The Aesthete revisits a forgotten decade

The 1940s are a lost era in automotive design although there is much of interest in the various ways that car makers adapted to a changed world. The Aesthete abjures from fins and space age details for a world of shapely wings and pointed tail sections, rear hinged doors and central headlamps.

1948 Alvis TA14. One of the first new cars available in Britain after the war, Alvis' offering suggested that buyers were still happy with solid front axles and rod brakes even though those features were becoming retrograde even by the end of the 1930s. Quality of assembly and a certain snobbish cachet convinced some to choose this over a Rover 60 which was its native competition in those austerity years.

For: Pleasant and well mannered.
Against: Just like a mock Tudor bungalow.
Investment potential: 2/10 unless the 1940s suddenly becomes the next decade to take off.

1949 Humber Super Snipe ambulance. If you are attracted by the era, however, you may as well have something no-one else has. That coach built Daimler Consort shooting brake languished unsold for months which suggests that the economics of full restoration have to be considered carefully. This atmospheric Snipe appears to need little further work and I would quite fancy riding in the back of it in a morphine haze while a pretty nurse mops my brow.

For: Downton Abbey on wheels.
Against: Not much good for nipping down to the shops.
Investment potential: 1/10 unless there is a film crew in town that needs one.

1951 Rover 75. Nothing less than a hotrod Cyclops, this first generation P4 has been upgraded with Rover 90 engine and brakes which provide a useful performance boost. The early square dials make a change from the familiar decor of the later cars and you could entertain yourself by unrestoring the interior, returning it to its late 1940s ambience.

For: Post-war Solihull Studebaker.
Against: Originality should not matter at the price.
Investment potential: 4/10

1950 Jaguar Mk V DHC. Generally known as a spiv's car, Jaguar's Mk V offered Bentley looks at a substantial discount, made possible by William Lyon's ruthless screwing of his suppliers. Even so, the Jaguar does a great job of hiding its rude bits under sweeping pre-war coachwork with only faired in headlights to indicate we are in a new era. The effect is more Mayfair the men's magazine than Mayfair the locality but its charms  outweigh lack of breeding.

For: Owned by people who did well in black market sausage casings.
Against: Yes, I know. I am a snob.
Investment potential: 6/10. These cars fetch a lot more in the UK.

1950 Triumph Mayflower. The strange internal world of Trademe is revealed in this vendor's touching belief that anything old and black has to be worth loads of money. That the Mayflower was a comedy in 1950 is overlooked, as is the fact that this example has only one door.

For: Words fail me.
Against: ...
Investment potential: Only Einstein could know for certain.

On some faraway beach...

1940 Lincoln Zephyr Coupe. If none of this polite British reserve turns your crank, perhaps a Lincoln Zephyr might be what you need? John Tjaarda's streamlined shell draped a side valve V12 and a solid front axle so addressed the modern world from both ends of the engineering spectrum. Later models lost the pointed prow so this is the optimum year for aesthetics.

For: Thanks to Ford logic, surprisingly usable.
Against: A lot of material to house two passengers.
Investment potential: 3/10.  Only resistance to extruded slug like forms holds them back.