Names of Hudson Autos ???

Unknown

I have a 1929 "HUDSON SUPER SIX" that sounds like the car was "MASCULINE" and not a bug. Then later it was, wasp,hornet,hollywood, Not bad unless you live in west hollywood calif.Terraplane ? I know what a plane is but what is a Terra ? essex ? I know a town in the middle of the desert named essex. commodore ? pacemaker ? Just something to comment about. Ron

Unknown

In answer to two of your questions...



From http://whitemetal-model-reviews.co.uk/BRK102.htm:

‘The Power of a Plane – The Silence of a Glider’ was one of the slogans employed in advertising by Hudson Motors in the 1930s for the Terraplane and Hudson range of cars. Their thinking behind the Terraplane name was that an Aeroplane flew in air, an Aquaplane through the water therefore a Terraplane flew over land!



The first Terraplane was actually a 1932 Essex, conceived as a very inexpensive attempt to keep the parent Hudson firm afloat following the depression. The first Essex was launched by Hudson in 1919, the name resulting from looking on a map of England for a name with some ‘snob-appeal’

dave

54Hollywood

Hudson used two models to honor two U.S. aircraft carriers lost in World War II, the Hornet and Wasp.



Tim in WI.

harry54

That is the most Patriotic thing I've ever heard of a car company. Not only did they make the best engineered cars but they cared about all Americans.......

[Deleted User]

thanks. i didn't know that. makes owning a super wasp even cooler

Geoff

Literally - driving a tarraplane was "land-flying!" They even went as far as putting a Terraplane engine in an aeroplane to prove it's performance and reliablility.

Geoff.

[Deleted User]

Around the time the Jet was to come out there was a good bit of speculation in the automotive press as to the name Hudson was going to give it's new compact. Many speculated that it would be called "Honeybee" or some other stinging insect type name. When posed the question the officials at Hudson got very indignant. They informed the press that the names of their cars honored the US Navy ships not insects! Actually the association with the US Navy goes back to the Roy Chapin era when he was associated with the Hoover administration and the Navy. Remember there was a "Commodore" before there was a "Hornet".

[Deleted User]

Well, there is a bit of information that I didn't know - always wondered about - and am even the more proud to find out. My grandfather was a WWII navy veteran in the pacific, what a nice way to link memories together.



On the other hand, its ironic that they should be named after honorable ships that went down. Maybe they should have named at least one "Enterprise".



I wonder if Chrysler knew that when they named a car "Intrepid" - also a carrier of the US fleet.



Mark

[Deleted User]

Ron--- It is my understanding that the name Terraplane designates a ground plane since I am told that Terra translates to ground.

Jon B

Years ago I was given some old Hudson blueprints by the Doehler-Jarvis Company, which manufactured cast metal trim for various brands of automobiles. On the blueprints were the dashboard panel that usually reads 'Hudson Jet'. However, on these drawings the panel read 'Hudson Bee'.



Why? Possibly, the 3-letter 'Bee' was a 'place holder' so that the dashboard part could be designed without revealing the name 'Jet' to the public too soon (employees of Doehler-Jarvis might have mentioned the name to their friends). Then, just before production, the real "Jet" name could be worked into the nameplate.



Or, Hudson executives might actually have been considering the name "Bee", and then thought better of it at the last minute.



Hudson's Chief Engineer at the time was Millard Toncray. One of his daughters was Jean Esther Toncray, and the family joke was that the first letters of her name provided the inspiration for the name 'Jet'!



Incidentally, I sent the Doehler-Jarvis blueprints to the 1979 National Meet in Dearborn (via a friend) with the request that they be displayed for all to see. Afterwards they were to be conveyed to the Club Library, but through my own ineptitude they ended up in the host motel's dumpster. (There's a message there. I'm older and wiser now!)