Hudsons in Labor Day Auctions!

50C8DAN

I opened my June Hemmings (original) this morning and see that of the 34 Hudsons for sale that 14 of them are for the Auburn Labor Day auction. Several covert., Hollywoods, and coupes but several sedans and trucks as well. This is quite impressive but also may mark a beginning of an increase in pricing for our mark?

It also brings to mind an issue that I keep thinking about. Of the AMC partners, why hasn't the Nash mark made a similar impact and interest. I rarely ever see Nash anything but Metropolitans most of the time, even the early 50s Ramblers rarely make an appearance.

Anyway I was very impressed to see the quality of Hudsons offered.

50C8DAN

I also believe that Hudson's racing heritage has also led to a more interest from speed nuts along the way. I don't believe Nash was ever involved in serious racing? When you are at a car show and older (no insult intended) folks come by they always talk about how the Hornet was the car to beat in early Nascar.

Park_W

I was in HIgh School or just beyond when the four remaining companies began discussing mergers. There was talk of the four of them getting together. My reaction was this: "Well, Packard can bring its prestige, upscale quality and reputation, Studebaker would bring experience with interesting well built cars that are economical to own, Hudson would bring its experience with great engineering and noteworthy performance, and Nash would bring ??? Oh . . . good air conditioning systems." Get the picture? There's just not that much with Nash to stir the heart.

GrimGreaser

I don't know... Them fold down seats can sure stir somethin'.

53jetman

I think that if you check the dates on that Auburn auction again, you will find the sale is in the middle of May, not Labor Day.

JMed

Do you know if the auction is televised? If so, when and what channel? Or can we look up the sale amounts later?

Lee ODell

"The Nash Motor Co. was the first automotive manufacturer to provide active sponsorship and contingency award`to NASCAR racing. ...for capturing the 1950 NASCAR Grand National championship, Bill Rexford was presented a new Nash Ranbler Convertable." Curtis Turner was one of the drivers for the 1951 factory-backed Nash team. Turner flashed past Fonty Flock in the 47th lap and finished a couple car lengths ahead of runner-up Lee Petty to register the only career NASCAR win for the Nash nameplate." NASCAR CHRONICLE by Greg Fielden.

In the 1960 & 70's AMC was very active and successful at Bonneville, NHRA, IMSA, NASCAR, TRANS-AM and Baja 500.

Even my stock 69 AMX still pulling strong at 155 mph when I decided I should not be driving that fast on the freeway. Speedometer accuracy checked at North Hollywood Seedometer. Under normal driving it was averageing 19.7 mpg with best of 21 mpg.

I love my Hornet but the AMC cars are wolves in sheeps clothing. Many a Chevy, Ford and Mopar had a rude awakening when they challenged a AMC. AMC carried on with performance
with Hudson, Nash merger beginning with the 57 Rebel, second fastest 1/4 miler after 57 Corvette.

Hudson was still a contender at the short dirt tracks around here for another 10 year. My Dads next door neighbor, Mr Gary Beach in Burbank, was building Hudson engines for one of the car owners, I believe the drivers name was Red, I can't remember the owners name. He was a chiroprator. Maybe some old timer Southern Calif Hudnuts may know about them and the car. This was in the 50s and 60s.
Lee O'Dell

Aaron D. IL

Nash did have a few beautiful cars pre-WW2 and AMC had some monster muscle cars in the '70's but I really think the Nash/AMC stuff after the war and up to the mid '60's seems to be an acquired taste (rust issues aside) and you got to admit those cars looked different than anything else on the road. For one thing a lot of people who knew Hudson I think blamed AMC for the loss of a great marque.
Then there's the Ambassadors which for a few years even had more standard features than a Caddy came with (Kenosha Cadillacs). But those cars didn't have a great image / marketing... not the cars your favorite movie hero's drove.

But then if you think about it for a long time no one noticed Hudson's and the prices/values of them in the car hobby didn't keep pace with big 3 classics (in some cases still don't). I bet a lot of people in HET would like to go back to that era of low interest in Hudson's because being in the Hudson hobby was a lot cheaper without the attention. Maybe Nash is in the same place, and at some point in the future someone will say, "Hey these cars are classic too, let's collect them." (and speculate on the value). Right now the only sought after AMC car I see at shows in the AMX.

RL Chilton

The bulk of the Soneff collection is to be found at the aforementioned Auburn Auction. If it had been me, I would have spread the opportunities around a little, so as not to saturate one venue (which brings the collective prices down). Additionally, I'm sure the family has no interest in paying shipping fees for unsold cars, hence I'd warrant a speculation about low (or no) reserves.

