cars, each in its own price group. This strategy was invented and successfully used by GM, and copied by Chrysler and Ford, until cost and competitive pressures in the 1960s forced all makers to offer multiple copies of the same car with only a badge to distinguish them. But in the late 1940s, the four Chrysler makes were well differentiated in public perception, although they shared body shells and engines.
Moving up to Dodge cars, an important difference between U.S. market Dodges and those built in Canada or for export needs to be made. U.S. market Dodges were D24 models in Deluxe and Custom trim; Custom club coupe, sedan and 7 passenger sedans were also built in Canada. In addition, Dodge built a D25 series in both countries.
The D25 was a Plymouth P15 with a Dodge front end and nameplate. The D25 was necessary in Canada, where there were two dealer networks, Chrysler-Plymouth and Dodge-Desoto. Canadian Dodge dealers needed a basic transportation high/volume model to stay in business, and that was the badge-engineered D25 and its successors through 1959. Far more of these small Dodges were built in Canada than were the D24 models. These cars were exported from both countries across the world as completed vehicles or kits for foreign assembly.
Although in later years Dodge and Plymouth would become indistinguishable, a 1946 Dodge D24 would never have been mistaken for a contemporary Plymouth. The Dodge and Plymouth shared the same conservative design philosophy and many components. But the Dodge body shell was a larger unit, shared with Desoto and Chrysler. The Dodge wheelbase was 140 mm longer than the Plymouth for additional interior room. The front end was flat, rather than pointed, and front fenders flowed into the doors rather than ending before the front doors. The Dodge engine was a 3.8 liter flathead 6, with a manual transmission or optional fluid drive. The slightly higher power output of the Chrysler makes as one moves up the price ladder did not mean higher performance; it just offset the extra weight.
Chrysler, Packard, and Cadillac were the only manufacturers still offering long wheelbase 7 or 8 passenger sedans in the postwar period. Dodge built D24 Custom 7 passenger sedans for 1946 - 1948, most of which were purchased for commercial use and ended their lives as taxi conversions. Chrysler also built this model in Canada in spite of its low volume.
Desoto Diplomat models were built in the U.S. and Canada for export. As with the Dodge D25, these cars were P15 Plymouths with a facsimile Desoto grill and Desoto badges, which perhaps allowed Chrysler to sell them at a higher price. Desoto and Dodge D25 cars built in the U.S. used a Plymouth engine, but Canadian units used the Canadian Plymouth engine, which was the same size as the U.S. Plymouth engine, but of a different design. Diplomat units were counted with Plymouth and used Plymouth serial numbers. U.S. production was far higher than Canadian, but unfortunately breakouts of Diplomat production in the U.S. have not been located.
The standard Desoto was the S11, sold in Deluxe or Custom trim lines. The Desoto bodies were slightly larger than Dodge, but had the same passenger compartment. There were two Desoto bodies: a standard wheelbase version (3.086 mm) and an extended wheelbase version (3.543 mm). Desoto prices were about $100 more than Dodge, for which the buyer got a slightly more powerful L-head 6, better interior fabrics, better insulation, and a nameplate that was slightly more prestigious. The semiautomatic Gyrol-Drive transmission was optional on the Deluxe, standard on the Custom. Desoto had cultivated relationships through their dealers in metropolitan areas with taxi fleets, and sold many cars as taxis. Custom club coupes and sedans were built in Canada.
Desoto 7/8 passenger long wheelbase models were taxis in Deluxe trim, sedan, limousine or Suburban in Custom trim. The Suburban was a sedan with a fold-forward rear seat and thus a large carrying capacity for luggage. It was the most expensive Desoto.
The Chrysler make covered a large price range with four models. The C38 Royal, Windsor and Town & Country 6 cylinder sedan used the same body as the Desoto S11, and the C38 Royal and Windsor 8 passenger sedan and limousine used the same body as the Desoto S11 8 passenger sedan, limousine and Suburban. The C39 Saratoga and New Yorker models, as well as the Town & Country 8 cylinder sedan and convertible used a longer 3.238 mm wheelbase body. At the top, the C40 Crown Imperial was a limited production model built on a 3.696 mm wheelbase body. In Canada, only the C38 club coupe and sedan were built.
