There was still a big battle even after the end of World War Two.
Ground Zero was Detroit and the war took place on the streets of North America where General Motors, Chrysler and Ford fought for high ground in auto sales.
The battle plan was pretty simple: overwhelm your Big Three enemies with style and curb appeal.
All three major manufacturers knew the game and wanted to gain an edge over their competition with every new model year.
Ford brought some heavy artillery to the conflict and we wanted to pick the top five Ford sedans from the post-war era. We chose sedans because they were the most common models on the road whereas the easy picks would be Mustangs or early T-Birds in the style department.
However, we believe our choices represent high water marks for overall style from the Blue Oval Boys during the post war years-even in competition with their flashier Mustang and T-Bird stablemates.
The 1965 Ford Galaxie comes in at Number 5 on our list. Here was a car that defined a huge style change in 1965 because the car was a complete style makeover from the ’64 Ford. The ’65 Ford was less rounded than its curvier predecessor but its lines were angled in all the right places, including its rakish hardtop.
The 1965 Ford looked fast even at a standstill and that is the ultimate goal for car designers.
Number 4 on our list is the 1963 ½ Ford Galaxie in its two-door hardtop version. The long C pillar on the ’63 ½ was an early fastback design from Ford and was the shape of things to come later in the Sixties when fastbacks became a stylish staple in Detroit.
The tail lights on the ’63 Fords were designed to look like afterburners and the big block versions of the aptly-named Galaxies were indeed road rockets back in 1963.
One of the most iconic Fords comes in at Number 3 on our list: the 1949 Ford. The ’49 Ford was a huge departure in style from the ’48 Ford and became an instant classic in the car hobby. It was a well-rounded, curvier replacement for the ’48, plus it looked tougher than its older sibling.
The 1949 Ford presents a strong case for Number 1 Ford in many car guy debates but we feel there are two more choices that present even stronger cases.
Our Number 2 choice for best post-war Ford is the 1956 Ford. The ’56 Ford is very close in appearance to its game-changer 1955 predecessor, but we believe the front grille and chrome package on the ’56 gave it a slight edge in the overall style department.
The 1956 Ford can more than hold its own in the company of more popular rival models like the ’56 Chevy and deserves it place at Number 2 on our list.
Number 1 on our list may come as a surprise to many readers because we picked the 1960 Ford for our top dog from FoMoCo. The 1960 Ford looked like George Barris built it because of its wild style. The rear end of the ’60 Ford had horizontal fins and unusual taillights that gave it a ready-for-takeoff vibe and made it seem like a jet on four wheels.
The front end of the 1960 Ford also had a unique style that added to its jet-aged design and helped make the car a standalone star in our look at Ford’s finest from the post-war era.
Jim Sutherland
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