While the '46-'48 Dodges were mostly prewar Dodge D-22's with a light cosmetic makeover, 1949 saw the first true postwar lineup from Dodge.
You could get your '49 Dodge in one of three flavors. Lowest on the totem pole was the stripped-down Wayfarer, only available as a two-door coupe, business coupe, or roadster, all on a shortened 115" wheelbase. The top of the line model was the Coronet, which came in the whole array of coupe, sedan, convertible, and wagon styles.
In the middle was the Meadowbrook, which only came as a 123.5"-wheelbase pillared sedan. They were fairly popular, moving ~90,000 units and accounting for nearly a third of the marque's sales that year.
For 1951, the Meadowbrook received an entirely new, more modern-looking front end. Due to Detroit's production being focused on vehicles for the Korean War, the '51 and '52 models were pretty much identical.
Under the hood could be found Dodge's "Get-Away" flathead inline six. It displaced 230 cubic inches and, breathing through a single Stromberg carb, was rated at 103 SAE gross horsepower.
The only transmission choice was Dodge's Gyro-Matic, which was just the Dodge brand name for Chrysler's Fluid-Drive. Not a true automatic, it was a 3-speed manual with a torque converter. The clutch and column mounted shift lever were needed to select among the gears, but you could come to a full stop and start off again without having to use the clutch.