All C38 models used a 4.1 liter L-head 6. The Royal was the base car, the Windsor was more luxuriously equipped. The C38 Town & Country sedan had internal and external wood trim, and sold for a huge premium over a standard Windsor sedan. Today the Town & Country from this period is a valuable collectable.
C38 Royal and Windsor 8 passenger sedan and limousine were built as executive transportation and for commercial use.
The C39 Saratoga, New Yorker and Town & Country models came equipped with a 5.3 liter valve-in-head 8 cylinder engine, generating 135 hp, 40 hp more than the Plymouth , a 40% increase in power for a 25% weight gain. These cars were 152 mm longer than the C38 standard models in order to accommodate larger engine, but passenger accommodation was the same as the C38. The C39 Town & Country was available as a sedan or convertible. The C38 and C39 Town & Country were expensive to purchase and maintain at the time, and remain so today. Nonetheless, there are many fine examples on display at the events held today and their market values have held through the decades.
The C40 Crown Imperial was a limited-production, built to order vehicle. It was available as an 8 passenger sedan or limousine. A few wealthy individuals may have bought these very sober cars for personal use, but most would have been purchased by companies as transportation for the top executive.
These cars were very successful, not only because demand for all new cars exceeded supply, but also because of their intrinsic value. Chrysler continued to build these cars into early 1949, and dealers continued to sell them to willing buyers, until the new 1949 models became available. Their success reinforced the conservative design philosophy of K.T. Keller, Chrysler's CEO since 1935, and the next cycle of cars, 1949 - 1952, were designed accordingly. Unfortunately, buyer preferences were changing, and Chrysler products, as good as they were, did not appeal to those preferences as well or as quickly as GM and Ford products.
The author welcomes any criticism, comments or corrections to this article or the table at the end of the page.
- Gerald Wilson, October 2009
Some notes from the brochures
Floating Power: ... three-point suspension of the engine in mountings of live rubber bonded to metal, two on the frame at each side and at the back of the engine, and the third high on the front of the engine. The triangular plane formed by these points bisects the engine at its center of gravity. The weight below fully counterbalances the weight above, minimizing all engine vibration.
Full-Floating Ride: ... establishes front seat comfort and stability for rear seat passengers. It was first attained by scientific weight distribution with back seats placed ahead of the rear axle, cradling all passengers between the front and rear axles. (This isn't just marketing hyperbole, Breer talks about the engineering issues and benefits in his book.)
Other features:
These two pages of specifications may be interesting to readers... following the specifications, you will find detailed production figures based on a great deal of investigation.
Also see our 1946 Dodge page.
1946 Plymouth specifications
Production figures
The serial number sequences by plant for each model began in late 1945 or early 1946 and ran to the end of production in early 1949. Somewhere around January 1, in both 1947 and 1948, the plants began their new 1947 and 1948 serial numbers without making any changes in the cars or breaking the sequence. So if car xxx39 was a 1946 model, car xxx40 became the first 1947 model rather than restarting the sequence at xxx01 again. Chrysler did not market their cars by model year during this period, as GM and Ford did, but they had to offer buyers current models and titles.
The Chrysler serial numbers through 1954 were published in Antique Automobile of May - June 1970 and are currently available at www.imperialclub.com and in the Standard Catalog of Chrysler (with errors). The serial number totals for models built in the U.S. are much lower than those given in the official totals.
Ward's Automotive Yearbook also published production by make for calendar year 1945, and thereafter by make and month from January 1946 to the end of 1954 production in August of that year. Chrysler built only a handful of cars during September 1954. So there are two sets of data documenting U.S. Chrysler production from 1945 to August 1954: serial numbers and monthly production. They should be the same, because the
company would have been the source of the numbers published by Ward's as well as the serial numbers, but they are not. The monthly production numbers consistently exceed the serial numbers, not only for the 1946 - 1948 models but for all the production from late 1945 to August 1954. (This is not true for Dodge, for reasons explained in the Dodge table.)
