Re: [HSS] Where Have All The Essex Gone?

Unknown

Hudson29@aol.com wrote:

>

> Sing song time everyone! You remember that rather saccharine pop tune

> from the early 60s? Where have all the Essex gone, long time passing?

> Geoff Clark's rather provocative comment a couple of weeks ago that in NZ

> the Essex cars outnumber Hudsons (even the Stepdowns), got me to thinking

> over the relatively poor showing of Essex at the meets I have attended here

> in the U.S.

> In the two Western Regionals I have been to and numerous local meets, the

> four cylinders Essex models are rare and the six cylinder Essex have been no

> shows. I have NEVER seen an Essex Super Six on the "hoof."

> Why should this be? During the period when our cars were new, the Hudsons

> were outsold by the Essex something like three to one. The fours were sturdy

> and speedy and well thought of both in their time and now by modern

> enthusiasts. While the sixes initially had some problems, Hudson got them

> sorted out and sold the Essex Super Six in huge numbers. So where are they

> now?

> I have often asked other old car folk why so few Chevys survived from the

> Model A era. Five million Model As were made over a period of 4 years and it

> seems that most of them are still running. Did you know that Chevy OUTSOLD

> Ford in two or three of these years? Seventy years on, the Fords are

> thriving; the Chevys are nearly extinct. Indeed, there may well be more 1929

> Hudsons on the road than 1929 Chevys. I know of no way to prove this one way

> or the other, but the fact that the proposition can even be entertained is

> astonishing in itself.

> The answers I have gotten on the Ford/Chevy issue center around two

> issues. First, the Ford was mechanically strong where the Chevys had trouble

> with the new six cylinder motors. The second reason seems the stronger one to

> me: The Fords were all steel. The GM cars used the "composite" construction

> using lots of structural wood. In the thirties and forties when these cars

> were just transportation, an owner could replace the piston rings on his Ford

> and get to work a few years more. What do you do with a rotten body that is

> literally falling apart at the seems? Curtains!

> Unfortunately for the department of nice pat answers, a higher percentage

> of the Essex had steel bodies than Hudson, many of which were sold with wood

> framed composites from Briggs and Biddle and Smart. So where are all of those

> sturdy, speedy all steel Essex now?

> After several gin and tonics last night my glance chanced upon one of

> those plastic inflatable globes and the germ of an idea took root. North

> America is physically higher than New Zealand. New Zealanders, always with a

> keen eye for a bargain, took advantage of the first law of physics and

> snapped up the bargain Essex cars when they ran down hill. Purple Smurfs were

> involved in all of this some kind of way, but that bit seems hazier than the

> rest right now. I know that doesn't sound too convincing in the cold hard

> light of day, but last night it all seemed to make a great deal of sense.

> Well, I've had my crack at an explanation, what do you make of it?

> Tonight is Friday night and that means Margaritas. I promise to ponder the

> matter again with proper lubrication.

>

> Paul O'Neil, Hudson29@aol.com

> Fullerton, California USA

>

Sounds like you've been on the turps again Paul! The reasons for the

older cars being more plentiful here are little more complex, but

broadly speaking, we could never get enough cars to fill the demand,

particularly after W.W.II, so the older cars were kept on the road for

much longer. Up intil the sixties, you could not get a new car unless

you had a "no remittance" licence, In other words you had to have

overseas funds. Hence, in the sixties, cars of the thirties, and even

twenties, were roaming the roads in abundance. As the lasting

qualities of Essex, yes they did have all-steel bodies from 1926

onwards, and outlasted most other breeds in this department. However,

the low gear ratio worked against them as roads improved and cruising

speeds crept up, and eventually thye were just plain superceded byt them

faster more modern cars. In the days of dusty roads, you could put

your Essex in top gear and go over most of the hills without changing

down. They were quiet and smooth and powerful, but try and do over 45

m.p.h. and they were definitely struggling. As in the U.S., the '28

Essex was the largest selling six-cylinder car here. At most swap meets

you will still find something from a '28 Essex. As to why they don't

come out to your Meets over there, unfortunately I have encountered the

"Step-Down-Superiority" syndrome there myself. At the Portland Meet I

befriended the owner of an immaculate original '28 Essex, and he was out

of his tree, finding someone who was enthusiastic about his car, as

everyone else had virtually ignored him. So spreading the welcome mat

would be a good start in getting those Essex owners out. If it wasn't

for the Essex, Hudson would not have stayed in business. In 1928 they

outsold Hudson by 5 to 1. Go figure!

Geoff.