It's not always a Hornet

cpr3333

Every time I tell someone I have a Hudson, the immediate response is "Oh, a Hornet?" 

In the WSJ article that was mentioned here a few days ago, one of the comments at the end of the article was from a person who remembered his (her?) grandfather as having a 1949 Hornet. Obviously a slightly flawed memory.

Wikipedia (I know, not exactly noted for 100% accuracy) states that Mario Andretti started his racing career in a 1948 Hornet.  Again, I don't think that's quite right.

I know the Hornet is probably the most well known Hudson model, especially after Doc Hudson from the Cars movie but it's almost like a conditioned response whenever anyone outside of the Hudson community talks about a Hudson

You don't hear 'Roadmaster' as an immediate response to 'Buick' or 'Hawk'  to 'Studebaker' or 'Mustang' to 'Ford'.

Is there any other car make that is so tied to one model in seemingly everyone's mind like Hudson and Hornet?

Browniepetersen

I always chuckle when I tell folks that my Hudson is a Hornet "Special." They always say "What is special about it" My response is that it is a stripped down economy Hornet...... According to Butler, the Hornet was introduced in 1951.

super-six

Another one. I have a '57 Chevy Two-Ten 2-dr sedan. To this, the response would be: "Oh, a Bel-Air"?

hudsontech

Brownie - actually the Hornet was introduced in either 1948 or 1949. Don't believe it - read Kerouacs On The Road!!!  LOL
That '49 Hornet mentioned in the WSJ might have been the one the boys left on the street in Denver.

Hudsonly,
Alex Burr
Memphis, TN

Frankvintagefullflowcom

I've had people ask if our '47 is a Hornet..........go figger. Most are surprised that there was such a thing as a Hudson prior to the Hornet. Another favorite is "who made Hudson?". When I answer "Hudson" they often say, "yeah, but who made them?"
I give up
F

railknight

When you get the "who made Hudson?" question and the individual asking still isn't convinced it was just Hudson, you then ask them what brand of car they're driving.  Let's say you get an answer like "a Ford."  Then you ask, "so, who made Ford?"  "Yeah, but, who?...... made Ford?"  You may have to repeat this a few times to get the point across.

This usually leads 'em to understand that Hudson built Hudsons.

 

RL Chilton

Best thing to do Chris, is just educate every person you can.  Teach them.  Give them the appreciation.  

hudsontech

I love the story about the late Jim Fortin.  He and his son took their Hudson Jet to a cruise night.  During the course of the event somebody walked up to Jim and asked him if the car was an English Ford!!!  Jim said he never went back to that event again.
Of course, everyone should realize that a lot of the ignorance concerning Hudson cars is our own fault.  I've been beating the drum for public display for years.  All to many Hudson meets are held in somebody's back yard and so the general public doesn't get to see them very often.  When an owner does take his Hudson to a general car meet he is usually surrounded by people, much to the chagrin of the Ford and Chevy owners,  wanting to know all about the Hudson. 
Hudson owners, and all of us, have to realize that the last Hudson (aside from the 55-56-57 models) came off the line 50 years ago.  That means everybody under the age of 50 doesn't even know such a company existed.
We Hudson lovers have to educate the great unwashed out there and to do that Hudson owners have to get their cars out into the public arena.  Just ask Walt Mordenti about attention.

Hudsonly,
Alex Burr
Memphis, TN

railknight

Alex, I've been to three cruise nights here in the Chicago area in the past two weeks with my '53 Super Wasp (just attended one in Park Ridge last night).   Everytime I take it to one of these car shows I end up educating a fair number of people about the history of Hudson.  And even yesterday, I got the "who made Hudson? question. 

I also carry in my Super Wasp a copy of the book, "The History of Hudson" by Don Butler to help illustrate the years Hudson was in business, what cars they made, etc.,.  Having a print source like this also helps to gently put in place that individual who comes up to your Hudson at the cruise night and insists on something such as, "you know, Hudson was owned by Studebaker."   

Frankvintagefullflowcom

I characterized my self as being a jerk about it but I don't really do that. If they show any interest at all, I give them a little Hudson History lesson. After all, if they are at a car show, there's a reason for that......they love cars. I like to think I leave them with a bit of info they can repeat and look like they know something about Hudsons. I always find it interesting how much attention the Hudsons draw while the boring makes get ignored.

