National Ice Cream Day fell on Sunday, July 18th this year. I used to eat ice cream by the bowlful regularly when I was growing up. Vanilla was what my family usually had in the freezer, as it was the one flavor all of us could agree on. My generous, self-administered servings would be drizzled with Hershey’s chocolate syrup, and then also sprinkled over the top with crushed walnuts and sometimes marshmallows. It was bliss. I can’t remember the point at which I had stopped eating and drinking as much dairy in my young adulthood, but after years of reintroducing ice cream back into my diet, albeit in much more limited quantities than before, I’m back to enjoying the occasional frozen treat from time to time to the point where I now usually keep some in my freezer. It’s a joy to have it back in my life.
After dinner at the Chicken Coop. Watervliet, Michigan. Tuesday, August 16, 2011.
Lots of summer plans and activities that many of us had skipped last year due to quarantine have resumed, including road travel, which I have sorely missed. Almost a decade ago, during one of my many pilgrimages between my hometown of Flint and my adopted city of Chicago, I had stopped in the town of Watervliet in southwestern Michigan, west of Kalamazoo, for a bite to eat. The Chicken Coop fast food restaurant had many advertisements along eastbound I-94, and it had endeared itself to me simply by its name since my grandparents actually had a chicken coop on their farm in Ohio at one point. I have an unwritten rule that when I’m on holiday, I eat mostly whatever I want, and the greasier the better.
I was enjoying a satisfying, late lunch of freshly fried chicken fingers and french fries when I spotted this honey of a 1946 Ford pull into the parking lot of the adjacent Frosty Boy ice cream and sandwich shop. “Super DeLuxe” is its model name, but that sounds like it could also be the name of a sundae, or at least a size classification of one. When an opportunity like this plops itself right in front of me, I take it as a sign, so I strode purposefully next door with my camera and got a few clicks. The owners of this car noticed me taking pictures of it from outside the Frosty Boy, and I waved to them. If I had been feeling more adventurous that afternoon, I might have stopped over for a soft-serve ice cream cone and a chat, but perhaps I hadn’t been mentally ready for that kind of social interaction in that moment, which is 100% okay.
The last of the ’42 Fords had rolled off the assembly line on February 10th of that year. Following World War II, Ford resumed production of civilian vehicles on July 3, 1945, with an early introduction of its ’46 models. This extra lead time, as well as Chevrolet’s concurrent labor issues, enabled Ford to outsell its main rival for the ’46 model year by almost 70,000 units, or a margin of about 17.5% (468,000 units vs. 398,000). Dearborn’s advertising campaign included the tagline “There’s A Ford In Your Future!” Part of this model’s appeal was the availability of a 239.4 cubic inch V8 with 100 horsepower, which was first used in the ’39 Mercury, and also a thrifty 225.8 c.i. six with 90 horses.
We’ve all had to make sacrifices during the current pandemic, and it’s great to be feeling some sense of normalcy after 2020, with many of us carefully getting back to some of our regularly scheduled summer programming. Still, I cannot imagine what it would have been like to live through a time like WWII, when factory production resources of large corporations like Ford were diverted to building military planes, vehicles, weapons, and equipment, and one couldn’t even buy a new car. (The current microchip and car supply shortage issue is a separate topic.) Even with COVID-related caution still needed and a few things to forego right now in the name of safety, I’ll still never know the sense of relief my grandparents felt at the end of that war during which they were trying to raise a small family, at the time this car was new.
Watervliet, Michigan.
Sunday, August 5, 2012.
The 1946 Ford brochure photos were sourced from www.oldcarbrochures.com.
Hi, Joseph! As always, excellent note. I guess the year is a typo….2012 is long ago and far away already.
I also think always about my parents and grand parents feelings at the end of WWII…much food for ruminate about,
Thanks, Rafael. This car was indeed photographed nine whole years ago. I hope it is still in this good of shape, and that its owners are in good health.
Nice to see this car out and about—I wonder how many are still around compared to the “shoebox” cars a few years later.
I think that “there’s a Ford in your future” ad campaign a savvy one, with the huge pent-up demand for cars as the war ended. I like the ads that barely hinted at what the car looked like, and just sold the pride of ownership. I too, of course, will never know the experience of getting through a prolonged world war like that….
Always love the 46-48 Fords, when I was 10 and helping my uncle with his they seemed so huge, but they are not big cars by today’s standards.
Also, that’s a coupe not a sedan.
