Six years before Playboy edition 1

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Sooner or later, one sees everything at the gigantic Hershey show, the Antique Automobile Club of America's Eastern Division National Fall Meet, held each October. Not within recent memory, though, has a Playboy been spotted, either in the show or in the swap meet. This year was noteworthy, for this 1948 Playboy appeared in the Chocolate Field. (the magazine came out in 1954) 

The Playboy was one of the small postwar automobiles fielded in the United States. With war production ended, many manufacturing companies attempted to cash in on the pent-up demand for automobiles. The Playboy Motor Car Corporation of Buffalo, New York, was one of these.

On a diminutive, 90-inch wheelbase, the Playboy had an innovative convertible hard top. Early models used Hercules engines, but most were built with 40-hp Continental L-head units. In all, 97 were built. This car, offered at $18,500, has the Hercules powerplant. We don't know whether it sold or where it went. (text & photos Kit Foster)

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