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Main Chronological Archives: 1940s

The 1940s
Main Chronological Archives

The Second World War shuts down most of the automobile industry as either as factories are caught in combat areas or converted to war production. One notable exception is the invention of the Jeep.

After the war, automakers retool and rebuild to meet pent-up demand with mostly prewar engineering as they apply the lessons learned in the first half of the decade to a new generation of automobiles that will usher in the 1950s.

Following the break for the war, the restarting of motorsports lays the foundation for the state of racing as it exists today: Tony Hulman would buy and rebiuld the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, NASCAR would be founded in a small motel in Daytona Beach, and Formula 1 would be defined as a racing class although the first official F1 championship wouldn't take place until 1950.

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Year	14 Articles	Multimedia 14:36:01 1:37:12 0 sets	Publications 2,077 pages 121 documents	Motorsports
1949	2	Video 2:30:32 Audio 12:59	Patents: 6 pages · 2 documents Other: 333 pages · 16 documents	Stock Car
1948	1	Video 1:01:44 Audio 27:49	299 pages · 16 documents
1947	3	Video 39:01 Audio 29:34	248 pages · 15 documents
1946	2	Video 1:52:47 Audio 26:50	246 pages · 16 documents	Open Wheel
1945	1	Video 1:05:09	229 pages · 14 documents
1944	1	Video 21:25	139 pages · 13 documents
1943	1	Video 46:54	150 pages · 13 documents
1942	1	Video 21:12	424 pages · 14 documents
1941	1	Video 2:57:33
1940	1	Video 2:59:44	Patents: 2 pages · 1 document Other: 1 page · 1 document

Article and Document counts updated 8 October 2020.


Home page banner image: the title of the 1949 edition of The Negro Motorist Green Book

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