{"id":2800,"date":"2008-07-09T20:37:00","date_gmt":"2008-07-10T00:37:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.kitfoster.com\/carport\/2008\/07\/clown-country\/"},"modified":"2010-12-30T12:00:58","modified_gmt":"2010-12-30T17:00:58","slug":"clown-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.kitfoster.com\/carport\/2008\/07\/clown-country\/","title":{"rendered":"Clown & Country"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"1942<\/a><\/p>\n

About three years ago at Hershey I came across a sight that stopped me in my tracks. What to my wondering eyes appeared was the strangest 1942 Dodge<\/a> I’d ever seen. A placard<\/a> on the vehicle suggested it was a prototype for a Dodge-based Town & Country, and proffered a hefty asking price<\/a>.<\/p>\n

We all know the Town & Country variations. They’ve been explained here before<\/a> but it’s fun to do it again. In 1941, Chrysler introduced a handsome<\/a> barrel-back woodie<\/a>, well received and carried over into 1942. After the war, the wagon was gone but succeeded by a handsome six-cylinder sedan<\/a> and eight-pot convertible<\/a>. There were plans for others, a two-door Brougham<\/a>, one built, a hardtop<\/a> (made in quantity of seven) and a little three-passenger roadster<\/a> that was never built. In recent years, at least one<\/a> was created from a Windsor business coupe. The T&C soldiered on until 1950<\/a>, by which time it came only in hardtop form<\/a> with very little wood showing. Soon the name was retired to Chrysler’s all-steel station wagon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But a Dodge T&C? Dodge, with DeSoto, was the least of the woodies. Unlike Plymouth, which had a wagon in 1946-7-8<\/a>, except for truck-based wagons<\/a> Dodge had a dearth of wood between the 1938 Westchester Suburban<\/a> and the 1949 Coronet station wagon<\/a>.<\/p>\n

So really I think this creation was somebody’s idea of what a Dodge Clown & Country might look like. I’ve always considered the 1942 Dodges to be pretty cars<\/a>, nicely proportioned and tastefully trimmed<\/a>, especially in contrast to their postwar brethren<\/a>. This car, however, is pretty crude, its lines<\/a> dictated by the sheet metal that was grafted on. I don’t recognize the trunk lid<\/a>, except for the 1946-48 Chrysler stop lamp<\/a>. The roof<\/a> looks quite familiar, one of the many twin-window 1937-39 sedans, but I can’t place it. Moreover, it was in pretty terrible shape, with sheet metal<\/a> grafted over obvious holes in the body and hints of ominous trouble within<\/a>. By Saturday it was on a trailer, headed back whence it came.<\/p>\n

Anybody got any other ideas, or answers to this puzzle? Tell us<\/a> what you think.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

About three years ago at Hershey I came across a sight that stopped me in my tracks. What to my wondering eyes appeared was the strangest 1942 Dodge I’d ever seen. A placard on the vehicle suggested it was a prototype for a Dodge-based Town & Country, and proffered a hefty asking price. We all….<\/span>
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