1946 Classic Cars for Sale
America's first postwar cars: 1946 Cadillac, Buick Super, and Lincoln Continental returned on carryover 1942 bodies to a nation desperate to buy
1946 was the year America went car shopping again, and the country was absolutely ready. Dealers had waiting lists. Buyers were offering cash over sticker to jump the queue. The cars themselves were honest about what they were: 1942 designs with updated trim, fresh chrome, and new badging. Detroit had no time and no money to design new vehicles from scratch, and buyers did not care.
Ford sold 468,022 cars for the model year. Chevrolet moved 398,028 units. These were serious numbers for an industry that had built almost nothing civilian for four years. The 1946 Cadillac Series 62 carried the prewar body but wore it with enough dignity that nobody complained. Lincoln brought back the Continental, still powered by the 292 cubic-inch V12, still one of the most elegant American cars of any era.
For collectors, 1946 represents the opening chapter of the postwar story. The cars are mechanically prewar, which means flathead engines and column shifts, but the styling has just enough freshness to feel transitional. Convertibles and woody wagons from 1946 have a devoted following. A clean 1946 Lincoln Continental cabriolet is a serious piece, and the market treats it accordingly.
- Total U.S. passenger car production for 1946 reached approximately 2.15 million units, a remarkable restart considering factories had been producing war material just months earlier.
- The Chrysler Town and Country was offered as a full convertible for 1946, with a genuine white ash and mahogany body structure, priced at $2,366 and becoming one of the most desirable American cars of the decade.
- Ford introduced the 1946 Sportsman convertible with a genuine wood-trimmed body in limited numbers, producing an estimated 1,209 units and creating an instant collector car on the day it was built.
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1946 Chevrolet Cabover
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1946 Chevrolet Cabover
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1946 Ford Deluxe
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1946 Buick Roadmaster
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1946 Chevrolet Master
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1946 Chevrolet Master
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1946 Pontiac Torpedo
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1946 Willys CJ2A
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1946 Chevrolet Deluxe
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1946 Buick Special
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1946 Ford F100
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1946 Chevrolet Master
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1946 Ford Deluxe
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1946 Ford Custom
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1946 Chevrolet Fleetmaster
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1946 Lincoln Continental
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1946 Ford Special Deluxe
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1946 Chevrolet Master
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1946 Ford Coupe
Market: The 1946 Chrysler Town and Country convertible and the Ford Sportsman sit at the top of the market, with strong examples regularly reaching $100,000 to $180,000 at major auctions. Standard convertibles from Cadillac, Buick, or Lincoln in solid condition run $45,000 to $95,000. Closed body styles from mainstream makes remain accessible at $12,000 to $30,000 for presentable drivers.
Buyer's note: On 1946 woody wagons and Sportsman convertibles, have a specialist inspect the wood structure independently before purchase, since hidden rot in the framing can make a cosmetically clean car a six-figure restoration project.