Can you identify this car?

Colin

My father dug up the rusted remains of an old car in his garden at Fotherby, near Louth, Lincolnshire, England several years ago. The only salvageable item was the maker's nameplate. It is for an Essex built in Detroit.
The details are Essex Model K, Car no 504492. I have become fascinated to find out what this car was.
I have been in touch with the Railton Car Club who cover Hudson and Essex cars in England, but they have no record of this car.I am hoping that someone on your forum can supply information on it such as year of manufacture, model, body st, etc.
Thanks for your help,  Colin Caborn, Bedford, England

Jon B

 This is puzzling.  The serial number indicates that your car would have been a 1921 Essex ("Model A"), and would have been one of the last coach-style bodies (2-door sedan body) manufactured for the 1921 model year.



This is a 1922 version but the '21 would have been similar.

The Essex was introduced in 1919 as the lower-priced companion car to the Hudson automobile, by the Hudson Motor Car Company of Detroit, Michigan.  The Essex began life as a 4-cylinder car and was later upgraded to a six.  In the mid-twenties Hudson opened an assembly plant in or near London, England.  Cars were shipped from the U.S. in "knocked down" condition, in crates, and then re-assembled at the English factory -- which made them technically "English-built". 

The boxy coach style was actually a "first" by the Hudson company.  Up to the early 1920's most cars were "open" cars (with a folding canvas top).  Closed cars were available through the catalogs, in both inexpensive and expensive makes, but they were specially ordered and built, and thus expensive to purchase.  With the Essex, Hudson took a chance, tooling up to build thousands of the closed bodies on an assembly-line basis, and thus were able to offer the cars at a price substantially less than had they been specially built to order.  The gamble paid off, and Hudson sold more and more of the closed cars, and was able to reduce the price each succeeding year until closed cars were actually cheaper than those with folding canvas tops.  Even the president of General Motors admitted that Hudson's innovation caused his company to change its priorities and concentrate on building closed cars.  By the mid-twenties most new cars were closed cars.  Essex went on to become, in 1929, the third best-selling car in America although it did not hold this position for long.

HOWEVER....

You say it's a "Model K".  The Model K was a type of "Essex-Terraplane", made in 1932 and 1933 under the Essex name.  (The Terraplane was the successor to the regular Essex, and Hudson's low-priced car.)  After 1933 Terraplanes were no longer known as "Essexes", and the Essex name passed into history.  BUT... the serial numbers of the model K's only ran up to 372,899,  Not 504,492.



So you have me stumped.

PaulButler

Post a picture of the plate if possible Colin