Hats off to those long-ago smart guys at Chrysler. In 1949, the company that rose from the ashes of the Maxwell Motor Co. came out with an innovation ahead of its time: padded dashboards. Better to hit your head on sponge rubber, they reasoned, than a steel dash or Bakelite knobs.
Among those pad-dashed wonders was the Windsor. It was a fancy name for a utilitarian ride: It, and another grandly named car — the Royal — were the two lowest-priced cars the Detroit auto-maker produced. When Chrysler dropped the Royal, in 1950, that left the Windsor to attract buyers of moderate means.
And yet, even the cheapo cars had fine touches we rarely see today: chrome, hood ornaments, a hood that stretched to a distant point. The DeLuxe also had an electric clock, and a buyer wishing to pony out a few more dollars could get something else pretty cool — electric windows!
The Windsor line ended in 1981.
It’s not certain when this ’52 Windsor reached the end of its line in Sebawaing, Mich., 833 miles north of Atlanta.
(Photos by Senior Junkyard Correspondent Harold “Tex” Colson)
It Was Running When I Parked It 