If you have the means, I would reason that one could find the proverbial deal, despite the inflated buyer's fees.

ski4life65

Don't forget about auction today. The Soneff cars will start around 2:30 Indiana time. It can be watched live at the Auctions America website or on your iPhone.

ski4life65

All of the Soneff cars sold. There were some decent deals and a couple that brought some good money.

Glowplug

Don unable to view results on AA website. What is the results URL? Thanks

2manyprojects

just got home from auburn auction. all soneffs cars were sold. these cars were not very high quality. very poor paint,cracking,hazing, scratches.dirty old interiors with tears and rips.wrong wheel covers,wrong trim on the 48 gold conv. had 51 side trim and 51 pork chops. dirty ratty carpet in most,missing robe rails,missing foot rest. when driven onto the stage the smell of old gas in the air.for a guy who called himself soneffs master garage his cars left a lot to be desired. at the spokane nat. there was a perfectly restored stepdown conv. that was roped off and there was john soneff talking to the caretaker of this fine car nit picking the car with his crabby demeanor with his expert opinion which no one even asked for. did i mention doors that did not close correctly on all but 2 cars.dirty oilly unpainted motors on most. wonder how much buyer regret will happen in the coming weeks when the new owners have a chance to see what they really bought.the black conv. sold for 102.000.00 with that you got fine scratches on the entire car,swirl marks on all the chrome ,3 dime size chunks missing on top of the dash above speedo and who knows what under the hood. a blue 47 sedan with a 350 chevy with quarter size paint chips where doors hit against fenders and door jambs and the hood.the maroon sedan the front clip was a different shade than the rest of the car which really showed under the bright lites on stage.talked to eldon h. he said how poorly these cars showed and it was kinda sad but soneff always wanted top dollar for poor quality.

RL Chilton

Interesting post. Thanks for the review.

oldhudsons

2many - I think what were brought to Auburn then were the dregs of what he'd once owned as I'm sure once he started to get sick he started selling off a lot of his best stuff. I know he sold the old Greyhound bus station a few years ago that he'd owned for a long time & where he housed most of his cars & parts so had to "downsize". I know a few years ago he'd bought a restored '29 H dual cowl phaeton & had obviously sold it.
I have to concur with your assessment of his personality tho, LOL. It took a while to get to know him, and vice versa but he could be personable & funny. He housed a tremendous amount of Hudson lore & knowledge once you got beyond the "crabby demeanor".

russmaas

Also returned from the auction. I would say most cars were #2 and #3's.The 52 maroon sedan was close to a #1 that went for $46K. The Hollywood was a very low #3 that went for 33K with buyer premium on a phone bidder. That person is going to be disappointed with that car as it was rough. The black comm 8 convertible went for 113,000K with premium. Decent number #2 car. Prices are on the rise at Auctions.

I inspected these cars underneath and all over. I was the only person I saw doing that. I would say none of the buyers were actually Hudson members, just car collectors with money. I talked with just one Hudson member.

Interesting side note, after the bidding up of the Comm 8 balck convert. I went over to the guy who lost out at 102K before premium and said I would have a couple converts for sale in the coming months. He brushed me off and said "I'm good". He then walk over behind the auctioneers podium. The auctioneers also called him by his first name once during the bidding. I looked really fishy.

Overall, It was my first large car auction and it was interesting.

ArkieJazz

Just a few words regarding John. John had been in ill health for a number of years. His cars sort of fell off because he wasn't able to take proper care of them. Yes, John could be a bit crabby if he didn't know you, but once you broke through that shell, he was a prince of a man. We will miss guys like John Soneff.... guys who actually worked in dealerships and who actually knew these cars we love inside and out. I knew John for 41 years and was proud to call him my friend. I bought 11 Hudsons from him over the years and loved every one of them. John will be missed.

