Why no four-door wagon in '49-'51?

David Conwill

David Conwill

Senior Member
wagon.jpg


Back in 2006 I had a pretty neat calendar that showed an illustration of different 1950-model-year car on each month (1950 and 2006 share the same days of the week). One month featured a ‘50 Ford woodie and the text describing it indicated Ford had offered both two-door and four-door station wagons in ‘50. Being an old salt of 23 or 24, who had spent the previous decade and a half obsessed with all things pre-Vietnam, I knew that was bad information. But I couldn’t prove it! My written resources even listed a four-door wagon in ‘50.

Finally I wrote into Hemmings Classic Car and got confirmation that, indeed, there was no four-door wagon in ‘50.

I was vindicated, but now I wondered... Why? They built four-door wagons in the ‘41-‘48 run, and they returned in ‘52 and never left until I stopped caring about Ford wagons in 1991.

Is there something about the shoebox architecture that doesn’t lend itself to a four-door wagon? Was it Korea?

Please help satisfy my curiousity! Thanks.
 
I'm not certain as to why Ford did not build a ForDor Station Wagon for the '49 -'51 model years in the Ford or the Mercury (both wagon bodies were the same from the cowl back. I would surmise that the reason(s) was from a style standpoint, also the fact that Ford was phasing out the use of wood as a structural body component (wood equals additional weight). I love the '42 - '48 Ford & Merc Woody's, but I also like to TuDor '49 -'51 styles. I doubt that the Korean War had anything to do with the design. The shoebox Woody design does not really lend itself to a ForDor in my opinion.
 
The ad is great - shows two people sitting in the rear seat. That is an adventure to get
two adults back there. Plus the tail gate does not fold flat on the '49's. The long doors add to the look, and getting to the second seat is easy.
 
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