Tag: Hudson
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Hudson lock trivia
Nader’s criticism was correct though most of his details were wrong. The majority of US automakers were totally unconcerned with safety until the government forced it on them. Hudson was a notable exception. Hydraulic brakes failed OFTEN and SUDDENLY. Hudson’s failsafe braking system, on all Hudsons from 1936 to 1957 except the Jet, solved the…
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Why not use the British soul?
I’ve been puzzled by the locations Hudson used for their promo pics. They knew the ad agency would retouch the photos, inserting pleasant upscale backgrounds. But why did they make the retoucher’s job so hard? In the 30s they photographed cars near the factory, often with an even drabber factory in the background. In the…
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Guild certified?
Continuing this week’s Missed Points theme. The Authors Guild offers a ‘union seal’ that you can place on your work to certify no use of AI. Something like this is probably needed. After reading I decided regretfully that it isn’t the right something. 1. Commercially, I don’t need it because I’ve already certified to my…
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Before wipers
Why did windshield wipers start relatively late in the development of cars? Partly because closed cars with glass windshields were late. But windshields were common for 10 years before wipers became standard. Visors were an adequate solution for quite a while, just as porches and roof overhangs are adequate for houses. Some visors were extensions…
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Answering an old puzzle
Bought a new Hudson book from a bookstore who DOES know how to advertise and satisfy customers. The book is by Richard Langworth, the best of the non-insider auto history writers. Other good books were by John Conde, Don Butler and Pat Foster. Each worked for Nash or Hudson at some point, so they had…
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Duane Jones would be happy
I bought another Hudson book through Abebooks. This one came from Browse Awhile Books in Tipp City near Dayton. They included a wonderful little pack of premiums along with the book. A library-style checkout card in its envelope, and the code for discounts stamped with a library-style rubber stamp. A bookmark with the picture of…
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Another Hudson first
This new video about varieties of inside doorhandles on cars brought me back to an earlier trivia item about outside doorhandles. There’s a clear default pattern with a couple exceptions. Before 1940 all closed cars had simple turn levers, the same mechanism as house doors. Levers varied from T shape to L shape to stirrup,…
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Manufactured fine art
Got another Hudson book. This one doesn’t have many cars I haven’t seen before, but all of the illustrations are clear and high-res, suitable for closeup views. This ’39 shows the graceful detailing of stamped parts, typical of the Moderne era. The parking lights were horizontal strips on the hood sides. Closeup view of the…
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Hudson doors
Most American cars before 1940 had front doors hinged at the front and rear doors hinged at the back. Between 1932 and 1935 nearly everyone tried front suicide doors, at least for one year. Hudson’s door patterns were far more varied, with a stronger tendency for front suicide doors. In 1929 every possible combination was…
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They don’t make them like that any more.
I’m too busy with courseware to do a proper tech piece, which wouldn’t get read by humans anyway. This little trivium will have to do. JL Hudson was not the founder of Hudson Motors. He was the biggest investor in the new enterprise, so the founders named the company after him. He got involved because…
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Free as in
The “investigator” types finally got what they wanted in the Epstein mess. Now they’re shockedshockedshocked to find that the vast majority of pages are redacted and blank. Assuming here that the “investigators” are naive (not bloody likely!), they’re misinterpreting one word. They think the F in FOIA means Free as in Free Speech. In fact…
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Auto supertrivia
Just noticed an odd exception to an often stated trivium. I’ve written it many times, and others including Chrysler itself have said it. Chrysler products have always had hydraulic brakes. There were some exceptions in the first few years. Walter Chrysler started his company in ’24 by taking over Maxwell and Chalmers. In ’24 and…
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More Hudson trivia
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…
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Start with quality.
Last week I wrote up a contest between the first coast-to-coast airmail flight and a group of Essex cars. The cars won. Hudson touted the event in a 1922 pamphlet which omits the airmail comparison entirely. By this account the project was originated by the Post Office in an attempt to widen the range of…
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Another Post Office anniversary today
Yesterday was Neither Snow nor Rain Day. Today is also a notable point on the PO timeline. The Post Office podcasts feature several Firsts or attempted Firsts in postal transportation, including the first balloon flight in 1859. The PO could define routes and transport methods as suitable for mail. Every new development was soon postalized,…
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