In the good-weather months, our Hudsons are the typical mode of transportation for us, in fact my wife just drove off in her Jet for a 100+ mile round trip to Tacoma and back and she's almost as good at BS as I am.......she's got a ways to go, though.

F

Hudsonrules

One touchy situation I have had is when some "know it all" is trying to impress his significant other or his children, The guy will say there is a Hudson Hornet while pointing to my '49 Commodore. When I try to explain that the Hornets came out two years after my car was built, the individual does  at times gets irritated and insists that I do not know anything about my car. I just let it go. Years ago, I stopped at a donut shop late at night and a gentleman  said, "nice Studebaker", The gal he was with said it was a Hudson, her dad had one. The guy did not say another word about cars.

[Deleted User]

Back around 1950, KAISER must have ran out of names for their models as they put the COLOR on the side of the front fenders. I once heard a knowitall at a car show say to his girlfriend. "my uncle had an old FLAX" .. There sat a yellow Kaiser with "flax" on the front fender.

dterry-2011

Try tell them you have a Terraplane

cpr3333

My point wasn't so much that people don't know much about Hudsons (they don't) but that they automatically spit out 'Hornet' whenever they hear 'Hudson'.  When I mention that I have a Buick, I'm usually asked 'what model?' or 'what year?' but the response to 'Hudson' seems to universally be 'Hornet'.

As to people making false assumptions about your car, it's actually kind of fun and makes for good forum posts.

On my '70 Buick Gran Sport (faux GSX), I can't tell you how many times I've heard 'nice GTO' or 'nice Chevelle'.  I have a framed original GSX magazine ad that I put out at shows and I still had one 'expert' explain to his buddy that Buick never made a car like that.

On my '64 Wildcat, I usually just get 'what is that?'  The best story on that one is the time a guy commented that a 465 was a big engine.  I told him that it was actually only a 425 and that Buick named its engines after the torque rating at that time.  He then told me that I was wrong - the number on the air cleaner was ALWAYS the displacement.

Maybe the craziest thing I was ever asked was whether or not my 2010 Challenger was original or if I had restored it myself.  I told him it was actually a brand new car but, in retrospect, maybe I should have just told him that it was all orignal with only 2500 miles.  The truth, but not not exactly full disclosure. 

I am looking forward to the wild comments that I expect to get on my Hornet Pacemaker.  It's always been part of my life but I've never actually driven it,  I was 7 years old the last time it was running.  It is currently being resurrected by Dr. Doug so it won't be too much longer. 

cpr3333

I love the story about the late Jim Fortin.  He and his son took their Hudson Jet to a cruise night.  During the course of the event somebody walked up to Jim and asked him if the car was an English Ford!!!  Jim said he never went back to that event again.
Of course, everyone should realize that a lot of the ignorance concerning Hudson cars is our own fault.  I've been beating the drum for public display for years.  All to many Hudson meets are held in somebody's back yard and so the general public doesn't get to see them very often.  When an owner does take his Hudson to a general car meet he is usually surrounded by people, much to the chagrin of the Ford and Chevy owners,  wanting to know all about the Hudson. 
Hudson owners, and all of us, have to realize that the last Hudson (aside from the 55-56-57 models) came off the line 50 years ago.  That means everybody under the age of 50 doesn't even know such a company existed.
We Hudson lovers have to educate the great unwashed out there and to do that Hudson owners have to get their cars out into the public arena.  Just ask Walt Mordenti about attention.

Hudsonly,
Alex Burr
Memphis, TN

Alex,

I agree with everything but your math - it's been 60 years.

I guess time flies when you're having fun.

hudsontech

Chris, I didn't say I was a math wizard - you're talking to a guy who, when trying to fix a time, counts on his fingers, as 54, 64, 74, etc, etc.   I missed a finger in there somewhere.

Hudsonly,
Alex Burr

hudsontech

Try tell them you have a Terraplane

I was visiting friends in Illinois a while back - they took me for a ride in their recently accquired '37 Terraplane.  To their embarassment the car broke down.  While we were standing by the side of the road waiting for their son to bring a trailer a fellow came over and asked if the car was a Plymouth - well, hey, the styling is close so the error is understandable. When Pat says "No, it's a Terraplane!"  a totally confused look came over the fellows face as he says "It's a what??"  LOL

Hudsonly,
Alex Burr

Browniepetersen

Alex, "On the Road was published in April 1951. That accounts for why he used the name "Hornet" after all, Hudson was well established as a race car by then. Jack was just up to date??