Hudson

The Hudson Motor Car Company built automobiles of the brand between 1909 and 1957. Hudson and from a number of other brands. The company was based in Detroit in the United States. The name comes from J.L. Hudson, one of the company's eight financiers. He was the founder of the Hudsons department store and possessed the necessary capital. One of the other investors was Roy D. Chapin, Sr., who successfully led the company between 1910 and 1923.

Hudson had a number of firsts for the automotive industry, including dual brakes, the use of dashboard oil pressure and generator warning lights, and the first balanced crankshaft. This crankshaft allowed the Hudson inline 6 engine (the Super Six of 1916) to maintain speed at higher rotational speeds. Most Hudsons had inline six engines until 1957. The dual braking system used a secondary mechanical system (handbrake) that activated the rear brakes when the pedal reached beyond the normal range of the primary system; a mechanical emergency brake was also used. Hudson also used an oil bath and cork clutch mechanism that proved to be both durable and fast.

Hudson Super Six from 1921

The heyday of Hudson

At the company's heyday in 1929, 300.000 cars were produced within a single year. These were both Hudson and Essex models. The models were also produced in England and Belgium, and that year Hudson was the third largest car manufacturer in the US, after the Ford en ChevroletUnfortunately, total sales collapsed with the devastating depression that followed. Thanks to the fast, cheap Essex Terraplane, Hudson managed to survive. The company had built an enviable reputation in the 1920s. This was largely due to the Super and Special Sixes: large, sleek, solid, reliable cars with good performance at a good price.

The successful Essex Terraplane

With the introduction of the Essex Six in 1924, Hudson decided to start building more exclusive cars. The result was a single line in 1930 called the “Great Eight,” but this car was not that “great.” The eight-cylinder engine produced only 80 horsepower and had to move a heavy chassis. Hudson continued to use this engine against better judgment and even called it the “greater eight” from 1931 to 1932. Power increased to 87 horsepower and subsequently to 101 horsepower. In hindsight, Hudson would have been better off sticking with the six-cylinder engines.

Another setback was the closure of Biddle & Smart, Hudson's former supplier of fine bodies. The company turned to Murray & Briggs for phaeton and speedster bodies. Additionally, a few eight-cylinder Hudsons were fitted with bodies by the renowned firm LeBaron during this period. In the years that followed, Hudson eight-cylinders were offered in a wide variety of body styles: roadsters, Victorias, convertibles, sedans, city sedans, coupes, and Broughams (two-door sedans). Beautiful models, but not successful. In 1933, a new Super Six was introduced with the “Pacemaker” line, but this line also sold poorly.

World War II

Hudson, too, had to comply by order of the American government: car production was suspended from 1942 to 1945 to make way for the manufacture of war materials. The factory produced, among other things, aircraft parts, marine engines, and anti-aircraft guns. Hudson's 'Invader' engine was mounted on many landing craft deployed during the invasion of Normandy on D-Day.

After the Second World War, automobile production was restarted. In 1948, the company launched its “step-down” bodies. The term step-down refers to the placement of the passenger compartment within the frame structure; passengers stepped 'into' a floor surrounded by the car's frame. The result was not only a safer car and greater passenger comfort, but also, due to a lower center of gravity, an extremely maneuverable vehicle. At that time, almost all car manufacturers would start using this system to develop cars. The American automaker would use this type of body until the 1954 model year.

In 1954, Hudson merged with the Nash-Kelvinator Corporation and thus became part of American Motors. The Hudson factory in Detroit was converted into a military contract manufacturing line. During Hudson's final three years of production, manufacturing took place in Kenosha, Wisconsin.

The following year, both the older Hudson models and the Nash models were built on a shared chassis, utilizing body designs by Pininfarina, Edmund Anderson, and Frank Spring. Hudson dealers also sold Rambler and Metropolitan models under the Hudson brand name. When sold by Hudson dealers, both models were recognizable as Hudsons by emblems on the grille, hood, and horn. Hudson Ramblers also received an “H” symbol on the fuel cap and, in 1956, on the hubcaps as well. From 1957, the Rambler and Metropolitan were built under their own brand names, and the Hudson and Nash emblems disappeared.