Doug, thank you – I have fixed the title. I also agree with you that this car did not seem large at all when I was up close to it.
I’ve often thought that it can’t be a coincidence that the ’46 Ford grille has to have been much easier and less labor-intensive to assemble than the much higher-parts-count ’42 example, with dozens of diecast pieces replaced by four main stamped ones. It stayed the same through ’48, too, as all design resources were poured into the all-new ’49s.
I haven’t seen an obvious example of a post-pandemic 2021 car wearing the constraints of its’ time on its’ face like that yet, but there are a few models of cars with bright-white plastic pieces up front that look like they were meant to glow in the design studio, and it could be chip conservation rather than ordinary bean-counting which is why they weren’t plastichromed. I’m probably stretching on that though.
I love these, much better looking that the shoebox ’49 that replaced it and better build quality too .
Not stopping during the pandemic is vital to your mental health ~ this is the most recent run I was on : https://www.autoweek.com/car-life/classic-cars/g37137193/socal-tt-rally/
Plenty of solo driving and Motocycle riding too .
-Nate
Ice cream!
In the early part of my childhood, we couldn’t keep ice cream at home; we had to go out for it. This was because our early 50s Frigidaire didn’t have a separate freezer compartment, only a small zone where ice cubes could be made and stored (but not cold enough for ice cream).
So it was with great joy when we got our new side-by-side Kelvinator in 1964 and could finally have this luxury. The Frigidaire was moved to the basement, where it continued to provide yeoman service for many more years.
When I see these postwar 1946-48 Fords, I’m reminded of Phil Silvers’ yellow convertible in “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.”
“I’m reminded of Phil Silvers’ yellow convertible in “It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World.””
And “Wax on, Wax off!” from the Karate Kid.
Daniel made the right choice.
A great find, and a car that is really hard to dislike. I have never found these overtly beautiful, but they have a handsome quality to them that is hard to describe.
I always wondered why my maternal grandfather, who got sixteen years of solid service (an eternity back then) from a 1935 Ford V8 sedan, did not buy another Ford when he finally bought a new car in 1951 – he bought a Kaiser instead. My mother remembered that he was not impressed with the quality of “modern” Fords, and called them “tinny”. I was never sure if his opinion was restricted to the shoebox models of 1949-51 or included these too. I know that I would be hard pressed to kick one of these out of the garage if one were to find its way there.
Wow, 16 years was a long time to keep a car back then! When I became car-aware in the late 50s, I don’t recall seeing anything built before WWII on the streets of Pittsburgh. (I’m sure some existed, but they must have been hidden in garages or behind fences.)
The ’51 Kaiser was certainly a stylish car.
Many pre WW2 cars simply got scrapped for the war effort. Scrap metal was worth a mint at the time, even in a steel town like Pittsburgh. My parents grew up there and lived thru the war years.
Looking at this car made me realize how much Ford changed their design from the ’46-48 iteration to the 1949 models. They completely modernized the look from front to back.
Great see see classic cars running around, not necessarily at a car show. Thanks for capturing this one.
Nice old Ford – I’ve always liked them, and I saw a four door of the same vintage (a Fordor) in our Toronto neighbourhood a few years ago. The body was in decent shape, but the interior was, shall we say, a work in progress with a couple of mismatched seats and not much else. At least they could still drive it. The vintage ads are great as well, and there happens to be a Ford in our present. My wife and I are on vacation and they gave us a Ford Escape for a rental which we really like. After visiting the in-laws for a few days we’re off for the rest of the week and enjoying foods we don’t normally eat at home. By the way, next time you’re in Port Huron, Michigan hit London’s Dairy near the Blue Water Bridge for ice cream. I haven’t been there in years (hopefully it’s still around) but they were always great.
After visiting the in-laws for a few days we’re off for the rest of the week and enjoying foods we don’t normally eat at home.
As it should be.
And thanks for the recommendation for London’s Dairy!
I love my deep fryer!
Nice coupe they were popular here back in the day along with its Mercury cousin no engine options here they all had the 239 cube V8 nobody had heard of Ford’s 6.
In the mid fifties my family lived with my grandparents for a time and the elderly neighbor who lived across the street had a ‘46 Ford. It looked absolutely ancient in a sea of forward look Mopars and Chevy Bel Airs. It was still around to about 1960 when the owner passed on. I recall the day when he decided it could use some sprucing up and he brush painted it a dark green.
I love that he took a frugal approach. I can only hope that he was pleased with the end result.