Hudson 1909-1957 - with streamline and innovations to large production figures
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Summary
There have been around 10,000 car brands and designers - most of them have disappeared. One of these vanished brands is Hudson. Founded in 1909, it sold 4,000 cars in its first year, reaching its production peak of 300,000 cars in 1929. Hudson owed this to spectacular models and innovative designs, among other things. The merger with Nash to form American Motors Corporation took place in 1954, but the vehicles were only Nash clones. 1957 marked the end of this important brand.
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For connoisseurs, the name Hudson is primarily associated with the "lowest car on the highway" launched in 1947/48, the "only" 5-foot (152.5 cm) high sedan, into which one descends instead of ascending and whose self-supporting "monobilt" body offers more headroom than any other car built today". The Hudson Motor Car Co., which employed 17,000 people in its extensive Detroit plant, had invested $16 million in the spectacular streamlined model! Hudson was founded in 1909 by four former Oldsmobile engineers who found their financial backer and namesake in department store owner Joseph L. Hudson. From mid-1909 to mid-1910, 4,000 Hudson were sold, which was a record for a first year of production. The Hudson roadster soon became a sporting success, and from 1914 onwards only six-cylinder models were produced. The Super Six set a series of further records, helping to double sales. The entry-level brand Essex was founded in 1918. Production peaked in 1929 with over 300,000 cars; an eight-cylinder model was added in 1930.
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