1946 Dodge Power Wagon

If you like old cars and trucks, you cannot help but stand in awe of a vintage Dodge Power Wagon. Mechanically derived from Dodge's 1942–1945 3/4-ton WC series military trucks, the Power Wagon was introduced in 1946 as the first civilian production 4x4 truck.

It's always been curious to me why Ford and Chevy didn't make anything like this or indeed any 4x4 vehicles at all in the mid-20th century. America's population was a lot more rural then, with a lot more folks driving on terrible roads. Apparently it just never occurred to people to buy 4x4s. I'm told by old timers that people living in the hills of Kentucky back in the day usually bought Oldsmobiles because that was the car that survived longest on the state's terrible roads.

In the 1950s and 60s there were two Power Wagons. One as a 3/4 ton that looked like other trucks and vans made at the time. But Dodge was also selling the same straight-outta-WWII vehicle you see pictured as late as 1963.

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