Correction/Hudson History

Unknown

In a message dated 5/7/02 7:26:29 PM, Hudson29@aol.com writes:



<< 1929 was the third biggest year Hudson ever had

although mainly on the sales of the economy Essex line. >>



I combined two thoughts into one sentence and muffed both of them. 1929

was the biggest year the Hudson company ever had. They sold an all time

record number of cars (mostly Essex) and on the strength of that showing

claimed third place amongst all auto makers, a placing they would never equal

again. I don't recall for sure, but the peak year for Super Six production

may have been 1925.

In 1930, Hudson abandoned the venerable Super Six and ran with a cheaper,

smaller 8 based on the Essex 6. It was a disastrous mistake, one that the

company never fully recovered from.

In retrospect, the sales plunge is hard to fathom. The new 8 was designed

BEFORE the crash, and one would have thought that it would have been the

perfect car for it's time. Hudson should have had just the right car for

depression sales, but it was not to be. The new models were poorly received

and sold hit the skids. Hudson saw a lot of red ink in the early thirties.

Not that the cars were of poor quality. I have heard of few mechanical

complaints with the 8s. My speculation is that they ran into market placement

problems. With the Super Six, Hudson sold large powerful high quality cars at

bargan basement prices. That recipe worked well.

The new models were of modest size and power and I can only guess that

the traditional Hudson customers had little reason to come back. My

speculation is that Hudson was headed for trouble Depression or no!

Another factor may have been styling. While the the styling of the '29

models were right in vouge, the '30s had a very odd look. For many makes the

early 30s were a styling high point, fondly remembered for years afterward.

I'm afraid the early 30s Hudsons will never be mentioned in books on classic

car design.





Paul O'Neil, Hudson29@aol.com

Fullerton, California USA



NEW email list for Hudson Super Six Cars, 1916-1929!

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