26 ❘ August22, 2019 http://www.oldcarsweekly.comIndependents Day WITHBOBTOMAINE
O
ptimism and enthusiasm
were abundant in immedi-
ate-postwar America, and
as quickly as it could the
auto industry jumped right in with its
vision of the future.
It made perfect sense. Even before
the United States was dragged into
World War II on December 7, 1941, it
had endured the Great Depression and
other problems for more than a decade.
When all of that was fi nally fi nished,
Americans had every reason to celebrate
and feel good about what was to come,
and the auto industry also had reasons
of its own. The Big Three, the remaining
Independents and the truck manufactur-
ers could point to defense production
that would have been ridiculed if anyone
had suggested it just a few years earlier.
Like the public, the industry was ready
for something new.
Of course, “something new” couldn’t
exactly appear overnight as the industry
needed to convert back to civilian ve-
hicles and address the vehicle shortage
that had developed during the war years.
Studebaker advertised that it was “fi rst
by far with a postwar car” thanks to its
radically new 1947 line, and Kaiser-
Frazer models that year were truly new
since they had no prewar predecessors,
but they were decidedly conventional.
The rest followed, and while the 1948
Hudson (“the car you step down into!”),Tucker and Packard (“the recognized
beauty leader” with its “Free-fl ow” styl-
ing) were sleekly futuristic, the most
delightfully shocking take on tomorrow
was the 1949 Nash.Enter the Airfl yte
“When you see a car that’s one sheer
streak of racing line,” ads exclaimed,
“with bullet nose splitting the air —
You’re right! It’s a new Nash Airfl yte!
When you sit on a sofa four persons
wide — with a great undivided wind-
shield curving around you — and all
your driving dials in the Uniscope –
You’re right – you’re IN a Nash Airfl yte!
When the power zooms forth ... when
the bumps melt away ... when you take
the curves easier, faster than ever before
— You’re right — you’re DRIVING an
Airfl yte!”
It was a perfect example of the cli-
che about a picture’s being worth 1,000
words because no description could
fully convey the Airfl yte’s look. With its
fl at sides, barely there wheelwells and
perfectly smooth windshield-to-bumper
fastback, the new Nash was unmistak-
able. It was more than just a pretty face,
though, as its aerodynamics helped to
return respectable gas mileage from ei-
ther of its sixes; unibody construction
provided a quiet, safe ride; and coils all
around translated to easy driving with
decent handling. The downside was thatvisibility was not good — particularly
when attempting to parallel park or just
back up. There was plenty of room for
even tall passengers, but a tall driver
soon learned to slide down slightly in
the seat in order to use the entire wind-
shield.
Neither of those shortcomings was
a disaster and to be completely fair,
neither was exclusive to Nashes. The
company didn’t need to come up with
a quick redesign as some other manu-
facturers have been forced to do after
an unconventional model’s poor recep-
tion and, in fact, distinguishing the 1950
Nashes from the 1949s took a sharp
eye. The differences were all in details,
including a slightly larger backlight, a
name change for the 600 to become the
Statesman and the availability of GM’s
Hydra-Matic on the upscale Ambassa-
dor. The Statesman’s fl athead increased
from 82 to 85 hp and the Ambassador’s
overhead-valve unit went from 112 to
115 hp.
The postwar sellers’ market was
winding down, so the Airfl yte’s numbers
show that it was a success at least partly
on its own as Nash sales climbed from
almost 119,000 in pre-Airfl yte 1948
models to more than 142,000 in 1949
and almost 168,000 in 1950. Sadly, the
trend didn’t continue in 1951 when sales
fell to slightly more than 101,000 cars.
Some moderately serious faceliftingThe love-it-or-leave-it Airfl yte
Certainly one of the
most distinctive cars
of the postwar era, the
1951 Ambassador is
the third and fi nal
version of Nash’s
original Airflyte design.