1946 Ford Super DeLuxe 2-Door Convertible

Following the official surrender of Japan in September 1945, civilian car production slowly resumed. The 1946 Ford was identical to the 1942 model under the skin, though a heavy new grille with horizontal bars and red accents refreshed the styling. The hood was widened by adding a center strip.

The original price of the 1946 Ford Super De Luxe was less than $2,000. There were 372,543 Super De Luxe cars produced in 1946, including 16,359 convertibles.

In the 1985 film Back to the Future and its sequel Back to the Future Part II, the car that the character Biff Tannen owned in 1955 was a black 1946 Ford Super De Luxe convertible. During production, a black 1946 Ford Super De Luxe coupe had the top cut off to resemble a convertible. After the film, the car was kept by Universal and displayed in their back-lot tour. The 1946 car is now in a private collection.

1929 Chevy Series AC International Phaeton

Chevy dramatically countered the Ford Model A in 1929 with the AC International. Replacing the 1928 Series AB National, more than 1.3 million Series AC International cars were manufactured in a range of ten body styles — including the popular 4-door Phaeton.

The Series AC International featured an overhead valve Chevrolet "Stovebolt" engine and was advertised as "A Six in the price range of the Four". The engine was also affordable since it was only $10 more than the outgoing four-cylinder Series AB. To simplify production operations, each factory was designated one body style for national consumption and shipped by railroad to major American cities.

Options offered included front and rear bumpers — considered standard equipment in later years — a rear-mounted extendable trunk rack, a heater for the passenger compartment, a cigar lighter, and the introduction of a hood ornament.

1947 Ford Super DeLuxe Fordor

The 1947 Fords truly marked the end of an era — since Henry Ford passed away on April 7, 1947. His last personal car was a dark blue 1942 Super DeLuxe Fordor sedan with a 1946 Super DeLuxe grille.

The 1947 Ford line was similar to the short 1946. Visual differences included the removal of the red accents from the grill and the two small lights located just above it. Ford began titling 1947s in February 1947. For the first few weeks, the 1947 model was identical to the 1946. Ford then restyled the body slightly first by moving the parking lights from above the grill to below each headlight. Exterior moldings were changed from grooved to a smooth design. A new hood ornament with a blue plastic insert was installed. A new hubcap design became available in March. The final 1947 models were titled in November.

In the 1984 film The Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi gives Daniel Larusso a cream-colored 1947 Ford Super DeLuxe convertible as a birthday gift. The car was actually a gift to Ralph Macchio from the film's producer. To this day, Macchio still owns the car.

1938 Packard Six Touring Sedan 1600 Series

Hoping to catch still more of the market, Packard issued a model line in 1936 powered by a Packard six-cylinder engine. The decision to introduce the "Packard Six", priced at around $1,200, was in time for the 1938 recession.

Unfortunately, this model also tagged Packards as something less exclusive than they had been in the public's mind and in the long run hurt Packard's reputation of building some of America's finest luxury cars.

The Six, redesignated as the 110 in 1940-41, continued for three years after the war.

1948 Ford Super Deluxe Sedan

Ford Motor Company introduced its Deluxe Ford line in 1938 as an upscale alternative to bridge the gap between its base model and luxury Lincoln cars. The Deluxe name was first used starting in 1930 to specify an upscale trim, then later the Deluxe Ford line was differentiated as a separate "marque within a marque" with separate styling and pricing.

As mentioned above, the Ford Deluxe line was used in several movies and television shows.

• A 1948 Ford Deluxe convertible was the base car that was transformed into "Greased Lightning" in the movie Grease.
• In the 1984 film The Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi gives Daniel Larusso a cream-colored 1947 Ford Super Deluxe convertible as a birthday gift. The car was actually a gift to Ralph Macchio from the film's producer. To this day, Macchio still owns the car. The car reappears in the Cobra Kaispinoff TV show several times where Daniel is seen to still own it. In the third season, Daniel states that getting his first car from Mr. Miyagi inspired him to go into the car business.
• Future Part II, the car that Biff Tannen owns in 1955 was a black 1946 Ford Super Deluxe convertible.

I can't say that I like the color that much but I do like the streamlined body shape.