I have determined, without any solid evidence, that it is more likely that the serial numbers are incomplete than that the monthly production numbers are inflated. So I have added proportionate factors to each series, to bring the serial numbers up to the monthly production of the 1946 - 1948 models and 1946 - 1954 models.
Monthly production and official model year production totals for GM and Ford for the same period converge, which means that these companies did not, unlike Chrysler, aggregate U.S. and Canadian production.
means that the changeover from 1946 to 1947 models would have taken place in
January 1947 and the production for that month divided between 1946 and 1947 models.
The changeover from 1948 to the 1949 models is very interesting. Ford had begun building its 1949 models in April 1948. GM changed over during November and December 1948. According to articles in the automotive press, Chrysler began building its true 1949 models around January 1, 1949, but because of supplier strikes did not have enough components to build them in volume. They had plenty of components for the old models which were still in strong demand, so for the first quarter of 1949 both 1948 models, "first series 1949" as they were called, and true 1949 models were in concurrent production at different plants.
The information in the tables below is an effort to make available to all who may be interested the most accurate information possible on production of the 1946 - 1948 Chrysler lines in the U.S. and Canada. I welcome comments, suggestions and supplemental information from anyone who may have it to contribute.
U.S. Plymouth P15 estimated model year production
year(s) | serials | - chassis + | factor = | production | - chassis | = Calendar Year Total | calendar year production | - chassis | = total | |
1945-6* | 244,602 | 1,240 | 576 | 245,181 | 1,243 | 243,938 | 245,581 | 1,245 | 244,336 | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1947 | 348,021 | 1,764 | 820 | 348,845 | 1,768 | 347,077 | 350,327 | 1,776 | 348,551 | |
1948 | 421,775 | 2,138 | 994 | 422,774 | 2,143 | 420,631 | 420,892 | 2,134 | 418,758 |
* Respectively, late 1945 to partial-December 1946;
partial-December 1946 to partial-December 1947; and partial-December 1947 to partial-February 1949.
and the approximate period. The fourth column is monthly production of P15 cars in the U.S. from late 1945 to February 1949 (partial).
Ending date of the P15 at U.S. plants is not known. Production of the 1949 P17 and P18 began around January 1, 1949, but the P15 models continued to be built, probably into early March.
U.S. serial numbers and monthly production include Plymouth, Desoto Diplomat and
Dodge Kingsway cars, partially assembled cars and chassis, all built on the P15 platform. I have been unable to find any tabulation of P15 Desoto Diplomat and Dodge Kingsway units built in the U.S. but I would be interested in obtaining it, if such tabulations exist.
Official data includes U.S. production mentioned in the preceeding paragraph plus
Plymouth and Desoto Diplomat production in Canada. Candian Dodge Kingsway are not included. They had a separate chassis designation, D25, which was identical to the P15 except for the front end and nameplates. It can be noted that the difference between the official production total and the estimated model year total for the three
years is 42.473 units. Canadian P15 production was approximately 45.000 units.
U.S. Dodge D24, estimated model year production
year(s) | serial numbers less chassis | +factor = | production | calendar year production | - chassis | = total | |
1945-6* | 158,882 | 73 | 156,809 | 157,182 | 73 | 157,109 | |
1947 | 232,335 | 108 | 232,227 | 231,804 | 108 | 253,950 | |
1948 | 253,335 | 118 | 253,719 | 254,068 | 118 | 253,950 |
* Respectively, late 1945 to partial-December 1946;
partial-December 1946 to partial-December 1947; and partial-December 1947 to partial-February 1949.
1947: D24 (230,478) + D24 7-passenger (1,749) = 232,227
1948: D24 (251,808) + D24 7-passenger (1,911) = 253,719
1946-1948 D24 production totals compared
serial numbers | less chassis | estimated model year | monthly less chassis | official |