A Historic Era in American History

On this day in 1947, Jackie Robinson stepped onto a Major League Baseball stadium wearing Brooklyn Dodgers uniform. He started as the Dodger's first baseman. In the first inning he grounded out Boston Braves' Connie Ryan, and helped the Dodgers go on to defeat the Braves, 5-3. This event marked a major change in American sports and society. It broke the color barrier in the MLB.

This significant story was released on the big screen across America over the weekend in Hollywood's "42."  The movie depicts Jackie Robinson's struggles and triumphs throughout the 1940's. America was going through a lot of changes at this point in time. To commemorate this important period in American history, we would like to look back at Buick and GM during this era.

 

Buick





1947 Buick Roadmaster

Roadmasters were in production from 1936 to 1958, and reintroduced later in the 90's. In 1948 Buick introduced Dynaflow automatic transmission. The Dynaflow transmission greatly increased acceleration, and made it a smoother ride. The Roadmaster depicted in the picture above is a fourth-generation model. Fourth-generation models were produced from 1942 to 1948.

1949 Buick Roadmaster

The Roadmaster received its first major postwar restyling in 1949. Roadmasters were built on Buick's longest wheelbase, this was reduced on the 49' model. The Roadmaster also was fitted with a distinguished curved glass windshield. Buick also introduced "VentiPorts" on the 1949 Roadmaster, the three vents on the front fender behind the front wheels.

GMC

GMC suspended most truck production during World War II. Most pickups produced by GMC during the years of the war were basically 1941-1942 models. Directly after the war, little upgrades were added. It wasn't until 1947 that GMC introduced entirely restyled truck lines. These became the first rebodied General Motors vehicles produced after the war.

1948 GMC FC100 Series Pickup

 

1949 GMC One Ton Pickup

The picture above is a GMC One Ton Pickup Truck from 1949. It produced 94 horsepower with a 228 cubic inch Super-Duty Inline Six Cylinder engine.