Advertisement in St. Johns Review ~ December 30, 1921

Raymond F. Fisher's first dealership, which opened in November 1922, was located at what later would be known as 8407 N. Jersey (now Lombard), the NW corner of Jersey (Lombard) and John. This location was Peninsula Motor Sales (June 1920 - December 1921) and Fields Motor Car Co. (December 1921 - November 1922)

Wes Herwick recalled at our January 28th Heritage meeting that he had been on "a list" and was lucky enough to be told by Raymond F. Fisher Chevrolet he could purchase a new 1946 Chevrolet four-door Stylemaster Sport Sedan. In the postwar period, four-door sedans displaced two-door sedans as the most popular body style.

One resource lists the price of a 1946 four-door Stylemaster Sport Sedan at $1,123. The shipping weight was 3,150 lbs. Production total 75,349. In the Stylemaster series only the driver was supplied with a sun visor. A second visor could be ordered extra.

Civilian car production had stopped on January 30, 1942 due to the war effort. When WWII ended passenger car production started up again October 3, 1945 for the 1946 model year. On November 21, 1945 the UAW began a 113-day strike against GM, seeking to bargain on vehicle prices but eventually settling for a wage increase.

To get a new vehicle so close to the end of the war Wes must have felt he was one of the lucky ones. Typically one put their names on many lists at various dealerships hoping to increase their chances of getting a new car. Due to a parts shortage Wes's Chevrolet was originally delivered without a spare tire. Many early models were shipped with wooden beams as bumpers, to be exchanged when chromed steel replacements became available.

The 1946, 1947, and 1948 model Chevrolet's were little changed from 1942. Chevrolet's first all new post war vehicle was the 1949 model.

The rarest of the 1942 to 1948 models is the 1946 eight passenger station wagon of which only 804 were made. The highest production model was the 1948 2-door Aerosedan of which 211,861 were produced.

Two Photo's Above From Images of America ~ Chevrolet 1911 - 1960