Attn Jet Fans. Hemmings Classic Car Mag Article

royer wrote:

I felt the exact opposite about the article. I don't have it in front of me, so I can't give exact quotes, but it appears that the writer did zero research other than looking at SIA#60 - another Hemmings article that was not kind to the Jet.



His drive report talked mainly about how the handling was improved because Sue's car now has radials, and that it could keep up with highway traffic. He also spoke of how much it rolls in the corners, almost a direct quote from a 1953 issue of Motor Trend. I really doubt that the author actually drove Sue's car.



The author complained that the Jet's styling was not as nice as the Rambler - Rambler?!!!! PUKE!



The specification page listed it as a "3" speed Hydromatic - someone with that job should know that Hydro's are 4 speeds.



The part that really gets me going is about how it's "only" 104 hp and not very powerful....elsewhere in the issue there is a big article on the Ford flathead V8 and how great those 100hp '50s era flatheads were.



I suppose I'm dissapointed because I've subscribed to Hemmings publications for so long, and when they do a not so kind article on your pride and joy, it tends to be disappointing.



PS - The best article Hemmings did on the Jet was a few years back when they did a comparison report between Kerchner's Jet, a Rambler, and a Willys Aero. The Jet "destroyed" the competition.

Sounds like somebody had a bad hair day - I've read the article. They didn't refer to the hydra as "3-speed" - that was the manual

104 - not very powerful. In the context of the day, it really wasn't. Despite that the Jet is a good performer, yes, I'll say that. In all fairness, despite it's many year run, the Ford flat-head (and this ought to get me shot) wasn't all that great an engine in its day. Thing that made it was all the aftermarket goodies available off the shelf. Some Ford enthusiasts will tell you the 6 put out in the 1941 era was a better performer than the flat-head!!!

Regarding styling - true that most Nash Ramblers of the era looked even more so like an upside down bath-tub, but the Pinin Farina (sp???) styling was, lets face it, a bit above the Jet. If Spring had been allowed to lower the roof line, (not allowed by Barit - a "gentleman must have room for his hat") the styling would have been much better.

Overall I found the article to be reasonably fair and honest - lets face it there wasn't at the time, and especially today, a whole hell of a lot of information available about Hudson cars - especially the Jet models.

Handling - well, the Jet is higher (taller??) than it should be and it is rather narrow so, yes, you are going to get a bit of roll in a tight turn. Even the step-downs leaned a bit in sharp turns - and today you can roll a jeep, along with several other SUV makes, if you're not careful. I've talked to more than a few people, and read posts here on the forum, that have reported better handling with radial tires. That, along with leaded vs unleaded gas, is still open for debate on a Sunday afternoon.



Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth. Off to the races.



Hudsonly,

Alex Burr