2000 car drive away

bob ward

I can't find it, but I'm sure I've seen a reference on here to a 2000 car drive away from the Hudson factory in the early 30s. Can someone point me to the post or give me a link to the information please?

Jon B

This sounds like the introduction of the Essex Terraplane in 1932. The one that had Amelia Earhart breaking a bottle of aviation fuel over the hood ornament of one of the newly-introduced cars. I don't know any specific websites or webpages devoted to that (but there probably are). It's part of Hudson lore. We had a well-loved member named Bill Bade, of New York State, who (as a young man) was sent to Detroit by a local Hudson dealer to drive a new Terraplane back to his dealership. Bill loved to recall that, and John Fromm (our H-E-T videotaper extraordinaire) once interviewed Bill on the subject, on tape.



Here's a movie of the christening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C8ZstFnvBGc

hudsontech

At the same time they were driving Essex-Terraplanes out of Detroit they had a big wing ding going over at the Canadian plant in Tillsbury.



Jon, isn't Bill the one who told the story of how he put his suitcase in the Terraplane he was going to drive back with - and then couldn't find the car for the longest time because there were so many?? LOL



Hudsonly,

Alex Burr

Memphis, TN

TwinH

July 21,1932 Its all spelled out in the book Roy D. Chapin,The Man Behind

The Hudson Motor Car Company by J.C. Long. Sounds like it was quite an

affair. Orville Wright received the first Terraplane off the assembly line. I

don't know that I've seen it detailed online...

bob ward

Thanks guys, that nails it. Now that you've jogged my brain cells, doing a google search with Earhart Terraplane turns up quite a few references.