Pontiac Chieftains
From 1949 to 1958, the Chieftain was the bread and butter of the Pontiac line. It participated in the transition of the marque from a stolid, slightly fancier Chevrolet (or cheaper Oldsmobile, viewed from the opposite perspective) to the Excitement Division that it would become from the 1960s on.
Pontiac re-entered the post-World War II market like most of its competitors — with slightly restyled 1942 models. Those cars were the A-body Torpedo on a 119-inch wheelbase and the upmarket B-body Streamliner on a 122-inch wheelbase. Power came from conventional L-head inline engines, either a 90-hp, 239-cu.in. six-cylinder or a 103-hp, 249-cu.in. eight-cylinder. For 1948, the GM Hydra-Matic automatic transmission would become optional on both lines and engines.
By 1949, the postwar seller’s market, where cars were so scarce compared with demand that manufacturers felt virtually no competitive pressure, had begun to abate. Oldsmobile and Cadillac had received new bodies the previous year, and now it was the turn of the other GM divisions, Pontiac included. Up front, envelope designs prevailed, which GM called “flow-through-fender” styling, though the rear quarters retained the suggestion of the old pontoon fenders.
People were ready to forget the war, so militaristic names like “Torpedo” were out. Because the Pontiac division was named after the and passenger trains certainly did not hurt the car’s image either.
