Bought yet another picture book on Hudson. This one is by Don Butler, who worked as a stylist for Hudson in the 40s, then moved to Nash and Chrysler. He didn’t have as much inside access as Conde, but did some long research to gather up a wider variety of pictures. His book answers a few questions and raises a few more.
Other books said that the 1955 Nash-based “Hudson” tried to follow what Hudson stylists had in mind for a ’55 modification of the Stepdown. Butler shows what they had in mind:
And here’s the Nash-based result. The grille is definitely derived from the intended modification, not from the existing ’54 Stepdown.
Nash also continued the lighted emblem in the grille, a Hudson gimmick since 1946, as part of an attempt to serve Hudson loyalists. Other holdovers were the instrument cluster, doorhandles, engines, and most importantly the unique failsafe brakes. The holdover strategy didn’t work. Loyalists weren’t fooled.
During the war stylist Frank Spring let his postwar imagination run wild, always a bad idea. Good design comes primarily from good editing. This wild idea was especially horrible, resembling Bucky Fuller’s Dumbaxion “car.”
Butler extends the electric wiper puzzle two years earlier. Conde showed a ’28 Essex with alleged electric wipers, and Butler takes it back to ’26. The earliest real proof I could find in the website of manuals was in ’34, which is still before Chrysler’s permanent start in ’39. It appears that Hudson abandoned electrics before the war and stayed with vacuum until the end.
From the website of manuals, Hudson spent the money to join the Selden group immediately. This 1910 letter tells dealers to emphasize the Selden patent. ALAM, the Selden group, was a sort of Mutual Benefit Association for everyone except Ford, gathering their forces against the one big monopoly. It gradually turned more mainstream, and ended up as the Auto Mfrs Assn for everyone. In 1999 the AMA fell apart. The Automotive Policy Council appears to be a weak descendant.
In 1916 Hudson followed two current fashions: the Centerdoor Sedan and the Convertible Hardtop. Here’s the sedan with the pillars in:
And with the pillars removed:
It took some clever engineering to make those removable pillars look good both ways. Note also that the elegant curved front windows roll down like the others.
In 1939 Hudson copied two of Nash’s innovations. First the bed. Every Hudson sedan had a flipup back seat to carry long loads. The bed accessory was mostly in the trunk. Girls not included, unfortunately.
Second the heater, with fresh air input, blower, filter, and thermostat. Both makers later simplified the heater so it was no better than others.
Finally, here’s a 1926 convertible car/pickup. The roadster’s back area normally has a deck on top with a small lid. The entire deck can be removed quickly to make a pickup.
Polistra's Mill 