Chrysler rolled out its new, wooden-bodied Town & Country models in 1946 with promises of a full line of “woodies,” including a convertible, a sedan, and a roadster. But only the convertible and sedan saw production
The retail price on average for the 1946 Chrysler Town & Country in the U.S. was $2,609 ($40,027 in 2023.) Production totals were documented at 2,169. (Photos courtesy of Stellantis media archives)
There’s a certain charm to the white-socks stance as shown in these PR images of the 1946 Chrysler Town & Country Convertible Coupe. It was a new beginning for U.S. carmakers. World War II ended in 1945 and automakers again ramped up car production after transitioning from building war machines.
When GIs returned home from war, they were ready to let the good times roll and Chrysler was ready with its restart of the 1946 Town & Country nameplate.
The Chrysler Town & Country had been in production from 1940 to 1942, primarily as a luxury station wagon, according to the car’s page on Wikipedia. During this time, the Town & Country was also available in wooden-bodied — “woodie” — body styles of a four-door sedan, two-door hardtop, and convertible.
“Following the war, the Town & Country nameplate returned, though the eight-passenger station wagon did not. Only the 1946 Town & Country four-door sedan and the 1946 Town & Country two-door convertible were offered.
Curiously, the 1946 Town & Country sales brochure also described and illustrated a roadster, a two-door sedan called the Brougham, and a two-door hardtop called the Custom Club Coupe. None of those three additional body styles progressed beyond the prototype stage. Only one Brougham and seven Custom Club Coupes were built,” per Wikipedia.
Luxurious and Elite
I found these notes from an auction report by RM Sotheby’s: “While the sedan was a warm, clubby sanctuary for the trip to one’s hunting lodge, the convertible was elite, a favorite of such celebrities as actress Marie “The Body” MacDonald and popular Western actor Leo Carrillo. Some 8,368 convertibles were sold in three years.”
The Town & Country’s wooden body framing was made from white ash and the panels were mahogany veneer but were now bonded to steel body panels. The convertible’s retail price on average in the U.S. was $2,609 ($36,254 in 2021 dollars; production totals were documented at 2,169, per Wikipedia.
The 1946 Chrysler Town & Country sedan has been described as a warm, clubby sanctuary for the trip to one’s hunting lodge.
Town & Country for 1947
During the 1947 model year, the Chrysler Town & Country sedan and the convertible each carried over with just a few improvements over the previous model year (1946).
1948 Town & Country Sedan
By 1948, the Town & Country sedan was in its last model year of production, after only a three-model-year production run (since the 1946 model year). The 1948 Town & Country convertible carried over with just a few improvements over the previous model year (1947). This was also the year the genuine Honduran mahogany wood panels were replaced by DI-NOC vinyl panels.
1949-1950 Town & Country Convertible
The 1949 Town & Country convertible was now in its last model year of production, which was the only Chrysler Town & Country offering during the 1949 model year.
After a four-model-year production run, Chrysler would produce its last true woodie offering, the Town & Country Newport two-door hardtop.
The cars for 1949 were Chrysler’s first new postwar designs, with a longer wheelbase (131.5 inches), and based upon the New Yorker model.
During its one-model-year production run, the 1950 T&C panels were now simulated wood. The year also marked a new optional feature, windshield washers.
1951 Town & Country Wagon
Chrysler’s Town & Country wagon was reintroduced with all-steel construction in 1951. Windsor and New Yorker variants would continue through the end of Windsor model production for the 1960 model year; Newport and New Yorker models continued through 1965.
The 1946-1948 Chrysler Town & Country sedan.
1966
In 1966, The T&C wagon became a stand-alone model, with trim and features which bridged the gap between the two sedan lines. It was distinguished by luxury features including a carpeted rear cargo area with split-folding second-row bench seats trimmed with chromed strips of steel.
From 1968 forward simulated woodgrain paneling was used on the body sides and tailgate. The treatment was also applied to other competing station wagons, such as the AMC Ambassador, Buick Estate, Oldsmobile Custom Cruiser, Ford Country Squire, and the Mercury Colony Park. In 1976, AMC introduced the Jeep Grand Wagoneer with a simulated woodgrain appearance built on a dedicated chassis.
The Town and Country, however, was in a luxury class by itself until the last of the full-sized versions of 1977. From 1978, it was downsized and absorbed into the LeBaron series. A lower-content version lacking the more luxurious features and woodgrain bodyside decals was available for a few years in the early 1980s.
Last of the T&C Wagons
The 1988 model year was the last for the station wagon until 1990. It was that year when Chrysler reintroduced the Town & Country nameplate as the rebadged variant Chrysler Town & Country minivan.
What might be called a unicorn was a 1921 Silver Ghost that had never been bodied. It was just the chassis and driveline, as it was when it left the factory. It has had several owners, Zemcik said, but was never bodied.
