Junkyard Gem: 1949 Dodge Coronet 4-Door Sedan

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After World War II ended and Detroit got back to building civilian cars instead of weapons, most new 1946-1948 American cars were slightly restyled versions of prewar designs (because Americans wanted cars right now). 1949 was the big model year for the American cars that really left the war in the rear-view mirror; Ford went to independent front suspension and sleeker lines, GM introduced a radical new overhead-valve V8 family and sleeker lines, and Chrysler… well, Chrysler kept building stodgy-looking machinery with reliable but old-fashioned suspension and powertrain hardware. The new 1949 Dodges got bodywork that was a bit smoother-looking than that of the '48s, but styling moved metal in those days and sales weren't as strong as Chrysler hoped. Here's one of those cars, a top-of-the-line Coronet in a Northern California self-service knacker's yard.

I stopped by this yard on an electron-fueled drive from the San Francisco Bay to the Biggest Little City in the World because I had seen this car in Row52's online inventory and I wanted to grab some windshield-wiper hardware for my 1941 Plymouth project. The wiper parts weren't right for my car, but this Dodge turned out to be quite solid and complete, well worth documenting for this series.

In the Chrysler Corporation brand-prestige hierarchy of 1949, Dodge ranked above entry-level Plymouth but below DeSoto and Chrysler.

The Coronet name was introduced for 1949, designating the top trim level for Dodge cars that year (the last new Dodge bearing the Coronet name in North America was a 1976 model).

The list price for this car was $1,927, or about $23,904 in 2022 dollars. The very cheapest 1949 Dodge four-door sedan was the Meadowbrook, which cost $1,848 ($22,924 today). Serious cheapskates could get a stripped-down '49 Plymouth De Luxe four-door for a mere $1,492 ($18,508 now).

What you got as standard equipment on affordable cars in 1949 differs greatly from what you get today. For example, you had to pay extra for a heater in the 1949 Dodge. I probably should have bought this "MoPar 70" emblem while I was there.

This was what Dodge's brochure writers described as "living-room comfort."

Here's what it would have looked like nearly three-quarters of a century back.