[Deleted User]

Coming from a little bit younger generation, the thing with Nash's and Ramblers is sort of like this: They just aren't very interesting. Styling was either a bit boring (Nash) or a bit weird (Rambler). My mom had a 62 Rambler when she was a kid, and I've never even had interest to look at a picture of it. Granted the Rambler Rebel is amazing, but where do you ever find one? Same with a Nash-Healey. The Nash machines of the 30's and 40's are great, but again scarcity makes it so that guys of my generation just don't get a chance to get real interested in them.
When you get into Ramblers of the 60's they kinda look like Fords. So we usually think "ok, well, it kinda looks like a Ford, but it's not a Ford, so it's going to be hard to find parts so why bother, just get a Ford". I actually really like the Ramblers of that era because they are straightforward and simple (aka they seem like an easy restore, assuming the tin worm didn't eat through it). What always scares me away from the Ramblers is the low value. I can sink $5k into a 60's era Rambler and be lucky to break even, I can sink $5k into a 60's era Ford, Chevy, or whatever and be pretty sure I'll get some return on my efforts.
Hudons, on the other hand, have always been considered "the sh*t" by the car guys of my age that I know.

50C8DAN

Well what about the Marlin, now there was a car of a different color. Looked kind of like a Chrysler product but wasn't. Still they have an odd attraction.

Browniepetersen

carsofchaos, did not take you long to figure out how to loose any Hudson guy as a friend! If your last comment would have been first no one would have read your post. No one likes to be called "the shit" even if you flunked your fifth grade English class?

[Deleted User]

The Marlin was AWESOME! I only ever saw one though!
BTW "the sh*t" means "EXCELLENT"

50C8DAN

Careful generational miscommunication taking place!

Nice writeup on the Marlin. '65 and '66 better looking than '67.

http://www.howstuffworks.com/1965-1967-amc-marlin.htm

TwinH

My soon to be 21 year old niece called last week about a 69 Rebel she found for sale.
Oh,the seeds we sow...

Browniepetersen

You read a different dictionary than I do. I would care to venture that most of us on this site took your comment as I did.

[Deleted User]

Yes yes, agreed! Sometimes I'm a bit too passionate in my wording hahaha. But really, guys that I've known really do put the Hudsons above other orphaned makes. I try to get younger guys from my generation (in our 20's and early 30's) into Hudsons & the like because I worry when I see them considering Honda Civics as "classics"!

The Marlin is a really odd car, but in a good way. When i lived in Montana a guy had one...white and turquoise with the 390 engine....I was trying to get him to sell it to me for ages but no dice. The downside of the Marlins is that they are so hard to find and people seem to either love them or run the other direction.

PAULARGETYPE

I'M WITH BROWNIE "INSALTED"

AS FOR JOHN SONEFF MANY YEARS AGO I WAS AT A NATIONAL SELLING IN THE FLEA MARKET JOHN HAD A MAN WHO WANTED TO SELL A FACTORY HUDSON MID 50'S TIE CLASP HE ASKED ME AND KEN POINTER TO GIVE THE GUY OUR THOUGHTS ON WHAT IT WAS WORTH, WE DID JOHN GOT MAD AT US AS HE WAS LOW BALLING THE GUY AFTER THE MAN WOULD NOT SELL TO JOHN HE CAME BACK TO MY STAND AND SAID JOHN TOLD HIM WE WERE NUTS I BOUGHT THE ITEM THE NEXT DAY AFTER JOHN FAILED AT BUYING IT I WAS CALLED ALOT OF 4 LETTER WORDS I JUST SMILED AT JOHN I NEVER SPOKE TO HIM AGAIN

RL Chilton

PAUL-

Do you still have it?

oldhudsons

John was funny about money. I'm sure he was a multi-millionaire as owned a lot of valuable commercial property in downtown Denver esp. the parking lots around the sports venues there. He was called "The Parking Lot King". I remember being in his office one day & Beverly comes in with 2 large bags of change; dumped it on the counter & she, he, and his brother started counting all these little coins from the parking lot meters. He sold me a very nice original '39 CC8 bus. cp. for a really "right" price (had it stored in a private garage, maybe he was tired of paying rent???). Other times he wouldn't sell something at all, next time would want the proverbial "arm & a leg" for it. I think he liked to sell cars in auctions as thought he could get the highest price there. I don't think I ever remember him putting an ad in the WTN to sell a Hudson; he once told me he considered most HETers cheapskates as they wouldn't pay his prices.
Oh well, it doesn't make any difference anymore but he will always be remembered as being a "character" by those of us who knew him ~

hudsn47

Doubt we hear back from carsofchaos, way to go guys. This is a young guy expressing his love for Hudson's in his own way. I think each generation has it's own way of verbal expression, what's it called Brownie, slang? I personnaly hope he hangs around and I will enjoy his youthful enthusiasm.

[Deleted User]

sorry new here, I cant find the button where I can post a new thread

super-six

sorry new here, I cant find the button where I can post a new thread

Upper right of page, under "search box".