
The 1949 Chevrolet truck has a straight 6 engine with the starter on the floorboard.
In 1949,
- West Germany, East Germany formally established as nations
- Soviet atomic bomb project: The Soviet Union tests its first atomic bomb, known as 'First Lightning' or 'Joe 1', at Semipalatinsk Test Site known as Semipalatinsk, Kazakhstan.
- U.S. Air Force’s Lucky Lady completes first non-stop around-the-world flight
- Electron microscopy developed
- Americans buy 100,000 television sets a week
- Silly Putty introduced
- United Nations cease-fire takes effect in Kashmir from one minute before midnight.
- War between India and Pakistan stops accordingly.
- First "networked" television broadcasts take place as KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh e.g Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania goes on the air connecting the east coast and mid-west programming.
- The first automatic street light is installed in New Milford, Connecticut.
- In the United States, the Armed Forces Security Agency, the predecessor to the National Security Agency, is established.