Make Your Sport Bet A Reality

Make Your Sport Bet A Reality

As soon as he returned to Sidi Bel Abbès, he served with the 18th Company of the 5th Battalion, before leaving for Madagascar in January 1902. Assigned in April to the 2nd Company in the Belo sector, Lieutenant Rollet took part in operations and patrols in the territory of the Sakalaves, and left the island only in March 1905, along with the last units of the Legion.

But nothing really new was needed in the car-starved early-postwar market, and Ford output exceeded 429,000 units for 1947. The total was only 248,000 the following year, but that only reflected an early end to 1948 production. With the Korean conflict ended, Ford jogo Tigrinho Division built 1.2 million cars to edge Chevrolet for the model year (Chevy consoled itself with calendar-year supremacy), but only by dumping cars on dealers in a production "blitz" so they could sell for "less than cost." Ironically, Chevrolet wasn't much affected by this onslaught, but Studebaker, American Motors, and Kaiser-Willys were, because they couldn't afford to discount as much.

The executives selected Caleal's design, which went into production basically unchanged, except that his vertical taillights were made horizontal and bled into the rear quarter. Ably assisting him was the youthful "Whiz Kids" team of executives and engineers he'd recruited, including one Robert S. McNamara. Pete Rose was a legendary switch hitter who played for the Cincinnati Reds, who went on to serve as a team manager after his playing days had ended. Called LTD II, it was only a little lighter than before, and sales went nowhere. That and a price identical with the Sunliner convertible's -- $2164 -- held '54 Skyliner sales to 13,344. Only the Country Squire and Mainline business coupe fared worse. It was snazzy, with a padded canvas-covered top and sweeping contrast-color panel on the bodysides, but sales were only fair at 17,601 for 1950 and another 8703 for '51. Efforts for 1950 aimed at quashing the bugs from '49. Studebaker had developed an excellent automatic for 1950 in association with Warner Gear. Ford wouldn't have its own automatic transmission until 1951, though it tried to get one earlier. Though still without a hardtop and a fully automatic transmission like Chevrolet, Ford bested 1930's imposing model-year output, making more than 1.2 million cars.

But Ford as a whole did splendidly in banner 1955, shattering its postwar record of 1953 by building nearly 1.5 million cars. Together with ball-joint front suspension, also new, the Y-block greatly narrowed the engineering gap between expensive and inexpensive cars. The venerable flathead V-8 was honorably retired for 1954 in favor of a new overhead-valve "Y-block" V-8 (so-called because of its frontal appearance in cross-section). A '49 Ford couldn't quite reach 100 mph, but hopping up the flathead V-8 was still simple, cheap, and easy. Also new for '51 was Ford's first hardtop coupe, the Custom V-8 Victoria. There was also a novel new hardtop called Skyliner, a Crestline Victoria with a transparent, green-tint Plexiglas roof insert over the front seat. Dodge dutifully spent its allowance on grafting new fronts and rears for the Dart's four-door sedan and two-door hardtop bodies. This was the Fairlane Crown Victoria, a hardtop-style two-door sedan with a bright metal roof band wrapped up and over from steeply angled B-posts. Only detail changes would occur to this basic design through 1954. Wheelbase crept up to 115 inches for a revised model slate that started with a cheap Mainline Tudor/Fordor, business coupe, and two-door Ranch Wagon, followed by Customline sedans, club coupe, and four-door Country Sedan wagon.

No changes at all occurred for '48, but the six was rerated to 95 horsepower, up five. The former offered six and V-8 Tudor and Fordor, along with business and club coupes. A full steel-roof model was also offered for $70 less than the "bubble-topper"; predictably, it sold much better: 33,000-plus to just 1999. The totals were 9209 and just 603 for '56, after which the Crown Vic was dumped. But the '49 was the most-changed Ford since the Model A, and was as much a hit. Ford wanted to buy it for its cars, but Studebaker refused -- much to its later regret. Club coupes were abandoned, wagons grouped in a separate series, and Crestline was renamed Fairlane (after the Ford family estate in Dearborn). Topping the range was the V-8 Crestline group of Victoria hardtop, newly named Sunliner convertible, and posh Country Squire four-door wagon. Prices rose again for 1949, the range now $1333-$2119.