First Posted: 1/7/2015
LIMA — “A Fine Car Made Even Finer” was the slogan for the Pontiacs from 1948. The pontoon fenders had to stay for one more year, as did the flat windscreens. The big news for 1948 was mechanical, for the 1948 Pontiac was the first car in this family-man price class to be offered with an automatic transmission, the Hydra-Matic. For $175, a working man could own a car he didn’t have to shift himself. That’s not to say that there was not anything new on the 1948 Pontiac’s exterior as nearly all of the trim on the 1948 Pontiac was new. The grille was bolder, with the blocky PONTIAC script set into a small, third bar tucked under the leading edge of the hood molding. The result was a much larger “mouth.” Triple spears adorning the flanks of the 1947 were replaced with a single, thick beltline molding that would indicate the future of automotive design for years to come. And at the rear of the car, round taillamps gave the appearance of small afterburners in the night.
Jerry Roush, of Lima, brought his 1948 Pontiac Silver Streak Torpedo to The Lima News’ Real Wheels Cruise-In. He has owned it for 17 years. He bought it from the Goodguys swap meet, in Columbus from a man who lived in Louisville, KY. He enjoys cruising with a group of friends to places like Columbus, Gatlinburg and Louisville. “Traveling with a group of show cars down the highway is half the fun,” says Roush.
